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You are here: Home / Today's Tip / Fit Tip – Measure Your Food

Fit Tip – Measure Your Food

February 9, 2009 by Adria Ali 1 Comment

 

     One of the most common mistakes in dieting is portion control.  The biggest problem is that people have no idea of what a portion is.  How much is one cup?  What does one cup look like?  How many ounces is in a slice of cheese?  These are common questions I ask my clients.  If they have no idea what these portion sizes look like; then they might reconsider measuring their food.  This way they start to realize what a portion size is. 

Measuring portions helps keep you on track, and it keeps you from convincing yourself you only had “a few” chips when you know the bag was full when you opened it. (No one else does that? Just me? OK…) Find out how to recover from portion distortion.
measuring-cups

 

  • Use measuring cups. It’s just as easy and quick to serve yourself using a measuring cup as it is with a spoon or a ladle. You’ll be exact every time.billiard-ball 

  • Visualize your portions. What does a half cup of pasta look like? (a billiard ball or a cupcake liner) How much meat is 3 ounces? (a deck of cards) Learn what to picture when you serve yourself, then take our Portion Distortion quiz to reinforce what you’ve learned.  

  • Shrink your dishes. That half cup of pasta looked skimpy in the large, deep bowls we were using. Once we used smaller bowls, the pasta with broccoli (1 cup, or the size of two billiard balls) and marinara sauce (also 1/2 cup) seemed like much more food.

 

fruits-and-veggies

 

 

  • Take advantage of generous portions of fruits and vegetables. A serving of leafy greens is one cup; that’s the size of a baseball. Once you’ve got a serving of dairy, protein and a couple of whole grains, fill up on vegetables. You can trick your eyes into thinking you’re eating more calories than you really are.  

  • Liquid calories count. Unless you’re drinking water, use the tallest, skinniest glass possible. Studies have shown that people pour more liquid into short, squat tumblers. Use a glass measuring cup to pour your milk, juice even wine to make sure you’re drinking what you think you’re drinking. A serving size of juice is 6 ounces (about the size of a hockey puck), and a serving size of milk is one cup (8 ounces, or the size of a baseball). Wine is slightly lower: 5 ounces a serving. (source)

   Measuring your food could make or break your dieting efforts.  Knowing how much food you are REALLY eating is a huge “wake up call.”  Try weighing and measuring your food for a couple of days and keeping track.  It could change the way you look at portion sizes. 

Adria Ali

(CES, PES, CPT, BS)

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Filed Under: Today's Tip Tagged With: diets, easuring your food, easy ways to measure your food, fat loss, how to control your portion sizes, how to lose weight, protion sizes, weighing your food, weight loss, what is a portion size?

About Adria Ali

I am the author of this web page and I have been a personal trainer for over 13 years. I currently hold a Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology (exercise science), as well as all of the certifications from National Academy of Sports Medicine. I also have a background in sports training as well as internships in physical therapy and Occupational Therapy. I got into personal training to help people like my mom who struggled with her weight her whole life.


DISCLAIMER: The purpose of FitTipDaily.com is to promote broad consumer understanding and knowledge of various health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Comments

  1. Liz Davis says

    February 11, 2009 at 5:32 pm

    Thanks, great tips. It always helps to have real world things to compare to.

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