Do portion sizes matter when eating healthily?

A calorie is a calorie, whether it comes from good, nutritious food, or if it comes from junk. The energy you take in, calories, must  be burned off as fuel for your body, or else it will be converted to fat and stored. There is no magic science when it comes to fat loss, calories in, versus calories out.

Some of us get fooled into a false sense of security when it comes to eating healthy food. We think, because it's healthy, we can eat larger portions. This is true to a certain extent, there are a lot more calories in a large plate of chips, compared to a large plate of celery ! So, work away, have a plate of celery! Also, lettuce and other greens have very little calories so if you are feeling hungry, don't hesitate to fill up on these.

Other foods which are good, nutritious food, e.g. wholegrain products, fruit, root vegetables, milk, cheese, fish, meat, pulses etc, should be the main source of calories in our diets, but also should be eaten in moderation.

It's worth looking at the chart below for an idea on what a portion size should be. I think a lot of us can be heavy handed when plating up pasta and potatoes especially, so it is worth getting a little kitchen scales and weighing out your portions. The recommended portion size for pasta is 25g before it is cooked, you'd be surprised at how this compares to what you would actually eat without weighing it out! Potato should be no more than 2 dessertspoons. And look how much cheese is recommended, usually they say the size of a small matchbox, it is very small really, isn't it. A lot of us would eat double that at least!

Have a look also at the following websites: www.healthpromotion.ie, and www.weigh2live.safefood.eu.
They are excellent websites to guide you in the right direction.

For anyone trying to lose a few pounds, just by cutting back slightly in your portion sizes can make a huge difference!