SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
One of the key ways to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight is through portion control.
American's often underestimate how many calories we are consuming each day.
Most continue to fight the bulge. Portion size is a huge issue because as humans we eat what is in front of us.
"This is where people get a lot of confusion going on is because they always oversize it," said Clinical Dietician Helen Hussey. "They overdo it. Most people don't know what a true serving size is."
To get a perspective on how much we should be eating, we went to Clinical Dietician Helen Hussey at Memorial Health.
"If you look at a lot of these serving sizes, they are going to fit in the palm of your hand, depending on volume of the food," said Hussey.
Hussey adds a normal portion size of protein should be about the size of a deck of cards. That's a recommended portion for a meal
"Usually a serving size of meat is about 3 oz.," said Hussey. "As you see this is a serving size of chicken, that is a lot smaller than we actually get in restaurants and even what we buy at a grocery store raw."
Then on to the fats.
"Peanut butter is a fat. This is one tablespoon of peanut butter. That is one serving of fat," said Hussey. "actually a jar of peanut butter actually tells you 2 table spoons of peanut butter is a fat. Reading food labels is important because foot manufactory determines what a serving size is not the ADA. The American Diabetic Association is what determines this is serving of fat."
The ADA also recommends 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. They will also help you feel full and you'll save on calories.
"Aside from a banana, fruit is pretty easy to judge; one apple, one orange or two plums. Usually, the smaller fruit you get to you can double it," said Hussey.
Carbs can be deceiving.
"As you see our potato, half of it is missing. That is true to size. About half a cup of a potato that will be about 4 oz," said Hussey. "again it fits in palm of your hand."
Others carb serving sizes include:
- 1/3 cup of brown rice or 4 fork fulls
- one slice of whole grain bread not two
- 3/4 cup of fiber filled cereals
Finally, don't drink your calories.
"What do you think will keep you more full, 1 cup of orange juice or a large orange, plus it takes two oranges to create one cup of orange juice," she said.
Hussey says it's easy to eat hundreds of calories in a short period of time, so be conscious of what choices you are making.
"Diet is important, it takes you three seconds to eat a doughnut, which is about 200 calories, which doesn't fill you up. It takes average person 30 to 45 min of high speed walking to burn that."
So eating right will save you time and help thin your waste line and wallet!
The list below explains typical serving sizes:
- 1 medium apple or orange = the size of a tennis ball
- 1 cup chopped raw vegetables or fruit = baseball size
- ¼ cup dried fruit (raisins, apricots, mango) = a small handful
- 1 lunch-box size container of unsweetened applesauce
- 1 cup of lettuce = four leaves
- Chicken stir-fry with 1 cup of mixed broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms = 2 vegetable servings
- ½ cup cooked or canned legumes (beans and peas)
- 5-6 baby carrots
Simple tips to shrink your waistline.
- Downsize the size of your plates. Smaller plates equals smaller portions.
- Measure out your snacks into little portions. Eat from a bowl, not a bag.
- Wait 15 minutes before you go get seconds. Tune into your body.
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