Student Wellness Tip of the Week: Managing Food Intake Through Portion Control

09/27/11

With a buffet of food always a short distance away, it can be difficult to manage your food intake to maintain a healthy body weight. Being mindful of your eating habits is a discipline worth learning during your college years. Are you eating when you feel hungry, or for other reasons? Are you aware of how many plates of food you are consuming in the dining halls? Are you familiar with your body's signals that tell you when you've had enough? Next time you fill your plate, use the "My Plate" graphic as a reference for recommended food group portions.

Here are some examples of what "one serving" is of some common foods:

• Baseball=1 cup --> medium piece of fruit, ready to eat cereal, cooked beans, chickpeas
• Deck of cards/palm/checkbook= 3 oz. --> meat, fish, poultry
• 3 stacked dice= 1.5 oz. --> cheese
• Poker Chip=1 tbsp --> oils, salad dressing, butter, mayonnaise
• Light bulb= ½ cup --> canned fruit, cooked vegetables, cooked rice, pasta, cereal
• Golf ball= ¼ cup --> dried fruit
• Walnut in the shell= 2 tbsp. --> peanut butter, almond butter

As an alternative to frequent snacking, go for a ten minute walk or drink a glass of water. If you still want a snack, you're probably genuinely hungry!

Check out the Center for Health Promotion website to get more nutritional and healthy eating tips.

Submitted by: Maria Behrens '12

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