Portion Size

Here's a clever idea. If drinking too much soda is bad for you, don't drink less of it, drink LESS of it.

Confused? Me too. But the bigwigs at Coca-Cola figure reducing the size of Coke cans to a "90 calorie mini can" is a slam-dunk to fight obesity.

Just like fun-size candy bars are! Here's the gist of it, sucking down a 90 ounce can keeps your calories down, but still lets you get your fix.

Portion sizes are a dopey idea. I see a bunch of marketing people staring at an empty tray, deciding how much Salisbury steak to cram into a TV dinner.

Or, go into an Outback Steakhouse, they don't seem too concerned about portion sizes. A "bloomin' onion" looks like a deep-fried prehistoric creature.

How does one cut portion size when in most of the western world portion size has grown exponentially in the last 20 or so years.

I remember when the 7-Eleven Big Gulp came on the scene in 1980 and how everyone was amazed that you could actually purchase a drink that size. It was 32 ounces back then, now you can buy a Super Big Gulp that's a whopping 64 ounces.

No wonder there's such a weight epidemic in many developed countries as people are constantly enticed with ever growing portions.

Here are some illustrations of just how portion sizes have changed in the last 20 years.

The Lunch Box Diet is a small downloadable document (10 pages) from UK personal trainer Simon Lovell. Although Simon describes the diet as "no fad" its recent appearance in Elle Magazine may well change that.

So what is the "lunch box diet"?

NYC Food blog Blogsoop digs into some of the reasons why we overeat.

Is your fork getting you down? Maybe you need the Diet Fork.

"The characteristics of the Diet Fork allow dieters to scoop less food during meals."

Is this for real?

It seems odd to use the word "indulge" on a blog about diets. Developing a healthy relationship with food is critical if you wish to avoid falling into disordered or harmful patterns of eating.

However... asking some people to simply moderate their intake of certain foods is akin to asking the alcoholic to take only take one sip from their glass.

Here are 6 steps to help you enjoy your food and diet.

Nothing takes away the pleasure of food, quicker than the feeling of guilt. Guilt is the “buzz-kill” of all disobedient activity.

But what if the feelings of guilt could be eliminated? What if consumption of your favorite food was no longer an act of disobedience?

In the middle ages they had chastity belts. Now we have the "Charlie Bite" - a device inserted into the mouth that prevents the user from chewing too vigorously.

The Utah dentists that offer the device claim their patients lose about 1.3 lbs per week.

Entrepreneur Paris D'Jon has come up with an idea for controlling portion size.

Portion Pals are a selection of translucent discs that provide "users with the exact USDA recommended servings for meat, poultry, fish, sides and dessert".

Go to any restaurant nowadays and you will notice one thing in particular – huge portions. From the endless baskets of bread and butter, to the enormous platters entrees are served on, and the more-than-decadent desserts.

An entree alone can set you back about 2,000 calories – the average amount you would need in an entire day.

What are restaurants' interests in continuing to serve such huge portions?

Many chain restaurants are serving meals (and even entrees) with ridiculous calorie counts. Unfortunately nutrition information is nowhere to be seen.

Ruby Tuesday's colossal burger weighs in at 1,940 calories including 141 grams of fat.

It seems ridiculous that we need a scientific study to validate the obvious. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has compared the reduction of portion sizes with the reduction of calorie density in a meal.