How Many Servings Are On Your Plate?

Appetizer
Eat LESS servings at each meal. Try this experiment for a week - or even just a day: Fix your plate as your normally would, but before you eat, take the time to determine how many servings of food you are taking in. You may be surprised to find out that you are ingesting 3-4x the recommended servings.

Most Americans don't know what an actual serving looks like because we're so used to receiving and eating such large portions. If you find that you're "supersizing" at every meal, you should gradually reduce your serving sizes because chances are that you will be satisfied with less food.

Main Course
There are many resources on the Internet to give you guidance on proper serving sizes, but here's a simple guide to get you started:
Chopped Vegetables: 1/2 cup

Raw Leafy Vegetables (such as lettuce): 1 cup

Fresh Fruit: 1 medium piece, 1/2 cup chopped

Dried Fruit: 1/4 cup

Pasta, Rice, Cooked Cereal: 1/2 cup

Ready-to-Eat Cereal: 1 oz. (which varies from 1/2 cup to 1 1/4 cup - check label)

Meat, Poultry, Seafood: 3 oz. (cooked); About the size of a deck of cards

Dried Beans: 1/2 cup

Nuts: 1/3 cup

Cheese: 1 1/2 oz. (2 oz. if processed cheese)

Dessert
OK, I struggle with many things on my wellness journey, but if I had to name just one thing that I struggle with more than anything else, it would be portion sizes. I swear that my stomach has got to be 10x bigger than the average woman's stomach because I can E-A-T!!! For some reason, I'm able to hold so much food in my tummy.

When I'm eating something like pizza or pancakes (2 of my favorites), I honestly have a really hard time stopping at just 1 or even 2 servings. It tastes so good, and I still have room left, so I continue to eat. If I could conquer, or even just tame, my insatiable appetite, I would be so much better off.

About Cafe Physique:
The mission of Café Physique is to help clients reach and exceed their personal fitness and nutrition goals. If you’re in need of an a nutritionist in Atlanta or an Atlanta personal trainer – Café Physique is the perfect solution. We offer Atlanta yoga instruction, Atlanta prenatal workouts, and Atlanta personal training. We also have private sessions of pilates that Atlanta residents are raving about. We invite you to let a member of our Atlanta registered dietitian staff or personal training team develop and implement a realistic and healthy lifestyle plan to meet your personal goals.