Americans struggle with portion control, and it’s unsurprising when one considers the large portions of food marketed by restaurants and manufacturers of prepared foods. You may think you understand how much of a particular food constitutes a single serving, but the fact is, most of us need to learn or relearn proper portion sizes.

Do a little research on your favorite foods and find out what is truly considered an individual serving, and how many calories and grams of fat that serving provides. This will help you when choosing snacks or filling your plate at mealtime.

A lack of education on the subject, of course, is not the only obstacle to overcome when combating distorted portions. Even when we know what a correct portion is, our previous habits may make the correct portion seem insufficient. Knowing how much we should be eating doesn’t guarantee that we won’t overeat.

It helps to focus on choices that are not so calorie dense. Some foods, like many fresh fruits and vegetables, don’t require much in the way of portion control. By making these a larger part of your diet, you can savor smaller portions of richer foods. You don’t need to fill up on decadent treats to enjoy them.