How to proportion better and lose weight
You can definitely have too much of a good thing when it comes to food. We all know that eating too much junk food is bad for our heath, but overeating on even relatively healthy foods is detrimental as well. Determining appropriate portion size is sometimes the most difficult part of dieting because it is different for everyone.
How much is a serving?
The size of a serving of some foods, especially fruit, is easy to work out. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has set guidelines to follow for this category of food. For other less obvious food types common sense is the best guide. More specifically, the USDA Food Guide Pyramid outlines standard serving sizes for many foods, based on the American imperial system of cups. For example, one cup of milk counts as one serving, as does half a cup of pasta or a slice of bread.
The food guide pyramid was developed by the USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nutrition experts have recently revised the guide to emphasize controlling portion sizes and making the healthiest choices possible within each of the specific food groups. The USDA's Food Guide Pyramid can be found by going to www.MyPyramid.gov.
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Does one size fit all?
No, one serving size or proportion size does not fit every person. How many servings we need of each food group every day depends on our age, gender and level of activity. You have two recommended options when it comes to developing a portion plan that is best for you. The first option is to talk to your doctor about your caloric needs and any other special nutrition related medical needs that you may have. Your doctor can monitor the effect of different portions sizes on your body and help you to see how what you eat affects your health. If you think that you can determine the right portion sizes for you in a more passive approach, the USDA has developed a personalized food guide on their website at www.MyPyramid.gov. This interactive guide can help you do decide the right portion fit for you.
Haven't there been some changes to the USDA's Food Guide Pyramid?
The USDA's new MyPyramid symbolizes a personalized approach to healthy eating and the importance of physical activity (whereas before food groups and portion sizes were pretty much the entire content of the pyramid). In this new Food Pyramid, a new emphasis is placed on the importance of choosing proportion sizes that are right for your body type and level of daily activity. The symbol has been designed to serve as a reminder to make healthy food choices and to be physically active on a daily basis. The different parts of the symbol are as follows:
Activity: Daily physical activity is vital to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. You should be exercising at least 30 minute a day 3-5 days a week.
Moderation: Within each group, some choices are healthier than others. Sugars and fats constitute the less healthy options that are available. The advice is simple; choose healthier foods more often and less healthy foods less often.
Personalization: The interactive Web site http://www.MyPyramid.gov allows you to personalize your own food guide pyramid based on your age, your gender, and the amount of daily physical activity you get.
Proportion and portion: Choose foods from the groups with wide bands (the fruits and vegetables category) more often. Eat less from those groups with narrow bands. When you eat, make sure that you are eating the recommended amounts of each food as will be provided to you upon completion of your personalized food guide pyramid or after speaking with your doctor.
Variety: Choose foods from all of the food groups and make sure that you are eating more of the healthy foods and less of the unhealthy foods.
Gradual improvement: Take small steps to improve your diet and lifestyle. Diets requiring drastic overnight changes rarely work. Many times you are making a lifestyle change when it comes to deciding to eat better and these changes take time. As long as you are progressing even a little bit every day, then you are doing what you need to get back on track.
