Portion Control

Hello! Today on Wondering Whisk, we will be discussing helpful strategies to practice portion control.

Portion control can be difficult to manage at times, especially if you find yourself eating at the Ville Grill’s all you care to eat buffets or going out to eat at a restaurant with your friends. Navigating portion control, and nutrition in general, is a marathon not a sprint. Whether you’re practicing portion control at home, on campus, or at a restaurant, be sure to take one meal and day at a time. 

Before we dive into helpful strategies, it is important to understand that portion control consists of mindfully balancing the nutrients and energy you are in-taking and this differs from a serving size. A portion is the amount of food you are choosing to intake at one time and a serving size is the standardized amount of food suggested to eat.  Portion control is a resilience building skill because the decision to fuel your body with the necessary energy and nutrients is a conscious decision towards a healthy mind and body. Portion control can be made easier when eating at home, on campus, or at a restaurant by following some of strategies listed below. *Be mindful that this practice also depends on numerous factors such as your age, weight, gender, metabolism, activity level, etc.

• Reference the UofL Smart Plate to learn how to balance all your food groups (Link included at the bottom of the page) 

• Reference the Nutrition Navigator Size Guide to Portion Control via Instagram

• Learn how to read food labels with the listed serving size 

• Start each meal by drinking a glass of water

• Share a meal with a friend or put half of your meal in a to go box to take home when going out to eat to a restaurant. 

• Use smaller dinnerware when eating at home

• Don’t eat straight from the container 

• Reference: https://health.gov/our-work/food-nutrition/2015-2020-dietary-guidelines/guidelines/appendix-2/ for an estimated, general amount of energy you should intake in a day based on age, gender, and activity levels 

• Contact myself or Ethan to learn more about how to can successfully practice portion control 

As I said earlier, take one day at a time and one meal at a time when learning how to navigate portion control and nutrition because it is a marathon not a sprint! Be sure to check in for Wondering Whisk’s blog post next Thursday and request any blog topics you want to learn more about!

Link to UofL Smart Plate: https://louisville.edu/healthpromotion/elements-of-wellbeing/food-nutrition-cooking/uofl-smart-plate