The Dietary Guidelines encourage you to enjoy your food, but eat less and avoid oversized portions. We all know how tempting it is to finish your large sandwich, beverage, or large bagel. These oversized portions can contribute to weight gain.
If you want to maintain or lose weight, try some of these strategies:
• Eat smaller portions – can you split a breakfast or dinner entrée?
• Fill half your plate with vegetables – summertime is here; fill up on local vegetables and fruits.
• Offer smaller portions for your sandwiches. These Caprese sandwiches were offered at a bridal shower. Fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese with balsamic vinegar made these small sandwiches a hit. They were wrapped in parchment paper and tied with jute so that they were easy to pick up.
• Fill up on salads! Eat darker lettuce varieties or use a Spring Mix Salad. Add fresh strawberries or berries and nuts for a nice crunch. Encourage guests to “drizzle” a little dressing on the salad for added flavor. When you have a variety of flavors in a salad, you may use less dressing. 
• Enjoying dessert? Split your dessert or eat a smaller portion. Take your time to savor the taste of your treat.
Want to learn more? Take the Portion Distortion Quiz from US Department of Health and Human Services, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. You will see pictures of food and how portion sizes have expanded over the past 20 years.
Make a decision to eat more veggies and fruits and watch your portion sizes!
Writer: Michelle Treber, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Pickaway County, treber.1@osu.edu
Reviewer: Marilyn Rabe, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Franklin County, rabe.9@osu.edu
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/eat-right/portion-distortion.htm
Live Healthy Live Well 
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