Portion Control Tips

On every nutrition label and in every diet plan, portion sizes are used. Things like 2 tablespoons or 1/2 C are thrown around casually as if every person in this world carries measuring spoons and cups around with them every time they eat something. Let's admit that most of us would never actually measure everything we eat in a day. But we can learn certain principles from these portion sizes that can help us to exercise a bit of portion control as we scoop up our favorite foods this summer.

1 teaspoon salt = the tip of your thumb

2 tablespoons peanut butter = 1 ping pong ball

1 C spaghetti = the size of your fist

3 oz meat = a deck of cards, the palm of your hand, or the size of a cassette tape

1/2 C ice cream = 1/2 baseball

8 oz water = 1 small glass

1/4 C dried fruit = 1 golf ball

Another great way to understand serving sizes is to measure the item out once, put it on a plate or bowl, and then make a mental note of what the amount looked like on the plate or bowl. For example, when eating breakfast cereal, measure out the serving size from the nutrition label (usually 3/4C or 1C) and put the serving into your bowl. Make a mental note of how much cereal is in your bowl, and try to keep your cereal to that amount in the mornings. All you have to do is measure it one time, and then you can usually eyeball things fairly accurately next time. You might be surprised how much larger your portion sizes are than they need to be!