Even when we are eating a healthy diet, it is important to pay attention to our portion sizes. Too much of even the healthiest of foods can still pack on extra weight. Unfortunately, when we eat out at restaurants or grab a snack when you’re on the go, it isn’t always obvious as to what is the “right amount” for portion control. Restaurants overload our plates with ridiculously large portions and if we ever dare to get a meal at a fast food or casual dining outlet, super-sizing is standard operation. Unless you carry a nutrition scale, measuring cup or measuring spoon in your back pocket, serving sizes can be anything but easy to decipher.
When writing “GET REAL” and STOP Dieting!, I discovered Lisa Young – author of The Portion Teller
How do you ensure healthy portion sizes? Do you think this guide helps?
| Fruit and Fibrous Vegetables | |
|---|---|
| 1 c vegetables, leafy greens or berries | Baseball Woman’s Fist |
| 1 medium-size fruit | Tennis Ball |
| Grains and Starchy Carbohydrates | |
|---|---|
| ½ c pasta, rice, cereal | Rounded Handful |
| 1 slice whole grain bread | CD Case |
| 1 potato | Computer Mouse |
| 1 oz snacks/pretzels | Rounded Handful Tennis Ball |
| 3 c air-popped popcorn | 3 Baseballs |
| Protein and Dairy | |
|---|---|
| 3 oz meat or chicken | Deck of Cards Cassette Tape |
| 1 oz meat or chicken | Matchbook |
| 3 oz grilled fish | Checkbook |
| 1 oz hard cheese | 4 Dice Thumb Tube of Lipstick |
| 1 oz sliced cheese or deli meat | CD |
| 1/2 c non-fat yogurt | 1/2 Baseball |
| 2 Tbsp hummus | Ping Pong Ball Shot Glass |
| 1/2 c cooked beans | 1/2 Baseball |
| Healthy Fats | |
|---|---|
| 1 Tbsp mustard | Thumb |
| 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil | Die Fingertip |
| 1/4 c nuts | Golf Ball Egg |
Info Source: Lisa R. Young, PhD, RD. The Portion Teller, New York: Broadway Books; 2005.
Want more tools to eat healthy? Get Real and Stop Dieting! is your guide!
