Portion Size

Choosing sensible portions is a key to controlling calorie intake and getting or keeping your weight in a healthy range. The serving sizes listed on the Nutrition Facts label may be different from recommended food portion sizes. Knowing what is the recommended size and how many you should have daily is important.

Difference between Serving Size and Portion Size

Put sinply, a portion size is how much you take. A serving size is a standardize amount. For example, an apple might be one serving of fruit, but you might have taken 3 apples. Three appls would be your portion size and your serving size would be one apple.

What are the Recomended Portion Sizes?

Your recomended portion sizes are based on the standard servining sizes and your caloric intake for the day. Please see the diet plans to see what is recomended for your caloric level. Below is what is recommended for one serving size of the different food groups. To figure out what you need to eat and your portion size look at the diet plan for your calorie level.

Single Serving

Grains Group

1 slice of bread, or about 1 cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or
½ cup of cooked cereal, rice, or pasta

Vegetable Group

1 cup of raw leafy vegetables, or ½ cup of other vegetables-cooked or raw, or ¾ cup of vegetable juice

Fruit Group

1 medium apple, banana, orange, pear; or ½ cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit; or ¾ cup of fruit juice

Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Group

1 cup of milk or yogurt, or 1 ½ ounces of natural cheese (such as Cheddar), or 2 ouncesfilemtime of processed cheese (such as American)

Meat and Beans Group

2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
These count as 1 ounce of meat:
½ cup of cooked dry beans or tofu, or 2 ½ ounce soyburger, or 1 egg, or 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, or 1/3 cup of nuts

Your Portion Size

Hint: A person eating 2200 calories a day should eat: 7 ounces from the grain group, 3 cups from the vegetable group, 2 cups from the fruit group, 3 cups from the milk group and 6 ounxes from the meat group.

What does this mean for you. You might notice that when you go to restraurants that their portion sizes are much bigger than what you need. Many places will serve a 10 to 16 ounce steak, some might have larger sizes. When your food arrives decide how big your portion should be and cut that out, save the rest. Than means that you can take a lot home and have a meal or two from your night out.

See the page or portion tips for ideas on how not to over eat.