Hi Marie!
I recently started my journal too as i am trying to get rid of this nonsense known as fat. Congrats on biting the bullet and doing one as well! I hope this are going well for you. Portion control is key i tell ya. What i have been doing since this year started was change my mind set about eating. I just felt like i took eating as a privilege, and not a necessity, and i "spoiled" myself with food all the time. So now, i simply eat to not be hungry, instead of eating to be full. Once i did that, things started changing. I know it seems hard, but after a couple of weeks your body looks out for you. If i eat a 12 inch sub, my stomach hurts from eating too much, where as before i could take one down in no time. Our bodys are amazing, and once you have faith in it, it will take of you with the results you are looking for. Also the plus side of just eating until you are not full is that if you do get hungry again, you can just eat a little more! It also means your metabolism is churning through this stuff like crazy!
Anyway, i didn't come in here to give tips and stuff, just wanted to share what works for me with portion control. I don't count calories, but since hitting the gym i lose about 5 pounds a week. This comes after having my starbucks fix once a week, and maybe going out for something "unorthodox" to my normal meal regiment. Good luck and i'll be following along!