Use Common Objects To Estimate Portion Sizes
Scared to whip it out in public, huh?
Those indecent exposure charges on your record suggest otherwise in relation to your genitals and your willingness to reveal them for general view. That same comfort, however, doesn’t seem to exist when it comes to bringing a food scale with you to places and being seen pulling it out for use. It’s only then that you have fear of people casting judgement on you for being some sort of weirdo.
So what’s the issue there?, you ask.
Well, one is the matter of what does and doesn’t cause you embarrassment when you do it in front of people. The other is that you may be taking in more calories and nutrients than are required if you’re not monitoring the amount of food you put into your body at all times, as the portions served and consumed provide data from which you can calculate the calorie and nutrient content of a meal or snack and its constituent parts.
Knowing how much food you’re eating at a given moment is important to determine how it fits into your total intake for the day so you meet your nutritional needs and don’t go above or below them. Measuring your food by weight is the best method for that objective but it’s not always practical or convenient, such as when you’re dining out or in a hurry. In that event, there are several everyday items that can be used as a reference to quickly estimate the portion size of food when you don’t have the time to use a scale or are reluctant to travel with one and use it in a social setting because of the attention you’ll attract and conversations you’ll get sucked into about why you have the audacity to take your health and weight so seriously.
GUIDELINES:
• (1) Postage stamp = 1 tsp butter
• (1) Dice = 1 tsp olive oil
• (1) 9-Volt battery = 1 tbsp ketchup
• (1) Poker chip = 1 tbsp salad dressing
• (1) Poker chip = 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• (1) Golf ball = 2 tbsp peanut butter
• (1) Ping Pong ball = 2 tbsp raisins
• (1) Matchbook = 1 oz meat
• (1) Dental floss container = 1 oz dark chocolate
• (4) Dice = 1 oz cheese
• (1) Tennis ball = 1 oz pretzels
• (2) 9-Volt battery = 1.5 oz cheddar cheese
• (3) Dominoes = 1.5 oz cheddar cheese
• (1) Checkbook = 3 oz salmon
• (1) Deck of cards = 3 oz steak
• (1) Baseball = 8 oz yogurt
• (1) Computer mouse = 1/2 cup chopped fruit
• (1) Computer mouse = 1/2 cup veggies
• (1) Computer mouse = 1/2 cup cooked pasta
• (1) Computer mouse = 1/2 cup cooked rice
• (1/2) Baseball = 1/2 cup cereal
• (1) Light bulb = 1/2 cup beans
• (1) Light bulb = 1/2 cup mashed potatoes
• (1) Tennis ball = 1/3 cup
• (1) Tennis ball = 1 cup berries
• (1) Cupcake wrapper = 1/3 cup cooked rice
• (1) Golf ball = 1/4 cup nuts
• (1) Golf ball = 1/4 cup sour cream
• (1) Light bulb = 1 cup raw veggies
• (1) Baseball = 1 cup air popped popcorn
• (1) Tennis ball = 1 medium apple
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