The Amount Does Matter!

Most of us do not think of how much we eat. We just put into our mouths what’s on our plates. After all, everyone knows how much food to dish out, right? Well, actually, no. It has become evident that portion sizes has been rising steadily during the last two decades. Restaurant portion sizes in the United States and Europe have increased by about 50% in the last 15 years, just look at our fast food industries.

So how much is too much food? The Food Pyramid is a good starting point.  Here’s what you need to know: a portion is not the same as a serving. A portion is how much you eat. A serving is a specific amount of food. Therefore you need to understand and use serving size when deciding on portion sizes in your daily diet.

For example, if you eat a bowl of noodles and a bowl of rice at lunch and dinner, you would have satisfied your daily requirement of 6 servings of grains and cereals (2 servings each meal). Snacking on any additional starches in the form of flour pastries or potato chips would exceed the daily recommendation.

The same goes for meat and dairy products. A serving of meat or fish is about the size of a cassette tape. Hence one medium piece of tilapia or a medium piece of chicken would be one serving of meat or protein. So would a large egg. As you can imagine, many individuals, eat well above the recommended 2-3 servings of the protein group every day!

With processed foods, things may get a little tricky until you learn to eye-ball what one serving looks like. Many people wrongly assume that one pack of noodles or pasta equals a serving, perhaps because that makes preparation so convenient. But one pack of noodles or pasta could equal one to three servings according to the Food Pyramid and you could be eating more than you bargained for.

Eating according to the portions recommended by the Food Pyramid may seem a lot less than what you first thought. So go ahead, enjoy your food, just watch the portions.

Quick Tips on the Go

• Read the serving size information on the food label and let it guide the size you are serving.
• Use a smaller plate or bowl. Filling a smaller dish gives the appearance of a larger portion.
• Eat more meals at home and bring your lunch to work or school.
• Eat small snacks that provide nutrition as well as calories, not too many.
• Share/ Split meals at restaurants or take part of the meal home.
• Measure foods like cereal into a bowl and see what one portion looks like.
• Count the cookies in a serving size as shown on the label and eat only that many.
• Eat more vegetables and fruit. Pair apple or celery with peanut butter or cheese (follow the serving size amount on the peanut butter).

Article by Club Fitness Nutritionist Jessy Hamawi