We think more food is a better bargain
Getting more for your money isn’t good for
your waistline or your health. People think
they are getting a bargain when they get more
food for just a few cents more. What isn’t
a bargain are the extra kilojoules and fat that
come with these ‘added value’ meals. The
World Cancer Research Fund says that the
food and drink industry is contributing to
obesity by offering consumers ever-larger
portion sizes. There is a call for the industry
to make it easier to make healthy choices
by not promoting ‘super-sized’ portions.
The new joint Australia and New Zealand
Food Standards Code has user guides that
were developed in consultation with
government and industry representatives.
They help retailers, manufacturers and food
officers label food products correctly, listing
how much sugar, salt and fat are in food
products, which allows the consumer to
make an informed – and healthy – choice.
Most weight-loss success stories are the
result of cutting portion sizes. It’s a simple
fact: if you eat less, you’ll lose excess weight.
Cutting portions down to size
Here’s how you can reduce your portions:
■Wait 10 minutesYour stomach needs
about that long to signal to the brain that it’s
full, so wait before helping yourself to more
mashed potatoes or lasagna. Keep the conver-
sation going, tell a joke or, if you’re dining
alone, read the newspaper or do the crossword.
If you’re truly hungry after the delay, have
a second helping of the vegetables or salad.
■Leave the ‘clean plate’ clubMost of us
eat everything we’re served no matter how
big the portion. A better strategy is to eat
a healthy portion (see ‘Perfect portion size
guide’, right), then stop. It’s better to waste
a little food (or save it for tomorrow) than
to overload your body.
■Never eat straight from the bag, box
or cartonIf you are having takeaway food,
put the right portion on a plate and put the
package away, then sit down and enjoy your
meal, taking your time over it.
■What to do if you like big portions
Overload your plate with vegetables or a
salad with a smidgen of dressing, or have
a big, steaming bowl of stock-based soup.
These water-rich, low-fat foods are low in
kilojoules, so a big portion isn’t a problem.
Use a smaller plate for your meal. Less space
on the plate means automatic portion control.
When ordering food or drinks or buying
packaged food at the supermarket, program
yourself to choose or order the smallest size
of any high-kilojoule items. (The exceptions
are salads and vegetables without added fat.)
Get the small latte, the half-sized filled
baguette instead of the big one, the small muffin instead of the big chocolate chip
version. Kilojoules you haven’t bought can’t
end up around your waist.
■Choose single-serve Buy or make high-
kilojoule foods in individual serving sizes.
Instead of family-sized tubs of ice-cream,
buy single-serving tubs; make cupcakes
instead of a large cake; and buy snack-sized
bags of chips, not the party-sized bags.
But read the label first. Many packaged
foods and drinks may look as if they provide
one serving but are actually meant to serve
two or more people and the kilojoules and
other nutrition information on the label are
for just one serving. So read the number of
servings per container first, then be sure to
eat or drink just one serving per person.
■Put away leftovers before eating It’s
easy to sit down to a healthy plate of food.
The trouble starts when your plate is empty
and you have more food sitting in front of
you. The answer is to pack away and store
leftovers before you sit down to eat. That
way, taking a second helping is more of a
conscious effort and feels more inappropriate.
■Round off the meal with fruit or
vegetablesAs you consume more modest
portion sizes, you may start craving extra
food with your meal. The answer is to have
a large, crunchy serving of celery, carrots or
capsicums, or a sliced tomato with your meal.
Add some volume with an apple, an orange
or a big helping of watermelon or rockmelon
at the end of your meal.
Perfect portion size guide
Most of us underestimate portions and, therefore, kilojoules by at least 25 per cent – meaning that
you could ingest hundreds of extra kilojoules every day and not even know it. Here’s how to estimate
the perfect portion size every time. We give you two comparisons: one compares the portion size to
everyday objects and the other to parts of your hand, for a take-anywhere system.
| THE PERFECT PORTION |
LOOKS LIKE THIS |
OR THIS |
75g meat |
a purse pack of tissues |
your outstretched palm |
75g fish |
a chequebook |
your outstretched palm |
3-4 tbsp beans |
a tennis ball |
a cupped handful |
40g cheese |
3 dice |
your thumb |
2 heaped tbsp rice or pasta |
a full cupcake patty pan |
a rounded handful |
1 portion mashed potato |
a drink coaster |
your palm |
25g bread roll |
a bar of soap |
half of your palm |
1 small bun |
the round part of a light bulb |
half of your fist |
8cm piece of cake |
a pack of Post-it notes |
about 3/4 of your palm |
1 tsp butter or margarine |
a postage stamp |
the tip of your thumb |
1 tbsp oil or dressing |
the base of a teacup |
the centre of your cupped hand |
Potato chips |
a tennis ball |
a cupped handful |
Nuts or dried fruit |
a golf ball |
a small cupped handful |
