I just order a colorful salad with some grilled chicken or fish, dressing on the side. It's healthy, low-fat, and fairly low-caloried, even if the portion is big.

i try to order kid sized when i can. it ends up being what a normal adult should be eating. wow, portions are so distorted in this country!

Whenever we order the curbside takeaway from restaurants, I order off of the kids menu and it is more than enough food. But, when eating in a restaurant, I just can't pull myself to ask for a kids menu with no kids along!

Great tip. I think we can all benefit from smaller portions.

Yeah, I've tried to do this before, but a lot of times the menus say "kid's portions for children under 12 only"... When it says that, I try to get something off the appetizer/soup/salad menu, but a lot of those appetizers can be really fatty even if they are small portions. *sigh* restaurants:)

i've practiced this since i was 5! 15 years later, i'm still not ashamed = )

i totally do this it helps just focus better on what i'm actually eating

I just only eat half or less than half and then I have a meal for the next day too

I usually ask if they can pack half of my meal to go, so I can have it for lunch or dinner the next day! But yeah, portions are way out of control here in the US. The first time I came to the US and ordered a salad, I thought they had made a mistake. The portion was so big that it could be shared with my family! Turns out it was just for me. Its a good way to lose your appetite though! Just think of all the calories in there...ugh.

I've done this before...two of my favorite restaurants let me get the lunch-sized portions of my favorite meals.

Oh I do this. And I state that I will still pay full price for the meal but I need a smaller portion than normal, it's a waste otherwise. If they cannot do it I ask them for a small bread plate and I take what I can eat off the main plate and ask the server to either pack the rest in a takeaway box or throw it away.

Usually that brings the manager of the restaurant "Something wrong with your meal?" No, I just cannot eat more than 4 ounces of food if I'm lucky at a time. I asked for a smaller portion, you were not able to accommodate that request.

At take me a week to work through most normal sized portions from restaurants. By the time I can work my way through it it's going bad. So often it's just not worth even taking it home.

Restaurant manager, "Oh, gastric bypass?" Yes. "Good for you."

My meal is free.

I always try to get the smallest portion of food when I can. Even if I do fast food. The portions are CRAZY. I hardly ever drink soda but I ordered a SMALL one recently and when they handed me the drink I looked at the girl and was like "this is a small?" 5 years ago it would have been a medium

My boyfriend and I have been doing this for years. We split meals at most places we go, and if we don't split the meal (which doesn't happen that often) we generally eat about half of what we've order....the only exception to this is breakfast. I have such a weakness for breakfast, I will eat past the "ok that's enough" point...

I happily enjoyed a Happy Meal last night with apple dippers.

I usually order a side salad with the dressing on the side and I request grilled chicken on it. It costs a dollar or so more, but it makes a healthier option than the mondo salads drenched in fatty dressing and cheese and bacon that they usually offer.

People think I'm CRAZY whenever I say "Can I have only a LITTLE bit please?" And they are like "Well, you have to pay full price!" I'm like "Yah, I know, but this way I'll eat only what I'm supposed to eat and not waste food." They look at me like WHAT?! haha