How do know how much food to put on plate?

bluesheeponahill

It’s easy enough with things like breakfast, I can weigh out the amount I need.

But lunches and dinner? I’m finding that hard, they don’t come out of a cereal packet loaded with the nutritional table information.

So as a guideline, how much should I be putting down on a plate for weight (grams here) I get it changes based on food, but there must be a medium? Like for example if I have a chicken korma with capsicum and broccoli and a small side of rice, how am I to figure out the right amount?
I don’t want to over eat, but don’t want to underestimate and only find myself raiding the pantry!

leanjogreen18

I’m not sure I understand correctly but I put my plate on my scale tare it (zero it) add chicken log it tare again, add broccoli log it, tare again add rice.

Is this what you mean?

seska422

There is no right amount. You might eat more this time than you ate last time or will eat next time. You don't need to stick to the suggested serving sizes.

Log before you eat. If the amount that you plan to eat has more calories than you were planning to spend, eat less.

Practice over time and you'll get a feel for what works for you. I like volume so most of my meals have large portions of low calorie items and smaller portions of high calorie items.

bluesheeponahill

leanjogreen18 wrote: »

I’m not sure I understand correctly but I put my plate on my scale tare it (zero it) add chicken log it tare again, add broccoli log it, tare again add rice.

Is this what you mean?

Like for example, the capsium, broccoli and chicken and rice is all mixed in with curry( which is a mix of coconut cream and curry paste) How many grams should that be overall? 300g? 400g?

Ravioli pasta seems easy bc packet says 220g per serve so I can easily weigh out 220 g and add serving of sauce.

But when recipes get more complicated and have multiple items the weight gets blurry.

I’ve seen frozen meals around 400-450grams but they seem large and more than we need. I’ve been going around 350ish for curries but wonder if that’s too much?

Salads are easy too. Around 150-200 seems enough.

But liquid heavy items are harder. Trying to find a happy medium I can work off.

bluesheeponahill

There’s also I’ve seen on forums ppl saying weigh out the food but Don’t say how much

felixg1109

Well if i understand it theright way: There is no "typical weight of a meal". It depends more on the calories. I.e. when i have a really bad day ill make myself a vegetable stew - 3000g have about 500cal. It depends on the calorie-density fo the meal.

When you have a dish like the curry you mentioned you can always try to eat less of the "high calorie parts" (Coconut milk, rice) and take more of the low calorie part (chicken too, but mainly the vegetables).

When i cook a meal i log all the ingredients as a meal and decide "how much calories i want to spend" and if the whole curry has 1000cal and i want to spend 500cal i'll eat 50% of it.

jseams1234

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

There’s also I’ve seen on forums ppl saying weigh out the food but Don’t say how much

You need to weigh and log each ingredient that goes into the dish. Then you can weigh/portion the final product. It’s not perfect if you make a large batch as each serving may contain more or less of one of the ingredients - but should be close enough... it’s why I hate logging complex dishes if I’m not the one prepping them.

kimny72

Different people have different calorie goals so will eat different amounts of foods. And different people have different preferences. You might benefit by taking a few days to just weigh and log as much as you would typically eat, then st the end of the day see where you stand calorie wise and decide what you could have more or less of.

There is no one correct serving size of a food for everyone.

neugebauer52

Still battling with portion control: not too bad at home - but buffets, (sushi!!!) and general meal invites are something I am battling with.

earlnabby

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

It’s easy enough with things like breakfast, I can weigh out the amount I need.

But lunches and dinner? I’m finding that hard, they don’t come out of a cereal packet loaded with the nutritional table information.

So as a guideline, how much should I be putting down on a plate for weight (grams here) I get it changes based on food, but there must be a medium? Like for example if I have a chicken korma with capsicum and broccoli and a small side of rice, how am I to figure out the right amount?
I don’t want to over eat, but don’t want to underestimate and only find myself raiding the pantry!

I started with the serving size recommended on the package, unless it is an individual serving like a container of yogurt. Examples would be 2 oz of sandwich meat, 112 grams Greek yogurt, 2 oz dry spaghetti (always weigh before cooking), 50 grams dry rice (again, always weigh before cooking), etc. Once you get used to what the recommended serving size is and how the calories fit into your daily target you can start tweaking the amounts.

