Food Portion Size and Weight Gain
Weight Loss & Food Portion Size
If you want to lose weight, be sure to pay attention to your food portion
size. The portion sizes provided in the U.S. government's food pyramid
can differ dramatically from those indicated on a product's food label.
(One set of figures is regulated by the Department of Agriculture, and
the other, which appears on product labels, is regulated by the Food and
Drug Administration.) A single serving of pasta is 12 cup (cooked) according
to the usda, 1 cup according to the FDA and at least 2 cups according
to most families.
Weight Loss & Food Choice
For optimal health and weight loss, eat a variety of fruits and vegetables,
but limit your choices of everything else, particularly high calorie snacks.
Weight Loss experts have shown that giving people a wide variety of food
only encourages them to eat more. If there are two types of cookies on
a plate, the temptation is to eat one of each.
Calorie Counting
It is advisable to become familiar with the calorie count of your foods
if you wish to lose weight. A few days of measuring or weighing what you
eat and calculating the calories you consume can be a real eye-opener.
Many weight loss experts recommend eating healthy frozen dinners, whose
calorie counts are printed on the package, as a good way to make the transition
to smaller portion sizes. How many calories you should eat in a day depends
on whether you want to lose or maintain weight. The American Heart Association's
rule of thumb is to multiply your weight in pounds by 13 (15 if you're
active). If you want to lose weight, subtract 250 calories.
Source: Time Magazine, 2003
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