How Many Servings Are You Really Eating?

How many of us like to eat cereal for breakfast?  This is one of the easiest ways to get fuel in your body to start your day.  Cereals come in all types and varieties.  Every cereal box has the all important nutritional guide label posted on the outside of the box to give us the complete story behind what you are eating.

Well I would like to say that it is not always what type of cereal that you should be worried about (sugar variety vs. shredded wheat with no sugar) but the amount of cereal that you consume at one meal.  Let's do a little exercise to see just how much cereal you really are getting per serving.  Please follow these steps completely and do not read ahead.

1.  Get out a cereal bowl.  Your favorite cereal bowl.  The one that you always eat your cereal from and fill it as you normally would with your favorite brand.

2.  Now read the label on that box of cereal to find out the serving size and the calories per serving.

3.  Look at what's in your bowl. Is it more than a serving? Less? Chances are it's more than you think.

4.  Now the fun part begins.  Pour the cereal from your favorite cereal bowl into a measuring cup to find out.  (Please note the "actual serving size" as noted on your cereal box.  Some cereal servings are 3/4 of a cup  and not a one cup serving)

5.  What you will find is that "We measure with our eyes."  And our eyes are terrible judges of portions size.  

 

Case in point: A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found people serve themselves up to 53% more ice cream when simply given a larger scooper and bowl. And since research shows people eat about 92% of whatever is in front of them, it pays to know what an appropriate serving should look like. The only way to know that is to measure what your eating.

Make It Work
While it may seem like a hassle at first, measuring out food can quickly become part of your daily routine. And after a few weeks of practice, you'll begin to train your eyes and brain to recognize what a serving should look like without having to actually measure. But first, you

need the right tools to get started.

Keep equipment handy. Leave a set of measuring cups and spoons on your kitchen counter so you remember to use them. 

  

Think convenience. Put a collapsible measuring cup in your favorite breakfast cereal so it's easy to measure during your morning rush.

Snack smart. Read the label on snack foods, and divide cookies, crackers, pretzels, and chips into individual servings. Store each in an airtight bag or container.

Make your mark. Read the label on block cheese to find out how many servings are in the package, then score the cheese appropriately.  I always do this with my small tub of fat free cream cheese and it feels like a huge serving when spread onto my bagel thin.

These are just a few ideas that I have found have helped me on my journey to a new me.  Try a few of them and see if it can help you lose a few pounds too!