What is a serving size? In this video I discuss serving size and portion size. I cover some examples of the caloric difference between serving sizes and actual portion sizes. I also cover serving size vs what we eat, and the smaller plate study.
Transcript
Serving sizes and food portions
Over time our consumption of food has gotten out of control, as seen by the increase in obesity rates. One of the reasons is that we have made portions of food bigger and bigger. If we look at what a serving size is supposed to be versus what a portion size actually is, the caloric difference is staggering.
Let’s take a look at a few examples, starting with a bowl of lucky charms cereal. Most people grab a bowl, fill it near the top and then add milk. But, 1 serving size is actually ¾ of a cup of the cereal and ½ cup of non fat milk.
According to the serving size section, this would provide 150 total calories, 110 calories from the cereal and 40 calories from the milk. The full bowl of cereal and milk totaled 448 calories. So, 150 calories vs. 448 calories.
How about a turkey sandwich. 2 slices of bread, throw some turkey on there, maybe a couple slices of tomato, because we are eating healthy, and finish it off with mayonnaise. When we add it up, we have a total of 432 calories.
Now, let’s look at it from the recommended serving size, much less meat, and much less mayo, and we have 297 calories. So, 297 calories vs. 432 calories.
How about some chicken and steamed brown rice. 1 cup of steamed brown rice is 216 calories, 3 and a half ounces of chicken is 150 calories, totaling 366 calories. But, we often times just fill the plate up with rice, and much more chicken, for a total of 680 calories. So, 366 calories vs. 680 calories.
We can’t forget about fast food. McDonalds has their popular value meals, and here we have meal number 2, 2 cheeseburgers, a fry, and a coke. 300 plus 300 plus 230 plus 170 for a total of 1000 calories. Downgrade to a diet coke, and now its 830 calories, still a huge calorie amount.
These are just a few examples of how large portions have gotten and how quickly those large portions are adding extra calories into our diets. And we haven’t even looked at the nutritional value of any of these foods. It’s always a good idea to look at the serving size on food labels and give yourself a general idea of how many calories you are consuming, most people are shocked at their calorie consumption when they do this.
Plate size can also be a major factor in controlling portion size. One study showed that using a 10” plate vs. a 12” plate resulted in people eating 22% less calories; it also estimated that if people did this for a year, the average weight loss would be about 18 pounds.
Having just a general idea of serving sizes and actual portion sizes can have a huge effect on not over consuming food, and may be able to help with weight loss, or at least not gaining any more weight.
Timestamps
0:00 Intro
0:18 Cereal example of serving size vs portion size
0:50 Sandwich example of serving size vs portion size
1:22 Chicken and rice example of serving size vs portion size
1:45 Fast food example of portion sizes
2:22 How to determine serving sizes
2:33 Plate sizes and portion sizes
