Portion size is critical to managing your weight.  One helpful idea is to use familiar objects as visual guides to “guesstimate” portion sizes.

One Cup Is About The Size Of A Baseball

The suggested serving size for many food items, particularly produce, is a cup. The suggested portion size for many denser items, like pasta, rice, or ice cream is a half a cup, so two servings – which is, at minimum, what most of us eat, would equal a cup.

 A Baseball, Not A Softball

A cup is about the size of a baseball – a baseball, not a softball.  So a cup of cooked greens, a cup of yogurt, a cup of beans, or a cup of cantaloupe should all look like the size of a baseball – but with obviously different calorie counts.

Here are some of the CDC’s examples of one-cup servings:

• 1 small apple
• 1 medium grapefruit
• 1 large orange
• 1 medium pear
• 8 large strawberries
• 1 large bell pepper
• 1 medium potato
• 2 large stalks of celery
• 12 baby carrots or 2 medium carrot
• 1 large ear of corn

It’s easy to visualize a small apple or a medium potato as about the size of a baseball.  It’s more difficult with an ear of corn!  But, for most food products it is possible to think “baseball” and pour or cut or pick (as in the case of fruit) a similarly sized portion.

This is Tip #3 for Week 3 of the “lose 5 pounds in 5 weeks challenge.”  Let everyone know how you’re doing! Post your results and/or struggles and suggestions on Eat Out Eat Well’s page on Facebook.

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Despite all of the information about why we should eat more fruit and vegetables, according to the State of the Plate: 2010 Study. from the Produce for Better Health Foundation, 93.6% of Americans don’t hit our vegetable target and 92.4% of us don’t reach our fruit target.

How Many Fruit And Veggies Should You Eat?

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines makes a point of telling us to increase our consumption. But, here’s a question for you:  do you know how many carrots or grapes or broccoli florets are in a 1 or ½ cup serving?  Probably not. How much do you need, anyway?

The recommended amount is going to vary depending on your age, gender, and level of activity.  Go here for some general recommendations – or, trying filling up half of your plate.

Some Visual Portion Guidelines

But, it isn’t always so easy.  What if you pack your lunch, grab lunch at a deli, or snag a piece of fruit off of the platter in the conference room?  Or, maybe you eat out a lot and you want to guestimate the portion on your plate.  Here are some general visual guidelines from the CDC:

One cup servings:

• 12 baby carrots or 2 medium carrots
• 1 large ear of corn
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 medium potato
• 2 large celery stalks
• 1 large bell pepper
• 8 large strawberries
• 1 small watermelon wedge
• 1 large banana
• 1 small apple
• 1 large orange
• 1 medium pear

One-half cup servings:

• 16 grapes
• 1 large plum
• 1 small (1/4 cup) box of raisins
• 1 medium slice of cantaloupe
• ½ medium grapefruit
• 5 broccoli florets

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