Portion Size: How Much Is Enough? Part II

Portion Size Guidelines

Portion size sounds pretty easy right? It tends to be one of the most challenging pieces of the work that I do with my clients. Food tends to be very grey, which is probably why many people find it so challenging. So often we try to make everything black and white...

"I can only have a half a cup of pasta"

"The box says a serving is 16 pieces"

"You're only supposed to have 5 almonds, right?"

Accurate Portion Sizes

I have blogged about portion sizes before (see post here) and I firmly believe in listening to your body to know portion sizes, but if you don't cook you might not have an accurate estimate of about how you ate. The following guidelines will be just that...a GUIDE.  Portion sizes do not exist to say you can only have one portion of these foods or that you should not eat more than said size, but they exist so that we know approximately what equals one carbohydrate, one protein, and/or one dietary fat. You SHOULD be eating more than one portion of all your macronutrients at all your meals. The serving size on the nutrition facts label is NOT always an accurate portion. The label reflects the amount that the nutrition label reflects. This often is used to help market the item and to present the product in the best light. 

Portion Size

I am not a fan of clients measuring or weighing food. This is not a realistic or sustainable behavior and often creates too much rigidity with food. The following image is something I created so that you can visually estimate quantity of each food consumed. At all meals the average person should have approximately 2-3 servings of carbohydrate, 3-4 oz of protein, and 1-2 dietary fats. 

Dallas Nutritional Counseling - Casey Bonano RD, LD, Portion Size: How Much is Enough? Part II, Portion Size Guidelines #dallasnutritionalcounseling #caseybonanoRDLD #portionsize #healthyliving #intuitiveeating #balancedeating

Examples of Accurate Portion Sizes

Carbohydrates

• 1/2 cup pasta, rice, grains, or cereal

• 1/2 cup potatoes, corn, or peas

• 1/4 cup granola

• 3 cups popcorn

Protein

• 3-4 oz chicken

• 1/3 cup beans or lentils

• 1 cup yogurt

• 1/2 cup cheese

Dietary Fat

• 1 tbs peanut butter

• 1 tsp oil

• 1 tsp butter

• 1/4 an avocado

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with a Registered Dietitian to discuss portion sizes and balanced eating, please visit my contact page or email me directly at caseyvoorhies@gmail.com. #dallasnutritionalcounseling

Dallas Nutritional Counseling - Casey Bonano RD, LD, Portion Size: How Much is Enough? Part II, Portion Size Guidelines #dallasnutritionalcounseling #caseybonanoRDLD #portionsize #healthyliving #intuitiveeating #balancedeating

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