We live in the land of super sized everything! How do you know what a real portion or serving size looks like when most of the time we are confronted with huge portions. As a result, we now look at these portions as normal. We are frequently told that buying bigger is a better value and saves money. Unfortunately it’s costing us our health.

The first thing to do to take back control of your health is to learn what an actual portion size looks like. The next thing is to is to discover how serving sizes on a food label is different from a serving size according to the food pyramid.

Food Pyramid Serving Versus Food Label Serving

There is a difference between these two types of servings. The food pyramid breaks down food into different food groups….grains, meat/beans, fruit, vegetables, milk/dairy and fats. The number of servings for each group is expressed as a range of numbers such as 3 to 5 servings or 6 to 11 servings. The reason there is no exact number for each group is due to the fact that each person’s dietary needs will vary based on age, sex, activity level and any health issues. The number of servings you personally will depend upon the amount of calories you need daily.

1 food pyramid serving size will depend upon the type of food. For example a food pyramid serving of grains is the equivalent of 1 ounce or any one of the following:

• 1 ounce of dry pasta or rice
• ½ cup of cooked pasta, rice or cereal
• 1 slice of bread
• 3 cups popped popcorn
• 1 cup of most ready to eat cereal

A food label serving is different from a food pyramid serving. The serving size on a food label is decided by the company making the food product. Ultimately the food label suggested serving size might actually contain several food pyramid servings.

Here’s a good example. Perhaps you are comparing two bagels. One is a huge 5 ounce bagel and the other is a smaller 2 ounce bagel. The package on the larger bagel indicates it contains 2 servings. The packageing on the smaller bagel states it is one serving. How many servings of grains are you actually eating with each bagel?

Food Label Servings:

5 ounce bagel label says 2 servings

2 ounce bagel label says 1 serving

Food Pyramid Servings:

5 ounce bagel equals 5 grain servings

2 ounce bagel equals 2 grain servings

The actual number of servings would be based on the food pyramid and NOT the label servings. If you see a dietitican these are the servings they will be teaching you about….pyramid servings and not label servings.

As a way to give myself and my own family a visual reminder of what we are actually eating I plan to post pictures of various foods and serving size information.

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