8 ways to avoid overeating

Overeating is one of the prime causes of Canada's obesity epidemic, yet most of us don't even realize that we overeat — or just how crucial serving size really is. Here's how you can reduce your portions and still feel satisfied.

Your stomach needs about that long to signal to the brain that it's full, so wait before helping yourself to more mashed potatoes or lasagna.

If you're truly hungry after the delay, have seconds of the vegetables or salad.

Most of us eat everything we're served no matter how big the portions.

But, a better strategy is to eat a healthy portion, then stop. It's better to waste a little food (or save it for tomorrow) than to overload your body.

If you are having takeout, put the right portion on a plate and put the package away, then sit down and enjoy your meal, taking your time over it.

Overload your plate with vegetables, or a salad with a smidgen of dressing, or have a big, steaming bowl of broth-based soup. These water-rich, low-fat foods are low in calories, so a big portion isn't a problem.

You can also try using smaller plates for your meal. Less space on the plate means automatic portion control. And, chances are, after clearing a smaller but full plate, you'll still feel like you had a full meal.

Buy or make high-calorie foods in individual serving sizes. Instead of family-sized cartons of ice cream, buy single serving cartons; make cupcakes instead of a big cake; and buy single-serving bags of chips.

It's easy to sit down to a healthy plate of food. The trouble starts when your plate is empty and you have more of each food sitting in front of you in alluring serving bowls. The answer is to package and store leftovers before you sit down to eat.

As you make the transition to more modest portion sizes, you may find yourself craving more food with your meal. The answer is to have a large, crunchy serving of celery, carrots or peppers, or a sliced tomato with your meal.

Most of us underestimate portions and, therefore, calories, by at least 25 percent — meaning that you could eat hundreds of extra calories every day and not even know it.

Here's a list of various foods and two sorts of comparisons you can make to help estimate the perfect portion size every time. One of these comparison systems involves comparing portion size to everyday objects and the other to parts of your hand, for a take-anywhere system.

• The perfect portion of meat (90 g (3 oz)) looks like a mini-pack of tissues or your outstretched palm.
• A perfect portion of fish (90 g (3 oz)) looks like a chequebook or your outstretched palm
• A perfect portion of beans (3–4 tbsp ) looks like a tennis ball or is a cupped handful
• 40 g (1 1⁄2 oz) cheese, the perfect portion for this dairy treat, looks like three dice or your thumb
• For rice or pasta, the perfect portion (2 heaping tbsp) could fill a cupcake wrapper or looks like a rounded handful
• When it comes to mashed potatoes, the perfect portion is about as big as a drink coaster or your palm
• A 25 g (1 oz) roll will be about the same size as a bar of soap or half of your palm
• For a small bun, the things to compare are the round part of a light bulb or half of your fist
• A single portion (8 cm (3.25 in)) of cake will look like a pack of cards or be about 3⁄4 of your palm
• 5 g (1 tsp) of butter or margarine is a single portion of the stuff and it looks like a postage stamp or the tip of your thumb
• 15 g (1 tbsp) of oil or dressing will look cover the base of a teacup or the centre of your cupped hand
• When it comes to potato chips a portion that's the size of a tennis ball a or cupped handful is one portion
• For a single portion of nuts or dried fruit, a golf ball or a small cupped handful make excellent references

Bear all of this information on portions and avoiding overeating in mind to help you maintain a healthy relationship with food.