A portion
is the amount of food that you choose to eat for a meal or snack. It can be big
or small—you decide.
A serving
is a measured amount of food or drink, such as one slice of bread or one cup
(eight ounces) of milk.
Many foods that
come as a single portion actually contain multiple servings. The Nutrition Facts label on packaged foods—on
the backs of cans, sides of boxes, etc.— tells you the number of servings in
the container.
For example,
look at the label of a 20-ounce soda (typically consumed as one portion), and
you’ll see that it has 2.5 servings in it. A 3-ounce bag of chips—which some
would consider a single portion—contains 3 servings.
When you
visit your favorite restaurant, your plate is typically full of outrageous
portions. Average portion sizes have
grown so much over the past 20 years that sometimes the plate arrives and
there's enough food for two or even three people on it. These growing portion
sizes are changing what Americans think of as a "normal" portion at
home, too. We call it portion distortion.
Watch
Your Portion Size
- Share an entree with someone
- If entrees are large, choose an
appetizer or side dish
- Don't serve seconds
- Share dessert, or choose fruit
instead
- Eat sweet foods in small
amounts. To reduce temptation, don't keep sweets at home
- Cut or share high-calorie foods
like cheese and chocolate into small pieces and only eat a few pieces
- Eat off smaller plates
- Skip buffets
It’s Cyber
Monday! Check out these portion control
gadgets at www.myhealthysteps.com
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