Portion Control: The Tools to Your Success

I know you’ve heard it all before, but unless you are measuring your food, you don’t know how much of it you’re really eating. Chips aren’t measured by the handful and peanut butter isn’t measured by the schmear, but that’s how we tend to do things, right? It’s just too easy. But weight loss and healthy lifestyle maintenance is all about knowing exactly what you’re putting into your body; and really, it is easy if you have all of your “tools” ready!

The tools:

Kitchen scale: Your kitchen scale doesn’t have to be super fancy, it just has to have the ability to be “zeroed out” (for accurate weight), and give you weight in ounces and grams. I found mine for a steal at TJ Maxx! M
Some snacks and products like chocolate chips and meat only have portions listed in ounces or grams, so it is important to have a scale ready to weigh out your portions.

Measuring cups: I have a couple sets of standard measuring cups, but that’s simply because I’m always using them, and I love having different styles. But, just your basic measuring cups are all you need!

Measuring spoons: Once again, your basic measuring spoons are all you need!

Cookie scoop: cookie scoops come in a variety of sizes. Choose a size that makes a standard sized cookie, about 1 – 1 1/2 Tbs. If you like making giant cookies, then also buy a larger scoop, and while you’re at it, buy a smaller scoop too. Cookie scoops guarantee that your cookies will always come out the same size, and also help you accurately count the calories in each cookie you’ve made!

Ice cream scoop: Buying an ice cream scoop isn’t just so you look “official” while scooping out your favorite treat, it’s also so you can scoop smart! I have a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop, allowing me to know that I’m eating a 1/4 cup portion per scoop of ice cream I serve myself. This is important because ice cream portions usually are per 1/2 cup, and because I like to usually have several flavors in one sitting, I know that I’m having a half-portion per scoop. Easy!
This ice cream scoop is also great for measuring out Greek yogurt from the large tubs!
Also, a 1/4 cup ice cream scoop is the perfect size for portioning out the batter for uniform standard-sized muffins and cupcakes!

Apps/Websites: To count calories, I use Calorie King. It comes in a phone app and has a website, which is a great reference tool. You can look up any food, by type or brand, and quantity and it will give you the nutrition panel. This is also super helpful when eating out, because you can guess-timate how many calories are in your meal. The app has a lot of restaurants in it too that list their calories (this is great if you don’t often “customize” a dish when you order it because it has the dish listed exactly as how it’s made per-the-menu). Calorie King is also what I use to calculate the calories in my baked goods. I calculate the calories in each ingredient of the whole recipe, then divide the total by the number of portions it makes to get the calories per portion. This is also why it is important to have a cookie scoop if you’re making cookies so you can have an accurate count of how many calories are in each cookie.

Also, the app My Fitness Pal has a lot of restaurant dishes in it too that are more specific (for example, if you go to McDonalds and get the grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo and no bun, it will usually have that specifically listed). If you ask my family, they’ll tell you I’m a difficult orderer because I’m very particular (think Sally of When Harry Met Sally); but because I’ve learned to have no shame when asking for what I want (politely), I know that I can ask my waitress for my veggies to be steamed or grilled with no butter and no butter on top of my protein (yes, restaurants almost always add butter or oil on top of your fish, steak, or chicken to make it look tantalizing and “glistening” and it adds tons of unnecessary calories), which helps me calculate the calories AND have a guilt-free meal out.

And then, of course, visit the website of any restaurant you plan on eating at and look at their published nutrition levels in each dish. Choose a couple options that appeal to you, write them down with their calorie counts, and take that with you to the restaurant. When you are ready to order, order from the list of items you wrote down and are confident about eating (because you know the nutritional panel of what you’re ordering!). Be sure to pay attention to the portion size on the entree you are considering ordering, because sometimes restaurants put two or three portions in one entree, meaning you could easily eat double or triple the amount of calories that was intended! If the amount of food on your plate looks too good to be true, it most likely is! So, have your nutritional information looked up before you go and you’ll be prepared! (IF you happen to order a dish that lists two or more portions on your plate, either ask the kitchen to pack up half of it to-go before even bringing it to you, or order it with a to-go box and pack up the additional portions right away so you don’t mindlessly eat them during dinner time!)

Food Journal: This is totally a personal preference, but I highly recommend that you keep a food journal. This way, there’s no question of what you ate and how much. It creates discipline and
accountability. I track my calorie intake and my protein intake. Food journals work for me because I won’t eat what I’m too embarrassed to write down! Yes, there are digital apps for food journals, and if that works for you, use them; but for me, I have to hand write things to feel more accountable. I sometimes slip and don’t keep track on short trips that I consider “free weekends” but that’s simply because I feel very guilty when I start writing down large quantities of sweets.
I find it helpful to write out the calories of the foods I eat the most in the front of my journal so I have a quick reference page. These include the calories/protein in 1/4 cup and 1/3 cup portions of cooked quinoa and lentils (because you can just multiply the calorie counts from those measurements), Greek yogurt, oatmeal, oat bran, egg whites, turkey, and chicken breast. When I go through all of the pages of my food journal and switch to a new one, I just paperclip my reference page into the next one!

