As you know, a key to any successful weight-loss program is controlling what you eat. Watching the portion sizes of your food is a very important part of controlling your calorie and fat intake. It’s easy to overeat when you’re confronted with out-of-control portion sizes at most restaurants and the never-ending buffet. How much we eat can be just as important as what we eat. So, it might be time to take a look a what kind of portions you’re really putting on your plate.
WebMd had some great tips on how to keep your portion sizes in check. When you are at home:
- Use smaller dishes at meals.
- Serve food in the appropriate portion amounts and don’t go back for seconds.
- Put away any leftovers in separate, portion-controlled amounts. Consider freezing the portions you likely won’t eat for a while.
- Never eat out of the bag or carton.
- Don’t keep platters of food on the table; you are more likely to “pick” at it or have a second serving without even realizing it.
At restaurants
- Ask for half or smaller portions.
- Eyeball your appropriate portion, set the rest aside, and ask for a doggy bag right away. Servings at many restaurants are often big enough to provide meals for two days.
- If you have dessert, share.
Take a look at this list from the USDA and you will probably be as shocked as I was at how little an actual serving size is.
- one slice of whole-grain bread
- 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta
- 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes
- three to four small crackers
- one small pancake or waffle
- two medium-sized cookies
- 1/2 cup cooked vegetables
- 1 cup (four leaves) lettuce
- one small baked potato
- 3/4 cup vegetable juice
- one medium apple
- 1/2 grapefruit or mango
- 1/2 cup berries
- 1 cup yogurt or milk
- 1 1/2 ounces of cheddar cheese
- one chicken breast
- one medium pork chop
- 1/4 pound hamburger patty
A good guideline to help you understand portion sizes is to translate the abstract information represented by the serving size into something visual that’s easily remembered. So instead of trying to memorize lists of ounces, cups, and tablespoons, simply compare the serving sizes of particular foods to familiar physical objects. For example, a single serving of:
- Vegetables or fruit is about the size of your fist.
- Pasta is about the size of one scoop of ice cream.
- Meat, fish, or poultry is the size of a deck of cards or the size of your palm (minus the fingers).
- Snacks such as pretzels and chips is about the size of a cupped handful.
- Apple is the size of a baseball.
- Potato is the size of a computer mouse.
- Bagel is the size of a hockey puck.
- Pancake is the size of a compact disc.
- Steamed rice is the size of a cupcake wrapper.
- Cheese is the size of a pair of dice or the size of your whole thumb (from the tip to the base).
Seeing portion sizes listed in black and white will hopefully make us realize just how much we overeat and help us get them back under control.
The Shrinking Team
Weight-Loss is Hard, We’re Here to Make it Easier