Eating right can be a challenging thing when you think through all the foods that you should be eating throughout your day. Planning for meals and snacks may seem hard enough, and then when you have to take into consideration the appropriate serving size of each of these foods, it becomes even more complex. Though it does require effort in the way of weighing out your food or being in control of your portions, this ensures that you get the right amount of the nutrients that you need.
You want to be in control of this also because it means that you don’t overdo it, and that is why balance is an important thing. If you aren’t sure of what make up proper portions of each food group, then you can learn about that below and ensure that you give yourself what you need without anything that you don’t.
Dairy: The portion size will vary depending on the type of dairy you’re eating. When it comes to cheese, you are talking about a couple of diced cubes and that’s it. If you are talking about yogurt or cottage cheese, then an appropriate serving size is about the size of a baseball. While you can and should enjoy dairy, you don’t want to overdo it within this food group. Consider it to be a sort of accent to your plate and then you won’t get carried away. Everything in moderation is your mantra, particularly with foods such as these!
Grains: Carbs are not the enemy; it’s just a matter of knowing the right ones to eat! You want to stay away from simple carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, and rice, and replace them with whole grains. Even when you make the switch and you enjoy the very best grains, you want to gauge your portion size so that you aim for about the size of a baseball. The rule of thumb is about one cup of grains at a time, and in most instances, that equates to the size of a baseball. This can be a hard one to get used to as we tend to overeat within this food group. So measuring things out initially may help you tremendously.
Nuts or Seeds: Though they are delicious and really good for you, they also require some serious portion control. Understanding the appropriate serving size of nuts and seeds will help you get enough of a good thing without overdoing it and taking in too many calories. That being said, you want to aim for the size of a golf ball—though it doesn’t sound very big it’s plenty in terms of taking in good fats and protein, but not overdoing it with the calorie intake overall.
Protein: It’s a natural tendency to want to eat as much protein as you can because we hear how good it is for you. Though you may think that you are safe overindulging here, resist the urge. The portions make a big difference with meat because you truly can have too much of a good thing. Understanding that means that you aim for about a 3 ounce serving at a time, which for most meat equates to the size of a deck of cards. If it’s fish then it’s about the size of a checkbook. Use this as a gauge for most forms of protein and you will enjoy the health benefits without taking in too much fat or protein.
Fruits and Vegetables: While you can enjoy plenty of these nutritional gems, you also want to be aware of the proper serving size overall. If you’re talking about a fruit or vegetable of normal size then you want to opt for about one cup, or the size of a baseball. If it’s a longer fruit or vegetable such as an ear of corn or a banana then shoot for the size of a pencil. Though you can enjoy more within this food group throughout the day, you want to be in control of your portions as it will always offer you the most benefits without any drawbacks. That’s a true win/win!
