Serving sizes
sleepyopossum13
Posts: 1 Member
I really need to work on my serving sizes. Does anyone have an easy-to-use guide to tips?
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Replies
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Two words: food scale.
how much you can eat will depend on your total calories and how many calories you are allotting to that food. but the most accurate way to measure a portion of food and log is a food scale. and accurate entry in MFP.
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
I guess step 1 is knowing your daily calories (be it for maintenance, gain or loss).
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yeah, agree with Panini. The way to learn is to log food for a while.
I know how much I can eat daily and I make my portion sizes fit that number.5 -
Agreed, once I got a food scale I started to realize how easy it was to overestimate how much you are eating. Measure EVERYTHING, every little bit adds up4
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cmriverside wrote: »yeah, agree with Panini. The way to learn is to log food for a while.
I know how much I can eat daily and I make my portion sizes fit that number.
My "wanted" and "ideal" portion is wayyy bigger than any real portion. Many food still make me sad (salmon, pb...) haha. I will probably always have to revert back to weighing food here and there to catch my portion creep - which I know will be a lifelong thing
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cmriverside wrote: »yeah, agree with Panini. The way to learn is to log food for a while.
I know how much I can eat daily and I make my portion sizes fit that number.
My "wanted" and "ideal" portion is wayyy bigger than any real portion. Many food still make me sad (salmon, pb...) haha. I will probably always have to revert back to weighing food here and there to catch my portion creep - which I know will be a lifelong thing
My eyes are bigger than my stomach. No...wait...they're the same size. They just shouldn't be.
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No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.21
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Beating a dead horse here, but food scales are amazing. Some portions got much smaller for me, but some got bigger (like shredded cheese!) so it is a wonderful device for creating appropriate portion sizes.
For times when you don't have a food scale nearing, using the food scale regularly will help you tremendously to estimate (eyeball) your portion sizes because you have practiced and learned what the right portions actually look like.4 -
redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?11 -
redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
my meals are low calorie and overflow a large dinner plate
and with foods high in caloric density a fist can be too much 15 -
I wanna fist of butter for dinner!12
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redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?
They're sayin' to eat a fistful of peanut butter. Good quality *kitten*.10 -
sleepyopossum13 wrote: »I really need to work on my serving sizes. Does anyone have an easy-to-use guide to tips?
Assuming you are an omnivore, you could start with 100 grams each of protein, carb, and vegetables, plus some fat, and adjust as needed.0 -
Serving size is how much the government thinks people should/do eat of an item at one time. Portion size is what someone actually eats.
One of the great revelations of my weight loss experience was that I was in complete control of how much I eat of any one item. Suggested serving sizes are just that - suggestions. I view suggested serving sizes as a place to start, not a goal. My typical portion might be 3 servings (such as with veggies) or 1/9th of a serving (with Hershey's Kisses) but my at-the-moment portion varies depending upon my current desires and how the rest of my food day is going.
A food scale has been integral to keeping track of my ever-evolving portions.9 -
RelCanonical wrote: »redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?
They're sayin' to eat a fistful of peanut butter. Good quality *kitten*.
What about cookie butter? Made from real cookies?7 -
food scale.
But, other than that, I have a couple of friends on my friend list who use some sort of tupperware (I don't think it's actually tupperware though) portion size control coloured plastic box thingies. There are like different coloured plastic tubs and you put like protein in one, vegetables in another, etc. I'm not sure how it works exactly but it comes with a guide book of some sort and the two ladies that use it have been getting results.
I still think food scale, but yeah, this plastic container thing might be useful?
I just tried to do a Google of it and was coming up with some 21 day fix thing - not sure if that's what they were/are doing. I don't think it is, or maybe it was but they continue to use the portion control cups?
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redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
If i were to eat a meal the size of my fist, unless it was peanut butter as mentioned above, i'd be starving to death.10 -
My evening meal is all about volume. That helps me feel less deprived when I'm in a calorie deficit.redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Last night I had a casserole made with one pound of raw coleslaw veggie mix, one can of condensed soup, and 2 pouches (about 150 grams) of tuna. The whole thing was 410 calories and took me about an hour to eat.8 -
My evening meal is all about volume. That helps me feel less deprived when I'm in a calorie deficit.redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Last night I had a casserole made with one pound of raw coleslaw veggie mix, one can of condensed soup, and 2 pouches (about 150 grams) of tuna. The whole thing was 410 calories and took me about an hour to eat.
i think this is a great post. looking back, when i ate poorly, it would take me less than 10 minutes to finish dinner (say a mcd's extra value meal). now it takes me about 1/2 hour - 45 minutes to finish dinner, and i feel so much more satiated.5 -
cmriverside wrote: »yeah, agree with Panini. The way to learn is to log food for a while.
I know how much I can eat daily and I make my portion sizes fit that number.
