Caution with Portions
Over time food and drink portions have

If you still feel hungry after a meal, try
become much bigger including chocolate
waiting about 10 minutes. If you still
bars, soft drinks, muffins, sausage rolls
feel hungry after 10 minutes have
and the list goes on.
extra salad or vegetables.
The bigger the serving size, the more we

When eating out: share your meal
between two; if the serve size is too
eat. By managing portion sizes, we can
large, ask for the remainder of your
eat our favourite foods in a healthy,
meal to be put in a container so you
balanced way.
can have it tomorrow; or order a small
Too many kilojoules/calories = weight
gain
serve size (entrée).

Have plenty of salad, vegetables or
vegetable soup with your meal to help
you feel satisfied sooner and help
When we get used to seeing a certain
amount of food on our plate, we feel we
need to eat it all to be satisfied. Most
people don’t stop eating until all the food
is gone. Therefore, if we serve more than
we need, we’ll probably eat more than we
need.
avoid over-eating.

Aim
to
fill
half
your
plate
with
vegetables, one quarter with lean
protein (meat, chicken, fish, eggs,
legumes)
and
one
quarter
with
carbohydrates (rice, pasta, noodle,
potato). See the plate model below.
We’d like you to consider the possibility
that you could actually feel satisfied after
smaller meals.
What can I do to control my portions?

Use a smaller dinner plate; this is an
Salad or
Vegetables
easy way to serve smaller portions.

Put leftovers into appropriate portions
and store in the refrigerator or freezer
before sitting down to a meal.

Carbs
(Potato, rice,
bread, pasta)
Protein
(Fish, lean meat,
chicken, legumes,
lentils)
Avoid serving food from the dinner
table as this can encourage seconds.
This is a consensus document from Dietitian/ Nutritionists from the Nutrition Education Materials Online, "NEMO", team.
Disclaimer: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/masters/copyright.asp
Developed: Nov 2014
Review: Nov 2016


Know what a healthy portion/serve
Other ways to help you manage your
size is.
portions and achieve a healthy weight:
Avoid eating straight from the packet.

Serve foods into a small bowl and put
on the food you are eating and
the rest away. Eating straight from a
avoiding distraction.
large packet often leads to over

Re-learn hunger and fullness signals,
eating.
and
Avoid your trigger foods. Choose
comfortably satisfied.
snacks and treats that you are able to

Practice mindful eating by focussing

stop
eating
when
you
feel
Identify things that cause you to over
eat in controlled portions.
eat i.e. buffets, social events, eating
Avoid skipping meals to ensure you
with friends etc and brainstorm ideas
can control your portions at meal
to help you manage these triggers.
times. Ensure you have three main

Speak with your Dietitian/Nutritionist
meals a day. If you feel hungry
between meals, have a healthy snack.
This will help you manage your
hunger and avoid getting over-hungry.
Getting over-hungry can lead to overeating.

Keep a food diary for a week or two to
monitor how much food and fluid you
eat and drink in a day.
Note: It’s not just ‘unhealthy food’ (i.e. Chocolate, soft drinks) that can
lead to weight gain. Some ‘healthy foods’ such as meat, potatoes,
bread, rice, pasta, dairy can also lead to weight gain if eaten in large
portions.
It is possible to have too much of a good thing!!!
This is a consensus document from Dietitian/ Nutritionists from the Nutrition Education Materials Online, "NEMO", team.
Disclaimer: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/masters/copyright.asp
Developed: Nov 2014
Review: Nov 2016
Daily Portion Guides: What is a serve?
Food Group
Serves
Standard serve size
5-6
½ cup cooked vegetables
½ cup cooked, dried or canned beans, peas or lentils
1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
½ cup sweet corn
½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (sweet
potato, taro or cassava)
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 medium piece (apple, orange, peach)
- 2 small pieces (nectarines, plums, kiwi fruit)
- 1 cup diced or canned fruit (no added sugar)
Or only occasionally
- ½ cup fruit juice (no added sugar)
- 30g dried fruit (e.g. 4 apricot halves, 1 ½ tbs sultanas)
- 1 slice (40g) of bread or ½ (40g) bread roll or flat bread
- ½ (75-120g) cup cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley,
buckwheat, semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa
- 2/3 cup (30g) cereal flakes
- ¼ (30g) cup muesli
- ½ cup (120g) cooked porridge
- ¼ cup muesli
- 1 (60g) crumpet
- 1 small (35g) English muffin or scone
- 1 cup (250ml) milk or calcium fortified soy milk
- ½ cup (120ml) evaporated milk
- 2 slices (40g) of hard cheese
- ½ cup ricotta
- ¾ cup (200g) yoghurt
Vegetables and
legumes/beans
2
Fruit
3-6
Grain (cereal)
foods
2½-4
Milk, yoghurt,
cheese and/or
alternatives
Choose low fat
varieties
2-3
Lean meats and
poultry, fish,
eggs, tofu, nuts
and seeds,
legumes/beans
-
-
65 –100g cooked lean meat, chicken, fish
1 cup (150g) cooked or canned legumes/beans
2 large eggs
30g nuts, seeds, peanut paste or tahini
170g tofu
Note: The number of serves per day may change depending on your age, gender and
disease state as per the Australian Guidelines to Healthy Eating. Your Dietitian will work
out your recommended serves per day.
This is a consensus document from Dietitian/ Nutritionists from the Nutrition Education Materials Online, "NEMO", team.
Disclaimer: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/masters/copyright.asp
Developed: Nov 2014
Review: Nov 2016
‘Handy’ portion guide
Using visual cues is an easy way to get to know your portion/serve sizes.
Visual Cue
Your fist
Approximate Portion Size or Serve Size





1 cup of raw salad vegetables
1 piece of medium fresh fruit
1 cup diced or canned fruit
1 cup of cooked or canned legumes/beans
Cupped hand




1 small piece of fruit
½ cup cooked vegetables or legumes/beans
½ cup cooked porridge
½ cup of cooked rice, pasta, noodles, barley, buckwheat,
semolina, polenta, bulgur or quinoa
 ½ medium potato
Palm
 100g raw meat or poultry
 100g cooked fish
 1 slice of bread
Thumb




1 tbs salad dressing
1 tbs oil
1 tbs peanut butter
20g hard cheese (½ serve)
Thumb tip




1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oil
1 tsp margarine or butter
1 tsp mayonnaise
Things I can do to improve my portion control.
1.
2.
3.
For further information contact your Dietitian or Nutritionist:_____________________
This is a consensus document from Dietitian/ Nutritionists from the Nutrition Education Materials Online, "NEMO", team.
Disclaimer: http://www.health.qld.gov.au/masters/copyright.asp
Developed: Nov 2014
Review: Nov 2016