The Portion Teller: Smartsize Your Way to Permanent Wei

The problem with diets, says Lisa Young, is that most tell us either to count calories or to eliminate entire food groups. Neither method works. Nobody, including the experts, can accurately discern calorie counts by eyeballing a serving, and it’s nearly impossible to avoid carbs or fats indefinitely. The problem lies in how much we eat—it’s simply too much. At last, Young provides what we’ve been looking for: a system of convenient, recognizable visuals (a CD case, a deck of cards, a baseball, two fingers) that clearly shows how much to eat of any given food group.

Young provides formulas for different portion personalities—the mindless muncher, the breakfast hater, the volume eater, the special occasion victim—to help readers figure out the right balance of their daily food servings. There are food equations (one bagel = five slices of bread = ten rice cakes), a restaurant guide, and a cheater’s guide (so you can have that piece of chocolate at 4 p.m. and still stay on the plan). Line drawings, charts, the Portion Teller pyramid, and portion diaries all help readers track and chart their own diet courses. With no forbidden foods, no phases to switch in and out of, and no carb or calorie counting, The Portion Teller is a system dieters can really live with.