I know that I have a challenge with the portions of food I put on my plate. I know what to eat, I just put too much of it on my plate. I suspect a lot of you are the same way.

I bought a food scale a month or so ago, and it was quite illuminating. There were times when I did quite well with my food portions, and other times I was WAY off. I also learned some things, like kosher pickles are a low cal snack!

Bicycling Mag put together this chart to help us all measure our food. Helpful stuff to consider.

http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s-4-21-17964-1,00.html
Weighing and measuring food is a sure way to monitor portion sizes, but it isn't always practical. Use these equations recommended by the USDA to estimate portions.

1 deck of cards = 3 ounces meat, fish or poultry or one slice of bread
1 Ping-Pong ball = 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1 ounce nuts
4 stacked dice = 1.5 ounces cheese
1 die = 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
1 baseball = 1 cup cooked rice or pasta
1/2 baseball = 1/2 cup ice cream