Portion and serving size-Newbie here

  • Hi,

    Started WW yesterday. I am get the "idea" of the points etc as I learn my way around. However, when I try and insert something I may have eaten or drank to see how many points it is, I don't completely understand the portion size. For example, if I have a glass of Raspberry Lemonade, and try and "add food" I enter all the information, but when it asks portion, well what is 1 portion consist of? So if I select 1 portion & 1/2 from the drop down menu does that equate 12 oz? Being 1 portion is assumed 8 oz + a 1/2 portion for a total of 12 oz. I hope this makes sense, I am having a hard time figuring out what to enter in the portion as I don't know how much they consider a portion?

    TIA
    Jen
  • Hello Jen and welcome to 3FC!

    Using the Raspberry Lemonade as the example:

    1) Are you entering the information for a completely NEW food into the system, and then it's asking you how many servings/portions you've consumed?

    The system will recognize the information you've entered as 1 Serving. So, if the nutritional information looks like below:

    Raspberry Lemonade
    Serving Size = 1/2 cup

    Total Fat = 0g
    Carbs = 35g
    Fiber = 0g
    Protein = 1g

    PointsPlus will equal 4 Points per 1/2 cup (per serving).

    OR

    2) Are you selecting a generic "Raspberry Lemonade" that is already available in the system?

    Most food types in the system have a number of ways they can be calculated. Broccoli, for example, you can calculate by cups, oz, spears, heads, pounds, etc.

    However, slightly rarer, it's been seen in the system that there are occasionally generic food brands that, while available for use, don't clarify what the serving size is, and sadly do not allow you to change to "cups/oz/etc."

    I tend to advise members to steer clear of the latter, because there's no way to determine what the serving size is for "serving" without the ability to change it to cups or grams or ounces.

    If you're ever unsure, it's far better to err on the side of caution and enter in a new food into the system to be accurate about the points you're consuming.

    I hope that helps, and please stick around 3FC throughout your journey!