Lets talk about portion sizes
- karenmilligan1
- Jan 15, 2022
- 3 min read
It is the new year and many of you maybe thinking of losing weight and perhaps going on a diet. Personally I am not a big fan of dieting for many reasons but mainly because food is for enjoyment and research has shown that diets can lead to eating disorders and nutrient deficiencies(1).
I believe that we should aim to have a healthy balanced diet with the right types of foods and in the right portions. Portion size is really important and is described as the amount of food on a plate or serving. Research has shown that portion size has an acute effect on energy intake and this in turn has been suggested to contribute to the population’s weight gain (2). Therefore one simple thing that you could start off with is looking at the portion sizes of your food to help lose weight.
I am going to explain what portion sizes for each food group should look like to give you a helping hand. I'll use the for portion sizes by the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF) as I feel that these are really simple and easy to understand. They are suggestions and not recommendations but are to complement the Government's EatWell guide.
The Eatwell guide divides the food we eat into five main food groups;
Fruit and vegetables: Choose a wide range of fruits and vegetables every day which includes fresh, frozen, dried, tinned and juiced to provide you with various nutrients, vitamins and fibre.
Starchy foods: These types of foods are our main source of carbohydrates and play an important part of our healthy diet. They include cereal, potatoes, bread, rice and pasta. Try to choose wholegrain varieties that contain higher fibre content and will keep you fuller for longer.
Proteins: A healthy balanced diet can include protein from meat, fish, eggs and pulses and beans.
Dairy and milk: These types of foods and drinks are another great source of protein and also provide calcium that is important of bone health. Unsweetened calcium fortified dairy alteratives such as soya products count towards this food group and make a good alternative to dairy products.
Unsaturated fats and oils: These types of unsaturated fats and oils are the healthier fats and include vegetable, rapeseed, oilve and sunflower oil.
You should try to choose a variety of food from each food groups so that you acheive the wide range of nutrients that the body requires to stay healthy.
For a healthy adult the types of food that we all require are basically the same although the portion size will vary from each individual depending on body size and activity levels.
The diagram below suggests the number of portions for each food groups that we should be aiming for each day.
I think the most accurate way to measure portion sizes is to weigh them however this is often not the most practical and convenient way to do so. Here is a wee table from the BNF with some practical ways of measuring sensible portion sizes which are quite easy to remember.
I realise that everyone's hand size will differ however the size of your hand will be relevant to your body size therefore you will get the right amount for what your body needs!
I hope that you have found this useful and can put it into practice easily. I've included links to the British Nutrition Foundation and the Government's Eatwell guide below for more information.
References
Walsh BT, Devlin MJ. Eating disorders: progress and problems. Science. 1998 May 29;280(5368):1387-90.
Livingstone MB, Pourshahidi LK. Portion size and obesity. Adv Nutr 2014;5:829–34
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