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Visual cues for portion control

Size matters. Research has shown that people consistently eat more food when offered larger portions. So portion control is important when you're trying to lose weight and keep it off.

A portion is the amount of food you put on your plate, while a serving is an exact amount of food. To get a better handle on what you're eating, you could carry around measuring cups. Or you could use everyday objects as reminders of appropriate serving sizes, which is what the Mayo Clinic Diet recommends.

Many foods match up to everyday objects. For example, a medium pepper is about the size of a baseball and equals one vegetable serving. While not all foods match visual cues, this method can help you become better at gauging serving sizes and practicing portion control.