Portion control, rather than carbohydrate avoidance is the secret to weight control. Most diets do not work long term. If you have dieted, you would likely agree that most diets help you lose, but do not keep the weight off. Having your weight go up and down is bad for your health and can lead to diabetes and insulin resistance. Too much sugar in the diet can also causes these problems and cause inflammation which is the source of many common diseases. Losing weight is hard enough, but keeping it off is always a struggle without having a system. Some ways to portion control include weighing your portions as Weight Watchers does or by using a smaller plate. In the USA, the average American is becoming larger and it is mostly due to portion sizes. Basically, we are eating more than we should which is unhealthy. According to a recent NY Times, keeping the weight off is a portion control issue. Changing how you eat is the only way to make sure you keep the weight off. Check out this recent article in the NY Times For Real Weight Control, Try Portion Control If you’re serious about losing or maintaining weight, learn the size of a healthful portion and treat restaurant servings as enough for two or more. I had hoped to avoid ushering in the new year with yet another weight/diet column, but three circumstances prompted me to reconsider: 1) The latest data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the weight of American men and women has continued its upward climb, with the average B.M.I. now almost at the cutoff for obesity; 2) The Food and Drug Administration is rolling out changes in serving sizes on packaged foods that could very well make matters worse, especially for consumers of ice cream and soda, and 3) Some good news for a change: the publication of an eminently sensible approach to weight loss, “Finally Full, Finally Slim,” written by a leading expert on portion control, Lisa R. Young, a registered dietitian and adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University. Read more