A Visual View of Serving Size using Everyday Items

I’m sure you’ve heard it said over and over again, that the key to a healthy diet and weight management is portion control. The concept is easy: if you eat less, you consume fewer calories, and therefore you lose weight! But, what do food portion sizes really look like?

With the current trend to super-size meals, it can be really tough to figure out what a “normal” food portion size should look like. Most people know the basics about nutrition, however, we must to be aware of just how much we are eating.

Believe it or not, this is just as important as what we eat.

What is the difference between a serving and a portion?

A food serving helps you understand how much food is recommended from each of the food groups within the Balance of Good Health, or the Food Pyramid. In some cases, a food serving may be close to what we actually eat, such as an apple. In other cases we may serve more than one food serving, for example rice or pasta.

A portion is the amount of food we choose to eat. There are no portion sizes of food. Since it would be impossible for us to carry our weighing scales with us everyday to measure our food portion sizes, being able to estimate what a serving size looks like is really useful in making sure we aren’t overeating.

How do we know? Is there a food portion guide?

Often we remember items easier when we can visualise their size, shape or weight, in comparison to something else. Relating the portion size of a serving to everyday items is an effective method to use as a food portion guide.

Please remember the list below gives portion size examples of the size, shape, and/or look of one serving of a particular food.

  • A rounded handful - one 1/2 cup vegetables or fruit, 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta, or a snack serving of crisps or pretzels
  • Woman’s fist – another way of visualising a serving of vegetables, or one piece of whole fruit
  • Small handful or golf ball – 1/4 cup of dried fruit
  • A matchbox – a 1 oz serving of meat, or a serving of cheese
  • Deck of cards, or the palm of your hand (excluding fingers) - a 3oz serving (recommended serving) of meat, fish or poultry, or ten chips/french fries
  • Check book - a serving of fish (approximately 3 oz)
  • Tennis ball - 1/2 cup of pasta, or a serving of ice cream
  • Computer mouse - a medium baked potato
  • Compact disc - one serving of pancake or small waffle
  • Thumb tip or one dice - one teaspoon of margarine
  • A ping pong ball – two tablespoons of peanut butter
  • Small milk carton – 8 fl oz glass of milk
  • A baseball – 8 fl oz cup of yogurt, one cup of beans, or one cup of dry cereal

It is also a good idea to weigh some of your favorite foods, and try to remember what they look like on your plate. You will then be able to see what a 1/2 cup, or 3 oz serving looks like.

This will help you to visualise what an appropriate serving  looks like, and it could help to prevent overeating.



30 Comments

  1. derek

    05.07.2007

    Reply

    Portion size is something that I know I am bad at and need to improve to get where I want to be. The sizes you reference are helpful as that does make it easier to translate when you are sitting down for a meal.

  2. Melanie

    05.08.2007

    Reply

    Yeah it’s just one way of making the choice of food portions a little easier.

    I think this is something most people find difficult too. As I mentioned, extra large fast-food portioning etc have made it really difficult to know if we are choosing healthy portions. And also, it’s difficult not to eat everything we’re served, even if we know the calorie content is massive!!

  3. Saman Sadeghi

    05.08.2007

    Reply

    I am so guilty of this! I always finish what’s on my plate – no matter how large portion! I need to adjust my portion sizes!!!

  4. mypyramid.gov is a great place to look at portion sizes.
    In http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/, click on one of the food groups under “related topics” and choose the “food gallery”.
    You’ll find images like these:
    http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/food_library/grains/oatmeal.html
    http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/food_library/vegetables/broccoli.html

    Some are more useful than others!

  5. Melanie

    05.09.2007

    Reply

    Saman – I think we’re all guilty of this!!! My weakness is pudding, especially chocolate, I usually can’t refuse a good dessert! :-)

    Family Nutritionist – many thanks for your comment, I regularly visit mypyramid, it really has some great information!

  6. Glenn & Gerry

    05.09.2007

    Reply

    We were wondering, how many portions should two people get, out of a 400gm box of Maltesers?
    Yum Yum

  7. Melanie

    05.10.2007

    Reply

    Glenn and Gerry – it would definitely only be one portion….chocolate isn’t really meant for sharing you know!!!!!!!!! LOL

  8. kathryn

    05.11.2007

    Reply

    This is such a useful post Melanie. We’ve become so disconnected from our portion sizes. Here in Australia the last few years have seen a homewares fashion of buying big plates and big bowls. And yes, they do look beautiful, but it’s encouraged people to eat bigger portions. Clients often laugh at me when I suggest buying smaller crockery, but I find it really helps – you eat less and are still satisfied.

  9. Melanie

    05.13.2007

    Reply

    Kathryn – welcome!! Thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you about using smaller plates, this is a great piece of advice for clients!

  10. Frank

    05.16.2007

    Reply

    This is a good post. I recently watched ‘SuperSize Me’ for the first time and felt very convicted about the size of my portions. It’s good to have a rough guide like you provide here. Thanks.

  11. Melanie

    05.16.2007

    Reply

    Frank – glad you found this useful! Sometimes I wonder do representations like this only add to the confusion, as it’s another thing to remember, however i suppose it depends on the readers, and their preferred method of remembering things!!

  12. Lauren

    08.13.2008

    Reply

    Thank you so much for posting this. I am having trouble seeing 3 matchboxes equalling 1 deck of cards, however. I guess it’s important to know that these are rough measurements and weighing is the best route.

  13. Melanie

    08.13.2008

    Reply

    Hi Lauren,

    Yes, I see what you mean. I suppose it’s just intended to be a guide, for example the palm of my hand won’t be the same size as that of another women’s, or indeed a man’s.

    I tend to weigh foods such as rice and pasta, but am a little more lax on other foods. I also find cup measures to be very handy.

  14. OmitumN

    09.03.2008

    Reply

    hey ))
    its very interesting article.
    Good post.
    realy good post

    thx :-)

    OmitumN’s last blog post..No Faxing 100 Percent Online Payday Loan

  15. Katie

    09.11.2008

    Reply

    I’m using this website to help with a science project of mine, im trying to get my school to realize no matter how much they dumb down the food, its now what but how much of it we’re eating. Thank you so much for all the help.

  16. Melanie

    09.11.2008

    Reply

    Hi Katie,

    Best wishes for your project, it sounds like you’ve got it all sorted! I really hope it goes well. Do you have to do a presentation or is it a written project?

  17. Veronica

    10.24.2008

    Reply

    Hey Melanie!
    Great Web-Site! It really helps to remind people how important it is for their portion intake size as well as their food choice.

  18. Melanie

    10.25.2008

    Reply

    Hey Veronica,

    Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I totally agree, portion size is extremely important.

  19. katie

    05.22.2009

    Reply

    Are the visual portion examples for cooked beans and pasta or raw?

  20. Melanie

    05.23.2009

    Reply

    Hi Katie,
    These portion examples are for the cooked foods.

  21. Greg Lang

    02.11.2011

    Reply

    I am creating a website of links to reputable health information. Could I use the link to your site?

    • Melanie

      02.11.2011

      Reply

      Of course :-)

  22. Cornett

    05.16.2011

    Reply

    Men and woman can’t eat the same portion size. My husband is older and gets more exercise than I do. I am a stay at home mom. How much less should I eat or should he eat more.

    • Melanie

      05.25.2011

      Reply

      Hi Cornett,
      I find that filling half your plate with veg, 1/4 with protein and 1/4 with wholegrains is a good rule of thumb for a healthy diet. If your husband is still hungry, he should eat more veg, slightly larger portion of protein, and perhaps a few more healthy snacks throughout the day, than what you eat yourself. If you are eating good quality sources of protein, plenty of veg and drinking lots of water, you will find your appetite regulates itself, without too much trouble.

  23. LaChonen

    07.23.2011

    Reply

    I want to thank you for your website. Great info. Just a litte help if you can? My son has dibetes, he just turned 15 years old. Now I am working on feeding him in the right portions. I am having trouble finding the info I am seeking 3 oz of cooked rice to add with the rest of that rice we already added up. Thank You. You doing a great job

    • Melanie

      07.27.2011

      Reply

      I’m sorry, did you mean 3oz of cooked meat?

  24. Audrey

    08.04.2011

    Reply

    Great info, Melanie!

    • Melanie

      08.08.2011

      Reply

      Thanks Audrey :-)

  25. e

    09.10.2011

    Reply

    8 oz of meat is too big of a portion. 3-4 oz is better.
    Yougurt should be a 4 oz size and sodas and drinks should be 6 oz.

    • Melanie

      09.10.2011

      Reply

      Hi e,
      Thanks for your comment.

      I did say that a deck of cards, or the palm of your hand, is equal to a 3oz serving of meat, fish or poultry, which is the recommended size. I have removed the 8 oz meat, as you are right, that is confusing. I was trying to demonstrate what 8 ounces of meat would look like, not that that is the recommended.

      As for the yogurt, 8 fl oz is about a cup, and that is what a serving would be.

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