Mindful Eating: How Much is a Portion? And, What is a Serving Size?
Do you get confused?
A lot of people do. Here’s an easy way to remember the difference.
- PUBLISHED:
- UPDATED:
- 06/19/2020
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- BY KYMBERLEY PEKRUL
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- THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS
Making Sense of the Two Phrases
Two phrases that you will often hear regarding eating habits are portion size and serving size. While they have two completely different meanings that may confuse many people, they are often used interchangeably. Knowing the difference between the two terms plays an important part in eating healthy.
The subtle but significant difference in portion size versus serving size is the amount of food you eat during one sitting. Whether you’re dining out or eating at home, portion size is how much food of a serving that you eat, which can be more or less than one serving.
Quick Tip: Remember, portion size is always 100% within your control.
Think about it this way:
Remember those enormous plates of food that we all used to get when we went out to eat? The restaurant brought a colossal plate of say “pasta” as your serving, but you may have only eaten half of it and taken the other half home, making your portion size smaller from the actual serving size.
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But what about in recipes? Is it the same?
When interpreting recipes, you want to look at the serving (portion) size and how much it serves or makes. That pan of Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Bars you’re drooling over claims to serve 18 (or make 18 servings), but if you’re super hungry (or if you have just come back from a workout), you may want to eat more than one-eighteenth of what the recipe makes to fill you up.
Here’s an easy way to remember the difference in recipes:
- The “Serving Size” is the suggested amount of food to eat at one time. The portion you choose to eat could be more or less than one serving.
- “Serves” is the entire amount, or the “total amount of servings that the recipe makes” listed on the Nutrition Facts. For instance, using our recipe for Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Bars; one 2-1/2” x 2-1/2” bar is one serving size, but if you eat two bars, that would be the portion size you choose to eat. If you were to eat the entire pan, you would be eating 18 servings.
Using portion sizes and serving sizes to guide your eating.
Using portion sizes and serving sizes to guide eating isn’t at odds with healthy eating or mindful eating habits. Because when you’re maintaining an in-the-moment awareness of the food and drink you are putting into your body, it’s not about eating better, getting healthier, or losing weight.
Mindful eating does something more powerful.
When you work on a mindful path, it changes your relationship with food and with your body. It involves observing how your food makes you feel and the signals your body sends to your brain about fullness, satisfaction, and taste.
Practicing mindful eating and using it as a powerful tool and guide can help control your eating habits to enjoy your food more. It can make mealtimes more satisfying, make you feel better with better health outcomes, and change how you engage with the world.
Did you like this post? Does this explanation make sense to you? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please comment. Click the blue-green comment bubble on the bottom right of your screen to jump to the comment area.
XXO
Kymberley