If the French are really as good at eating in moderation as their rep says they are, they've had to overcome a lot of genetic programming to get there. Human beings are hardwired to eat beyond the point of satiation, and with good reason. In the state of nature there was never certainty of a steady food supply, so it was essential to gorge when you could against the inevitable times when you wouldn't be able to. Modern humans have been called "hunter-gatherers at the all-you-can-eat buffet" and that an apt description. Americans make it decidedly worse with our growing habit of serving and consuming far larger portions than in the past. The answer is to push away from the table and take a moment before finishing a heaping plate of food--and certainly before ordering seconds. Your brain eventually catches up with your digestive system, but it takes time.