Diet Basics
Know Your Portions?
Click through our portion size primer and find out if you're eating too much.
By Tanya Mancini
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Steak Supreme
These days, many restaurants serve 18- and 24-ounce steaks, with some even weighing in at a whopping 48 ounces. That's a whole lot of meat. But what does a single serving of steak really look like?
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Smaller Sirloin
The recommended size of a single serving of meat is about 3 ounces, or roughly the size of a deck of cards or a bar of soap. While it's difficult to order a 3-ounce cut of steak in most restaurants, it's a good idea to cut up your meat (or chicken) and take the rest home. Or, try sharing with your date.
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Overstacked
Whether pouring made-from-scratch batter in the pan, or tucking into them at a diner for brunch, most of us like our flapjacks stacked high and covered in syrup. But how much griddle-goodness is too much?
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Smarter Start
A single serving of pancakes is actually one small pancake about three inches in diameter. If your goal is to lose weight, then your best bet is to enjoy a single pancake with fresh fruit as a topping.
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Too Rich
Many of us like to butter both sides of our bread and cover the bottom of a pan with margarine before cooking. Using that much saturated fat isn't the best choice for those watching their waistlines. A better bet?
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A Lighter Spread
Instead of slathering butter or margarine on your bread, lightly spread it on. One teaspoon is the recommended serving size, so be sure to measure it out carefully. Try to use both butter and margarine sparingly.
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Don't Go Nuts
Spread on a sandwich with jam or on top of celery sticks, peanut butter is one of our favorite treats. However, it's very easy to overindulge in this packed-with-protein (and fat) delight. How much is good for you?
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Just a Spoonful
As is so often the case, a little bit goes a long way. A large spoonful, or about the size of a ping-pong ball, makes up a single serving of peanut butter.
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Bread Basket Overload
Almost every convenience store and coffee shop sells tempting, giant muffins, some speckled with seemingly healthy chunks of fruit, others obviously closer to a dessert item -- packed with chocolate or cheese. Does one enormous pastry still qualify as a single serving?
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Think Mini
Take a closer look at the label of that giant muffin and you'll probably see that one is actually three servings! A single serving muffin is about the size of a light bulb -- the kind of muffins you'd make at home in a muffin tin.
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Bottomless Bowl
Order pasta in any Italian restaurant and you'll likely be served a heaping bowl -- sometimes all you can eat -- of calorie-laden, carbo-loaded pasta. You know you're not supposed to eat that much, but how much is one helping?
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Keep It to a Cup
A single serving of cooked pasta is one cup or about the size of a tennis ball. While this is easy to measure out at home, if you're watching what you eat while dining out, ask the server to wrap half your pasta to go when you order.
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Bowled Over
With bowls nearly as big as a bathtub, it's easy to fill one up with half a box of cereal. While this might fill you up at the start of the day, that much cereal is hardly the breakfast of champions.
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Pared Down
The recommended serving size for cereal is one cup -- about the same amount it would take to fill a wine glass. Go easy on cereal if you're watching your weight. To make it more filling, mix in fresh fruit or raisins.
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Big City Bagel
Covered in cream cheese or toasted with butter, a bagel is hard to resist. But these days, bagels are so huge, you're often eating the calorie equivalent of a doughnut.
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Carb Conscious
The ideal size for a bagel is 3 inches in diameter. That's about the size of a hockey puck or about half of a typical oversized bagel.
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