Learning Portion Control

People eat too much and too much of the wrong things. This relates to portion control,  and of course  you know what happens when it’s just sitting there on your plate especially when dining out.

As a professional Nutrition Consultant I prefer to use the diabetic exchange system for reviewing serving sizes. They are like units of measurement and each person should have so many of these “units” to constitute their own individual serving sizes with food. And just because it was originally formulated for diabetics doesn't mean it's exclusive to them. I personally have not found anything better to determine serving sizes for the general public. So how much is a “serving” for a specific food group?

In general:

• Usually, an ounce of protein, or 7 grams of protein equals a “serving unit” of protein, but you may have up to 6-9 servings or ounces spread throughout the day, depending on your age, sex, gender, and activity. (It varies like that with all the other food groups too). What you have to careful with  is how much fat is contained in an ounce of any specific kind of protein. The link above provides that information. 
• A unit of starch is generally15 grams of carbohydrates which translates to a half of cup of rice or cereal, asmall three ounce potato or a small piece of bread. This equals one serving, but again you might be able to have up to 6 or more servings a day.
• Note on starch servings: Sugar  is considered a starch which contains only empty calories, although indulging now and then is ok. Just remember 15 carbs equals one serving of starch. So if you are looking at a piece of candy for example and you see 30 grams of carbohydrates that is equal to two servings of your total carbohydrate allowance for the day, without any nutritional value at all!!!) The problem too is that manufacturers have their own idea of what a serving size is and it doesn't always correspond with the exchange lists.
• Fruits are more challenging because they are so diverse but a person usually should have at least two to three servings from this group every day. Here is a more complete list. They are a much smaller serving that you might see in the grocery stores.

 In a few day days I’ll finish up on portion sizes of the other food groups.