Following on from the other articles in this Portion Control series, today I discuss the difference between serving sizes and portion sizes – what do they REALLY mean?
If you are new here, why not take a look at these previous articles:
- What does 30g carbs look like? – CLICK HERE
- What does 30g protein look like? – CLICK HERE
Portion Control – What is a serving size?
In this article you will learn:
- Portion distortion – how your plate size affects your meal size
- Serving sizes – how they have changed over the past 20 years
- What does 30g carbs look like?
- What does 30g protein look like
- Serving size vs portion size – what really is the difference?
- How to start low-carb … for beginners
Portion Distortion – how your plate size affects your meal size
You probably know already, the bigger your dinner plate, the bigger meal you will serve yourself. Estimating portion control using a large modern dinner plate is almost impossible.
With restaurants now upsizing everything, and junk food being sold in king-sized packages, it has become difficult to learn portion control and what is “normal”?
Even our baking tins and muffin trays have supersized over the years No wonder it can be unbearable to know how exactly how much we should be eating.
It is actually grotesque the size of food and drinks I see being consumed in some food halls and restaurants.
By using a smaller dinner plate, you will serve less and not feel deprived with an equivalent smaller portion size served and lost on a large dinner plate.
TOP TIP # 1:Why not use an antique dinner plate? Dinner plates from decades ago were smaller and so served smaller portion sizes.Serving sizes – how they have changed over the past 20 years
Now we know even dinner plates have changed over the past few decades, just look at what was considered a normal portion size from 20 years ago.
Meals at restaurants have been shown to “exceed serving standard serving sizes by at least a factor of 2 and sometimes 8-fold. Portions have increased over time; those offered by fast-food chains, for example, often are 2 to 5 times larger than the original size. (1).
20 years ago, you would have been served a 3-inch bagel, whereas now it has DOUBLED to an average 6-inch bagel. Coffee has been upsized from 8oz (236ml) to 16oz (473ml). Again, it has DOUBLED.
Muffins? They’re even worse. They have almost tripled in size from 20 years ago. (2).
Now what this doesn’t tell you, is that the bagel is often served with sweet fillings more often than savoury, the coffee comes with shots of syrup, and the muffin may be served with whipped sweetened cream.
No wonder it can be out of the question to get portion control right.
TOP TIP#2: Always choose the smallest portion you can, it is probably still bigger than it was 20 years ago.What does 30g carbs look like?
This chart can be a stark visual reminder of how to ditch the carbs and choose nutrient-dense lower carb foods instead. You can read the full article HERE.
Why have 1.8 dates or a small glass of sugary fizzy drink (and be starving just half an hour later), when you could enjoy a healthy wholesome meal made with eggs, spinach and other non-starchy vegetables? Add in some healthy fats such as butter or olive oil, and you have a brilliant meal that will keep you fuller for longer.
If you are new here and want to know how to start low-carb, at the end of this post is a brilliant easy guide for you.
TOP TIP #3: Get off the sugar roller coaster and eat nutrient dense lower carb foods to keep you fuller for longer.[charts are stated as cups as a more visual reminder of portion sizes on a dinner plate]
What does 30g protein look like?
Now I bet you’re wondering how to portion control protein too? If you are eating out, serving sizes have doubled and you are eating from a large dinner plate, you may think dining on 2 chicken breasts is “normal” whereas some may consider 1 chicken breast to be correct.
When you live low-carb, we are moderate protein, not high protein. In another article, I will discuss how MUCH protein to have in a day, but it really depends on your situation. A bodybuilder may require more protein than someone who is sedentary.
This is just a visual guide as to how to estimate how much protein is in food. You can read the full article HERE.
TOP TIP #4: Protein portion control depends on your lifestyle. Are you a bodybuilder or sedentary?[charts are stated as cups as a more visual reminder of portion sizes on a dinner plate]
Serving size vs portion size – what really is the difference?
There is a subtle difference between serving size and portion size.
- Serving size = is determined by the manufacturer and what you will see on a nutrition label
- Portion size = is the amount of food you would actually eat
Serving size is what the food manufacturer wants you to consider to be a serving size. Portion size is different.
Food manufacturers will often suggest a smaller portion size than you would generally eat so to reflect a smaller number of calories, fat, sugar, etc.
For example, sugary fizzy drinks will often show a serving size of 1 or 2 serves per bottle/can, but most people would consider one bottle/can to be one serving.
Granola may often say a serving size is 1/2 cup whereas most people would actually serve themselves up to 2 cups, and sometimes go back for second helpings.
TOP TIP #5: Portion size is NOT the same as serving size - there is a massive difference.How To Start Low-Carb – for beginners
After seeing the images above, and realising how high-carb everyday foods are, you may be contemplating starting low-carb.
My advice is always to start slowly. Cut out the most obvious places that sugar and carb lurk and the worst offending items.
It may seem like a daunting task when you begin, but each little step brings you closer to living on real food, whole food and unprocessed food that is lower in carbs.
What is portion control? - What is a serving size? You need to understand these to be successful on a low-carb and keto diet.If you would like to start, READ THIS PAGE. It has all the resources you’ll need.
- How to start a low-carb diet
- A FREE 1-week low-carb challenge
- Shopping lists
- The basics
- Follow the “Stepwise approach”
- What to eat/avoid/sometimes foods
- Low-carb easy healthy recipes.
LOW-CARB STARTER PACK: Need help and inspiration how to start low-carb? Get all the resources you’ll need – CLICK HERE
Pam says
Hi Libby. While I really enjoyed the article, I’m still confused. I know it all depends on what you are eating, but I still don’t know portion sizes. For example, would you eat a cup or two cups or a half cup of, say spinach? Would you eat one forth pound, half pound or pound hamburger? On recipes I always see servings, but am never told the size of that serving. Can you help explain a little more in detail? Thanks, and love your recipes.
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Great question. As a quick and easy guide, look at the serving sizes (and photos) I show for my recipes, that will help you from day 1, then you can adapt and amend them to your hunger, which will diminish the longer you live low-carb. Today I released a brand new macro calculator where you can calculate how much fat, protein and carbs you would like. There is no “one size fits all” as much as people don’t want to hear that. I don’t count anything any more, and you will get to that point, but at the beginning, it is useful to gauge how many carbs you would like to allow yourself, how much protein and how much fat (remember, fat is NOT a goal). Then from there, you can make some lovely low-carb recipes within your ranges. So you and I, for example, may want to enjoy completely different protein and carbs depending on our activity or lifestyle and health goals. This is why so many diets fail because they treat everyone the same, well, of course, that isn’t going to work, or be of any use in the long term. If you want to learn more, my 4-week course opens next week. You can join the waiting list here. The main point I wanted to get across here is to stop overeating. When I see portion sizes that are served in restaurants, it’s actually grotesque. No wonder it’s so hard to figure out how much to eat.
Mary Frances says
I find it odd we should have to concern ourselves with portion size when eating proper food (not junk). No other creature measures portions. As long as we are eating real food we should be able to eat until satisfied. I think the problem is we shouldn’t be eating 3 meals a day. No other creatures do that either except humans, and we didn’t always.
Dominique says
Hi Libby, great tips – thank you! But for top tip#2, don’t you mean the smallest portion will still be *bigger* than 20 years ago?
Libby www.ditchthecarbs.com says
Whoops .. yes you are correct. I do need another pair of eyes when I write and edit my own work 😉