Portion control is very important. People need to be aware of what and how much they are eating. What are you putting in your body? I know it's hard, but seriously measure portions before you put them on the plate. Keep a dietary journal so you know how many nutrients and calories you're getting. It doesn't take that long or much effort. Before long you can stop measuring, because you already know how big the portions should be.

Be careful of how many carbs your eating. Only eat one type of starch per meal. That means only one portion of corn, potatoes OR grain products. Alternatively you can eat a half portion of each if you want to mix two of them. There are many other vegetables that have carbs in them, too, like peas, artichokes, carrots and squash. I know that carbs are generally associated with being white or yellow, but many of them come in different colors, too. You can also cut calories by mixing starchy foods with vegetables that have less than 10 grams of carbohydrates.

Here's a link to a site with vegetable nutrition facts.
http://www.jtcwd.com/vegie/nutrition/vegetables.html