04/22/2009 - Articles
What's a Serving?
By: Robert W. Griffith, MD
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"When I use a word it means exactly what I want it to mean" said Humpty Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland. Many of us use the words "serving size" to suit our beliefs - or our appetite. Here are some tips to help us avoid too much self-delusion.
What's a Serving?
Summarized by Robert W. Griffith, MD
August 28, 2007
Summary
Anyone who plans to follow a diet has to understand serving-sizes and portion control. They should inform themselves about the different serving sizes available, the amounts of nutrients associated with them, and how to judge portion sizes.
What's A Serving?
The guidelines on the Nutritional Facts Label uses 1 cup as the serving size for cooked pasta. Typical restaurant portions are 3 cups. Bagels and muffins bought in fast-food chains and restaurants can be 2 to 8 times the size recommended by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). A 20-ounce soft drink (250 calories) is labeled as 2½ servings - each 100 calories.
Obviously 'servings' are much smaller than the portions that we've become accustomed to these days. Here's a short guide to help you realize just how small a dietician's servings actually are:
| Carbs | |
| 1 pancake | a CD (compact disc) |
| 1 slice of bread | audiocassette tape |
| 1 cup potatoes, rice, cereal, or pasta | tennis ball, or fist |
| ½ cup cooked rice | cupcake wrapper-full |
| Veggies | |
| ½ cup cooked broccoli | scoop of ice cream |
| ½ cup serving | 6 asparagus spears, 7 baby carrots, small ear of corn on the cob |
| 1 baked potato | a fist |
| Fruit | |
| ¼ cup raisins | a large egg, or golf ball |
| ½ cup grapes | 15 grapes |
| 1 medium-size fruit | tennis ball, or fist |
| 1 cup cut-up fruit | a fist |
| Dairy | |
| 1 ounce cheese | pair of dice, or a thumb |
| ½ ounce cheese | 9-volt battery, index or middle finger |
| 1 cup milk or yogurt | softball |
| 1 cup ice cream | large scoop, baseball |
| 1 teaspoon butter or margarine | top joint of thumb |
| 2 tablespoons salad dressing | ping-pong ball |
| Meat, Fish, Poultry, Nuts | |
| 3 ounces cooked meat, fish, poultry | palm, deck of cards, cassette tape |
| 3 ounces cooked fish | checkbook |
| 2 tablespoons peanut butter | ping-pong ball |
| 1 ounce nuts or candies | one handful |
| 1 ounce baked chips or pretzels | 2 handfuls |
| ½ cup popcorn or potato chips | one handful |
All Servings Aren't Equal
The Nutrition Facts Label found on just about all food sold in the USA gives nutritional information per serving size - and it states how big a serving is. These label servings are often smaller than those given in the table above. For instance, you may find that the label says your favorite cereal serving is only ½ a cup. So make the necessary adjustment, either to how much you put on the plate or how many calories you reckon.
Source
- National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, NIH. Stay Young at Heart: Portion Distortion. http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/keep.htm
Related Links
Portion Distortion Interactive Quiz
Combine Two Approaches for Weight Control
Twenty Long Minutes
Created on: 08/28/2007
Reviewed on: 04/22/2009
Reviewed on: 04/22/2009
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