What Your Recommended Serving Size Looks Like?

What Your Serving Size Is?

Knowing serving sizes is very important when it comes to losing weight, and making sure it stays off. Usually when you read about serving size you see ounces, and it’s difficult to keep track of how much is enough when you don’t have a visual cue. We’re here to help you visualize how much of each food you should be eating if you’re trying to keep your serving size in mind. Here’s a breakdown of the main foods we eat, so you can easily estimate what your serving size should be.

Protein

A 2.5 ounce piece of skinless chicken breast (cooked) is as big as two-thirds of a deck of cards, and so is a 2 ounce piece of cooked lean hamburger. This is about one serving size. If you’re into smoked pork sausage, you should know that the serving size is 2 small links.

If you’d rather have a vegan option, the serving size for tofu is 2 slices, each 1 inch wide, and a serving of canned baked beans is a half cup.

Carbohydrates

A half cup of whole grain cooked pasta is the size of a hockey puck, and in terms of portion control this is about one serving of carbohydrates.

If you would rather have rice instead of pasta, you can eye the right amount of brown rice like this: a third of a cup is about 70 calories.

Fruit

When you read about portion control you are told that a small apple has about 60 calories, and that it can be considered a serving of fruit at a meal. But what makes an apple small? Here is how to recognize it: a small apple is about the size of a tennis ball (and coincidentally it’s a great snack to have before a tennis match, as the carbohydrates give you some energy, but it isn’t too big a snack to make you feel too full while you get your cardio in.

If portion control makes you think about serving sizes, here are a few extra serving guidelines of fruit:

• A serving of bananas is one medium banana.
• A serving of cherries is 15 pieces.
• A serving of strawberries is a cup and a half.

Vegetables

If you choose carrots so you can have portion control without feeling hungry all the time, you should know that a serving size, or about 25 calories, is roughly the size of a baseball. You can eat twice this serving size (about 2 baseballs) if your vegetable of choice is a leafy green like spinach or kale.

For asparagus the serving size is half a cup (of 6 spears), and for cauliflower it’s one cup florets (about 8 pieces). You should eat 2/3 cups of green beans (whether they are canned or frozen), and a serving size of zucchinis is ¾ cup.

How do you control your portions when you’re trying to lose a bit of fat? Share your serving size tips and tricks with us in the comment section below.

Here is  an infographic about the serving sizes around the world: