As seen on BCTV Noon News

Week 5 - PORTION CONTROL

This week start keeping track of your servings of each food group at each meal.  In particular watch those grains.  Choose high fibre whole grains which are more filling and more nutritious.

-A serving of pasta at a restaurant can actually be 3 cups of noodles which is equivalent to  6 servings of grains.  This may be more than your daily requirement. 

-A 12 inch sub is also 6 grain servings. 

-½ a cup of cooked rice or pasta is 1 serving, 1 slice of bread or ½ a bagel is also one serving.  Aim for 5-12 servings per day.  The smaller you are or the less active you are the fewer servings you need. 

-Remember, weight loss is all about calories in versus calories out.  If you can burn more calories than you consume you will lose more weight.  So if you can cut back on some of the servings of grain products in your meal and replace them with a low calorie vegetable, you will still feel full while consuming fewer calories.  Beware though, adding a salad instead of a baked potato is great but if you cover it with a Caesar dressing you may be doing more harm than good. 

Portion Sizes to make note of:

-1 serving of nuts = 1/4 cup = golf ball

-1 serving of meat, fish or poultry = 3oz = deck of cards or computer mouse

-1 serving of fruit = 1 medium fruit = 1 tennis ball

-1 serving of salad = 1 cup = 1 clenched fist

-1 serving of cheese = 1.5oz = 2 thumbs

-1 serving of fat = 1 tsp = 1^st joint of thumb

-1 serving of peanut butter = 2 Tbsp = ½ golf ball

Tips to help reduce your portions and calories: 

-Use a smaller plate when serving your meals.

-Measure your food for the next week to see how much you really eat.

-Order ½ portions at restaurants or order appetizers as entrees and start with a salad

-Cut the grains in ½ and add extra vegetables

Go to www.dietitians.ca/eatwell for consumer fact sheets on portion sizes

Watch for the Eating for Energy segment every Tuesday on BCTV's Noon News Hour!

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