Many people, especially here in America, really have no idea of the volume of food that they are eating.  This is no fault of the public at large, but rather the fault of the food industry, which has ballooned from normal proportions into super-size across the board.   Those who grew up in America are particularly susceptible to portion distortion since everyone has grown up seeing portions in sizes that are simply exorbitant.  Portion sizes do not reflect the government’s portion recommendations; instead, portion sizes in America reflect the sizes that the American people expect to get on their plates.

Americans have not always expected such large portion sizes.  The process of ballooning out our portion sizes was a slow, but sure, increase in portion sizes over a period of time.  Over time, small increases every couple of years resulted in a distortion of mammoth proportions over the period of 20 years or so.  In order to have an idea of what this portion distortion is, it is extremely useful to measure one’s portions and keep a daily diary in order to observe just what exactly one is eating.

Diary Entries

When keeping track of portions in a diet diary, it is important to note what the true portion size is.  A plate of pasta is not a single serving.  A single serving of pasta is ½ cup; most American plates of pasta include at least 1 ½ cups of pasta, meaning that the number of calories in a serving must be multiplied by three in order to know how many calories in pasta one is eating.  In order to keep an accurate diary, you must be able to measure serving sizes so that you can keep track of the actual numbers of calories.  As you keep a daily diary that is accurate, you might just be shocked by the numbers that your diet is producing.

The Numbers Game

A healthy diet is one that consists of a number of different elements in the proper proportions.  It’s not all about cutting calories to being below a certain number; it’s also about getting the right proportions of protein and carbs to go along with fruits and vegetables.  As you keep track of your calorie counts, you should also keep track of fats (and what kinds of fats they are) as well as keeping track of how many servings of carbohydrates you are eating.  Many American diets, in addition to being too high in calories, are also much too high in carbohydrates.  Since this is the case, it is useful to know how many carbs one is eating and when one is eating them in order to modify one’s diet to meet the government’s recommendations.

You should also take when you are eating certain elements into consideration.  A dose of carbs in the morning is a good way to get your energy level up in the morning, but is not recommended for right before bedtime because most of the carbs will not get used and will be eventually stored as fat overnight.  However, a small amount of carbohydrates before bed an be a good way to put oneself to sleep.

Eating a snack mid-afternoon is a good way to curb hunger.  A piece of fruit or a tablespoon of nuts is a good way to keep you going until dinnertime without putting your daily calorie count way over the daily recommended amount.  In order to keep your daily amounts within recommended guidelines, a diary can help you know what and when you are eating so that you know where you need to make modifications.  Seeing it in print makes one realize that eating 600 calories in sugar and carbs at 9 PM might just be the reason why you can’t seem to lose weight, no matter how small you make your breakfast and lunch.