Am I just greedy?

nubreeze33
nubreeze33 Posts: 270
edited September 22 in Food and Nutrition
QUESTION: serving size.......is that like the 'you are NOT suppose to have any more than this' info or is it just info letting you know how to count your caloric intake? Because staying within a serving size is a straight trip! Is it realistic and i'm just debaucherous? Because a serving size is really small.......blank stare.

Replies

  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
    Its basically info just letting you know this amount equals this amount. Then YOU get to decide how much you want to spend. Its just like shopping. You have $1200 dollars...err calories to start off with and then you can spend it on different things here and there. A serving of pizza is $450. WOAH expensive pizza...lol...And as expensive as that was, it may not have filled you up.

    You just have to decide where to use your 1200 calories. You could use them on two servings of pizza but now you have 300 calories left for the day unless you exercise. Or you could have one piece and a salad. Just literal food for thought! :o)
  • DancingDreamer
    DancingDreamer Posts: 520
    a serving size is how companies make their food look lower calorie than it is. seriously i'm almost 100% positive that food companies just make that crap up. and yeah i think its just a way to help you count your caloric intake because no one eats just four crackers, or only 5 ravioli, etc.
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
    Serving sizes are suggestions and you just need to be honest when you log as to what size serving you take to account accurately for calories. It is evident though that Americans tend to super size servings. I found that most evident when I starting measuring my cereal. I would typically pour a bowlful, which was at least 3 times more than suggested. I now measure my cereal and my milk and try to follow the suggestions on most foods and over time have found that it is definitely ample for me.
  • Holton
    Holton Posts: 1,018
    Its basically info just letting you know this amount equals this amount. Then YOU get to decide how much you want to spend. Its just like shopping. You have $1200 dollars...err calories to start off with and then you can spend it on different things here and there. A serving of pizza is $450. WOAH expensive pizza...lol...And as expensive as that was, it may not have filled you up.

    Cool analogy! Makes it understandable for sure!
  • NatalieWinning
    NatalieWinning Posts: 999 Member
    Its basically info just letting you know this amount equals this amount. Then YOU get to decide how much you want to spend. Its just like shopping. You have $1200 dollars...err calories to start off with and then you can spend it on different things here and there. A serving of pizza is $450. WOAH expensive pizza...lol...And as expensive as that was, it may not have filled you up.

    Cool analogy! Makes it understandable for sure!

    Yes! I like this analogy, too. But as a dieter I've tried my best to see what the serving sizes are and dish out only that much to start with. Just to begin to get my portions in control. This has helped. Now I'm counting crackers and measuring cup fulls, instead of throwing my hand in a bag and dipping in until i'm stuffed. Generally I'm using the suggested serving sizes to limit myself. And I've begun to point these serving sizes out to my family. My husband will eat a pound of bacon if I let him, and then I say that was XXX servings. Or the crackers that go in my daughters mouth I tell her to get a serving size in a bowl at a time, not just bring the whole sack over to the couch and mindlessly dip in!
  • ashiteru
    ashiteru Posts: 47
    i really like the way you put that! here is the money now spend it wisely! that was cute i am gonna have to use that one< cause i too sometimes fell like i am just greedy! serving sizes cause me to be hungry again in 15 minutes!!!!!!
  • SafariLara
    SafariLara Posts: 172
    I had a fitness for life instructor in college tell me that the whole "serving size" thing started in the 1960's when they made stricter food labeling laws. To decide serving size they actually surveyed a whole bunch of people and gave them some options of "the most calories they would be willing to eat in one serving" I think the number between 200-400 was the one that won, so it's not based on the actual amount of food most people would realistically eat, rather it's based on the calories people find acceptable. Hence why a can of soup that you might eat in entirety, is two serving sizes.

    This could be wrong, but it's what I remember hearing
  • mybutterflower
    mybutterflower Posts: 90 Member
    Its basically info just letting you know this amount equals this amount. Then YOU get to decide how much you want to spend. Its just like shopping. You have $1200 dollars...err calories to start off with and then you can spend it on different things here and there. A serving of pizza is $450. WOAH expensive pizza...lol...And as expensive as that was, it may not have filled you up.

    I absolutely love this analogy. Having $1360 to "spend" on food each day doesn't seem as painful as only getting 1360 calories. Plus, using this method lets me earn more money to spend on food if I work out! :happy:
  • leggymomma64
    leggymomma64 Posts: 66 Member
    I use the $ analogy too, and like it. Don't feel you HAVE to stick to just one serving though. Just be aware of how much you are eating and log it accordingly. For example, for fresh veggies or rice cakes (lower cal stuff), I ALWAYS eat 2-3 of the "recommended" serving so it is more filling. And I do the same with cereal, I measure it out to keep my calories in line, but I almost always have 2 servings. Don't feel guilty if/when you have to double up the servings. Just don't go nuts!!
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    I see a "serving" is whatever YOUR Food Budget can handle that day. Example: If My Budget for the day is 1000 Calories and I am Wanting spaghetti with red sauce and I have about 500 calories left in My budget, I may choose to have 3 oz of spaghetti (dry) and My pasta sauce and a salad. 2oz (dry) spaghetti is the "serving" size but that day I can afford more (if I choose.) For Me, the "serving" sizes act as a Guide and it is pretty accurate in terms of what satisfies Me.

