fit info

Is there a fitness subject that you would like to know more about? If so, email me at cpkarkow@sportswestreno.com and let me know! I'll be happy to find out some info and post it here!
Christine

June 17, 2007

Understanding portion control

The following guide appears as part of an article about helpful ways for us to change eating patterns in the April, 2007 edition of "Fitness Journal". This guide can help you to keep track of portion sizes without needing to carry a scale and measuring cups with you! This can also help you to become more aware of how much you're eating and will go a long way towards re-programming your brain to feel full after eating the proper portions.

You might carry a lot of things in your purse or gym bag, but we suspect a food scale isn't one of them. Here are some simple tools to help you estimate portion sizes when weighing and measuring aren't viable options.
Meat, poultry, or fish such as tuna or salmon steaks (3 oz)salmon 1 deck of cards
Thin white fish, such as flounder or sole (3 ounces)

 checkbook
cold cereal, berries, popcorn (1 cup) cereal 1 baseball
butter or margarine (1 teaspoon )

 1 stamp
bread (1 ounce )

 CD case
hard cheese (1-1 1/2 oz )

 4-6 dice
mixed nuts, dried fruit, granola, almonds, walnuts, peanuts (1/4 cup) nuts 1 golf ball

Some more interesting notes on portion sizes and our brain's determination on "fullness"; from the same article as above
Research conducted at the Cornell Food and Brand Laboratory at Cornell University found that people rely on how much food remains on a plate or in a bowl to determine when they have eaten enough. (Wansink, Painter & North 2005). Researchers designed bottomless bowls that could refill without the subjects' knowledge. Subjects who unknowingly ate from the self-refilling bowls consumed 73% more soup than those who ate from normal bowls. Yet those who ate more soup did not believe they had consumed more and did not feel any fuller than those who ate from normal bowls. Thus, the size of the plate or bowl can greatly influence the number of calories consumed, as people tend to use their eyes to "count" calories.


Past SWAC Fitness Info Articles