Serving Control Or Not?

Driaa20
Driaa20 Posts: 8 Member
edited January 2018 in Food and Nutrition
So, I was wondering if there's anyone who is just basically calorie counting? Without controlling recommended serving size? Eating more of something for as long as you're within your calorie limits & nutritional values.

Replies

  • bpetrosky
    bpetrosky Posts: 3,911 Member
    If you are counting calories to remain under a set number, you are by definition engaging in portion control.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Driaa20 wrote: »
    So, I was wondering if there's anyone who is just basically calorie counting? Without controlling recommended serving size? Eating more of something for as long as you're within your calorie limits & nutritional values.

    You've edited your post. Why is the recommended serving size important? I'm not 5, if I want to eat 100g chips, not the 28g recommended serving, I can choose to do so.
    It's calories that matter.
  • wenrob
    wenrob Posts: 125 Member
    I think the OP means going over serving size but remaining within her calories.

    Sure, I do it all the time. The amount of any one thing doesn’t really matter as long as your calorie numbers come out in the end.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited January 2018
    Sometimes the recommended serving size seems reasonable to me and I use it (oats, pasta, rice, ice cream -- although sometimes I have less too). Mostly I ignore it and eat what seems reasonable to me. Typically larger portions of my leaner proteins and very large portions of vegetables and smaller portions of added fats, nuts, cheese, starches, because for me having some of those things makes a meal more satisfying but having a lot doesn't really add satisfaction.

    I mostly eat whole foods and have only a vague idea of what a serving size of most things is supposed to be (some of the main things I eat from packages are listed above).

    Importance of serving size is making sure you actually understand how many calories you are consuming (and how much protein, fiber, all that).
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    if it fits in my calories im gonna eat it. lost 100+ pounds doing it that way...
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,575 Member
    I never pay any attention to the recommended serving size.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    The serving size is necessary to assign a calorie value to X amount of that particular food...that's it...it's not to say only eat this much...something has to be there to assign a value. Think about it this way...someone who trains a lot and/or is otherwise pretty active is going to have a relatively substantial calorie target...they're probably going to have to eat more than the recommended serving size of just about anything to get their calories in.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    Along the lines of the opening question, I may be doing what she asked. With my breakfast cereal, I shall not stop pouring at 27 g, the serving of 100 calories. Rather, I pour to, today, 55 g because that's how much I wanted to put in the bowl. I accounted for all the calories in my breakfast, am satisfied, and will work the rest of the day around it.
  • wizzybeth
    wizzybeth Posts: 3,578 Member
    edited January 2018
    I frequently go over the serving size amount. As long as I log it. Just because something says the recommended serving size is one cup doesn't mean that's all I'm allowed to eat. It's just a point of reference.

    And I do believe many food companies came up with their serving sizes by taking surveys.... Asking people how much they ate .... Taking an average...and making that a frame of reference.... But this was done decades ago.

    I still don't know who in the world would consider a half cup to be a reasonable serving of ice cream LOL
  • jordandills
    jordandills Posts: 103 Member
    Go over the recommended serving size if you want, as long as you log what you actually eat. Don't scoop some chips onto a plate and say "oh, that looks like one serving" when it's really 2-3.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    jordandills wrote: »
    Go over the recommended serving size if you want, as long as you log what you actually eat. Don't scoop some chips onto a plate and say "oh, that looks like one serving" when it's really 2-3.

    Or my favorite MFP example, the person who ate a whole box of cereal and claimed he or she had thought it was one serving and only 100 cal (or whatever) and had been misled. We are talking about a regular full sized cereal box, if memory serves.
  • murp4069
    murp4069 Posts: 494 Member
    I eat whatever size serving I want and calculate the calories accordingly. On certain things I may use the default to the recommended serving size if I'm not sure exactly how much I want or need once it's cooked. For example pasta I tend to use the recommended serving size when weighing it out before cooking it.

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