No matter what, always weigh solids and semi solids (like peanut butter or mayo) and measure liquids and log everything you eat.

Lounmoun

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

It’s easy enough with things like breakfast, I can weigh out the amount I need.

But lunches and dinner? I’m finding that hard, they don’t come out of a cereal packet loaded with the nutritional table information.

So as a guideline, how much should I be putting down on a plate for weight (grams here) I get it changes based on food, but there must be a medium? Like for example if I have a chicken korma with capsicum and broccoli and a small side of rice, how am I to figure out the right amount?
I don’t want to over eat, but don’t want to underestimate and only find myself raiding the pantry!

Try logging it in your food diary and decide how much you want to eat?
I generally prelog my food so I know the amount that will fit my goal that meal/day. Then I just put on my plate the amount I logged.

It would be silly to tell everyone they should only eat so many grams of rice or broccoli when their goals for the day might be much higher or lower than someone else's. After awhile you are going to know whether 3 oz of chicken or 6 oz is typically what you would eat. For vegetables you might start with 50-75 g portions and see if that is good for you.
There are average serving size charts and lists out there for different food types that might give you a starting point. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes

For a mixed dish you can enter it with the recipe bulider and log how much you eat.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1234699/logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide/p1

lemurcat2

earlnabby wrote: »

bluesheeponahill wrote: »

It’s easy enough with things like breakfast, I can weigh out the amount I need.

But lunches and dinner? I’m finding that hard, they don’t come out of a cereal packet loaded with the nutritional table information.

So as a guideline, how much should I be putting down on a plate for weight (grams here) I get it changes based on food, but there must be a medium? Like for example if I have a chicken korma with capsicum and broccoli and a small side of rice, how am I to figure out the right amount?
I don’t want to over eat, but don’t want to underestimate and only find myself raiding the pantry!

I started with the serving size recommended on the package, unless it is an individual serving like a container of yogurt. Examples would be 2 oz of sandwich meat, 112 grams Greek yogurt, 2 oz dry spaghetti (always weigh before cooking), 50 grams dry rice (again, always weigh before cooking), etc. Once you get used to what the recommended serving size is and how the calories fit into your daily target you can start tweaking the amounts.

No matter what, always weigh solids and semi solids (like peanut butter or mayo) and measure liquids and log everything you eat.

I think this is good advice.

Remember to log each ingredient or create a recipe, but starting with serving sizes also makes it easy to add up the numbers in your head and have a good sense.

You'll find yourself adjusting for personal taste or to hit your calorie goal. For example, I quickly discovered that I'd rather have a smaller amount of pasta and larger amount of the sauce I make (the meat, the veg), and so adjusted.

hesn92

kimny72 wrote: »

Different people have different calorie goals so will eat different amounts of foods. And different people have different preferences. You might benefit by taking a few days to just weigh and log as much as you would typically eat, then st the end of the day see where you stand calorie wise and decide what you could have more or less of.

There is no one correct serving size of a food for everyone.

I think this is good advice. When I first started counting calories I was going over my goal every day. It took me a little while to kind of figure out what things I could swap and what things I could eat less of, etc.

ritzvin

If you made it, use the recipe builder. If it's takeout, then I would probably try to scoop out and weigh some chicken pieces (~3oz of cooked chicken is a typical 'serving size') and broccoli bits separate (if possible) and log them (USDA entries), and then weigh out and add a bunch of the sauce and try to find some average-ish listing for that type of sauce.

concordancia

If this is take out, look at the different entries for the same food. Focus on the ones that have the amounts clearly listed. If you can't find one for your specific restaurant, find a mid range one and stick with that.

cmriverside

My recipes tend to be one cup per serving. So I use a half cup ladle to put it on the plate.

You learn by doing.

I have some meals that are 300-400 and some that are 600+ depending on the macros and the sides etc. Just start - you learn by doing.

Some things I had to back into by making the meal and then logging it. Adjustments going forward in either size of portion or in individual ingredients were how I established how much to eat.

pierinifitness

Make it simple; buy and use small plates.