Jul 23, 2008 7:32 am US/Eastern
Mr. Food - Sizing Up A Serving And A Portion
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Air Date: 7/23/2008
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What's the difference between a "serving" and a "portion"?
Ever wonder why you step on a scale and you've gained a few pounds, yet you can't figure out why - since you're sure you've been watching what you eat? Even if you're buying low-fat and low-calorie foods, you might be confusing the amount of calories and other nutritional information that pair suggested serving sizes with the actual portions that you wind up eating.
That's because there's a big difference. It's pretty easy to size up one serving of fruit or veggies - generally it's the size of your fist - and that works pretty well, for instance:
1 apple or 1 baked potato should fill you up
For meat, fish or poultry, a deck of cards (or about 4 ounces) is the model for the suggested serving size. The average person might eat what the USDA determined to be THREE (4-ounce) portions, so if you're eating a big steak thinking you're within the guidelines, think again!
For packaged items, read the food labels! Never assume that one can of soup is for one serving - it's usually not...and we could wind up eating enough for two!
The same goes for salad dressing - a serving could be a couple tablespoons, not the "drown our greens" version that often happens, meaning our healthy salad now becomes something that makes us tip the scale!
For snacks, try divvying them up into smaller bags for individual portions; this can help prevent you from possibly munching on an entire day's calorie intake in one snack attack!
As you see now, it's important to know your servings from your portions. That should help keep you from tipping your scale and overdoing the oh it's so good.
(© 2007 by Ginsburg Enterprises Incorporated. All rights reserved. © MMVII, CBS Television Stations Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
