Most people have one big fear when they start their diet – what if it won’t work? Not the diet itself, but their own guts might fail. There is one significant thing to help anyone mend fences with food and take weight under control – learn to visually evaluate the serving. If you see this is too much for you – you will cut on overeating.
The serve is the amount of food of some particular group you eat during one meal (meat, fish, veggies, cereals etc). People are usually recommended to refer to the traditional 250 ml mug to measure all foods they consume.
Porridge, cereals or pasta: 1 mug is enough for an adult. These are buckwheat, oatmeal, millet and other cereals, rice, quinoa, wheat or rice paste. 1 mug of any of the foods mentioned above fits your palm. Try holding an image of a tennis ball in your head to get the clue of what it looks like.
Granola: ¼ mug. Granola is recommended as a topping for fruit puree, Greek yogurt, as a feeling for cereals, porridges or as a separate dish. ¼ mug will barely cover the center of your palm.
Nuts and dried fruit: ¼ mug or 40g. Just like the granola, dried fruit and nuts should cover the central part of a palm and be used as additives to cereals and salads. Occasionally can be used as a separate healthy snack. Avoid candied and dried fruit soaked in sugar or sugar syrup. They can only bring harm.
Fresh fruit: up to 5 serves daily. Average fruit portion should be your fist size. 3-5 of them are recommended for daily intake. (i.e. 3-5 apples / 2 mugs of berries, an apple, a banana / grapes, 4 kiwis and a grapefruit). Choose preferably 2-3 various fruits a day.
Leafy greens: 2-3 mugs or 2 handfuls. Minimal serve of fresh salad is 1 mug a day. But this is just the case when nutritionists advise to double or even triple the intake. 2 mugs is what an adult can grab with 2 arms.
Non-starchy vegetables: about 1 mug a day. Starchy vegetables include potatoes, corn, pumpkin, beets and other root vegetables, parsnips, zucchini and cousa squash, peas. A portion of these vegetables, when cooked, fits in the palm of an adult.
Meat, poultry and fish: 100g or 1 palm. The recommended 100g serve is the size of your palm or a pack of cards. Сhicken or turkey fillet, fish, boiled veal and seafood are preferable.
Cheese: 45g which is equivalent to your thumb in volume. Despite its high nutrient content the dose of cheese is not large due to its high calorific value. When it comes to fresh and soft-ripened cheese – the serve can be increased by 1,5 times. Cheese can be added to salads and cereals or eaten as a snack.
Dairy produce: 1 mug or fist size. A serving of milk, yogurt, or kefir is 1 mug\glass. When choosing milk products, check fat status, as it affects calorific value and a choice of the proper serving size.
All the above mentioned serving sizes are counted for a medium built adult that sticks to moderate but chronic exercise.