Conversions: You don’t have to eat the entire portion of what is written on the label if you know the conversions of your measuring spoons and cups. You don’t have to eat 2 tablespoons of peanut butter if you really only want 1 teaspoon, when it’s so easy to calculate just one teaspoon’s calories! You can Google conversions very easily, they’re usually listed in the front of most cookbooks, and here are just a few that are the most helpful:
1/4 cup = 4 Tbs.
1/8 cup = 2 Tbs.
1 Tbs. = 3 tsp.
1/2 Tbs. = 1 1/2 tsp.
If you write the conversions you use the most in the front of your food journal, you’ll always have a quick reference for success!

Tips you may not have thought of:
Some snacks come with portions only in the weight amount. Unless you’re quite magical (jealous) and can just know how many grams or ounces are in your handful, you have to weigh them. For easy grab-and-go snacks, when you get home from the store, immediately weigh out your snacks into the correct portions, bag them in snack-sized bags, and put them back into the original bag so you still have the nutrition pannel. For greasier snacks, like chips or cheddar popcorn, measure a few portions into snack bags, write the calories on the front, and grab those for your lunches or to keep in your purse. When you get in the habit of weighing your snacks, you’ll feel more confident in your nutritional choices, and then you won’t go back to mindless snacking straight from the bag.

Cereals have calories and portions printed on the label, but you don’t always eat that amount. Before you even open the box, calculate the calories for other amounts and write them on the box. This way, when you start eating the cereal and measuring however much you feel like eating, you quickly know the calorie count! Easy!
I do this same measurement/labeling on the giant tubs of Greek yogurt I have in the fridge too!

Nut butters and calorie-loaded spreads or sweeteners (honey, maple, agave, etc) should ALWAYS be measured! One tablespoon of your typical nut butter is about 95 calories, which can quickly add up if you’re just mindlessly spooning it into/onto smoothies, sandwiches, pretzels, oatmeal, yogurt etc. Sweeteners are about 15 calories per teaspoon. Always measure out however much you want to use, calculate the calories, and put the jar away. If you’re using it as a dip for apples or pretzels, measure it out of the jar and place it onto your plate and dip it from there (NOT straight out of the jar!).

Measure out nuts/trail mixes with a measuring cup, then put your portion into a small ramekin. Using a small ramekin makes you feel like you get to eat a “whole bowl” of the snack, versus using a cereal bowl that looks like you’re only getting a tiny portion in the bottom of the bowl, which will make you go back for seconds.

When buying large quantities of any protein, I like to immediately portion it into baggies. I measure out ground turkey into 2 ounce or 4 ounce portions and freeze whatever I won’t be able to use within the next few days. This creates portion control AND prevents you wasting meat and having to throw it away when you don’t use it. I then have portions ready to defrost and prepare for dinners! I like to do some in 2-ounce portions because sometimes I like to use my meat in scrambles with eggs or in stir-frys with edamame, and using a smaller portion of turkey is favorable (all of the other added proteins add up). Then, I like some in 4-ounce portions when I’m going to be using it as the primary protein in the dish (like turkey tacos or turkey burgers).
The same rules apply to chicken, beef, fish, and whatever other protein you buy. Remember that when you buy chicken breasts, they usually are 8 or more ounces, so weigh them and cut them into 4-ounce portions before you freeze or prepare them.
If you’re buying a large fish filet from the butcher counter, ask the butcher to cut your filet into 4-ounce filets and individually wrap them, so when you get home and are ready to cook, the portioning is already done and there’s nothing to think about!
Cheese should be weighed because 1-ounce is usually a lot less than you think it is. Weigh it out and then put it on your snack plate.

Candy bars and candy needs to be eaten in moderation. Just learn to look at the label before you gobble it up! Some candy bars list that they are meant to be two portions, but you’d never know that unless you read the label. That means, if you ate the whole candy bar, you ate DOUBLE the calories on the nutritional panel. Just be careful. The new easy-read panel on some candies and snacks (the little bubbles on the front of the packaging with the calories written out) are per-portion too, and if the package has more than one portion in it, you need to know that you should only eat what the portion is! Always have a friend to share the other half with so you don’t mindlessly eat it all up later 🙂

Do you feel more confident now about portion control and counting calories? The message, I think, is that you are 100% in control of the food you use to fuel your body. There is no reason to feel lost or confused about the calories you are eating, and these tools may help you keep on track, or get on track for the first time. And, of course, give yourself a break with a few treats (I’m sorry, but nobody can tell me not to eat that delish cookie from the famous bakery I traveled hundreds of miles to see!).