Confusing Portion Size: How Much Should It Be?

Portion sizes can be confusing and encourage you to eat more than is good for you.

Serving sizes vary immensely and it is not always easy to determine the amount to eat. In particular, on the packaging information, there are confusing references to strongly fluctuating portion sizes. We would like to give you tips on how to find your personal portion size.

How big is a portion size?

The question of the portion size cannot be answered across the board . If you take two products out of your refrigerator at random, you will quickly see: the portion size, which is indicated for the nutritional information on the package, varies greatly!

Then how can you tell which product has more sugar or less fat or more calories?

There is a simple trick to quickly determining which product is the product of choice.

Forget about the portion size and look up the quantities per 100g of the product! Make sure that it is the pure product from the packaging (for example corn flakes) or the “ready-to-eat product” (for example corn flakes with milk).

The comparable size is always the product as you find it in the packaging before any type of preparation.

Which portion is right for me?

If you no longer pay attention to the portion size of a product, but only its information per 100g, you can compare the products well with one another, but still make no statement about whether the product is suitable for you or not – and if so, how much of it you can or should eat.

We would like to give you a few rules of thumb with which you can find your personal portion size and the nutritional information that is right for you.

So that the composition of your food doesn’t overwhelm you, we limit ourselves to the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, protein and fat.

These three macronutrients should always be included in a healthy and balanced mixed-food meal, but in different amounts.

Because as everyone knows: ” The dose makes the poison “. Our body needs all three, but in very different amounts!

carbohydrates

The main source of energy for almost all types of activity is carbohydrates. If you eat too little of it, the carbohydrate stores in the muscles and the liver are under-stocked, which limits physical performance.

An optimal supply of carbohydrates noticeably improves the overall body constitution.

There are two different types of carbohydrates:

• complex (bread, pasta, rice, cereal products, muesli, …), so starch products and
• simple carbohydrates (fruit, sweets, biscuits, …), so sugar products

The body converts both types of carbohydrates to glycogen, but at different rates.

The complex carbohydrates are absorbed more slowly in the form of glycogen in the blood than the simple carbohydrates.

You should therefore always opt for whole grain products.

protein

During normal physical activity, the (normal weight!) Body must be supplied with approx. 0.8g protein per kilo of body weight.

The actual protein intake in Germany exceeds this recommendation by approx. 50% and is approx. 1.2g per kg of body weight per day.

This value of 1.2g per kilo of body weight corresponds exactly to what the body should be given to build muscle during training phases.

Therefore, a protein intake through special protein preparations is not necessary, on the contrary: Excessive protein intake stresses the kidneys, as excess protein is not metabolized but is excreted again.

fat

Without dietary fats, many substances (including fat-soluble vitamins) cannot be absorbed by the body.

However, due to the many hidden fats in food, a fat-free diet is practically impossible. Excessive fat consumption is known to lead to obesity and nutritional diseases.

What is my serving size?

In order to eat the right portion size in a restaurant or canteen, it is advisable to weigh frequently occurring foods such as pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, salad dressings and meat at home and photograph them when they are ready to eat.

So you remember the amount as an image and not as an abstract number of grams. You can compare “Berg Reis” with “Bild vom Berg Reis” or count the slices of bread and dose the salad sauce with the tablespoon.

So it is always possible to find the right portion size even when you are out and about!

The following amounts apply per meal for an average muscular woman with little activity, such as sedentary work:

• 3 slices of rye bread: approx. 60g carbohydrates / carbohydrate
• 100g oat flakes (approx. 8-10 tablespoons): 63g carbs
• 100g uncooked noodles (approx. 1/4 pack): 60g carbs
• 100g uncooked rice (1/2 coffee mug uncooked): 74g KH
• 100g meat (the size of a thumb, the size of a playing card): 20g protein
• 2 tbsp salad oil (1.5-2 tablespoons): 20g fat
• 100g minced meat: usually more than 25g fat
• 1 small packet of “hotel butter” from the breakfast buffet: 16g fat

Even in your own kitchen, the salad oil should not be dosed with “Schwupp”, but always with a tablespoon in order to keep control. This is how it works with weight control!