A major cause of overeating these days is distorted portion sizes. Many people do not know what a correct portion size is, partly due to restaurants serving gigantic portions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed the MyPlate diagram to try to combat this issue. MyPlate was designed to provide people with an easy way to build a healthy plate. The basic idea is to use a plate that is no larger than nine inches in diameter and then designate specific areas for each food group. To determine how much you need of each food group visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.

Below are ways to quickly determine portion sizes using just your hands or commonly seen items.

1/2 cup cooked rice = tennis ball
1 cup of pasta/spaghetti (2 ounces) = a fist
1 cup of cereal flakes (1 ounce) = a fist
1 medium baked potato (1 cup) = computer mouse/fist
1 medium size fruit = tennis ball/fist
1 oz. cheese = thumb (tip to base)
1 cup of ice cream = baseball
3 oz. cooked meat, fish, poultry = your palm/deck or cards/cassette tape
1 tsp. butter/margarine = stamp
1 TBSP regular salad dressing = ping-pong ball
2 TBSP peanut butter = ping-pong ball
1 oz. of nuts = one cupped hand
1 oz. of pretzels = two cupped hands