Can you believe that portion sizes have doubled in the past twenty years? Two cups of pasta used to be the norm.
Now it is common to see at least four cups on your plate at an Italian restaurant.
Sodas during the 1950s and 1960s were about 7 ounces, compared with 12 to 64 ounces these days.
At the movies, popcorn was once about 5 to 6 cups; now a large bucket with butter flavor contains up to 20 cups and 1,640 calories.
Check out how we've grown.
Twenty years ago: - A muffin was 1.
5 ounces and had 210 calories.
Today's 5-ounce muffin has 500 calories.
- An average-sized cookie was 55 calories.
Now, a large cookie has about 275.
- A bagel was 3 inches in diameter and had 140 calories.
Today's 6-inch bagel has 350.
-A 2.
4 ounce portion of French fries had 210 calories.
Today's 6.
9-ounce portion of French fries has 610 calories.
-A cheeseburger had 333 calories.
Today's fast food cheeseburger has 590 calories.
The key to eating healthy and understanding what your body truly needs is to be able to eyeball correct portions.
Calorie counting is just too time consuming and unrealistic for most of us.
Who has the time to keep referring to a book of foods and then hoping you can find the specific brand? I never made a good walking calculator; I'm more of a visual person.
The visuals I've created are an easy reference, but I recommend that you also use measuring cups, spoons, and a scale.
These will be your new best friends.