So, that big heaping bowl of ice cream you just stuffed in your face had how many calories? That's what the label said right? Well..... sorry to break it to you but if you are like most people, that "serving" you just inhaled was not an actual serving size at all!
I always seem to come bearing the most welcomed news LOL.... and just in time for the Ever-Increasing Waistband Season!!! According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics "A serving is the amount of food recommended in consumer education materials such as MyPlate. A portion is the amount of a food you choose to eat at any one time — which may be more or less than a serving." YEP, just because it fits on the plate, does NOT mean that is a "serving"!!!
I found an article called The Portion Distortion Guide -A List of Serving Sizes from SparkPeople.com that has charts and graphs for "When choosing your portion, try to make it as close as possible to these recommended serving sizes."
with examples like "Meat and Beans: Aim for 2-3 servings each day. Choose lean meats and plant proteins whenever possible.
Examples like One serving of Meat & Tofu is 2-3 oz cooked that's beef, poultry, fish, tofu which is the size of a Deck of cards. Beans are1/2 cup cooked, including beans, split peas, legumes it about the size of a Billiard ball. While Nuts & Seeds are only 2 Tbsp. This is for nuts, seeds, or nut butters or about the size of a ping pong ball. Sometimes it is easier to have that visual like a ping pong ball or a deck of cards for when you can't measure out a 4 ounce serving or we are just plain too lazy to portion properly. Yes, I am absolutely guilty of that and Yes, I know I am sabotaging myself and I could list 10 reasons why I have not been portioning like I used to but they are all useless excuses.... I am vowing to renew my dedication which I why I am working on this blog entry. :)
Another reason I am working on serving sizes is to make sure I am showing my children healthy habits. It is not an easy job to police myself and do the right thing when the world surrounds you with fast food and no healthy options. Their school lunches are even junk! But, I am a firm believer if we teach our children now they will not make those unhealthy, life altering horrible choices we did. I want to save anyone from being obese and having to kill yourself in the gym and go through the feeling of being deprived and hungry when your health heads South and you have to turn your life upside down. It sucks!
So, my children are learning to choose fruits and veggies over chips and cookies and to be honest, they generally gravitate towards these options now without any prompting at all. they are also learning the difference between being tired and hungry... and that is a HUGE accomplishment for my boys. No more mindless eating when they are up gaming!!!
I absolutely agree with BuildHealthyKids.com when they say "Children are growing up without a standard reference point to determine appropriate amounts because most of what is served to them is too large a portion." I also like that their article highlights a problem with age appropriate sizing. "The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid has determined the amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, meat/beans, oil and milk that needs to be consumed every day. It lists common serving sizes, but does not go so far as to recommend the amount to be eaten at one sitting for children. Depending on the age of the child, the serving size will actually be smaller than what is listed until they reach a certain age. Below are some suggestions, but always use your child’s appetite as a guide for the amount they can handle at any one sitting."
and seriously people! does a website have to provide you with common sense?
*Fruit strips
*Gummy bear fruit snacks
*Fruit roll ups
*Only the first glass of juice counts for one serving; the rest needs to be whole fruit and vegetables
*Fruit flavoring
*Products that say on the front of the box that they have fruit or vegetables in them but when you check the ingredient list, it is far down. If it is not #1 on the list, it doesn’t count.
There are other GREAT tips and charts on this site you should absolutely check out!
But, I did find another interesting site for consumers that mentioned the "FDA is also proposing to change the criteria for labeling based on package size. "We know that package size affects what people eat," Poos says. With the new requirements, more food products previously labeled as more than one serving would now be required to be labeled as just one serving because people are more likely to eat or drink them in one sitting. Examples include a 20-ounce can of soda, and a 15-ounce can of soup.To eliminate confusion, certain larger packages that may be consumed in one sitting or more than one sitting, depending on your appetite and inclination, must be labeled both per serving and per package in the proposed update. Some examples would be: a 24-ounce bottle of soda, a 19-ounce can of soup and a pint of ice cream. Currently, manufacturers are only required to provide the calorie and nutrient information per serving, and you have to do the math if you're eating the whole container. This dual column format—per serving and per package—would be required if a package contains at least two times the serving size and less than or equal to four times the serving size. "For a package more than four times the reference amount, which is used to establish the serving size, the dual column listing would not be required because these packages are larger than most consumers would eat in one sitting," says Mary Poos, Ph.D., deputy director of FDA's Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements. . Manufacturers would be required to label these products per serving. Examples would be a 12-oz. box of cereal, a 4.5-oz. bag of potato chips, and a 5-oz. bag of cookies.
"We hope that updating the label in these ways would make it easier for people to be more realistic about the number of calories and nutrients they're actually consuming and to make healthier choices when choosing foods for themselves and their families," Poos says.
The proposed changes are available for comment in the Federal Register; visit FDA's official docket atwww.regulations.gov."
