Portion Size
After you decide how many calories you need to eat per day and which foods you're going to eat, don't let super-sized portions ruin your good plans. Try to visualize the items below when you're planning a meal, ordering food out, or grabbing a snack.
For example, 3 to 4 ounces of meat, poultry, or fish is about the size of a deck of cards. Studies have found that the typical portion size is 2 to 8 times as large. Reducing your portion size is a good step toward a healthy diet.
| This portion size | is as big as |
|---|---|
| 1 ounce of poultry or meat | a matchbox |
| 3 ounces of poultry or meat | a deck of cards or a bar of soap |
| 3 ounces of fish | a checkbook |
| 1 ounce of cheese | four dice |
| A medium potato | a computer mouse |
| 2 tablespoons of peanut butter | a ping pong ball |
| 1 cup of pasta | a tennis ball |
| A bagel | a hockey puck |
