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.
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30 Comments
derek
05.07.2007
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.
Melanie
05.08.2007
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!!
Saman Sadeghi
05.08.2007
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!!!
Family Nutritionist
05.08.2007
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!
Melanie
05.09.2007
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!
Glenn & Gerry
05.09.2007
We were wondering, how many portions should two people get, out of a 400gm box of Maltesers?
Yum Yum
Melanie
05.10.2007
Glenn and Gerry – it would definitely only be one portion….chocolate isn’t really meant for sharing you know!!!!!!!!! LOL
kathryn
05.11.2007
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.
Melanie
05.13.2007
Kathryn – welcome!! Thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you about using smaller plates, this is a great piece of advice for clients!
Frank
05.16.2007
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.
Melanie
05.16.2007
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!!
Lauren
08.13.2008
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.
Melanie
08.13.2008
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.
OmitumN
09.03.2008
hey ))
its very interesting article.
Good post.
realy good post
thx
OmitumN’s last blog post..No Faxing 100 Percent Online Payday Loan
Katie
09.11.2008
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.
Melanie
09.11.2008
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?
Veronica
10.24.2008
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.
Melanie
10.25.2008
Hey Veronica,
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I totally agree, portion size is extremely important.
katie
05.22.2009
Are the visual portion examples for cooked beans and pasta or raw?
Melanie
05.23.2009
Hi Katie,
These portion examples are for the cooked foods.
Greg Lang
02.11.2011
I am creating a website of links to reputable health information. Could I use the link to your site?
Melanie
02.11.2011
Of course
Cornett
05.16.2011
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
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.
LaChonen
07.23.2011
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
I’m sorry, did you mean 3oz of cooked meat?
Audrey
08.04.2011
Great info, Melanie!
Melanie
08.08.2011
Thanks Audrey
e
09.10.2011
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
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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