Estimating Portions..

Hi All, Does anyone know the estimations for ounces?  I remember something being about the size of your cupped hand, then something else was the size of your open hand, etc...  It was just something to guide you when eating somewhere other than home where you can measure portions.There is a slight tickle at the back of my poor brain but I just can't 'pull it up'.  I think it was a Weight Watcher thing.  Any help would be appreciated.   

Thanks, Jn

According to WW a deck of cards is a 3oz portion of meat

Ounce is a measure of weight.  An ounce of lead will be much smaller than an ounce of rice.  I suggest that you buy a food scale, you can get them cheap, and weigh things until you get a better idea of portions.

Don't mind the die hard comments. Obviously a scale is the most accurate way to go, but you also clearly said for when you're eating out, etc.

Why would you want to eat out? Restaurants are full of caloric terrors! And if your pesky "friends" drag you to a restaurant, why can't you bring your food scale with you???

I remember what you're talking about. A serving of chicken is the palm of your hand, a serving of starch (potato rice or pasta) is your closed fist, an ounce of cheese is a domino. 2 tbsp of a condiment is the size of a golf ball. They're inaccurate but if you're keeping portion size in mind you're already doing well for yourself.

And if you want to be a true CC'er I'm sure someone can sell you a carrying strap for your scale so you'll never be caught without it.

An ounce of cheese is about the size of your palm or a 1in by 1in by 1in cube of cheese. 

Three ounce of steak is the thickness and length of a deck of cards.

3 oz of fish is the size and thickness of a checkbook.

1 serving of fruit is the size of a closed fist

Oil is the size of the tip of your thumb.

 

There you go..lol I hope that helped.

I'd also suggest getting some kitchen scales.  Obviously you can't take them with you when you eat out (that would be nuts!) but if you get used to how big things are by repeatedly weighing them at home it makes estimating outside the home a lot easier.

Original Post by corduroyfirekills3:

Don't mind the die hard comments. Obviously a scale is the most accurate way to go, but you also clearly said for when you're eating out, etc.

Why would you want to eat out? Restaurants are full of caloric terrors! And if your pesky "friends" drag you to a restaurant, why can't you bring your food scale with you???

I remember what you're talking about. A serving of chicken is the palm of your hand, a serving of starch (potato rice or pasta) is your closed fist, an ounce of cheese is a domino. 2 tbsp of a condiment is the size of a golf ball. They're inaccurate but if you're keeping portion size in mind you're already doing well for yourself.

And if you want to be a true CC'er I'm sure someone can sell you a carrying strap for your scale so you'll never be caught without it.

Eh, because you don't want to let your diet affect your social life? If you withold from eating at restaurants for long periods of time during weight loss, you'll be frightened as hell to eat out again after you're done.

I remember a serving of meat is supposed to look like a deck of cards.  I've got no idea about anything else though... you're right, it was Weight Watchers.

Okay, enough about meat and pasta, does anyone know how many ounces/grams approximately a slice of cake is? Let's say 2" x 2".

Thin slice?  Thick slice?  Sponge cake?  Fruit cake?......  :-)   2" square slice of chocolate sponge would be about 1oz - 2oz.

I'm thinking of the typical birthday slab cake that shows up in office kitchens way to frequently.

Ah, my husband taught me that a 2 oz slice of meat is about the size of a Nestle Crunch bar in all dimensions. After giving his theory a try and weighing the sucker he was nearly dead on. What a cruel teaching tool, candy bar!

Well, a slice of sheet cake should be about the size of a regular sticky- note, +/- a line or two. Then scrape of 90% of that frosting! I hate all that yucky frosting anyways.

A very easy way to "guage" food servings is have a pack of post its with you. Pretty good for fast food and on the go portion control.

It's fine to calorie count, because i love cake and Tim Horton's coffee.  My husband to get his point across of how things add up in a year, showed me.  I had a mound of cake in front of me with a gallon of cream and a few bags of sugar.  I eat none of it now.

Jenn, thank you so much - just what I was trying to remember.  Have a great day!

Thank you all so much!  You have helped so much.  I was really off in my guesstimations - I can see clearly now... latadalala  ......that I must never be without a Nestle Bar and Sticky Pad!

Hand Method

 

A thumb is about the size of 1 ounce of food. Your palm is about the size of 3 ounces of food or one serving of meat. Your fist is equivalent to 1 cup or 8 ounces. For example, a portion of rice as large as your fist is equal to about three servings of rice. The tip of your thumb is the same size as a teaspoon. Using the thumb tip is a good way to keep track of fat portions, such as the amount of margarine that counts as one serving.

 

From: http://www.revolutionhealth.com

Original Post by toasttoasttoast:

Original Post by corduroyfirekills3:

Why would you want to eat out? Restaurants are full of caloric terrors! And if your pesky "friends" drag you to a restaurant, why can't you bring your food scale with you???

Eh, because you don't want to let your diet affect your social life? If you withold from eating at restaurants for long periods of time during weight loss, you'll be frightened as hell to eat out again after you're done.

Yeesh, duly noted. Next time I'll try to lay the sarcasm on even thicker.

I think I have a trowel around here, somewhere...

I have a problem using hand sizes, because what is a hand size? My husband's hand is twice as large as mine. So which palm and fist size do I go by? I usually check out the web site for what ever resturant we are going to and see if they give calories for their meals and pick out what I'm going to eat before going. That way I can keep track of what I eat and know that even though they aren't measuring everything out in the kitchen it should still be close.