    What we fail to "get" in this Country is that the Portions are sooooo BIG, that they are Unrealistic and we have become accustomed to these Giant serving portions that anything smaller looks like we are being "jipped." Most other Countries have nowhere near the portion sizes we have in the USA... why do You think we are Sooo Obese in this Country as compared to other places>>>WHAT we eat AND the PORTION (Amount) of what we eat! So, Yes, you are GREEDY but so are Most of us in here, that's why we are in HERE. If you don't want to CHANGE those BAD Habits then You prolly gonna stay "Fat." Becoming use to a realistic portion size and changing other bad habits are all part of a New Healthy Lifestyle. Your perspective will change after your stomach shrinks and your habits change and You Refuse to eat stuff because of the negative effects on your Health. You will come to value your Body and Good Health more than a "bowl" of rice, a measured 1/2 cup will do just fine.
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    It's a counting tool. (It's also (the %s) typically based on a 2000 cal diet, which you may or may not be on). Like Marie Calendar pot pies - they have 500 calories, which does not seem TOO too bad, until you read that that little personal size microwave-for-one item is considered "2 servings"! Who would buy it if it said 1000 calories and 56g fat on the box!? A lot of times it is a trick. A serving of chips ahoys is only like 80 calories, but it's like 1 or 2 cookies (I could eat 20!)... you need to be sure to check the full label!

    Just think of it like this - a serving size on the label has nothing to do with how much of it you can or should eat. It allows you to count and track what you do eat. You might eat a serving, you might eat 3, you might eat 1/2 - but the calories (and not only the calories, but the carb, fat, sugar etc content) have to fit into the plan you have designed for yourself.
  • virginiagomes
    virginiagomes Posts: 110 Member
    :smile:
  • babygirlrere
    babygirlrere Posts: 25
    I AM A MEASURING ADDICT ...... IT HELPS ME KEEP TRACK OF MY CALORIES.........I MEASURE MOST OF MY FOOD AHEAD OF TIME THEN PUT THEM UP (FREEZING OR CABINET OR REFRIGERATING THEM)...... SO I KNOW I HAVE ONE SERVING AND THEN I CAN TWEEK MY MEALS ACCORDING TO CALORIES .......I CAN ADD OR SUBTRACT TO SUITE MY LIKES FOR THE DAY........I USUALLY PLAN MY MEAL THE DAY BEFORE SO I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IM EATING THE NEXT DAY...... BUT MY SNACKS ARE PRE SERVING SIZED AND I CHOOSE THEM BY WHAT MOOD IM IN AND MY TASTE BUDS WHEN SNACK TIME COMES.......LOL
  • morganadk2_deleted
    morganadk2_deleted Posts: 1,696 Member
    I'm 5' 4 desk job , exresise 3 hours a week , even when i did NO exersise 1200 is not enough.

    its my understanding 1200 is for a small sedentry woman .

    I eat 1500 a day somtimes at little more and am slowly loosing weight! its about changing your life syle not going on a "diet" make small changes and build on them.

    good luck
  • MzBug
    MzBug Posts: 2,173 Member
    Sometimes the suggested servings are incorrect also. Bad example here, but a couple weeks ago I wanted potato chips reallllly bad. I looked at the label and it said the serving size was 1oz (aprox. 9 chips). I got out my scale not wanting to be over on the ounce and was VERY suprised when I got more like 30 chips! Bonus for me! :tongue:
  • think48
    think48 Posts: 366 Member
    I think another point to the serving sizes on labels is to count how many servings of grains/veggies/fruits/meats you get in a day. You need to have 'x' number of servings of each type of food. So if you get 5 servings of carbs, then you will be able to calculate how many calories you took in while you fulfilled that number of carbs requirements....
    So it is two-fold. Calories plus the number of servings you need each day. (think of the food pyramid).
  • MisdemeanorM
    MisdemeanorM Posts: 3,493 Member
    I think another point to the serving sizes on labels is to count how many servings of grains/veggies/fruits/meats you get in a day. You need to have 'x' number of servings of each type of food. So if you get 5 servings of carbs, then you will be able to calculate how many calories you took in while you fulfilled that number of carbs requirements....
    So it is two-fold. Calories plus the number of servings you need each day. (think of the food pyramid).

