A thought about portion sizes?!
Question: A thought about portion sizes!?
this is a bit of a rant about portion sizes, i want to see if people agree with me
you know how on packages it says "serving size = X grams" or something like that, you often find this on cereal boxes and stuff!. sometimes they say "1 bowl = X calories"
well there are different sized bowls, one bowl i might have more or less of something thereby making me eat more than neccessary, wouldnt it be easier if things like cereal came in individual portions to make it easier (same goes for rice and pasta and beans)
likewise how much is 30 g of something, its such a small weight its difficult to measure and so you rely on your eyes to tell you if there is too much, again causing you to eat too much
ive even heard nutritionists talk about the serving sizes of fish which is already cut into portions being too big!.
so first they tell us to watch our portions and then tell us the portion sizes reccomended by manufacturers are wrong
what the hell!?!?
what does everyone thinkWww@Answer-Health@Com
you know how on packages it says "serving size = X grams" or something like that, you often find this on cereal boxes and stuff!. sometimes they say "1 bowl = X calories"
well there are different sized bowls, one bowl i might have more or less of something thereby making me eat more than neccessary, wouldnt it be easier if things like cereal came in individual portions to make it easier (same goes for rice and pasta and beans)
likewise how much is 30 g of something, its such a small weight its difficult to measure and so you rely on your eyes to tell you if there is too much, again causing you to eat too much
ive even heard nutritionists talk about the serving sizes of fish which is already cut into portions being too big!.
so first they tell us to watch our portions and then tell us the portion sizes reccomended by manufacturers are wrong
what the hell!?!?
what does everyone thinkWww@Answer-Health@Com
Answers:
Since you are saying your portions are listed in grams, I'm guessing you're in Europe, and not in the US!. Here in the US they have the portions for dry cereal listed by ounces and then by the cup or portion there of!. Most often it will say something like "Portion Size: One ounce (about 3/4 Cup)"!. That way you know how to portion it!.
They also have listed the number of servings per package!. If your packaging has that as well, then you COULD go to the extra effort of taking an entire box, package or container of something and dividing it equally into the number of dishes it says is the number of servings!. Then measure or weigh one of the dishes to determine what they consider to be "one serving"!.
It gets tricky here, too, because you buy what you assume is a single serving size and it says a serving is X calories and X grams of fat, but then when really look at it, it says there are 2-3 servings in the container!. For example, if you buy a !.5 liter of Coke (about 20 ounces here in the US), it says that it's only 80 calories, but that's for one 8 ounce serving, and then it says there are 2!.5 servings in the bottle!. But even then it's not consistent, because if you buy a 12 ounce can, it says that the entire can, all 12 ounces, is one serving, and contains 120 calories!. Why is one serving from the bottle 8 ounces but one serving from the can is 12 ounces!!!!?!?!!?!!?!?!!?! Shouldn't the can say it's 1!.5 eight ounce servings!?!?!?
At any rate, you just have to learn by experience what a "Normal" portion size is, and not rely on the manufacturer to tell you!. Get a Weight Watchers book or cookbook!. They give good "tricks" to determine what a healthy portion is!. For example, 3 ounces of meat is about the same size as a deck of cards!. Most of it, though, is taking the time to weigh or measure your food for a few weeks, and once you get a better idea of what a healthy portion is, you can "eye ball it" without any scales or measuring cups!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
They also have listed the number of servings per package!. If your packaging has that as well, then you COULD go to the extra effort of taking an entire box, package or container of something and dividing it equally into the number of dishes it says is the number of servings!. Then measure or weigh one of the dishes to determine what they consider to be "one serving"!.
It gets tricky here, too, because you buy what you assume is a single serving size and it says a serving is X calories and X grams of fat, but then when really look at it, it says there are 2-3 servings in the container!. For example, if you buy a !.5 liter of Coke (about 20 ounces here in the US), it says that it's only 80 calories, but that's for one 8 ounce serving, and then it says there are 2!.5 servings in the bottle!. But even then it's not consistent, because if you buy a 12 ounce can, it says that the entire can, all 12 ounces, is one serving, and contains 120 calories!. Why is one serving from the bottle 8 ounces but one serving from the can is 12 ounces!!!!?!?!!?!!?!?!!?! Shouldn't the can say it's 1!.5 eight ounce servings!?!?!?
At any rate, you just have to learn by experience what a "Normal" portion size is, and not rely on the manufacturer to tell you!. Get a Weight Watchers book or cookbook!. They give good "tricks" to determine what a healthy portion is!. For example, 3 ounces of meat is about the same size as a deck of cards!. Most of it, though, is taking the time to weigh or measure your food for a few weeks, and once you get a better idea of what a healthy portion is, you can "eye ball it" without any scales or measuring cups!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
it goes by 1 cup or 3/4 cup on the back most foods as well as liquids!. Oils are suggested by the tablespoon!.
There are great conversion tables on line!.
As a Nutritionist it helps to understand that labels say "suggested serving" because each individual is different!.
This is why I suggest to my clients when reading a "suggested serving" you stop eating when you're full, so if the "suggested serving" fills you up, that's good, if not then add a bit more to see how much extra you need!.
I hope this makes senseWww@Answer-Health@Com
There are great conversion tables on line!.
As a Nutritionist it helps to understand that labels say "suggested serving" because each individual is different!.
This is why I suggest to my clients when reading a "suggested serving" you stop eating when you're full, so if the "suggested serving" fills you up, that's good, if not then add a bit more to see how much extra you need!.
I hope this makes senseWww@Answer-Health@Com
Portion sizes vary from person to person!. No one portion size is perfect!. Our bodies vary a lot so the best advice would to be followed by your own meaning having a nutritionist come in and tell you what to eat, rather than taking the general advice!.Www@Answer-Health@Com
I've never seen a serving size on the cereal nutritional information box use the word "bowl"! The brands of cereal I use has the serving size listed using "cup" units which can easily be measured before putting it into the bowl!.
I understand what you are saying though!. It is difficult to know what a serving size is!. I sometimes eat a Totinos frozen pizza easily by myself!. One day I looked at the nutritional information box and it listed 7 servings! So, am I supposed to slice the pizza into 7 equal parts!? That would be hard to do besides the fact that it wouldn't fill me up!Www@Answer-Health@Com
I understand what you are saying though!. It is difficult to know what a serving size is!. I sometimes eat a Totinos frozen pizza easily by myself!. One day I looked at the nutritional information box and it listed 7 servings! So, am I supposed to slice the pizza into 7 equal parts!? That would be hard to do besides the fact that it wouldn't fill me up!Www@Answer-Health@Com