Portion Control

Something most everyone struggles with is portion control.  Often our eyes are MUCH bigger than our stomachs.  People are not aware of the actual amount of energy from food they need and how much they use throughout the day, leading to consuming much larger portions than necessary. 

Being able to visualize portion sizes is an important diet tool. If you understand what a portion really looks like, you will be able to monitor how much you are consuming.  Here are some helpful tips.

 1 cup cooked rice, pasta, etc= 1 baseball

 1 medium fruit= 1 baseball

 1 cup fresh/raw fruit/vegetables= 1 baseball

 3 oz. meat/poultry= deck of cards

 4 oz, grilled/baked fish, tofu, seitan, tempeh= check book

 2 tbs nut butter or hummus= 1 golf ball

 1 oz. cheese= 3 stacked dice

 1 cup yogurt= 1 baseball

 1 tbs dressing= 1 poker chip

 1 cup strawberries= about 12

 1 cup carrots= about 12 baby

 ¼ cup almonds= about 24

 1 tsp oil= size of tip of thumb

Here is a way for you to take this new information and put it into practice.  On the average day you should have each of the following portions of food groups (lower end if less active or have a sedentary job)

4-5 servings protein

3-4 servings fruit

4-5 servings vegetable

2-3 servings starch/grain

1-2 serving fat/ taste enhancer

Knowing this, you can visualize your serving sizes at each meal/snack.

1 protein unit is:

·       1 cup plain greek nonfat yogurt or nonfat cottage cheese

·       3 ounces cooked poultry or lean meat

·       4 ounces cooked fish or shellfish

·       1 whole egg + 4 egg whites OR 7 egg whites

·       4 ounces tofu or other plant based meat substitute

1 fruit unit is:

·       1 cup of cut fruit or berries

·       1 medium piece of fruit (apple, orange, banana, etc)

·       1 small handful(palm of hand) of dried fruit

1 vegetable unit is:

·       1 cup any raw vegetable

1 starch/grain unit is:

·       ½ cup cooked grain (rice, pasta, quinoa, etc), beans, lentils, corn kernels or peas

·       1 slice whole grain bread

·       ½ large potato, white or sweet

·       1 cup cooked rolled oats

1 fat is:

·       2 teaspoons oil

·       2 Tablespoons low calorie salad dressing

·       ¼ medium avocado

·       small handful of nuts