Control your food portions
By Marisela Andrade-Krasiewski
If you’re eating out at restaurants, chances are you’re consuming too much food, and we all know what that can do to your waistline. Even eating low-fat foods can lead to weight gain if you consume too many calories and don’t exercise enough. It all comes down to portion control. According to the American Dietetic Association, controlling portion size may be the single most effective thing you can do to promote and maintain weight loss.
Due to the cost savings and great marketing efforts that revolve around memberships to wholesale grocery chains, people have discovered that purchasing things in bulk is more convenient and cost effective. More is better! In fact, more is often times better; however, eating more because you have more to eat is not!
According to Weight Watchers Magazine, the key to making these bulk purchases is to separate them into individual serving sizes as soon as possible. The challenging part is to only get one serving at a time while keeping the rest out of site in the pantry.
Another challenge is that many people use meal time as a time to enjoy good conversation, relax and indulge in good food with family and friends. We are naturally inclined to sit around the table longer than necessary and eat, drink and eat and drink some more. Sometimes it isn’t easy to get out of these situations; therefore, it is helpful to know how much you are eating and what a “normal” portion should look like.
What’s a portion?
• Read the food label. Pay close attention to how many servings there are “per container,” and note the calorie and fat content per serving. Just because it’s one single item does not mean that it is equal to one serving.
• Learn to recognize standard servings. Use measured serving spoons or a measuring cup to comply with the serving size on the nutrition label.
Some items, such as beef, do not have a nutrition label. In this instance, you could invest in a kitchen scale to measure it in ounces. According to the Food Guide Pyramid, one serving of beef, chicken or turkey is three ounces.
Eventually you will begin to recognize what a standard serving looks like. According to the American Cancer Society and Weight Watchers of American, here are a few practical tips.
What does it look like?
• A three-ounce serving of meat is the size of a deck of cards or the size of the palm of your hand.
• A three-ounce serving of fish is the size of a checkbook.
• A one-ounce. serving of cheese is the size of six dice.
• A medium potato is the size of a computer mouse, or roughly half a cup.
• A one-cup serving is about the size of a tennis ball. This is also the size for a small piece of fruit.
• A rounded handful is about one-half cup, which is a good indicator for a snack serving like pretzels, crackers or low-fat chips.
• Your thumb tip is about one teaspoon.
• A large bagel, or standard slice of bread, is about the size of a CD.
The following are tips to help you make appropriate food portions:
Home sweet home
• Use smaller plates; your plate will look full.
• Measure out your portions by using a serving measuring spoon. It may seem a bit obsessive, but it keeps you within your portion guidelines
• Eat slowly by chewing your food for a count of 20; you’ll get full faster, and you will avoid overeating.
• Keep serving bowls and plates away from the table so that you aren’t tempted to serve yourself more.
• Leftovers are great – if they are indeed leftovers! Make extra, but pack up the rest immediately.
• Clear the table, and step away from it as soon as you are finished eating.
• If you like to snack while watching television, measure a serving portion in the kitchen and store the rest. Don’t take the whole bag of chips with you.
Working for a living
• Plan ahead, and check your calendar to determine how many times per week you will bring your lunch and how many times you will eat out.
• Pack your lunch, and if smaller portions leave you feeling hungry, pack vegetables such as celery and carrot sticks with some low-calorie dressing for dipping.
• Share a good thing. Lunch portions are typically portioned accurately; however, if it’s feasible, share an entrée with your lunch buddy.
• Avoid buffets because they’re too tempting, and it’s challenging to practice control in an “all you can eat” situation.
• Don’t super-size or biggie-size anything! Try as much as possible to stay away from fast food.
• Needing a snack? Stay away from the vending machines, and bring healthier snacks that amount to a single serving.
Out and about: restaurant portions are unbelievable!
• Eat only half of your meal, and take the rest home.
• Split your meal with a friend or family member.
• Again, avoid buffets.
• Ask for the lunch-sized entrée.
• Order an appetizer or salad as your main course.
• Slow down, skip a second helping and stop when you feel full.
What’s this all for?
Whether you are eating at home, dining out or having a quick meal on the go, it is important to be aware of what you are consuming. Portion control is a challenge for many, and it is just one factor necessary to maintain good health, along with daily physical activity and making healthy food choices such as lean meats, whole grains and five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Marisela “Marcy” Andrade-Krasiewski, MPA is the media and community liaison for Steps to a Healthier San Antonio (Steps-SA), a program of the San Antonio Metro Health District. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of Steps to a Healthier US, a national program focusing on the prevention of diabetes, obesity and asthma by addressing related risk factors: poor nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco use and exposure.
