Food Portion And Calories You Need In A Day

Today we’ll be talking about food portion, what is your daily requirement for your body and what does the portion size actually look like.

So I’ve got 4 different food categories here: carbs, proteins, fruits and vegetables and dairies.

I would suggest that if you are at the beginning of your journey and you’ll like to understand more about nutrition and how much and how big it is a portion, weight your food! Weight your food before it’s cooked! This will give you an understanding of how big your portion actually look like and how much calories you’re actually consuming.

Once you know visually how big your portion is, then you don’t need to weight your food anymore. Trust me, you will not overeating. You will know how much you’re actually putting in your plate.

So let’s see what is a food portion of carbs.

1. Carbs

Women are require to take about 5-8 portions of carbs a day and for men you can go up to 10 food portions of carbs per day.

1 portion of carbs = 1 oz = 28 grams.

So lets see what does one food portion of carbs actually look like:

• one slice of bread = one portion of carbs;
• one small bowl of pasta (2 fists size bowl) = 2 portions of carbs ;
• one small bowl of rice (2 fists size bowl) = 2 portions;
• one big potato = 2.5 servings of carbs.

If you want to lose weight I will suggest that you stick to 5-6 portions of carbs per day. For men add 2 portions to your carbs.

If you want to maintain your weight I would suggest to go for 6-7 food portions of carbs per day. For men add 2 portions to your carbs.

2. Protein

Protein it’s very important to repair and build muscles. It is recommend that we take about 6 portions of protein per day.

1 portion of protein  = 1 oz = 28 grams.

So lets see what does one food portion of protein actually look like:

• one egg = one portion of protein;
• 100 grams of tuna = 3 portions of protein;
• 1/2 can baked beans = 3 servings of protein;
• 1 piece of fish or chicken breast (the size of your palm without the fingers) = 3 portions of protein.

3. Fruit and vegetables

I guess you all already know that we are required to have 5 fruit and veggies portions a day. So lets see what does one food portion of fruit and veggies actually look like:

• one piece of fruit ( banana, apple, peach, apricot etc) = one portion;
• 80 grams of veggies = one portion;
• 2 medium carrots = one portion;
• one bowl of broccoli = 2 food portions.

It is not too complicated once you start to understand how big your portions need to be and how much you need to have.

4. Dairy

Dairy daily suggestion is 3 portions. So lets see what does one food portion of dairy actually look like:

• 200 ml milk (one glass) = 1 portion of dairy;
• one pot of 0% fat yogurt = 1 portion;
• 1 slice of cheese (25 grams) = 1 portion.

Food portion example for a day

Let me give you an example of what I would have in a day:

1. Carbs (6 portions):

• 2 slices of toast (170 cals) – 2 portions;
• 1 bowl of rice (200 cals) – 2 portions;
• 1 bowl of pasta (200 cals) – 2 portions.

2. Protein (7 portions):

• 1 egg (85 cals) – 1 portion;
• 1 piece of chicken (140 cals) – 3 portions;
• 1 piece of fish (155 cals ) – 3 portions.

3. Fruits and vegetables (5 portions):

• a peach (40 cals) – 1 portion;
• a small bowl of broccoli (60 cals) – 2 portions;
• 2 medium carrots (30 cals) – 1 portion;
• 1 banana (160 cals) – 1 portion.

4. Diary(3 portions):

• a glass of milk (100 cals) – 1 portion;
• a slice of cheese (100 cals) – 1 portion;
• 1 pot yogurt (100 cals) – 1 portion.

Meal plan example

You can mix these meals in your own way, but here is how I do it:

1. Breakfast: 2 toasts with jam, an egg and a bowl of pasta with a slice of cheese.

2. Snack: a peach.

3. Lunch: a bowl of rice with a piece of chicken breast.

4. Snack: one pot of 0% fat yogurt and a banana smoothie (banana+one glass of milk).

5. Dinner: a bowl of broccoli with a piece of fish.

6. Snack: 2 carrots.

The total calories I consume within this meal plan is about 1600-1700 and this is just what my body needs in a day. This also contain extra calories from things like jam (for toasts) or butter (to cook the chicken breast or the fish).

You need to know that one serving of butter is equal with the tip of your thumb. So that how small your food serving of butter should be.

If your goal is to lose weight I would suggest that you keep your carbs to 5 servings and no more. For protein you can keep it to 5 servings as well. As for your vegetables feel free to serve more portions because are low in calories. And maybe cut out your dairies. But if your goal is to maintain your weight go for the daily normal requirement.

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