One of my grandfather’s favorite stories has to do with a potato. He had met with a dietitian at his local hospital, where they sat down and discussed portion sizes. She offered suggestions on how to visualize proper portion sizes, but my grandfather (who very much enjoys teasing and pestering people) began asking her for the exact weight in grams of any food item and portion size she mentioned. He laughed as he recounted her admitting that she couldn’t immediately provide the information he wanted and ended his story with a satisfied statement of, “She couldn’t even tell me how many grams a serving of baked potato should weigh!” Nearly everyone who listens to the story sympathizes with the poor dietitian and asks my grandfather the same question you might be thinking yourself: “Wouldn’t you have rather just learned how to ‘eyeball’ a portion size? Who weighs food in grams?” Amen, readers, amen.
To be fair, there is definitely a time and place for very exact measurements of portion sizes- scientists have very specific criteria to follow when performing analysis or experiments. Caretakers of adults and children with specific or restrictive diets may need to weigh out exact portions of foods or formulas. Even if you’re just curious and want to compare what you typically portion out for yourself versus what’s recommended, exact measurements can be helpful. But for those of us who just want an easy way to fit another healthy habit into our lifestyles, there’s no need to measure baked potatoes out the exact gram. Instead, we can take the guidance my grandfather’s dietitian tried to provide, and visualize our portion sizes(PDF).
- Nickels: When you make spaghetti for dinner, grab a handful of the dried pasta. One portion size (2oz dried spaghetti, 1 cup cooked) is about the same diameter as a nickel.
- Tennis ball: If you’re “serving” up some rice or grapes, one portion (1 cup rice or 15 grapes) is about the same size as a tennis ball.
- Baseball: Whether you’re eating cereal in the morning (1 cup) or a baked potato for dinner (12 oz), a baseball-sized portion is the way to go.
- Deck of Playing Cards: Deal yourself the perfect portion of chicken, beef, poultry, or fish (3 oz) by comparing your serving to a set of playing cards.
- Dice: Four dice aren’t quite enough for playing Yahtzee, but they are a great representation of a portion of cheese (1 oz).
- CD Case: First of all, if you still have a CD case at home, congrats. Second, that case is about the size of one portion of bread (1 slice)
- Matchbook: My friends and I used to listen to a song in which the artist wailed, “At least you left the matches.” This is good news for the artist, because now he can visualize a portion of salad dressing, oil, or mayo (1 tbsp).
Portion distortion
We hear a lot about “portion distortion” in America and how we tend to make our portions much larger(PDF) than what are recommended by health and nutrition professionals. This has been a concern for some time and will continue to be if we don’t make it a point to change our habits. Using tips, tricks, or “life hacks” such as visualizing portion sizes doesn’t sound like a significant change, but even these small steps will add up to health and lifestyle changes- changes that are much bigger than a portion of baked potato!
