Serving Size reference

rebeccamcdonald214

I've been great about logging what I'm eating, but I'm finding the "suggested servings" are far too big for me. Does anyone have any reference tools they use to help figure out the best serving sizes to help lose weight??

livingleanlivingclean

I eat the amount of foods I want to eat. I have no idea what suggested servings are, I disregard them completely! I eat foods in portions sizes to fit my calorie/macro goal

sammyliftsandeats

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

I eat the amount of foods I want to eat. I have no idea what suggested servings are, I disregard them completely! I eat foods in portions sizes to fit my calorie/macro goal

Same here.

ladipoet

And cue the visual aid:

http://www.healthcastle.com/serving-size-101-visual-reference-guide

kommodevaran

Your food diary!

Alatariel75

Add me to the "I eat the amount I want" crew. I utterly ignore serving sizes.

zyxst

If a serving size is too much, just eat however much fills you up.

Queenmunchy

Just weigh the amount you dish out onto your plate and log that. No need to eat more because of the suggested serving size of anything.

Machka9

I weigh my food and log it by weight.

dragon_girl26

I weigh my food out to however much I want, and log that amount. I do this especially with caloric items like peanut butter, nuts, chocolate, etc, where I want a little bit to satisfy the craving without getting the full amount.

creepy_unicorn

For meat and grains I go by the whole palm and fist comparions. With everything else: as long as I don't go over my calorie/fat/carb/sugar goals, I don't usually care

macgurlnet

If you feel like the suggested serving is too much, start weighing out half of whatever the company recommends and see how satisfying it is. I'm pretty short and fairly light (5 feet tall, 120 pounds), and my calorie needs aren't terribly high unless I get a lot of activity. Eating a half serving of most things has been a good starting point

~Lyssa

Rebecca0224

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

rebeccamcdonald214

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

kpeterson539

rebeccamcdonald214 wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

It's how much you want to eat at that moment. Just weigh it and log it accurately.

Rebecca0224

I weigh however much I think I want to eat on my plate and log it and if I don't eat it all I weigh what I don't eat and subtract it from the original weight and if I want more I weigh it and log it. Weighing doesn't take long and it keeps me accountable.

I do use serving size for things I would normally overeat like Doritos, a serving is 28g and that much satisfies me but if I don't weigh it I will get a lot more and feel full halfway through but still want to finish it because it's there.

seska422

rebeccamcdonald214 wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

I look at my overall nutrition picture, how many calories I have left to "spend" for the day, and what I want to eat.

Let's say I want some chocolate. A serving of Dark Chocolate Hershey's Kisses is 9 pieces (41 grams). I made a My Foods entry with the 41 grams as the serving size so each piece is entered as 4.56 grams because the Kisses are so consistently sized. I usually eat one piece at a time and let it dissolve in my mouth. Sometimes I'll want 2 pieces so I enter 9.1 grams. I'm not going to eat a whole serving just because the bag gives a suggested serving size of 9 pieces since that wouldn't fit into my plan as easily as one or two pieces fit.

If I'm behind on protein, I'll eat some more chicken with lunch than I might eat if I'm ahead on protein. I eat a whole bag of steam-in-bag veggies (which is several servings) with dinner.

What you eat, how much you eat, and when you eat it is entirely up to you. Play around with amounts to find what's satisfying while fitting into your nutrition and calorie goals.

Machka9

rebeccamcdonald214 wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

Eat however much fits within your calorie limit.

Prelog it, experiment with amounts until you're happy with a plan for the day, eat that amount.

livingleanlivingclean

rebeccamcdonald214 wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

Listen to the food... If you listen closely enough you'll hear it tell you...

Joking. You're an adult - you are more than capable of working out how much food you want to eat. Weigh and log what you choose.

Alatariel75

rebeccamcdonald214 wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

I weight my food so I don't usually worry about serving size. I like to eat a smaller lunch and dinner and then snack so I don't usually use the serving size on the package.

But how do you know how much to eat of a food at any given time?

I pre-log my day, so I know how much I can fit in. Generally, I decide how much I want, log it, and if it will take me over my allocation for the day, I reduce it. I don't need a packet to tell me how much to eat.