Watching your diet means keeping track of the serving sizes of what you consume. Usually that's not too hard; just take a close look at the nutrition labels. But to avoid overeating, make sure you don't confuse serving sizes with the ever-increasing portion sizes common in restaurant meals, snacks and processed foods.
Defining a Serving
The amount of food meant to be eaten in one serving is the first bit of information listed on a nutrition label. It's a key piece of data if you're counting calories, as calories are listed on a per-serving basis. The serving size for most beverages is 8 oz., or 1 cup, for instance. If you pour yourself a tall glass of juice or milk, it's probably more than one serving and you'll have to calculate calories accordingly.
Nutrition Guidelines
Nutrition labels reflect standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- though they might differ from what you consider to be typical servings of your favorite foods. Some USDA definitions of single servings include 1 slice of whole-grain bread, ½ cup of cooked rice or pasta, 3 cups popcorn, 1 medium potato, 1 cup of vegetables or fruit, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, or 1 oz. of lean meat, chicken or fish.
Serving vs. Portion
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, increasingly hefty portions in restaurant meals and packaged foods distort our idea of what constitutes a serving and encourages many people to overeat. For example, a single bagel or a single bag of chips might have two servings' worth of calories. And while one serving of cereal might be ¾ cup, the cereal you actually heap into your bowl could be two or three times that amount.
Handy Measurements
Most people do not carry measuring cups in their purse or pocket. Some rules of thumb can help you estimate proper servings even if you're dining out -- for example, an ounce of cheese is about the size of your thumb or a pair of dice. Other approximations: 2 tablespoons of salad dressing, about the volume of a ping-pong ball; a 3-oz serving of protein, a deck of cards; an ounce of nuts, about a handful; a tablespoon of peanut butter, a thumb tip; a teaspoon of butter, about one dice; a cup of potatoes, rice or pasta, about the size of a tennis ball.
More Tips on Servings
The Mayo Clinic website offers these tips for controlling your food servings. Test yourself by pouring your usual serving of cereal, then transferring it into a measuring cup to see how it compares with the recommended serving size. When snacking, put foods like crackers or chips into a serving bowl rather than eating out of the box. Try single-serving packaged treats to keep calories under control. And when faced with a whopping serving at a restaurant, ask for a doggy bag with your meal so you can save half of the food for later.
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