My "wanted" and "ideal" portion is wayyy bigger than any real portion. Many food still make me sad (salmon, pb...) haha. I will probably always have to revert back to weighing food here and there to catch my portion creep - which I know will be a lifelong thing
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Cahgetsfit wrote: »food scale.
But, other than that, I have a couple of friends on my friend list who use some sort of tupperware (I don't think it's actually tupperware though) portion size control coloured plastic box thingies. There are like different coloured plastic tubs and you put like protein in one, vegetables in another, etc. I'm not sure how it works exactly but it comes with a guide book of some sort and the two ladies that use it have been getting results.
I still think food scale, but yeah, this plastic container thing might be useful?
I just tried to do a Google of it and was coming up with some 21 day fix thing - not sure if that's what they were/are doing. I don't think it is, or maybe it was but they continue to use the portion control cups?
I use a food scale, too, but a friend brought me these containers for Christmas because she wanted to motivate me on my process. I would honestly use them more if I needed to take something with me in a hurry. They're just under $8 at Walmart.
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Back of containers I read them one bag says 7 chips is a serving another says 11. Figure manufacturers closest even if their off a few points.I also use google a lot! I type in cucumber calories. Salt calories. Ranch dressing Calories. Bam a rough estimate.I still After if it has a label check it tho cause one brands higher calories than another. I also type in steam tilapia calories.2
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redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
You should see the size of some of my meals - huuuge! And still losing weight. Go figure. 😁3 -
My evening meal is all about volume. That helps me feel less deprived when I'm in a calorie deficit.redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Last night I had a casserole made with one pound of raw coleslaw veggie mix, one can of condensed soup, and 2 pouches (about 150 grams) of tuna. The whole thing was 410 calories and took me about an hour to eat.
That sounds like something I would love! Recipe, please? @seska4220 -
My evening meal is all about volume. That helps me feel less deprived when I'm in a calorie deficit.redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Last night I had a casserole made with one pound of raw coleslaw veggie mix, one can of condensed soup, and 2 pouches (about 150 grams) of tuna. The whole thing was 410 calories and took me about an hour to eat.
Yep. I just had a big bowl of red lentil pasta plus lots of veg, some olives, and some pinenuts. The pasta was a serving, the olives and pinenuts were what seemed reasonable to me for taste and calories, and there were lots and lots of veg (asparagus, broccoli, summer squash, and some chard). Cutting out most of the veg so it was the size of a fist would have been so sad.3 -
Here you go @corinasue1143 : Coleslaw Casserole with Tuna and Cream of Mushroom Soupcorinasue1143 wrote: »
My evening meal is all about volume. That helps me feel less deprived when I'm in a calorie deficit.redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
Last night I had a casserole made with one pound of raw coleslaw veggie mix, one can of condensed soup, and 2 pouches (about 150 grams) of tuna. The whole thing was 410 calories and took me about an hour to eat.
That sounds like something I would love! Recipe, please?0 -
redsonja43932 wrote: »No meals bigger than your fist, so quality is important! Make what you eat really count.
LOLZ. Last night's dinner had 402g of broccoli, 382g white mushrooms, enough firm tofu to exceed my protein goal, and miso plus fermented gochujang chile paste for flavor. It was delicious, "quality" (IMO), and way, way bigger than even 3 of my (strangely oversized for a li'l ol' lady) fists. I couldn't even use a normal dinner plate; I had to get out a big ceramic quiche baker to contain it.
Fist? Can't think how I'd get "quality" in a fist-sized amount. My breakfast oatmeal/berries/yogurt/walnuts/flaxseed/hemp seed is bigger than my fist . . . !
OP, I endorse the food scale idea, plus portion selection that's based on your tastes and nutritional/calorie needs. Ignore the clickbait-joke title, and this thread will help you learn to use a food scale quickly and efficiently:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10498882/weighing-food-takes-too-long-and-is-obsessive
You can get a decent food scale for less than $20. You won't necessarily need to weigh your food forever, but using one for a while is a huge help for figuring out sensible portions of foods you enjoy.5 -
sleepyopossum13 wrote: »I really need to work on my serving sizes. Does anyone have an easy-to-use guide to tips?
Serve yourself as you normally do. Then, before eating, shove half of it back. Only have one serving. Repeat daily for best results.
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OK, try this. Have a little snack about 30 minutes before dinner. Watermelon is good. 45 calories per cup. Or, raspberries. Then have a nice 8oz. glass of water.
Then, fix your plate in the kitchen using a food scale.
When dinner is over, get a cup of coffee or tea and don't continue eating as you clean up the kitchen.
Repeat every day for a year. See how it works, then decide.4 -
I have heard of the "fist" thing before, it refers to portions. I think it's something like a steak portion should be as big as your palm? Maybe a potato as big as a fist? It's used for guessing an accurate portion size when you don't have a scale0
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