Supersize that?

My mother called it "having eyes bigger than your stomach" when we took a helping of food we couldn't finish. But no matter how you dish it up, there's something fishy with portions these days and it's not always the food. They call it "supersizing," and they've even supersized the plates to accommodate the larger portions. The standard dinner plate used to be 10 inches; now it's 12 inches.

The scary part is that our eyes and stomachs have adjusted to the inflated portion sizes in the same way that you don't notice the growth of a child you see every day. It sneaks up on you. This is particularly hard on those of us who grew up as certified members of the clean plate club. Once they supersized the food, the food started supersizing us. While nutritionists are battling about protein versus carbohydrates, and whether fat is really a villain, we're consuming everything in mammoth proportions.

It's been said that you are what you eat, but you are also how much you eat. Even good food is detrimental if you overindulge. Granted, chances are that no one will become obese eating apples, but then, it's not apples we tend to eat too much of. (For instance, you rarely hear anyone order a small taco with juice and a supersized apple.)

What's worse is that our children are growing up seeing "super" size as "normal" size. With childhood obesity well on its way to becoming a national epidemic, it's more important than ever to teach our children true portion size. We have the power to gain control over our portions by reeducating ourselves.

Portions are tricky. You think you know what they are until you dig out the measuring cups or start counting pieces. It can be a real shocker to find out you've been eating for two or three. But there are tricks to outsmarting the ugly portion monster.

One is to use smaller plates. This may sound simplistic, but think about it. That huge mug and large dinner plate only encourage you to tank up. I was at a friend's recently, and she offered me herbal tea, serving it in a mug the size of a small swimming pool. Great, I thought, I can do laps between sips. Normal portions in a large plate, bowl, or mug look small and make you feel dissatisfied with your meal.

Next, do the math. There's no getting around this one. Look on the label, and find out how much makes up a portion. Then count it out. After you do this a few times you won't need to look anymore. Your eyes will adjust to seeing the smaller amount. I started doing this with my children's snacks this year, and we were amazed how far off we were from the portion size when we started. But by the end of the school year my son was routinely checking for portion size before eating anything. Plus, he got a side dish of math along with his main course in nutrition.

When eating out, set aside anything larger than your portion and ask for it to be put in a take-home container before you begin eating. Alternatively, you can order from the children's menu or from the "light" menu that some restaurants offer, which features smaller portions.

At first you may not feel satisfied after eating a meal, but given time, your stomach and mind will come to an agreement. Eventually you'll be able to say, "I can't believe I ever ate the whole thing!"

Train Your Eye to Accommodate Your Stomach

Here are some sample portion comparisons to help you "eyeball" your next meal:

1 serving of flesh fruit: a tennis ball

1 ounce of cheese: four dice

1/2 cup ice cream: a tennis ball

1 cup of pasta, potatoes or vegetables: your fist

1 teaspoon of peanut butter or butter: the tip of your thumb

1 ounce of nuts: a handful

Celeste perrino Walker fights the ongoing war over portion control at her home in Rutland, Vermont.