We all have heard it, diet is not enough, one should also know the basics of portion control.

Your stomach is about the size of your fist. Use the palm of your hand to get a good sense of how much protein you should eat at any given meal. Make the rest of the plate full of vegetables.

Don’t forget to take a daily multivitamin too. Here is a quick reference list of popular food:

• 1 cup of cereal = a baseball. For example, a cup Cheerios has about a 110 calories.
• 2 Tbsp of salad dressing = a shot glass. Most salads in restaurants have 2 ladles of dressing on them; 2 Tbsp is a relatively small amount and will average about 240 calories. Adding lemon or mustard or something like balsamic vinegar can make your salad "moist" without adding extra fat and calories.
• 1 Oz of Nuts = a cupped palm. For example, an ounce of cashews has 163 calories. 
• 1 Oz of Cheese = a ping-pong ball. An ounce of Cheddar has about 110 calories.
• 3 Oz of Hamburger = a mayonnaise jar lid. To get a good idea of how big that lid is, move your fingers into a "grab and open a lid" position. It’s a full one ounce smaller than a quarter pounder. Some higher end restaurants serve 1/2 pound hamburgers.
• 1 Tbsp of Peanut Butter = three dice. Most peanut butter labels have 2 Tbsp as a serving, which is 200 calories. You can make a decent sandwich with 1 Tablespoon. Peanut butter is also delicious with bananas and celery.
• 1/2 a Cup of Rice = an ice cream scoop. A 1/2 cup of white rice has about 205 calories.
• 1 Potato = a computer mouse. A potato only has a 100 calories. It’s the stuff you put on the potato that makes the "portion" get out of control. 
• 1 Dinner Roll = a yo-yo. A dinner roll has about 66 calories.
• 1 Tsp of Butter = a Scrabble tile. Usually about a Tablespoon of butter is used at about a 100 calories. It’s virtually all fat. Better alternative to butter is olive oil.
• 1/2 a Cup of Cooked Pasta = a golf ball. There are roughly 200 calories, depends on what kind of pasta.
• 3 Oz of Fish = a checkbook. A serving of cooked salmon has about 175 calories.
• 3 Oz of Beef = a bar of soap. There are roughly 200 calories (no marinade or other flavorings)