Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics

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Content Calories: Fuel for your body Tipping the scale Cutting calories Saving calories by cutting high-calorie, low-nutrition items Swapping high-calorie foods for lower calorie options Reducing your portion sizes Putting it all together

The sizes of your portions affect how many calories you're getting. Twice the amount of food means twice the number of calories.

It's common to underestimate how much you're eating, especially if you're dining out. Controlling your portions is a good way to control calories.

Don't confuse a serving with a portion. A portion is the amount of food you put on your plate.

Portion sizes
Typical portion	Calories*	Standard serving	Calories*
*Actual calories may vary by brand.
Orange juice, 8 oz. (248 g)	120	Orange juice, 4 oz. (124 g)	60
Buttermilk pancake, 6-inch diameter (77 g)	175	Buttermilk pancake, 4-inch diameter (38 g)	86
Whole-grain pasta, cooked, 2 cups (280 g)	414	Whole-grain pasta, cooked, 1/2 cup (70 g)	103

Try these tips to control portion sizes and cut calories:

Start small. At the beginning of a meal, take slightly less than what you think you'll eat. If you're still hungry, eat more vegetables or fruit.
Eat from plates, not packages. Eating directly from a container gives you no sense of how much you're eating. Seeing food on a plate or in a bowl keeps you aware of how much you're eating. Consider using a smaller plate or bowl.
Check food labels. Be sure to check the Nutrition Facts panel for the serving size and number of calories per serving. You may find that the small bag of chips you eat with lunch every day, for example, is two servings, not one, which means twice the calories you thought.
Use a calorie counter. Check out reputable resources that offer tools to count calories, such as websites or smartphone applications.