Strategies to help control the amount of food you eat are included in “Mayo Clinic: Healthy Weight for Everybody” (Mayo Clinic, 2005, $22.95 paperback). Here are the book’s suggestions:

• Eat slowly.

• See what you eat. Eating directly from a container gives you no sense of portion size.

• Try to eat three meals at regular times. Skipping a meal can cause extreme hunger, which can lead to indiscriminate snacking.

• Avoid distractions. Meals eaten with the TV on can lead to mindless eating.

• Serve smaller portions. At the beginning of a meal, take slightly less than what you think you’ll eat.

• Don’t feel obligated to clean your plate.

• Share a meal at a restaurant and ask for a carryout bag.

portions are generous enough for you and a dining companion to divide a single entree from the menu between two of you, and satisfy both your appetites.

-Ask for a carryout bag. Make it a habit at restaurants to ask that a portion of your meal be boxed up to take home.

(Source: “Mayo Clinic: Healthy Weight for Everybody,” Mayo Clinic, 2005, $22.95 paperback)