Eat fewer calories than you burn and you will lose weight. Sounds simple, but for many people – especially those with diabetes – it is a difficult challenge. Now research in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that portion control can help.

Everyone knows that cutting calories and losing weight require you to reduce how much you eat -- which means downsizing your portions. A recent study shows that controlling portions may be particularly helpful for individuals with diabetes who take insulin and often find it difficult to lose weight.

In a study from the Archives of Internal Medicine, Canadian researchers randomized 130 obese participants with type 2 diabetes, including 55 people taking insulin, either to use a portion-control plate for meals or to obtain usual care in the form of dietary teaching. The plate allowed for an 800-calorie meal for men with diabetes and a 650-calorie meal for women with diabetes.

After six months, individuals with diabetes who controlled portions lost an average of 1.8% of their body weight compared with those in usual care who lost an average of 0.1%. Among those taking insulin, those in the intervention group lost 2.6% of their body weight compared with 0.1% in the control group.

More portion controllers lost a significant amount of weight; almost 17% lost at least 5% of their body weight while only 4.6% of controls did. And 26% of the intervention group were able to decrease their use of glucose-lowering medications compared with 11% in the usual-care group.

Nutritionists point out that special plates and bowls, which are commercially available, can be helpful in controlling calories since people's idea of an average portion size has increased radically over the years. Studies have shown that the more that people have on their plate, the more they will eat -- so serving smaller meals on smaller dishes may help you cut back.