Tips on Losing Weight and Keeping It Off

Measure out a Serving

You might be surprised at how small a serving is for most foods. For raw vegetables, a single serving is one cup — around the size of a baseball — and half a cup for cooked vegetables. A serving size of meat and fish is 3 ounces — about the size of a deck of playing cards. Serving size can be particularly important for prepackaged foods. Since the nutritional information of a product reflects the contents of a single serving, some companies may lower the serving size but increase the serving count to make a product appear healthier. For example, one frozen dinner may have 2-3 servings. Much like the use of smaller plates, an understanding of serving size can help you control portions, prevent overeating, avoid triggering digestive issues like IBS, and better manage your weight.

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Review Date: 
May 27, 2014

Citation: 
Last Updated:
July 1, 2014