Control your portion size to control your weight
Monday - January17 , 2011 Filed in: Body
Stock Photos from 123RF
Researchers measured typical servings from takeout restaurants, fast food chains, and family-style eateries and found that bagels were 195 percent larger than the standard set by the USDA, muffins were 333 percent bigger and cooked pasta exceeded the standard by 480 percent. Cookies were a whopping seven times the USDA recommended serving size.
- Measure accurately. For foods and beverages, use gadgets like a measuring cup, tablespoon, teaspoon, or food scale.
- Estimate serving sizes in comparison to known objects. For example, three ounces of cooked meat, fish, or poultry is about the size of a deck of cards. Other easy measurements to eyeball include:
- ½ cup is the size of an ice cream scoop
- 1 cup is the size of a tennis ball
- 1 ounce of cheese is the size of a domino
- Use smaller plates, bowls, cups, and glassware in your kitchen and measure what they hold. I pour one cup of cereal into the cereal bowl to gauge where I should fill it to.
- Serve food right onto plates and don't go back for seconds.
- Make your own single-serving packs. Snack sized ziplock bags are great for this.
- Add the milk before the coffee which allows you to see how much is actually used.
- Measure oil carefully. Don’t pour it directly into your cooking pan or over food.
- Control portions when eating out. Eat half or share the meal with a friend. If eating a salad, ask for dressing on the side. Dip your fork into the dressing and then into the salad.
- Fill up on the low-calorie or good-for-you food first. Eat a cup of low-calorie vegetable soup prior to eating a meal, or add vegetables to casseroles. Eat your salad first. I also buy a low calorie, good-for-me cereal that I pour in my bowel first, then I spice it up with the cereal of my choice to add some of the flavor I desire.
- Listen to your hunger cues. Eat when hungry and stop when satisfied or comfortably full. Try to gauge when you are 80 percent full and stop there.
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