Servings Sizes versus Portion Sizes: Is There a Difference?

Yes!

A serving size is the recommended intake for a certain food, like you might find in the MyPlate recommendations.

A portion size is the amount of food you choose to eat, which may be more or less than the recommended intake.

What is your proper portion size?

To make sure you are eating your proper portion sizes you should follow the MyPlate recommendations for your age group.

You can also check out my previous blog post on Portion Distortion.

Examples of Serving Sizes:

·        A serving size of chips is about 11 chips- 140 cals

·        A serving size of ramen is ½ of a block- 190 calories, 830 mg of sodium

·        A serving size of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream is ½ cup- 290 calories ( 1 container is 1,160 calories)

·        A serving size for breakfast cereals is ¾ cup- 220 calories

How to measure serving sizes:

·        A baseball is about the size of a cup

·        A tennis ball is about the size of a ½ cup

·        A thumb to the first joint is about the size of a tablespoon

·        A pointer finger to the first joint is about the size of a teaspoon

Interested in learning more about portion versus serving sizes, including how to read nutrition labels? Check out my new Basic Nutrition Online course!