Last Updated on October 11, 2021 by Andrew Blakey
This article was written by Amy Arno, a certified holistic nutritionist, and owner of the blog A Dog and a Life. She is specialized in helping men and women get on a path to eating healthy, losing weight, and living a life they love. Check out her website for more tips on how to start living a healthier life at adogandalife.com or on Instagram @adogandalife
MY CHALLENGES WITH PORTION CONTROL
Portion control can be a scary term. At least it was for me when I first started trying to portion out my foods. I was very lost at how exactly to portion my foods. I had so many printables pinned to my fridge telling me how many cups, teaspoons, or ounces I was supposed to have. It became so overwhelming because there were foods that I made that just wouldn’t fit in a measuring cup so I always questioned if it was the right size or not. Nor did I own or even think about buying a food scale. Portion control is something many people struggle with.
Benefits of Learning About Portion Control
Eating and measuring out the right portion sizes will not only benefit you in losing weight, and controlling weight gain, but it will also help you figure out how much food you need to stay satiated and full.
Portion Sizes
A clenched fist or the size of a baseball
Measures about 1 cup
Use this for measuring vegetables (raw or cooked) and real fruit (not dried).
Men will typically need two servings, women only one

Finger part of a clenched fist or a tennis ball
Measures about ½ cup
Use this for measuring higher carb foods such as cooked pastas and oatmeal
Men will typically need two servings, women only one
Your Fingertip
Measures about 1 teaspoon
Use this for measuring oils, seasonings, and butters
Men will typically need two servings, women only one
Size of thumb
Measures to about 1 tablespoon
Use this for measuring nut butters and hard cheeses
Men will typically need two servings, women only one
Palm of hand
Measures to about 3 or 4 ounces
Use this for measuring lean proteins such as meat, fish, and poultry
Men will typically need two servings, women only one
Best ways to practice portion control:

Use smaller plates and bowls when eating at home.
Eating off smaller plates and bowls will help reduce how much you eat and help you to manage your portion control habits. We tend to want to fill our plates because it’s visually appealing, so decreasing the size will still help you fill up your plate but it’ll be smaller portion sizes. But, avoid piling your plate high with food, start small. You can always go back for more if you still feel hungry after the first plate.
Always eat from a plate or bowl.
When buying prepackaged food, transfer the food to a smaller size plate or bowl as well and save the rest for leftovers.
Eating At A Restaurant
If eating out at a restaurant, ask the server to put half the food in a to-go box so you limit the amount of food you’re eating. You’ll be happy to have the delicious food for leftovers the next day and you’ll feel better knowing you don’t have to unbutton your pants just to walk out of the restaurant.
Use the 50/25/25 rule For Your Plate
50 percent cruciferous vegetables and salad
25 percent lean protein
25 percent starchy vegetables or carb
Like I said, learning about portion control rules and advice can be time consuming but I promise it will be worth it. If you’re someone who creates a full meal that you think is healthy and then when you put it into your calorie tracking app, realize that it’s not nearly as healthy as you thought – follow the advice in this article and begin changing your life!
Thanks again to Amy Arno for writing this article, Amy is a certified holistic nutritionist and contributes by writing awesome nutrition related articles and practicing her teachings!
Check her out at Adogandalife or on instagram at @adogandalife