I have written before about portion control.  It is important to know that since the 1950s, people have been doubling in size, but that is because portions have doubled in size.

And the food industry does a great job of hiding facts and they have been tricking you into eating TOO MUCH FOOD!

I had a client come to my office with a 15 ounce large bottle of Green Machine Naked Juice (GMO fruits, company owned by Pepsi) and he attempted to drink the entire thing himself.  The bottle had at least 5 or 6 small servings for a family at breakfast and because it was in a bottle, he thought he should drink it himself.  You have to be careful reading labels.  This is what the label says:

1 cup is almost 30g of sugar (almost 8 sugar cubes) and almost 35g of carbs.  No wonder diabetes is on the rise.

Stick to cup-sized portions.  Get out a measuring cup and get accustomed to the size of it.

HERE IS THE TRICKERY!

So, do you know how much is in a cup?  Most people don’t.  A cup is 8 ounces.  How many ounces are in the bottle?  15 ounces!!!!!!!!!!!!  (some of the other Naked Juice drinks are even worse!)

So, if you DOUBLE the amount of nutritional information if you DRINK THE WHOLE THING, then you will realize that you are actually drinking almost 60g of sugar (about 16 sugar cubes) and almost 70g of carbs–about as much as you want for the whole day if you don’t want to maintain or lose weight.

I have seen many people drink these whole bottles as one meal.  You need to look at your labels!  You could have had a whole plate of spaghetti and meatballs instead and liked it better!

The standard serving for soft drinks is one cup – 8 fluid ounces. But most cans sold in vending machines are 12 ounces. Bottles drinks often come in 20 ounce portions, all for consumption by a single person.  That is just way too much in one go.  We are eating too much, drinking too much.

At Starbucks, the portion sizes are not only skewed to large, the names are confusing as well: Tall (12 ounces), Grande (16), and Venti (24).

It gets even harder to order the smaller options when you do the financial calculation – the larger portion almost always is cheaper per ounce than the smaller one.

What to do when you’re eating out?

• only eat 4 ounces of meat (a palm-sized amount), a cup of vegetables, small salad size.
• 
• Ask for a take-out container and put your food in there even before you start to eat so you won’t be tempted to keep eating.
• ask your server / waiter what the portion size is for the dish you are ordering
• order the smaller option (including kid sized portions, which are the right size for an adult in the first place)
• share your dish with your dining partner
• drink water – no serving size limit!
• I don’t do pasta, but if you do, remember what a cup looks like!  (and it is about 43g of carbs!  That is a lot and it is just a cup!
• 
•