A few weeks ago, I attended a conference for nutrition professionals in which we were presented with data on future diet and food trends. One speaker suggested that the next generation of more affluent dieters will not be willing to make the sacrifices that we have seen with past diets: restricting bread, potatoes, and rice as in the Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets; exchanging ice cream for sorbet as in low-fat diets; avoiding entire food groups as in elimination diets like the fruit or cabbage soup diets. The dieters of the future, he told us, will want to eat everything.
What these future dieters will be willing to do, however, is to control their food portions. For the dietitians in the audience, this was old news. We've been telling clients for years that all foods fit your diet as long as you include them in moderation. Perhaps this message is finally getting across!
It's important to include a variety of foods in your diet, but not to overindulge on any one. As McDonald's stops super-sizing and your local family restaurant becomes less focused on value for money and more focused on quality menu items, it will become easier to experience the merit of this approach to dieting.
Many dieters struggle with determining an appropriate serving size. I've written extensively in this blog on the importance of including at least five fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. So how much is a serving of fruits and vegetables? Below are some guidelines as you embark on this revolutionary new diet called portion control!
How much of a food equals one serving?
- fresh fruit or vegetables = 1 cup
- canned fruit or cooked vegetables = 1/2 cup
- starchy vegetables or dried beans = 1/2 cup
- bread = 1 slice
- dry cereal = 3/4 cup
- cooked cereal = 1/2 cup
- rice or pasta = 1/3 cup
- dairy products = 1 cup
- lean meats, chicken or fish = 3 ounces
- butter, oil, margarine = 1 teaspoon
Here are some portion control comparisons for those times when you don't have a scale or measuring cups:
- 3 ounces of meat = about the size of a deck of cards
- 1 teaspoon of butter or oil = about the size of the tip of your thumb
- a medium size piece of fruit = about the size of a baseball
- 1 cup of dry cereal = about a large handful
- 1/2 cup of canned fruit, vegetables, or potatoes = about the size of a large scoop of ice cream
