Portions and Serving Sizes
Portions and serving sizes can play a big part in your nutrition goals. There seems to be a lot of confusion between the two. A portion size is what you serve your self. A serving size is the proper suggested serving found on nutrition labels. I can portion out a piece of cake, quarter of a cake or half of a cake. A serving size can be 1/16th of a cake or 2 ounces.
Why does this matter? Well, we know that 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories or 500 calories a day. If we aren't mindful of our portions and serving sizes then weight can increase quickly. An extra hanful of nuts (200 calories), double serving of chicken breast (150 calories) and 2 extra tablespoons of salad dressing (150) can increase your daily calories. These may all be healthy choices but the calories as you can see add up quickly.
In class, we passed along cereal, crackers and pretzels to demonstrate portions. We then compared to what the serving size was and the difference in calories. Filling the bowl with cereal, toping with banana, nuts and milk can add up to 600 calories.
My recommendation is not eating out of bags, cartons or boxes. Use a bowl or small plate and portion out the proper serving size. Buy portioned out bags of trail mix or snack items to keep you on track. This will help with being more mindful but satisfied by eating the foods you still love. It's all about moderation.
