Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 09-10-2005, 11:49 PM   #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
SwimGirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Posts: 4,312

S/C/G: 273/260.1/163

Height: 5'7"

Default Questions about serving size!

I'm really trying to up my fruit and veggie servings, but it occured to me, what IS a serving size? I once heard a banana counted as 2 servings of fruit, but that seems odd to me. With veggies I count 1 cup as a serving size, help me figure out whats right!

-Aimee
SwimGirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 01:52 AM   #2  
Member
 
oliviacw's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 41

Default

Generally accepted serving sizes:

Veggies:
- leafy green (lettuce, spinach, etc): 1 cup
- other: .5 cup

Fruits:
- most fruits: 1 piece
- small stone fruits (apricots, small plums): 2 pieces
- melons, berries: 1 cup

For fruits, note that "1 piece" is for a medium sized fruit. Big bananas, grapefruit, etc, count as 2 pieces, or 2 servings.
oliviacw is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 12:14 PM   #3  
IR/PCOS/Pre-Diabetic
 
synger's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Posts: 1,797

S/C/G: 310/*ticker*/150

Height: 5'4"

Default

I've always heard it differentiated between cooked vs. raw. There seems to be consensus that 1 cup of leafy greens and half a cup of cooked/canned veggies are both one serving. But some places have raw veggies as one cup per serving and others have it as half cup per serving. I suppose it makes sense to measure a serving differently with veggies that get smaller or softer when cooked, like broccoli or green beans. But things like carrots don't really measure differently when cooked vs. when raw. So I tend to count that as half a cup no matter what.

Mypyramid.gov stopped using "servings" because that was so confusing. So now they recommend how many cups of fruits and vegetables you need. According to mypyramid.gov, women 31-50 should try for one and half cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables daily. That's basically 2-3 servings of fruit and 4-5 servings of vegetables.

So, in general (after all my caveats and discussion)

1 serving = 1 cup of leafy veggies (size of a fist) = half cup to 1 cup of raw veggies or fruit = half a cup of cooked or canned veggies = one medium raw fruit (size of a baseball) = a quarter cup dried fruit = three quarters cup of juice.

http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/vegetables_counts.html# (Then click on "Click here to see the chart" for specific breakouts of veggies for servings
http://mypyramid.gov/pyramid/fruits_counts.html (then "Click here to see the chart")

For those who don't do the pyramid thing, here are some other sites that talk about serving sizes.

http://www.5aday.com/html/consumers/serving.php
http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heart...ervingsize.htm
http://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/os/wh/fiveADayArticle3.htm
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/co...Vegetables.asp
http://missourifamilies.org/features...cles/nut80.htm
synger is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 02:20 PM   #4  
Senior Member
 
funniegrrl's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 1,123

Default

I'm on Jenny Craig, which uses the exchange system for counting food and building menus. The exchange system was developed by the American Diabetes Association, and is what Weight Watchers was originally built upon.

In the JC exchange system there are 6 categories of food: starch, meat/protein, fat, milk, fruit, vegetable. Any one serving in a category is approximately equivalent nutritionally and calorically with any other serving in that category. For the vegetable exchange, "one serving" contains no more than 5g carbohydrate, 2g protein, 0g fat, and about 25 calories. (This encompasses all NON-STARCHY vegetables; things like potatoes, peas, corn, winter squash are counted as starch exchanges.) This works out to 1 cup of raw vegetables OR 1/2 cup of cooked. Vegetables break down and lose water when they cook, so that's why the volume differs -- you may start out with a cup of mushrooms, but cooking them is going to reduce that to 1/2 cup more or less. The calories are the same, they just don't take up as much room.

For the fruit exchange, one serving has no more than 15g carbohydrate and 60 calories. Because the sugar, water, and fiber content of different fruit varies, the serving sizes aren't as uniform. If you're dealing with cut-up fruit (or fruit that is "loose" like berries), JC uses 1 cup for raw/fresh and 1/2 cup for cooked or canned. When dealing with smaller fruits where you'd eat an entire one at a sitting -- apples, oranges, bananas, etc. -- 1 SMALL fruit that weighs 3 to 4 oz would constitute a serving.

This web site has exchange lists that are very similar to the ones used by JC, so you might find it helpful: http://www.24hourfitness.com/html/24_5/food/exchange/
funniegrrl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 05:17 PM   #5  
if only she'd lose weight
 
SuchAPrettyFace's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 3,249

S/C/G: 360/see ticker/180

Height: 5'7

Default

I'm w/Synger. 1/2 cup cooked, 1 cup raw for veggies.

For fruit it's a little different, I think juices are either 1/3 or 1/2 cup, and a large banana is indeed, 2 servings. Things like berries are like 3/4 cup or something. THose links Synger provided will help you.

Remember, cheating w/fruit or veg is better than cheating w/Doritos.
SuchAPrettyFace is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 07:05 PM   #6  
Ilene the Bean
 
Ilene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,538

Default

I never worry about the amounts of vegetables I eat, I eat as much as I want, but I do limit my servings of fruits to 2-3/day, 3 max....serving of fruit is 1 small fruit, half a banana, or 1/2c. pieces, except for dried raisins it goes by tablespoons....
Ilene is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 08:06 PM   #7  
Member
 
TakinBabySteps's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 87

Default

I think the 1 cup/1 piece rule is what I have always understood to be one serving. Truthfully though, I don't worry about eating too much fruit or vegetables. I don't like fruit enough to overeat it very often & as long as I'm eating vegetables without oil/dressing, I don't worry about it. Fruit & veggies are NOT what made me fat lol.
TakinBabySteps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-11-2005, 10:21 PM   #8  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
SwimGirl's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Posts: 4,312

S/C/G: 273/260.1/163

Height: 5'7"

Default

I definitely agree it's not really too possible to overeat in the fruit/veggie area, I was mostly just curious to see how many I have in a day. Most days I have 10+ servings in a day, I'm trying to encourage my bf to get enough fruit/veggies... he'd prefer to stick to an all McD's diet (he's sick all the time and just *can't* figure out why... amazing how someone so smart can be so stupid!).

-Aimee
SwimGirl is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2005, 04:47 AM   #9  
Made in England!
 
DishyFishy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,377

S/C/G: 260/260/169

Height: 5' 4"

Default

Plonk him down to watch that film, Super-Size Me (or whatever it's called). I noticed it's doing the rounds again on Canadian telly, Aimee.

On a related note:
I can't get to grips with serving sizes being given in cups. I like ounces or grammes that my kitchen scale can measure. I'm fine with things like peas and such, but anything that doesn't fit neatly into a measuring cup gets me all of a dither! Apart from the starchy veggies mentioned by funniegrrl, I'm with Ilene. I allow myself whatever I want. I'm obsessive-compulsive and admit I reduced my daily kcal allowance to take account of my treating veggies as "free" food, but I don't worry about whether that figure is accurate or not.
DishyFishy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-12-2005, 08:28 AM   #10  
Ilene the Bean
 
Ilene's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 11,538

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by TakinBabySteps
I don't like fruit enough to overeat it very often & as long as I'm eating vegetables without oil/dressing, I don't worry about it. Fruit & veggies are NOT what made me fat lol.
I'm the same way, fruits I will sometimes get 1 maybe 2/day, veggies I eat as much as I want. I absolutely agree too that it's NOT fruits and veggies that made me fat in the first place...
Ilene is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 05:45 AM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.