[lostbutstilltrying]

Hi everyone!

I am trying to learn portion sizes and what is reasonable - to eat enough, but not too much.

What would you consider a good size for a portion of vegetable soup? One cup with a salad? 2 cups when it's the meal itself?

What is a good size to feel full, but lose weight?

[Wannabehealthy]

I think it depends on the soup and on the person eating it. If you are eating canned soup, the nutrition label should tell you how much is considered a portion. You should eat when you are hungry and stop when satisfied, not stuffed. A cup of vegetable soup and a salad would probably be a good lunch, but for dinner, you would probably need more to be sure you don't get hungry again in a little while. Also, if it is just vegetable soup and you eat a salad with it, there is no protein in your meal. You should have a serving of protein with it if it is dinner. Hope this helps.

[ange82much]

hi agree with wannabehealthy that there are different circumstances and different soups!
You're right lotsbutstilltrying that it's difficult to know what's appropriate.
But then, what's a portion anyway? And what does it mean? If you have a portion of soup and a portion of bread and a portion of sausages and a portion of chips and a portion of icecream is that all ok because you've had the recommended amount for each thing? No, it's not - two portions of soup on their own would have been better for a dieting goal.
But a cup of soup (250ml) sounds quite light-on to me, and if I was just having soup i'd have more. But consider your total food for the day. (Not easy either if you're unfamiliar with these things! I personally count calories in everything, which is maybe a bit old-school, but working for me)
Sorry that's probably not a very enlightening response, but great to see you're starting to figure this out and asking the right questions.

[lostbutstilltrying]

thank you both, I will keep working towards both listening to my body and also finding appropriate portion sizes