Calculating serving size for the foods you eat is important for several reasons. Understanding how to calculate serving sizes is the best way to keep track of the number of calories you eat, as well as the amount of fat, sodium and cholesterol per serving in your favorite foods. This is especially important for maintaining a healthy weight and preventing health problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart disease.
Step 1
Learn to read the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Nutrition Facts Label, found on most food packages. Look at the top of the label, just below the words "Nutrition Facts," to find the serving size, as well as the number of servings per package.
Step 2
Find the number of calories per serving directly below the serving size information, to track your caloric intake. Don't confuse serving size with portion size, warns the Weight-Control Information Network, an affiliate of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. A portion is how much you choose to eat at one time, and it may be more than a serving.
Step 3
Use measuring cups and measuring spoons or a food scale while you are learning to calculate serving sizes. Measure out individual servings and put them on a plate to get an idea of what a single serving looks like.
Step 4
Compare one serving of different types of food to common household items, suggests the Weight-Control Information Network; this will help you learn to estimate serving sizes more quickly so you can stop measuring everything. For example, one serving of peanut butter is the size of a ping-pong ball, and a "medium" apple is about the size of a baseball.
Tips and Warnings
- Additional information on the Nutrition Facts Label includes the amount of fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, sodium, dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals per serving in your favorite foods.
Things You'll Need
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Food scale (optional)
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