Portion size in grams
CryMtz
Posts: 21 Member
I am looking to eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. I just purchased a scale in grams and need to know what is the right portion of meats, veggies, grains etc. in grams per meal?
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Replies
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None of us can tell you that. Portion sizes are up to you. It depends on heavily on what you're eating. An ounce of lettuce is very different from an ounce of carrots.
Try plating a meal like you normally would, and then weigh each item so you can get a feel for what your baseline is.0 -
I am looking to eat between 1200-1500 calories a day. I just purchased a scale in grams and need to know what is the right portion of meats, veggies, grains etc. in grams per meal?
Depends. What are you eating? How much do you want? etc.
At some point, you'll have to do your own work. 28 grams is an ounce though.0 -
The right portions.... 7 grams...14 grams.... 21 grams.... 28 grams...0
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I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.0
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I'm sorry. I was joking with my post. There is an inside joke with those numbers that I am sure some people get. I wasn't trying to derail.
Either way, there is no right portion size for everyone. Weight loss is all about calories so figuring out your portion sizes should be based on your calorie goals.0 -
I'm sorry. I was joking with my post. There is an inside joke with those numbers that I am sure some people get. I wasn't trying to derail.
Either way, there is no right portion size for everyone. Weight loss is all about calories so figuring out your portion sizes should be based on your calorie goals.
Okay, so if I don't eat anything from a box, can or container that has serving size or calorie counts. I should just research each raw item to see how many calories they have per gram? And then decide how many grams I am going to eat?0 -
I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
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There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
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This right here. It is good to know what you are already eating. After awhile the scale becomes secondary and you can eyeball what portions work for you.0 -
TheVirgoddess wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
Thank you, I guess this will be hard then I thought. I was hoping someone could just tell me how much to eat of things and I would listen and BAMM! have results...0 -
Honestly that is an extremely low amount of calories. Unless you literally don't move from a desk for 12 hours of the day you probably won't lose weight due to being malnourished... my .020
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Yeah, sadly, not how it works.TheVirgoddess wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
Thank you, I guess this will be hard then I thought. I was hoping someone could just tell me how much to eat of things and I would listen and BAMM! have results...
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Honestly that is an extremely low amount of calories. Unless you literally don't move from a desk for 12 hours of the day you probably won't lose weight due to being malnourished... my .02
I do sit at a desk all day long, however I do Crossfit 5 days a week and run 3+ miles on Sundays. I been doing crossfit and running and met with a nutritionist and follow her advice (no processed foods, cut back on sugars from fruit and 1200-1500 cal a day) for 9 months lost zero lbs. My body had changed but the scale has not moved. I was told Im probably eating more then I think I am because I don't weight it, so now Im going to weight it to see if that helps.0 -
What worked well for me was to log for about a week to understand how many calories I was actually eating. Once I really understood what I was eating, I started cutting back on portion sizes and modifying the way I ate to meet my calorie goals.TheVirgoddess wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
You don't need to just eat lean protein and whole grains to lose weight. I have continued to eat the meals that I love to cook/eat throughout my whole process. I just adjust the portions or eat less elsewhere in the day to make everything fit. My diary is open if you want to look through it and get some ideas of what has worked for me.
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There is however a lot of good information on this site to help you get started and to help make this work for you.
Two posts that I cannot recommend highly enough are:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1
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TheVirgoddess wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
Thank you, I guess this will be hard then I thought. I was hoping someone could just tell me how much to eat of things and I would listen and BAMM! have results...
If it was easy, everyone would be thin
You can absolutely google meal plans that you can use as a guide. I like to eat the foods I've always eaten, and just watch my portions. Some people like to be told exactly what to eat - both ways are okay.
Good luck!0 -
TheVirgoddess wrote: »TheVirgoddess wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. Everyone on here eats differently. There's no standard diet for success.
I suggested measuring out what you already eat, so you can understand how big or small your portion sizes already are and where you can (and should) make adjustments, so that you will find success.
Thank you, I guess this will be hard then I thought. I was hoping someone could just tell me how much to eat of things and I would listen and BAMM! have results...
If it was easy, everyone would be thin
You can absolutely google meal plans that you can use as a guide. I like to eat the foods I've always eaten, and just watch my portions. Some people like to be told exactly what to eat - both ways are okay.
Good luck!
Thank you!0 -
I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. I eat anywhere between 140 - 150 grams of protein per day and 2300ish calories to lose weight...pretty sure my portions would vary greatly for yours.
That said, most meats will list a serving as 4 ounces as an example...but a serving of meat for me is rarely 4 ounces...usually more like 6 or 8 depending. USDA servings of veggies are usually 85-100 grams...a serving for me is generally double or more. Etc, etc, etc, etc...
The "serving sizes" are there to give you a baseline of X is going to be Y calories...your actual serving size will vary.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
There really isn't. I eat anywhere between 140 - 150 grams of protein per day and 2300ish calories to lose weight...pretty sure my portions would vary greatly for yours.
