Welcome to Wednesday night in Carol's Corner. Sitting in Denny's relaxing and getting ready to start this issue. Spent from 4:30 AM to 6:15 PM on a trip to the Amsoil Warehouse in Pa. with my husband. He 's sold so much snowmobile oils this last month that he keeps needing to put orders in and sometimes likes to go straight there to pick it up instead of having it shipped. The picture for today was taken in our little sitting area in our upstairs hallway. Hubby thought a sitting picture would be nice. My outfit totally goes with that whole area.

This FitBit band couldn't go more perfectly with my blouse. The pattern and colors are just an amazing match with my blouse and I adore this color.

The FitCuff is another perfect match. The jewelry I'm wearing is a set I made. I love the mix of the glass pearls and the Czech beads .

For tonight's topic I've decided to do something on portion control and portion sizes when on a weight loss plan. We are first going to start with information taken from Web MD in an article titled “Portion Control And Weight Loss”. Most people run into trouble because they really have no idea what a portion size is. You can be eating the right foods , but if your portions sizes are wrong you are not going to lose properly and maybe not at all. A hint on portion sizes; they are usually smaller than what you think they should be. Here instead of memorizing lists of measurements, they compare the servings sizes to familiar things. The following is a list of examples.

For example, a single serving of:

Fruits or vegetables-about the size of your fist.

Pasta- about the size of one scoop of ice cream.

Meat, fish, or poultry= the size of a deck of cards, or the size of your palm(minus the fingers).

Snacks such as pretzels or chips is about the size of a cupped handful.

Apple should be about the size of a baseball

Potato serving should be about the size of a computer mouse.

Bagel is the size of a hockey puck.

Pancake should be about the size of a cd.

Steamed rice is about the size of a cupcake wrapper.

Cheese is the size of a pair of dice or the size or your whole thumb( from the tip to the base).

The best way to determine the amount of food in a serving is to look at the Nutritions Facts Label and measure it.

For example, fill a measuring cup with the proper size portion of something, then empty it on a plate. This will help you learn what proper serving sizes look like.

WATCH THE PORTION SIZE

AT HOME:

Use smaller dishes at meals.

Serve foods in the right portion amounts, and don't go back for seconds.

Put away leftovers in portion controlled amounts. Consider freezing anything you might not use right now.

Never eat out of the bag or carton.

Don't keep platters of food on the table. You are more likely ” to pick at it' or have a second serving without realizing it.

AT RESTAURANTS:

Ask for half or smaller portions.

Eyeball your appropriate portion, set the rest aside and ask for a doggie bag right away.

If you have dessert share.

AT THE SUPERMARKET:

Beware of mini- sized snacks–small crackers, cookies , or pretzels. Most people end up eating more than they realize, and the calories add up.

Choose foods packed in individual serving sizes.

If you like to eat ice cream out of the carton, pick up ice cream sandwiches or other individual-size servings.

Here's a handi portion size guide.. Save the picture to your computer or tablet, print it out , and laminate it to use when needed. I'm going to leave you with that and will devote one more day to this topic, so stay tuned. Till next time , God bless!