6 Steps to a Healthier You - Step 3

Step 3 - Watch Portion Sizes

How much you eat is as important as what you eat.

Here are some tips to help you achieve step 3:

Are you eating healthy portion sizes?

Practice and develop an eye for portion sizes.  Some handy ways to measure your food are:

• A small fist equals a cup.
• A thumb equals 25 g of most cheeses. So 2 thumbs equal a portion of cheese.
• A thumb-tip equals a teaspoon.  Three thumb-tips equal a tablespoon.
• A palm equals a portion of meat, fish or poultry.

Use Canada's Food Guide to learn about healthy portion sizes

At first glance many people think that Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating calls for more servings than they could possibly eat.  However, the portion sizes on the food guide are actually smaller than what people usually put on their plates.  For example, a portion of pasta or rice is just ½ cup (125 mL), ½ the size of a small fist!

How much you eat is as important as what you eat

It is important to control the amount of food that you are eating so you don't eat more calories than you need.  Use Canada's Food Guide to give you examples of good portion sizes.  Measure out your food portions for one day so that you can see what your plate, bowl or cup looks like with the appropriate amount of food in it.

Drinking liquid candy?

Too many extra calories often come from pop and other sugar-sweetened drinks such as iced tea, fruity beverages, sport drinks and slurpees.  Think of these as "liquid candy" as they are high in sugar content and have no nutrients. Limit high sugar, non-nutrient drinks to only 1 cup (250 mL).

Disclaimer
Reviewed by Alberta clinical experts. Brought to you by HealthLink Alberta. Copyright.
This material is designed for information purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction and/or treatment. For more health advice call Capital Health Link at 780-408-LINK (5465) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Alberta, call Toll-free: 1-866-408-LINK (5465)