The Real Deal on Serving Sizes

POV: You just got a brand new snack that you’ve been dying to try. The first thing you do is look on the back to see what the serving size is. Immediately, your plans are ruined when you see that the serving size is 1/4 of what you were “planning” to have.

This is what serving sizes do to us. They make us underestimate our own intuition and instead, depend on a number that really doesn’t mean much. Let’s discuss more on why serving sizes don’t really mean anything, and what to base our intake on instead.

What Are Serving Sizes?

So…what even is a serving size? I know that we’ve all seen the numbers on the back of a food container, but what does it actually mean? A serving size is a standardized portion of food that is typically measured in cups or ounces. They’re used to quantify the “correct” amounts of foods we should be eating based on the dietary guidelines.

It’s important to point out that a serving size and a portion size are two different things. Serving sizes as I mentioned are a standard serving of food that is “recommended,” while a portion size is the amount of food that you actually consume. Sometimes they’re the same, but sometimes not so much.

The serving size is also what correlates with all the numbers on the nutrition facts label. Now, I am not encouraging that you look at these numbers or track them whatsoever. But, when you see that something has 15 grams of protein in it, that is the amount of protein found in the serving size. If you eat less than or double the serving size, the amount of protein on that label will change.

The Problem With Them

Now comes the problem with serving sizes. Unfortunately, looking at a serving size doesn’t always coincide with intuitive eating. I have a whole post that goes into more of what intuitive eating is. If you haven’t checked that one out yet, I highly recommend doing so before continuing.

When we look at a serving size, we’re letting a predetermined number figure out how much we want to eat. A number might I add that isn’t even accurate! According to the FDA, “The serving sizes listed on the Nutrition Facts label are not recommended serving sizes. By law, serving sizes must be based on how much food people actually consume, and not on what they should eat.”

Pretty much what they’re saying is that what you typically eat and choose to eat is what a serving size is for you. How many times have you had the typical serving size of something, but was still hungry after. I’m sorry, but 5 crackers is not going to cut it for me. Maybe 15 will, and that’s perfectly okay.

On the other hand, maybe a serving size for popcorn is 3 cups, but you only want 1 cup. Instead of forcing yourself to have more than you want to satisfy you, just have what you want. We want to figure out what our body is asking for without seeing what we “should” be having.

Now sometimes serving sizes can be useful as a jumping off point. Maybe you’re trying to incorporate more protein or carbohydrates into your diet, so you want to have an idea of your baseline. That’s totally fine, but we need to understand that it’s okay to have more or less than that serving if we want to.

Finding Your “Serving Size”

How do we find what our serving size is? The cool/tricky part about this is that we don’t and probably never will have a specific serving size for the foods we eat.

Our bodies are changing each and everyday. This can be based on our mood, activity level, hormones, stress, sleep, and so much more. Some days our bodies are going to want more food than others, and that’s normal! So what this means is that some days our servings are going to smaller/larger than others.

A perfect example is that I’m getting my period this week. For some reason, I tend to usually have a poor appetite during this phase of my cycle. As a result, I may not have the “typical” serving of food that I usually do. When I actually have my period, I know that I crave chocolate even more than I already do. That may look like eating the whole chocolate bar, instead of 1/4 of it, which usually satisfies me.

Do you see what I mean? Our serving size will always be changing, because we’re always changing. Your body may be craving some extra protein one day, so you’re going to adjust the serving you usually have. Maybe your body is craving ice cream, so you’re going to have more than 1/3 cup, or maybe you just want a spoonful.

All in all, there is no perfect serving size. I wish it were that simple, but our bodies are not simple beings!

This is a trial-and-error process. Some days you’re going to overeat, and some days you won’t have enough. Have grace with yourself, trust your body, and eat foods you enjoy!

xoxo