Many of us are guilty of portion distortion. You know what I’m talking about – the tendency to eat more than you should because you don’t quite have a realistic grasp on what constitutes a proper serving size. No more portion distortion, sort it out, we will help you here.

Portion distortion runs rampant at our favorite restaurants. After all, we go to places that serve us a lot of food for a good price, right? But by some accounts, we get more than twice the healthy amount of food on our plate when we dine out.

This problem really hits home at home. How many times have you added an extra spoonful of mashed potatoes or an extra slice of pizza to your plate because you think you are shortchanging yourself?

Well, chew on this meat lover – a proper serving of cooked meat is about 3 ounces and that equates to a bar of soap-sized serving.

Gulp! Well, wash out my mouth with soap because I let loose a stream of cuss words after learning I’ve been overloading on meat for years. I bet you have too.

Get ready to get schooled on proper portion sizes, no more portion distortion.

PASTA

A half-cup serving of cooked pasta is about the size of your fist.

BREAD

A serving of bread is the size of a CD case; your waffle or pancake stacks up to the CD itself.

FISH

A 3-ounce serving is the size of your checkbook.

OIL

One teaspoon is about the size of tip of your thumb.

CHEESE

A healthy serving equates to cubes the size of four dice.

FRUIT

Generally speaking, one serving of whole fruit is similar to a tennis ball.

VEGGIES

One cup of your favorite veggies measures up to a baseball.

PEANUT BUTTER

A blob of 2 tablespoons of peanut butter is comparable to a ping pong ball.

The best way to keep your diet on track is to measure your food intake. Good luck!

John McGran has been writing about health and weight loss for several national companies since 2000. He currently handles the blog for MealPlanMap.com.