That said, most meats will list a serving as 4 ounces as an example...but a serving of meat for me is rarely 4 ounces...usually more like 6 or 8 depending. USDA servings of veggies are usually 85-100 grams...a serving for me is generally double or more. Etc, etc, etc, etc...
The "serving sizes" are there to give you a baseline of X is going to be Y calories...your actual serving size will vary.
Thank you, I am realizing I'm going to have to do a lot of logging and researching to figure out what I'm doing and what I need to do.0 -
I understand that, but I would think there would be a base line for weight loss especially of the main items including lean meat and grains like brown rice or quinoa. I can measure out what I already eat and see what it is but what I am eating now isn't working so some guidelines would help.
See what you are eating now and what the calories add up to and then experiment with reducing it. Maybe use the serving size on the packages (for grains) as a starting point, especially since you can see easily what the calories are. 4 oz raw is often considered a basic serving size for meat (a little more than 112 grams or so), but you might want more or potentially less depending on what you are eating with it, protein goals, so on. I really think it makes sense to just understand where your calories are coming from first and then figure out how to cut them.
Eat as many non starchy vegetables as you like. They fill up a plate well and you will see the calories are quite low.
Edit: seeing your additional information above makes me think even more strongly that it makes sense to start by focusing on your current food. You've been trying to eat at a deficit, so you want to see where you might be eating more than you thought.0 -
It depends on how you want to consume your calories. You need to know how many carbs/fats/proteins you want out of each meal to make up your caloric goal for the day. My goal is 3k a day. example for one meal for me would be 1/2 chicken breast and half cup of rice. or 114 grams/4ounces of chicken and 62grams of rice. This alone is around 700 cal. I just eat this until I reach my goal each day. I also add in my fats here and there. and I change my protiens daily just for taste. Hope this helps0
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I just want to say that all the information everyone is giving you is correct,and although it may seem overwhelming, once you start weighing and logging your food,the process SLOWLY becomes second nature and becomes easier.0
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FitnessTrainer69 wrote: »It depends on how you want to consume your calories. You need to know how many carbs/fats/proteins you want out of each meal to make up your caloric goal for the day. My goal is 3k a day. example for one meal for me would be 1/2 chicken breast and half cup of rice. or 114 grams/4ounces of chicken and 62grams of rice. This alone is around 700 cal. I just eat this until I reach my goal each day. I also add in my fats here and there. and I change my protiens daily just for taste. Hope this helps
Im 5'3" at 168 lbs and have been told to stay between 1200-1500 cal a day, maybe the question I should be asking is how many calories a day is recommended for me to loose weight.0 -
If you are maintaining now, you want to understand what calories you've been eating. If it's more than 1500 or so, you could reduce it. If it's already less there's something screwy and it's worth looking at more carefully. Then I'd try just picking a number that seems reasonable (what depends on whether you eat back exercise calories) and stick to it really consistently for a couple of weeks, as sometimes reconstructing underestimates.
The calculator I use gives your TDEE (conservative estimate) as over 2100, so in theory you should be losing a bit more than 1 lb/week if you are consistent at 1500 (that's without eating back exercise calories). But your actual results are better than a calculator and it would not at all surprise me if your actual TDEE is somewhat higher.
I'm older than you and your height and lost 2 lb/week at 1250 plus exercise calories when I was 168, but I exercised a lot (it looks like you do too) and was pretty active on top of exercise (bike commuted) and also ate back exercise calories so ate quite a bit more than 1250 on 6 of 7 days.0 -
Start by just weighing what you normally eat. Get a few days of that under your belt.
Each meal gives you a macro count. You also get a daily total.
Once you see how what you're eating works out, you can start playing around with it.
If you're eating fresh food, I'd suggest swapping out the sugar tracking for fiber. Fiber is important and if you eat a lot of fruit, you'll exceed that sugar goal every day, anyway.
Rome wasn't built in a day!
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The right portion is whatever fits in your diet. You can start with what a 'serving size' is (typically it's written on the package, or it's 85g for protein or veggies) and go from there.0
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Yes, that is exactly what you do. I grab as many grapes as I want to eat, weigh them, and log those calories.I'm sorry. I was joking with my post. There is an inside joke with those numbers that I am sure some people get. I wasn't trying to derail.
Either way, there is no right portion size for everyone. Weight loss is all about calories so figuring out your portion sizes should be based on your calorie goals.
Okay, so if I don't eat anything from a box, can or container that has serving size or calorie counts. I should just research each raw item to see how many calories they have per gram? And then decide how many grams I am going to eat?
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indianwin2001 wrote: »I just want to say that all the information everyone is giving you is correct,and although it may seem overwhelming, once you start weighing and logging your food,the process SLOWLY becomes second nature and becomes easier.
This is very true. The first few weeks for me were a whirlwind of learning a whole lot about nutrition and what's in the food I eat. It becomes much easier with practice.
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Don't forget you can prelog (or practice) filling in your log to see the values and delete them and start over. I always plan one day in advance then I can tweak what I eat to fit my protein and fat goals, as well as micronutrients. The MFP log is a great tool for that.
Sometimes I'll change lunch and breakfast if I want something specific for dinner.0
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