a hockey puck. A one-cup serving of cooked pasta is the size of a tennis ball. When eating starchy foods like corn or potatoes, you should stick with about half a cup, which, naturally, is about half the size of a tennis ball.
If you’ve been to an Italian restaurant recently, you know that you can expect far more than a tennis ball’s worth of pasta with your marinara sauce.
To really control your portion sizes, it’s best to eat at home as often as possible, especially if you make a point of having healthy foods in the refrigerator and don’t keep ice cream in the freezer.
If you do go to a restaurant, ask for half portions or be prepared to take home plenty of leftovers. Some people make sure they don’t overeat by asking for a takeout box as soon as dinner comes. That way, they can put half in the takeout container at the outset and eat the rest, knowing they’ve kept their portions well under control.
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How to prevent yourself from overeating
Here are some other strategies to keep yourself from eating uncontrolled amounts of food:
Try not to eat until after you have a glass of water. Having a glass of water first whenever you think you are hungry gives you a chance to decide whether or not you are really hungry.
Make sure to have something for breakfast that includes complex carbohydrates: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. Whole-grain bread or cereal is a good bet for the morning meal.
Limit your food intake two to three hours before bedtime.