I always seem to come bearing the most welcomed news LOL.... and just in time for the Ever-Increasing Waistband Season!!! According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics "A serving is the amount of food recommended in consumer education materials such as MyPlate. A portion is the amount of a food you choose to eat at any one time — which may be more or less than a serving." YEP, just because it fits on the plate, does NOT mean that is a "serving"!!!
I found an article called The Portion Distortion Guide -A List of Serving Sizes from SparkPeople.com that has charts and graphs for "When choosing your portion, try to make it as close as possible to these recommended serving sizes."
with examples like "Meat and Beans: Aim for 2-3 servings each day. Choose lean meats and plant proteins whenever possible.
Examples like One serving of Meat & Tofu is 2-3 oz cooked that's beef, poultry, fish, tofu which is the size of a Deck of cards. Beans are1/2 cup cooked, including beans, split peas, legumes it about the size of a Billiard ball. While Nuts & Seeds are only 2 Tbsp. This is for nuts, seeds, or nut butters or about the size of a ping pong ball. Sometimes it is easier to have that visual like a ping pong ball or a deck of cards for when you can't measure out a 4 ounce serving or we are just plain too lazy to portion properly. Yes, I am absolutely guilty of that and Yes, I know I am sabotaging myself and I could list 10 reasons why I have not been portioning like I used to but they are all useless excuses.... I am vowing to renew my dedication which I why I am working on this blog entry. :)
Another reason I am working on serving sizes is to make sure I am showing my children healthy habits. It is not an easy job to police myself and do the right thing when the world surrounds you with fast food and no healthy options. Their school lunches are even junk! But, I am a firm believer if we teach our children now they will not make those unhealthy, life altering horrible choices we did. I want to save anyone from being obese and having to kill yourself in the gym and go through the feeling of being deprived and hungry when your health heads South and you have to turn your life upside down. It sucks!
So, my children are learning to choose fruits and veggies over chips and cookies and to be honest, they generally gravitate towards these options now without any prompting at all. they are also learning the difference between being tired and hungry... and that is a HUGE accomplishment for my boys. No more mindless eating when they are up gaming!!!
I absolutely agree with BuildHealthyKids.com when they say "Children are growing up without a standard reference point to determine appropriate amounts because most of what is served to them is too large a portion." I also like that their article highlights a problem with age appropriate sizing. "The USDA’s Food Guide Pyramid has determined the amount of fruits, vegetables, grains, meat/beans, oil and milk that needs to be consumed every day. It lists common serving sizes, but does not go so far as to recommend the amount to be eaten at one sitting for children. Depending on the age of the child, the serving size will actually be smaller than what is listed until they reach a certain age. Below are some suggestions, but always use your child’s appetite as a guide for the amount they can handle at any one sitting."
and seriously people! does a website have to provide you with common sense?
*Fruit strips
*Gummy bear fruit snacks
*Fruit roll ups
*Only the first glass of juice counts for one serving; the rest needs to be whole fruit and vegetables
*Fruit flavoring
*Products that say on the front of the box that they have fruit or vegetables in them but when you check the ingredient list, it is far down. If it is not #1 on the list, it doesn’t count.
There are other GREAT tips and charts on this site you should absolutely check out!
But, I did find another interesting site for consumers that mentioned the "FDA is also proposing to change the criteria for labeling based on package size. "We know that package size affects what people eat," Poos says. With the new requirements, more food products previously labeled as more than one serving would now be required to be labeled as just one serving because people are more likely to eat or drink them in one sitting. Examples include a 20-ounce can of soda, and a 15-ounce can of soup.To eliminate confusion, certain larger packages that may be consumed in one sitting or more than one sitting, depending on your appetite and inclination, must be labeled both per serving and per package in the proposed update. Some examples would be: a 24-ounce bottle of soda, a 19-ounce can of soup and a pint of ice cream. Currently, manufacturers are only required to provide the calorie and nutrient information per serving, and you have to do the math if you're eating the whole container. This dual column format—per serving and per package—would be required if a package contains at least two times the serving size and less than or equal to four times the serving size. "For a package more than four times the reference amount, which is used to establish the serving size, the dual column listing would not be required because these packages are larger than most consumers would eat in one sitting," says Mary Poos, Ph.D., deputy director of FDA's Office of Nutrition, Labeling and Dietary Supplements. . Manufacturers would be required to label these products per serving. Examples would be a 12-oz. box of cereal, a 4.5-oz. bag of potato chips, and a 5-oz. bag of cookies.
"We hope that updating the label in these ways would make it easier for people to be more realistic about the number of calories and nutrients they're actually consuming and to make healthier choices when choosing foods for themselves and their families," Poos says.
The proposed changes are available for comment in the Federal Register; visit FDA's official docket atwww.regulations.gov."
I know that is something that may or may not help other adults set in their ways but I am hoping this kind of change may help my children and their generation.
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