Nutrition 101: Portions + Macronutrient Balance
With a strong nutritional foundation through increased knowledge around key food groups, it allows for an easier approach to knowing appropriate portions sizes when consuming your daily meals and snacks. When the portions are aligned you are better able to absorb enhanced topics such as macronutrients. The more practice, the easier it gets. Let's look at ways to manage our portions when at home or on the go and how those measurements impact our macros and thus our overall nutritional values.
Important Education Takeaways
Macronutrients (aka macros) are the nutrients from food providing our bodies with energy in the form of calories. Each macronutrient plays an important role.
There are three main macronutrients:
Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram
Proteins: 4 calories per gram
Fats: 9 calories per gram
When meals and snacks are macronutrient balanced, they leave us feeling fuller longer and with more energy. This can lead to reduced food cravings, healthier food choices, lessened overeating, and in maintaining a healthy body weight.
Caloric need and macronutrient distribution are highly individualized based on age, sex, height, weight, activity level, medical conditions, and specific health goals.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for adults recommend anywhere from 45-65% of daily calories from carbohydrates, 10-35% from protein, and 20-35% from fat.
A general dietitian recommendation is 40-50% from carbohydrates, 20-30% from protein, and 25-30% from fat; this is not one-size-fits-all.
More information on macros and how to count them can be found in this Ask the RD blog post.
Eating a well-balanced diet doesn’t have to be complicated. There are many strategies to help manage our portions, use whatever strategies work best for you and your lifestyle.
Healthy Plate method to ensure proper meal balance with a quick and easy “eyeballing” strategy. This may not work for every occasion, such as when consuming mixed meals (i.e., soups and casseroles) or with combination foods (i.e., legumes and dairy).
½ plate is filled with non-starchy vegetables and/or fruit*
Salad greens, asparagus, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini, etc.
Choose a variety of colors!
¼ plate is filled with protein
Chicken, salmon, pork, beef, tofu, beans, lentils, Greek yogurt
Choose lean, unprocessed protein options
¼ plate is filled with grains, starches, and/or fruit*
Cereal, rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, corn, potatoes
Choose complex carbs, high in fiber, low in refined/added sugars
* Fruits are a significant carbohydrate source. If aiming for a lower carb eating plan, include within the grains and starches quadrant of the plate.
Practice mindful eating.
Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues by eating when you feel hungry but not yet starving.
Stop eating once you feel satisfied but not yet full.
Practice eating slowly, chewing thoroughly, and savoring each bite.
Try to be more present when you eat. Avoid multitasking and remove distractions such as cell phones, computers, and TVs.
Estimate portion sizes using your hands as a simple visual guide.
Fingertip = 1 teaspoon
Use for oils, butter, mayonnaise, and other added fats
Thumb = 1-2 Tablespoons
Use for nut butter, cheeses, salad dressings, and sour cream
Handful = 1-2 ounces
Use for nuts, crackers, pretzels, and other snack foods
Palm = 3-4 ounces
Use for meats, poultry, fish, tofu
Fist = 1 cup
Use for pasta, rice, cereals, fruits, and veggies
Half Fist = ½ cup
Use for beans, lentils, yogurt, cottage cheese
Use a smaller plate for meals. This can help convince your brain that you are eating the same amount of food while really eating less.
Avoid eating straight from the package. Instead, pre-portion an individual-sized amount before enjoying.
When dining out, portion half of your meal in a to go box. This removes temptation before you start eating.
Track your eating with a smart phone app or try keeping a food diary. This may help to hold you more accountable and keep you motivated when trying to adopt healthy eating habits
Detailed or even simple food tracking can improve dietary awareness, highlight food behaviors, and even help to identify food intolerances.
Snack smarter by building more satiating snacks. Pair fiber-rich foods with proteins or fats.
Pairing helps to balance your snack to feel full and satisfied for longer, while also boosting energy levels.
Examples of Fiber + Protein/Fat:
Banana + peanut butter
Whole grain toast + avocado
Whole grain crackers + string cheese
Veggie sticks + hummus
Recipes
Recipe of the month: Roasted Turkey Tenderloin & Italian Veggies
As always, this recipe is the showcase of our live taught, virtual cooking class. Our chef and registered dietitian bring the recipe to life as they walk you through food prep, swaps to meet dietary or taste preferences, plus tips and tools to support you being your own healthy chef at home.
Bonus recipe: Apple cider Braised Pork
From Jamie’s kitchen to yours, our monthly bonus recipes are published on our website and social media the 4th Wednesday of each month. We invite you to browse our recipe collection and come back often to find more flavorful and heart-healthy recipes.
We invite you to join us for the live taught, virtual nutrition classes each month to gather more information on our nutrition topics. This is also an opportunity to ask topic-related questions of our experts as well as connect socially with attendees for idea sharing. As a registered participant for our In the Kitchen program, you receive a few reminders ahead of each scheduled monthly classes, but here’s an easy to remember schedule: Nutrition Education (30-minutes, 2nd Wednesday, 12pm), Cooking Class (up to 60-minutes, 3rd Monday, 12pm).
Contributing authors: Jamie Libera, RD, LD, CCTD, registered dietitian, Providence.