How Much is Enough?
While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and it can actually be beneficial when you’re watching your food intake, portioning out your meals on a scale every day can be time consuming, confusing, and even intimidating. While that ultra-precise practice allows you to know exactly how much of a certain food you’re putting into your body (a good thing!), it’s also a process that definitely isn’t for everyone. It’s understandable. But with portion sizes ballooning to uncontrollable proportions over the past decade, having some control or idea of how much food you’re consuming is critical, especially if you’re trying to lose or even just maintain your weight.
If you don’t feel like storing a scale in the kitchen and religiously measuring out your intake, there are several handy eyeballing tips for a lot of everyday foods that will give you a pretty good idea of how much you should be consuming. It really is easy!
Easy-to-Remember Portion Sizes
- A serving (3/4 cup) of cooked rice, pasta, or cereal should be about the size of a bar of soap.
- A serving (3/4 cup) of fresh fruit should be about the size of your fist.
- A potato (1/2 cup) should be about the size of a computer mouse.
- A serving (1 oz.) of low-fat cheese should be about the size of a pair of dice.
- A serving (1 tbsp.) of low-calorie salad dressing should be about the size of half a golf ball.
- A serving (4 oz.) of lean red meat, poultry, or fish should be about the size of a deck of cards.
Follow these simple rules to help control your portion sizes, and at the end of the day, just try to be sensible when it comes to how much you’re eating. If you find yourself questioning or second-guessing if a portion is too much, it probably is.
