3 rounds 20 DB snatch (50/35) 15 Toe to bar 20 DB snatch 15 Pull ups Cash out Accumulate 5 mins in a plank
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WHEN TO WEIGH
by Coach Courtney, RD www.vitalitynutrition.ca
Do you know the difference between serving and portion sizes? While the terms are used interchangeably, they actually are quite different:
Portion: the amount of a food that you choose to eat for a meal or snack. It can be big or small— you decide. Serving: a measured amount of food or drink. This could be 1 tablespoon (15g) of peanut butter, 175g (3/4 cup of Greek yogurt), or 1/2 cup of cooked rice.
Understanding portion size is valuable when making improvements to your nutrition. Without the awareness of an accurate portion size, we can easily undereat or overeat. Healthy eating includes making healthful food choices, which means knowing what and how much you eat. If your tracking your nutrition, it is important to account for all of the nutrients you consume.
Example 1: Cheese Who doesn't love cheese?! (Well, I actually know a few people. It is fun to share nachos with them, ha!). Cheese is a commonly distored portion. Cheese is a calorie dense food. This means its valuable to understand what a true portion looks like. The cheese on the left is a large serving whereas the cheese on the right is consider one portion (about 30g on a food scale, 1/4 cup grated, or the size of two Energizer batteries).
Example 2: nuts
Like cheese, nuts are energy dense. While nutritious, the calories and fat can add up quickly if your portion is off. The photo on the right is a handful of nuts. I could easily eat 1-2 large handful of nuts if I wasn't aware of my portion (not only could I do this I have done this on multiple occasions - haha!). The photo on the left is a 100 calorie serving of walnuts (about 15g or a handful that would fit within your palm). The serving on the left is a heaping handful at about 230 calories (over 130 calories more than the weighed portion). In one week alone, that adds up to 910 calories that you may not have realized you were consuming. That is like consuming 2 extra meals! If your goal is weight loss, it could be worthwhile to do a double check on your portion size.
Example 3: peanut butter
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been disappointed after measuring out a true tablespoon of PB! After spending years weighing and measuring foods, I’d like to think I have a good eye for portion sizes. But PB is one I can never get quite right! The photo is funny because to me there is literally no visual difference. But the rice cake on the left was my attempt to estimate a tablespoon portion without a food scale - it ended up being more like two tablespoons. The right is 15g portion of PB (1 tablespoon) that I weighed out on a food scale.
Tip: spend a month weighing and measuring your food! By weighing and measuring our foods, you build knowledge and awareness of what a true portion sizes looks like. Personally, I quite enjoy weighing my foods! It isn’t time consuming once you get the hang of it. Weighing your foods isn’t a necessary life long nutrition habit - but I do recommend giving it a go for a month or more! Although it might seem crazy at first, weighing your foods on a food scale is the best way to understand a true portion size! Side note: if you do want to weigh your foods, the best place to purchase a food scale is London Drugs! If you are feeling overwhelmed by this information, consider our guide for “when to weigh”:
