Weight Control and the Distorted Views of ‘Portions’

It becomes a real effort to maintain our current weight as we age or to lose a couple of extra pounds that have snuck up on us when we weren’t really paying attention. An important step in this process is to first understand what a ‘Portion’ or individual serving is. What you get in a restaurant would feed a small army, or a professional athlete that’s about 6 foot 5 and weighs in at a muscular 240 pounds. What we think, and what we see offered to us has created a distorted reality on what constitutes a portion.

Understanding what equates to a portion is just as important as the food we eat. Misconceptions will sabotage weight loss efforts in most cases. What we require each day, for a healthy diet for an adult is 5-9 servings of fruit and/or vegetables, 2-4 servings of protein, 2-3 milk or milk alternatives, and 5-7 servings of grains. To round this out, we need fat in our diets, unsaturated fats should constitute part of our intake, 2-4 tablespoons but to consume fats to excess would impact weight loss efforts in a negative way. Since we know ‘what’ the question is how much and the ‘how much’ is just as important as ‘what’. Not understanding this will sabotage efforts to control weight or lose weight.

• A serving of protein is about the size of a standard deck of playing cards or 3 ounces.
• Examples of what makes up a serving of grains, stick with whole wheat products and one half cup of rice or cooked pasta, one slice of bread or half a bagel make up a serving.
• Fruits and vegetables will vary based on the food choice. You will find a large number of the vegetables are one half cup cooked and a medium sized apple, orange and pear make up your perfect portion. If you have something less traditional in mind, check it out to see what makes up a portion before you wrongly assume.
• One cup of skim milk and one cup of whole milk are portions however clearly one will escalate your calorie intake a lot faster.

If ever in doubt, review product labels or use online sources to learn exactly what you are eating. People who have success with weight loss simple achieved understanding of what they realistically needed to eat for their bodies to function. A highly active person with a regular fitness program burns move so they would require them fueled.
Eating the correct foods, in the right portions is necessary to keep up your energy levels, to give you the vitamins and minerals your body needs to stay healthy and to maintain or achieve a healthy weight were you feel and look your best!