It’s January, so that means 99.9 percent of us are REALLY trying to watch what we eat because we went a little nuts with all the great food during the holidays. For me, it’s tougher to eliminate foods altogether than it is to scale back the portions. So that means it’s important to understand what the right size portion truly is.
I found this GREAT resource for getting better at being able to eyeball the food on your plate at know whether or not it’s the right amount or too much. You can see it on the Web MD website in a slideshow called “Secrets of Healthy Eating and Portion Control”. Click HERE to see it. They also have a small mobile version of this portion guide that you can print and stick in your purse so you can use it when you’re eating out. Click here to see the printable version.
Here are a few of the tips I learned in the Portion Control guidelines. Hope it helps you, too!
- 1 cup is equal to the size of a baseball.
- 1 ounce of lunch meat is equal to the size of a CD.
- A 3-ounce muffin or biscuit is about the size of a hockey puck.
- Two tablespoons of peanut butter is about the size of a golf ball.
- 1 baked potato should be about the size of a computer mouse.
- A half-cup of cooked pasta should be about the size of a light bulb.
- Three ounces of fish is about the size of a checkbook.
- One-and-a-half ounces of cheese is about the size of three game dice stacked on top of each other.
- A brownie should be about the size of a pack of dental floss. (I know… that sounds more like one bite of a brownie. But that’s what the experts say.)
Good luck with sizing up your portions, and if you have any additional tips to share, click the “comment” button and let us know!
