It’s no big News that portions have gotten bigger over the last 20 years. For instance, a blueberry muffin 20 years ago was 1.5oz and 210 calories. Today an average muffin is 5oz and 500 calories. We would have to vacuum the house for an hour and a half to burn off these extra 290 calories. What about another breakfast favourite, the bagel? Twenty years ago they were about three inches in diameter and 140 calories. They have doubled in size to an average of six inches and 350 calories. We would have to get out and rake leaves for 50 minutes to burn off the extra calories.
Twenty years ago, an 8oz coffee was the norm. With whole milk and sugar this would be 45 calories compared to today’s 16oz mocha, which is 350 calories. An 80-minute walk would be needed to burn off the extra 205 calories.
What about dinners out? If we ordered spaghetti and meatballs 20 years ago we would get one cup of pasta and three small meatballs which would be around 500 calories. Today we would get two cups of pasta and three or four large meatballs that would more than double our calories to 1,025. We would need to clean the house for 2.5 hours to burn off these extra calories. At least our floors would sparkle.
And don’t be tricked by restaurant salads – a chicken caesar salad 20 years ago was 1.5 cups and ran about 390 calories. Today the average restaurant salad is three cups and 800 calories. We would have to golf for 1.5 hours to burn this off – no cart of course.
To see more examples and to try the portion distortion quiz visit the Department of Health and Human Services website at: http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/index.htm.
So, what can we do about it? To start off, we need to know what exactly a portion is. A portion is the actual food we put on our plate and in our mouth. The experts give us recommended portion sizes: 2.5oz of meat, chicken, and fish; a half-cup of pasta, rice, potatoes; three quarters of a cup of yogurt, hot cereal, and tofu; one tsp. of butter and oil; 1.5oz of cheese; and two cups of vegetables. That’s great but I’m not carrying around measuring cups and a scale with me so how can I estimate? Use our hands and common items to gauge a sensible portion:
Meat/chicken/fish: palm of hand or a deck of cards.
Pasta/rice/potatoes: computer mouse or a medium potato.
Yogurt/hot cereal/tofu: a tennis ball or the size of our fist.
Butter/oil: thumb tip.
Cheese: two thumb tips or four stacked dice.
Vegetables: both palms open.
Some other ways to help us keep our portions down include:
– use smaller plates and bowls – we can trick ourselves into eating 30% less if we do this; and
– put food on a plate/bowl rather than eating out of the container – we often eat more if we can’t judge the portion.
Using some these tips and slowing down to really listen to our body’s true hunger and fullness signals can help us fight the battle against increasing waistlines
For more information about free services from the Minto-Mapleton Family Health Team visit www.mmfht.ca or call 519-638-2110 in Drayton, or 519-327-4777 in Clifford, to book an appointment.
