What’s the deal with serving sizes?

Written By: Coach Mairead

A super common question I get from nutrition clients is about how big their serving sizes should be. Those who are good with label reading often tell me that they know they’re only “allowed” 5 crackers, or a sixth of a frozen pizza, or half a cup of ice cream.

Serving sizes are standardized across the board in the Canadian food industry. This is a good thing because it makes it easier for us to compare nutrition facts per serving. If every yogurt has the same serving size, it’s easy to know which one has the most protein.

The issue is that our nutrition needs aren’t standardized.

Every single person out there has different needs, based on your gender, how active you are with work, how often you workout, how tall you are, how much muscle you have, or what your goals are. No two people will be the same, so we all need different amounts of food.

The serving size on a food package does not tell you how much you are allowed to eat. It tells you what the nutrition facts are for a standard amount of food. You might need more or less of it to meet your own needs and to be satisfied.

The best way to gauge your serving sizes is using a combination of your own hunger and fullness cues, and the plate model (1/2 plate fruits and vegetables, 1/4 plate protein, 1/4 plate grains and starches).

If you’re curious about whether you’re meeting your own nutrition needs, a nutrition consultation is a great place to start! Whether your goals are around fueling your workouts properly, having more energy, or having a better relationship with food, we can help.

Email [email protected] or click here to book your FREE Bite-Sized Nutrition Chat!