Portion Control

My whole life I've had issues with portion sizes. I hardly ever eat breakfast (am getting better at making myself eat something small) so I "binge" at lunch and dinner. What are appropriate portion sizes for items like rice, pasta, chicken, fish, etc?

Replies

  • BMoxie2013
    BMoxie2013 Posts: 18 Member
    Fantastic book called "The Portion Teller" by Lisa R Young, PhD., R.D. Awesome visuals!
  • lambchristie
    lambchristie Posts: 552 Member
    Check out the side of the box/can/package of the item you are going to eat and it will tell you.

    Cereals range from 3/4 cup to 1 cup
    Pasta 1 cup cooked
    Rice 1/2 cup cooked
    Veggies .. a serving is 1 cup
    Fruit-fresh -- goes by size
  • katedevall
    katedevall Posts: 240 Member
    Check out the side of the box/can/package of the item you are going to eat and it will tell you.

    Cereals range from 3/4 cup to 1 cup
    Pasta 1 cup cooked
    Rice 1/2 cup cooked
    Veggies .. a serving is 1 cup
    Fruit-fresh -- goes by size

    ^^ this read the labels they normally have portions on it.. If you decide you want to weigh portions (which I think is more accurate for myself) I bought a digital kitchen scale.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Check out the side of the box/can/package of the item you are going to eat and it will tell you.

    Cereals range from 3/4 cup to 1 cup
    Pasta 1 cup cooked
    Rice 1/2 cup cooked
    Veggies .. a serving is 1 cup
    Fruit-fresh -- goes by size

    ^^^this...check out the labels. Also, meat/poultry/fish...generally around 4 Oz is considered a "serving"
  • EmmaReed84
    EmmaReed84 Posts: 263 Member
    EDIT: Posted in wrong thread... Ooopsie
  • I take it you are just not good at portioning by looking at food on a plate. Well guess what nobody is without alot of practice! That should make you feel better. The only way to learn portion sizes is to measure and weigh the foods you eat. I have a digital kitchen scale and for example I measure baby carrots into 3oz snack bags for the week. That way when I use my food diary it is accurate. I add recipes to the recipe section when i am done cooking I divide the food into reasonable portions then add that to the recipe so that when I add 1 serving the calorie count is correct. Its just a practice thing. Then I target foods for low cal, volume or nutrients. Sometimes I am full and need calories so I go for something small in volume and high calorie. After you get to know the foods you eat (as to what a portion really looks like) then you can really control the food. Heres another little thing I do. Dont cut out snacks they are what gets you to the next meal and lets you feel like you can eat whenever you want. Just make the snack count.