TGIN’s Quick + Dirty Guide to Portion Control
health + fitness
September 28, 2013
Ashley
As I spend more time thinking about ways to improve my eating habits, I start thinking more about portion control. It’s great to eat clean, but if you’re eating portions that are way too large, you undermine your diet! So here are 3 three ways to eyeball your portions to know if what’s on your plate is just right or too much:
1. Protein The Size of an iPhone
The traditional way to measure protein has been a deck of cards, but then I thought- when was the last time I played cards? My iPhone on the other hand is constantly around and is a great way to measure out whether the protein on my plate is just enough. Any extra protein you eat gets stored in your body as fat, so if you’re at a restaurant & get more meat than you need, save the rest for later!
2. Carbs Should Be a Quarter of a “Regular-sized” Plate
Any good diet requires some carbohydrates. The key is eating the right kinds of carbs (like the sweet potatoes pictured here) and knowing when your body has had enough! How much is too much? The general rule is that carbs should make up no more than one quarter of a standard dinner plate. So that you know, a standard dinner plate has a diameter of 10.5inches. So a quarter of the plate would be about the size of your fist. And just like protein, any extra carbs you eat get stored as fat- so if you’re at a restaurant get a doggie bag for any extra servings!
3. Never Too Much, Never Too Much, Never Too Much…Veggies!!
Finally, a food that you don’t need to eyeball and scrutinize! When it comes to the amount of leafy and non-starchy greens like spinach, kale, broccoli and asparagus the sky is the limit!! Pile these suckers onto your plate because -assuming they’ve been prepared in a healthy way- they have amazing health properties (anti-oxidants for one thing) AND they are delish!!
If you’re really having trouble with portion control, you can also buy a portion control tray to help you measure your servings more accurately. Here’s a link to one that’s available on Amazon :
*** How do you watch your portions? ***
ChicFitChef.com was started by Helen Ogbara, an attorney and health enthusiast, inspired by her experiences cooking diabetic-friendly meals and getting fit at home through workout DVDs. ChicFitChef offers diabetic-friendly recipes, exercise & fitness tips and personal health-awareness interviews. Visit chicfitchef.com for a fresh perspective on living a healthy lifestyle!