We all know that portions have gotten out of control over the last couple decades in restaurants, but that doesn’t mean that your portions have to be dictated by what they give you. Also, your portions at home are in YOUR control… you are the one who is in control over how much you eat. It is OK to not clean your plate (shhh don’t tell your mother I said that!).
Plates that restaurants use to serve your meal, as well as plates we use to serve our own foods at home, have grown over the past 50 years. The size of your dinner plate used to be a serving platter. Try serving your meals on the “salad plate” which is usually the medium sized plate in a set. This will get you closer to a correct portion size for a healthy dinner for an athlete. On that plate, you should be aiming for a fist-size portion of whole grain carbohydrates, a palm-sized (thickness and circumference, not including the fingers or thumbs) portion of lean protein, and about a golf-ball-sized portion of heart-healthy fats. You can have unlimited veggies as long as they are cooked in a healthy manner. Sometimes your fat will come in the preparation of your meal, keep that in mind.
Some other simple ways to eyeball portion size follow:
- Potato: size of a computer mouse
- Pasta: size of a baseball
- Waffles/Pancakes: size of a CD
- 1 oz cheese: 4 dice
- 3 oz lean protein: deck of cards
- 2 1 oz servings of nuts or nut butter: golf ball
As far as restaurants go, some friendly reminders never hurt. Order a half portion, if possible, or split a meal with a friend. Otherwise, ask for a box at the beginning of the meal and box half of the entree up before you even start to eat. You can also order off the kids’ or appetizer menu. Most healthy entrees at restaurants are still too large in portion size. A general rule of thumb is that a half order of a healthy entree will run you about 400-500 calories, which is what most healthy adults will need at meal time.
By keeping your portions in mind, you can maintain a healthy balance of food and still enjoy yourself. Speak with a Registered Dietitian if you are curious about your individual caloric needs.
Julie DuBois, RD 
September 30th, 2011 at 7:57 am
My husband and I have a couple of ways we try to avoid the huge portion sizes at restaurants. We’ll either order soup/salad plus an appetizer as our entree OR we’ll order one appetizer and one entree and split them both. It seems to work for us.
March 13th, 2012 at 1:49 am
One of the best ways to control the sheer calories you’re going to eat is to arm yourself with the nutritional info of your meals BEFORE you even step foot inside a restaurant. If an establishment doesn’t offer a variety of dishes that fit in your caloric reqs, don’t go there! Knowledge is power