Should You Eat a Serving Size?
Remember the popular slogan for Lay’s Potato Chips? “Betcha can’t eat just one!” This company focused on people’s tendency to eat more because the chips are so tasty. Isn’t that the truth, especially if we look at our society?! As a result, it makes it a challenge for many to limit themselves to a listed serving size. Can you, or even should you, pay attention to serving sizes? What do they even mean?
According to the American Heart Association, it can be easy to eat more than a single serving, especially when it comes to tasty foods we like. Did you know…serving size doesn’t mean how much one should consume?!
I’m not an advocate for Lay’s Potato Chips but I will use their bag to explain. Continue reading and you’ll find a yummy alternative, that’s healthy too, to replace the classic potato chip! Back to the Lay’s label…it indicates a serving size to be 1 ounce, or roughly 15 chips. This simply tells you that the calories, fat, sodium, and other nutritional quantities listed are what’s in 1 ounce of chips. If you eat more than 15 potato chips, you’re taking in more than what’s listed, meaning you consumed more calories, fat, sodium, etc. than what’s on the label.
Now, here’s where serving sizes can get confusing. Organizations like the American Heart Association have their own guidelines on recommended servings, which can confuse people about “serving sizes” being “recommended servings.” People may pick up a bag of chips and assume that the listed serving is how much one should eat, even if the food is not healthy for you.
With increases in food consumption over the years, food labels are now required to reflect “realistic” portion sizes BASED ON what people consume today. Not really “realistic”! What this means is that there has been an increase in serving sizes because people eat more! It’s not what one should eat but today’s consumption standards have caused serving sizes to increase. Really?! Some packaging shows a fraction of the total quantity to be one serving size. Many state one serving equals “one package”. Larger packages often have a dual-column format reflecting both “per serving” and “per package.” While this makes calculating nutrient quantities a bit easier, food labels don’t clarify that actual serving sizes do not equal recommended serving sizes.
More importantly, serving sizes are highly bio-individual, meaning the same serving size won’t work for everyone. It’s the same reason one diet does not fit all and can work for one but not another = bio-individuality! According to the Nutrition Source, the foundation of existing guidelines around recommended servings sizes are shaky as they are influenced by food industry lobbyists. This makes it important to figure out what is right for your body and not listen to industry standards.
So how do you decide what an appropriate serving is for you? Here are six tips that can help you…
Consider serving size as an indicator of nutrients contained in a given amount.
Remember “How much should I eat?” is bio-individual. It requires some work to figure out what works best for you.
Focus on consuming unprocessed foods or packaged foods with 5 healthy ingredients or less. Long lists of ingredients with unrecognizable terms indicates processed food, not nutrition. If it doesn’t sound like food, it’s not food. Your whole body is affected. Portion control is important, but food quality has a greater influence on overall health and well-being.
Listen to your body and its signals for hunger and fullness. Check-in with yourself before skipping meals or eating when you’re not hungry. If you’re eating healthy foods, you won’t be as hungry as when eating foods that lack nutrition. You’ll eat less food because your body’s nutritional needs are being met with less food intake.
Practice mindful eating. Take your time which I remind myself to do often too. Enjoy each bite by engaging your senses. Digestion begins in the mouth so chew, chew, chew your food. Enzymes mix with saliva in your mouth to start the digestive process. Chewing well prepares your food for your stomach so it can further breakdown and absorb nutrition. With time, you’ll notice you feel satiated without overeating.
Eat to 80% full. Don’t eat until you can fit no more! I used to eat like that all the time. Get into a habit of eating only to 80% capacity. When your gut catches up to communicate with your brain, you haven’t gone to the point of over eating.