Have you been told you should eat one and a half to two cups of fruit per day? How about two and a half to three and a half cups of vegetables? Ever wonder where these rules came from and whether they realize that you’re lucky to get that many vegetables in in a week?
Similarly, do the terms serving size and portion size confuse you? Can they be used alternately? The serving size is the amount of food that is recommended you eat by the manufacturer based on nutritional value. And the portion size pertains to the amount of food that you choose to eat. The serving size gives you an idea of the amount of nutrients, calories, etc., that you took in based on your portion size.
How much we eat is just as important as what we eat. This is why it is important to pay attention to your portion sizes and to understand how to read a food label properly. For instance, you are getting out your favorite cereal and the nutrition label says it is 100 calories. You are ecstatic because its super sugary, so you thought for sure it was “good” for you. Then you turn your attention to the serving size and it says it is half a cup. This is disappointing because who only eats a half a cup of this particular cereal? Generally, one to two cups is what you prefer, when you measure. So, the cereal that you thought was just 100 calories can be up to 400 calories depending on how much you eat of it. This is considered your portion.
So, what’s a person to do when it comes to portion sizes? You must equip yourself with knowledge on serving sizes of your favorite foods and the nutrition content that serving equates to. You will also want to begin paying attention to how your portion stacks up with the serving size.
Now you sticking to this rule can be cumbersome at times and there are moments we just want to eat the chips without paying attention to whether we have eaten 12 or not. This is understandable. Unless you are attempting to lose weight or are watching particular nutrient intake, like sodium, for health reasons, serving sizes are a recommendation. In fact, the USDA states that a serving size is a recommended amount for most healthy individuals.
To better equip you it is helpful to use the following comparisons as a reference:
- 1 cup of pasta is the size of a baseball
- 3 ounces of meat is the size of a deck of cards
- ½ cup of fresh fruit is the size of a tennis ball
- 1 teaspoon of margarine is the size of one dice
- 1½ ounces of cheese is the size of four stacked dice
- The front of your fist is about half a cup
- The tip of your finger is about 1 teaspoon
- A clinched fist is about the size of one cup
- The length of your thumb is about 2 tablespoons
- The palm of your hand is about three ounces
This information is helpful when you are looking at a nutrition label against your meal and wanting to determine how much of each nutrient you have or will take in. It is common to have trouble eating the proper portions to prevent overeating. It is referred to as “portion distortion.” Have you noticed that a small at a fast food restaurant looks like what a large would have been 10 years ago? This is because portion sizes at most fast food chains have increased and with that, among other reasons, our portion sizes have become distorted. If we eat only a small amount, no matter how many calories were in the meal, we feel cheated.
These tips can help you overcome portion distortion and to reduce your helpings.
- Eat from a plate, not a package, this way you know how much you are eating.
- This is particularly helpful with foods like chips.
- Measure your food to begin with.
- Until you have become confident with what 3 ounces looks like or what a half a cup of trail mix looks like in a bowl it can be helpful to measure your food.
- Use smaller dishes so less food doesn’t look as small.
References:
- Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/nutrition-facts-and-food-labels/serving-size-vs-portion-size-is-there-a-difference
- National Institute of Health – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4337741/
Trista K. Best, MPH, LDN