When you meet any nutritionist with any of your healthy eating concerns, we (nutritionists) keep telling you that you have to watch out for your portion size, you need to control your portions and you must start reading the nutrition labels etc.
Trust me if you follow these small things, you are already halfway to eating healthy. So, when we talk about eating healthy, the appropriate quantity of food plays a vital role. How much one should be eating can be easily understood by the terms called portion size and serving size.
Portion size is the amount of any food we choose to eat, which could be more or less than a serving. Let’s say: the nutrition fact of oats is labeled as 1 cup or Dalia/wheat porridge for one serving but you decided to have half cup of it only, that would be referred to as portion size.
Serving size is a standardized amount of food. It may be used to quantify recommended amounts, as is the case with the healthy plate diagram, MyPlate food groups, or represent quantities that people typically consume on a food label or nutrition facts label.
Extra-large burger, Extra large pizza, a bit more cheesy topping, extra fried rice on takeway , big large size cola free !!!All of these are more fascinating to all of us & none of us never fail to grab this opportunity to have “thoda extra “ or “little more” on our plate, that is where and how we actually affect our healthy eating concept and patterns.
Have a look at how our plate should be, how can we determine the portion of any food and what small steps can help us to control the portion size.
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So, you must be thinking what should be the ideal balance of your plate. Ideally it should be in the ratio of 50 %, 25 % & 25 %.
50 % of green and assorted veggies should be there on your plate, Vegetables are rich in antioxidants and have more of vitamins, minerals which helps you body to fight away all the disease. Load up your plate with variety of vegetables of different colours.
25% of protein should be there on your plate, protein provides support to the body, helps in movement & contraction of muscles, support regulation and expression DNA and RNA . load up 25% of your plate with plant or animal based protein whichever you prefer -veg or non veg sources can be chosen.
25 % of complex carbohydrate should be there on your plate, it provides energy, store energy, and spares the fat and proteins for other purposes. You can choose from a wide variety like rice, brown rice, wheat, oats, quinoa, all millets etc.
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Use your hand for better understanding of portions.
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Take your own time to finish up the meals, the more you chew it, the more you will enjoy your meal and more satisfied you would be and that would be stopping you to overeat.
Having a smaller plate may make it look as though there’s more food on it. It’s a way to “trick” your brain into thinking you are getting more.
The most vital one but usually we all forget is water, take a big glass of water before sitting down to eat and you ll surely not end up eating more than your satiety.
Never eat your food while watching TV, working on laptop, or using mobile phones - you will end up overeating.
Never eat straight from the bag or box. Measure out snacks, including fruits and veggies, into appropriate portion sizes before having them.
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All the above tips play an important role in balancing your diet and determining right amounts of nutrients to the body For more insights and personalized diet plans please book a consultation with your Nutritionist today.
By
Nisha,
Nutritionist- Cloudnine Hospital,
Gurgaon
