Portion Distortion is Alive and Well

We are living and breathing this unfortunate fact every day, and most of us aren’t even aware that food portions are now 5 to 8 times bigger than when they when those foods were first introduced. It’s no wonder obesity is an epidemic; we no longer know what a portion of food should look like.

When we eat out in restaurants, many of the plates arrive with enough food to feed an army. Well, maybe not that much, but easily enough for two or three people. When we become habituated to large portions when we’re eating out, that becomes our norm to which all other portions are measured. We’re now used to “supersizing” all of our food choices, including at the grocery store and when we sit down to our own home prepared meals.

30 Years Ago vs Now

Take a look at how food portions have changed.

 

 

 

 

One of the keys to lifelong weight management is portion control. Learning to eat modest portions allows us to eat a little of all foods and eliminates deprivation, guilt, and backsliding. Because food portions have increased so tremendously, diligence is needed to stay a step ahead. Using standard serving guidelines helps quantify appropriate portions and maintain healthy weight.

What is a Portion?

I write this blog to get nutrition information out. Information we ideally all would have learned at home, in preschool, and through our education—both formal and informal—but the education doesn’t happen. As a result, we inadvertently “learn” through mass-marketing of fast food, chain restaurants, and snack food companies. Just because we didn’t learn portions correctly the first time doesn’t mean we can’t unlearn and retrain ourselves. A portion is an amount of food suitable for one person: a serving.

Standard Portions Using the “Fist Method”

Handful (the amount that would fit in your palm with your hand nearly closed): 1 oz

Example: 1 serving nuts

Fist: 1 cup

Examples: 2 servings of pasta or oatmeal
1 serving salad greens
                     2 servings vegetables
                     2 servings fruit

Palm (excludes fingers and thumb): 4 oz for women, 6 oz for men

Examples: cooked serving of meat or poultry

Tip of Thumb: 1 teaspoon

Examples: 1 serving oil or butter

Thumb: 1 tablespoon

Examples: 1 serving salad dressing or sour cream

Right-Sizing Portions

To combat food companies’ unhealthy representations of portions:

• Use hand references for guesstimating healthy portions in a pinch.
• Fill half of your dinner plate with vegetables and have vegetables at least twice daily.
• Eat a piece of fruit at the start of your meals to help fill up and stop eating at the right portion.
• Drink from cups and glasses you know the ounce measurements of; go small with caloric items like juice and soda and choose large glasses for water. Swap out juice and soda for water or sparkling water flavored with essential oils, fresh fruit, cucumber or herbs like basil and thyme.
• Plan to get at least two, if not three or four, meals from each restaurant meal.
• Share a meal when eating out.
• Replace high calorie side dishes like fries and onion rings with vegetables, salad, coleslaw. Have the fried items on special occasion.
• Pre-portion large containers of snack foods into single serving portions, or buy in individual portions. You know the saying is true that we can’t eat just one.
• Use the salad plate in your dish set for your meals: dishes have been supersized as well, and the “dinner” plate is often dramatically oversized.

• Eat mindfully. Get rid of distractions and refrain from multi-tasking when eating. You deserve 20-30 minutes for meals to sit, enjoy, and be fully aware of the food you’re consuming. It’s a great way to right-size your portions.
• Add an idea or two of your own that will help you limit the portion assault we face on a daily basis

 

Karen Fisher, MS, RD, LDN, CDE is a dietitian in Reno, Nevada, happily promoting the benefits of healthy foods at her nutrition consulting firm, Nutrition Connection. Find her website atwww.NutritionConnectionNV.com

To find a nutrition expert in your area, go to the academy website – Find an Expert https://www.eatright.org/find-an-expert