Factors other than hunger often encourage us to eat. The more we respond to external cues to eat, the less in touch we become with our own internal signals for hunger and satiety. As our children grow, we need to encourage them to stay in touch with those reliable signals that helped them eat correct amounts of foods as babies and toddlers. This will encourage everyone to think twice about how hungry they are before loading up plates with seconds. Just as important, we need to learn just what is an appropriate portion.
Some bagel bakeries serve bagels that count for almost half our daily needs for grain.
Pasta is one food we all tend to pile on, when in fact, one serving is half a cup or the size of half a baseball. A serving of protein from meat, fish or poultry, a piece about the size of a cassette tape, counts as one serving. A serving of cooked vegetables is only one half cup, or about the size of three regular ice cubes, whereas a serving of fresh greens is one cup. French fries, which fall into the vegetable group, follow the same rule as other cooked veggies. That means one serving is half a cup, or no more than 10 to 12 fries depending on their size.