Ok, so we have covered the exercise side of things for a little while. It’s time to check in on the nutrition. Remember, it is a balance between the two that is going to make for a successful fitness plan. And one of the most important concepts in nutrition is serving size. Over the years, portions have gotten out of control. Everyone is always looking for great deals, and one place we look is with our food. The more food for the least amount of money, the better…right? Wrong! For one thing, the cheap, heaping piles of food you are getting are not really going to be the most healthy, usually. Second, These heaping piles of food are going to contain a ton of calories. And I am not so sure people are tacking on the extra minutes or even hours of cardio it would take to work those calories off. So what we are left with is a growing population (literally) of people with diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc… So, knowing your serving sizes (a set amount of food or drink with a certain amount of calories and other nutrients; it is used as a reference for food labels) can help you keep track of your calories, which will ultimately help in reaching your weight and fitness goals. Portion size is just the amount of food someone eats or is served.
Confused yet? No need to be. A great general rule of thumb for knowing serving sizes: “the food must be able to fit into one or both of your hands.”
If you can’t hold it into your hands, it is going to be more than one serving. That’s not to say you shouldn’t eat it, but rather that you understand you are taking in more calories than you might think.
Here are some general serving size references:
1/2 cup rice or pasta, 1/2 cup cut up vegetables, 1/2 cup cut up fruit = a rounded handful
1 slice of bread, 3 ounces meat, 1 ounce nuts, 1 pancake, 1/2 cup dried fruit (2 servings) = size of your hand (or palm)
1 cup cereal, 1 cup salad, 1 baked potato, 1 medium sized fruit, 1 cup cooked dried beans, 1/2 cup popcorn = size of your fist
8 ounces of beverages = 1/2 of a plastic water bottle
1 ounce of cheese = the size of your thumb
Just some food for thought. Knowing how much you are eating can help cut down on unwanted calories and help you reach your goals quicker. The control to become a fit mama is in your hands. Let us be there to help.