Avoiding Portion Distortion

Weight Management can be
as simple as a measuring cup!

The amount of food we consume today has gotten, well, out of proportion. Portion control is the key to following a diet for weight management or lowering cholesterol and fat in blood laboratory results. Purchase measuring cups, spoons and a scale to start tracking how much is put on the plate.

• Use a 9 inch plate

• Fill half the plate with low calorie vegetables
• Put protein foods one quarter of the plate
• Limit your starch vegetable and grains to one quarter of the plate

• Fruit is healthy to eat. For weight management, limit fruit to 3 - 4 servings per day. A serving size of fruit is:

• Whole fruit Size of a tennis ball
• Medium banana One-half
• Cut up fruit One-half cup
• Melon ¼
• Berries 1 cup
• Grapes 15
• Dried fruit 2 halves

• Limit chicken, turkey, fish, beef, pork and cheese to 6 ounces per day

• 3 ounces is the size of a deck of cards
• Eggs should be limited to 3 per week and count as one ounce

• Limit starchy vegetable, grains and pasta to one cup cooked

• Brown rice Pasta
• Beans Sweet Potato
• Corn White potato

• Oils, salad dressing, Peanut butter: 1 Tablespoon

Controlling our weight is not easy. However, understanding how much we're eating and cooking proper portion sizes can make the task much more manageable.

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