Many people that have been successful in the weight loss world will tell you about the importance of portion control. Here are 10 ways to control your portions whether eating at home or dining out.

1. Bigger isn't Always Better

We all have seen the commercials and ads for the fast food places that are making their portions bigger and bigger for just a few more cents. Restaurants are serving giant portions sometimes large enough for four people. This is not right. Keep in mind that this is a bad thing. When eating at a fast food place, order a kids meal. You will get a small proper sized portion and you will not be able to over eat. When dining in a restaurant, ask to have your meal brought to you half on the plate and half in a take-home box. That will take away some of the temptation of eating the entire meal and regretting it later.

2. Divvy up Your Snacks

Instead of buying greasy potato chips, try buying mini rice cakes or low fat popcorn. Buy them in small single serve packages and limit yourself to just one bag. If individual bags aren't available in the snack you like, buy the regular sized bag but right when you get home, separate the bag into about 12 mini bags, limiting yourself to one bag per serving.

3. Separate Your Leftovers

Just like the number 2 tip, the same goes for leftovers. Directly after a meal, separate your leftovers into a few small containers so you are not tempted to eat the entire leftover container full of food.

4. Say "No" To Seconds

Even is you still feel hungry, don't let yourself go for a second serving. Know that you have already had the proper amount of food, and anything more would be adding more calories which is what you want to avoid. To make it easier on yourself, when dining at home, don't let the pots or pans holding the extra food be in your view while you eat. This will have you constantly thinking about wanting more food. Instead, after eating one portion, be proud of yourself for not letting yourself go for seconds.

5. Mini Meals

I'm sure you have heard this one before, but it's a fact. Eating smaller multiple healthy meals throughout the day will leave you more satisfied than eating three large meals everyday. By keeping these meals small, healthy and frequent, you will actually consume less calories than you do with three larger meals.

6. Eat Your Salad

Eating salad before a meal will make you partially satisfied making you not eat as much when the meal comes to the table. To make the salad more satisfying, add some raw vegetables to it making it extra healthy. Or add some chunks of meat like lean turkey cubes. Eating all of this together can be considered a full meal, so you may not even want to eat the meal that was supposed to follow.

7. Recognize Size

This one is important, because when dining out, you can't really know how much you're eating without knowing proper portion sizes. You can learn this by simply comparing ounces of meat to an object such as, 1oz of meat is about the size of a matchbook. One cup of potatoes or pasta is equal to the size of a tennis ball. Keep this portion sizes in mind the next time you have a big meal in front of you.

8. It's Okay To Indulge

Everyone should be entitled to treat themselves to a "forbidden" food once in a while. This is fine as long as you pay attention to the four words, "once in a while." Telling yourself that you can never enjoy a forbidden food ever again will leave you feeing deprived. Deprivation leads to overeating. So allow yourself to have a small treat once a week. You will always have something to look forward to. Just be sure to limit your consumption.

9. Stay Away From Buffets

As tempting and appetizing as a buffet might seem to you, they are a big no no for someone trying to loose some pounds. They cause over eating in just about everyone. With all that tasty high fat food nearby, it's super easy to fill up your plate more than 3 or 4 times! This makes it impossible to control your portions. Instead of thinking of portion control you are thinking about what food you can try next. People tend to over eat so much at these "all you can eat" joints that they leave feeling sick. If you have experienced this feeling, remember this the next time you find yourself at a buffet. Personally though if you are dieting and or watching what you eat, then steer clear of all you can eat restaurants altogether.

10. Stick to Serving Sizes

Before eating anything that should be eaten in moderation, check the back of the package for the label indicating how much a serving size is. Most likely you will be very surprised and realize that you have been overeating without knowing it. Serving sizes are actually pretty small. When scooping ice cream into a bowl do you know that an ice cream serving size is only ½ a cup? Think back when was the last time you had just a ½ cup of ice cream? Without knowing this information, people are eating anywhere from 2-5 servings at a time. So get reading!

Arnel Ricafranca is a six pack abs expert, fitness boot camp coach, author, and a motivational speaker. He has authored and co-authored several books including The Ultimate Weight Loss Success Strategies For Busy Men and Women Over 40 available online at www.elitefitnessexperts.com. Mr. Ricafranca has been featured as the fitness expert on numerous media such as Jersey 101.5 FM, and Morris Health and Life Magazine, and numerous websites such as NBC WALB 10 News, NBC KPLC 7 News, and KTRE ABC 9 news. Mr. Ricafranca can be reached via email at fitnessvip@gmail.com

Arnel Ricafranca's websites
http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com
http://www.womensworkoutguide.com
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com
http://www.workoutseries.com
http://www.introtobodybuilding.com
http://www.howtogetbigger.com

Arnel Ricafranca is a six pack abs expert, fitness boot camp coach, author, and a motivational speaker. He has been featured as the fitness expert on numerous media such as Jersey 101.5 FM, and Morris Health and Life Magazine, and numerous sites.

Arnel's websites
http://www.iwantsixpackabs.com
http://www.womensworkoutguide.com
http://www.mensworkoutguide.com