    Except most of them don't address what a serving is compared to servings of veggies, fruits, dairy etc - just carbs and fats. and at that, only if you know what g translates to in a serving of grains.
  • soze
    soze Posts: 604 Member
    I don't go by serving sizes so much. Well only as an indicator I guess. That is if I want 2 servings I have 2 servings as long as it fits into my daily calorie allowance and if its nutritious.

    I've had pizza, ice cream, pie, and beer if I was hungry and if it fit my goals. Mostly though I concentrate on balanced meals that are fairly low in calories.
  • rjadams
    rjadams Posts: 4,029 Member
    I agree with you all but I wanted to add that portions have gotten bigger over the decades. soda used to come in 6 oz bottles. a mcdonald's hamburger was the only size they served and what we call a happy meal for kids was what we were buying as a meal for adults in the 60's:cry: . Cocktails and drinks have doubled and quadrupled in size. And restaurants are ridiculous. Servings on containers aren't always true servings but what we eat nowadays is certainly not a realistic portion. just read and weigh everything and work on meeting your nutritional goals within your caloric guidelines. :smile:
  • CraftyGirl4
    CraftyGirl4 Posts: 571 Member
    The FDA regulates the serving size of many foods. They consider it the reference amounts for persons 4 years of age or older to reflect the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion by persons in this population group. To determine the amount of food customarily consumed per eating occasion, FDA considered the mean, median, and mode of the consumed amount per eating occasion.

    Some foods and their reference amount:
    Cheesecake - 125 grams
    Cookies - 30 grams
    Waffles - 85 grams
    Grains (ie. rice, barley), plain - 140 grams prepared, 45 grams dry
    Yogurt - 225 grams
    Ice cream - 1/2 cup
    Frozen fruit bars/ice pops - 85 grams
    Dressings for salads - 30 grams
    Dried meat (ie. jerky) - 30 grams
    Candied or pickled fruits - 30 grams
    Baking decorations - 4 grams or 1 tsp.

    Why is this done in weight? Because that is more accurate than measuring by cups or other volumetric measurements. If you do chopped strawberries for instance, you may have cut them smaller today than yesterday, and more fit into the 1 cup serving.

    Why is it done in grams? Grams are far more accurate for measuring then ounces. Most people out there who buy diet scales, don't have the ability to measure less than 1/4 of an ounce, and they measure in 1/4 ounce incriments. But a more sensitive gram scale could get to 12 grams (less than 1/2 ounce) if you needed to.
  • jerseygirl777
    jerseygirl777 Posts: 148
    I hate the misconception food companies give when they say "only 90 calories" and such. I never measured my food and payed attention to servings until I started my lifestyle change (for me its NOT a diet). My fiance and others will say, "well its only xx calories" and I have to add "PER SERVING. What is the serving size?" I look at food labels now and he first thing I do is look at the calories. If they seem reasonable, the second thing I do is check the serving size. Its great to have crackers that are 90 calories.... until I find out the serving size is 5 crackers! lol

    Serving size is so important! Most people that do not measure their foods have no idea what 1 cup or 2 tbs looks like, and will likely eat more than 1 serving. I agree
  • garedds
    garedds Posts: 251
    Sometimes the suggested servings are incorrect also. Bad example here, but a couple weeks ago I wanted potato chips reallllly bad. I looked at the label and it said the serving size was 1oz (aprox. 9 chips). I got out my scale not wanting to be over on the ounce and was VERY suprised when I got more like 30 chips! Bonus for me! :tongue:

    I am so glad I am not the only one this happened to! I measured several times to make sure I was measuring right. I also was thinking I want the weight, not the # of chips. It makes me wonder if the weight on the bag is right!
  • EDesq
    EDesq Posts: 1,527 Member
    As a part of healthy eating and Healthy Lifestyle, I never just consider the calories only. I used to, then I realized how crazy that is for Me. Before I came to MFP I never considered other factors relative Healthy Eating. NOW I can see from My own experience much more is involved in Healthy Eating than just counting calories. Sometimes I will have to choose between lower calories or lower sodium for a product or for eating something that day. For Me, Eating Healthy means staying mainly within My daily calorie and sodium budget. I allow Myself variances relative to My sugar budget depending on where it comes from, if from fruit I allow more; also I make sure that My fats come from good sources mainly, I remember that fats are a necessary nutrient so I make sure I eat olive or canola oil or salmon...

    I really began to see major changes in Myself when I focused on more factors than just calories. There is no way that a food can be called Healthy when it has 50-100 calories per serving BUT has 350, 450, 550, 1000 mg of sodium per serving and Nitrites>>>(Regular Turkey Breast, Deli Ham, Bacon and other cold cuts, canned Soup, so called "healthy" frozen dinners and entrees.) It is amazing what you can find when you look or ask for it. I never knew that deli depts. had No Salt Added Turkey Breast and Cheese OR that there are sooo many NSA canned products (beans and other veggies.) I never realized that I can eat Well and Good!
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