Fruits and veggies in portion control

Fruits and veggies are natural weight loss foods as fruits contain natural sugars known as fructose. Fruits are full of vitamins and antioxidants which clean up free radicals in body, while vegetables are packed with fiber, anti oxidants, vitamins and gives feeling of fullness. The portion control chart below will be our guide.

photo courtesy: google

A person should have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. According to Molly killman registered dietitian and director of the nutrition and physical activity division Alabama department of public health ‘You can never go wrong with fruits and vegetables. We should be consuming adequate amounts of fruits and vegetables every day. At least half of our plates should be fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables are wonderful.’

However, How to lose weight with fruits and vegetables? is a question in itself or how to fit it into our meals daily? In portion control for weight loss one should include fruits and veg in every meal of a day which is also advocated by the American Heart Association according to which:

‘Breakfast: eat melon, grapefruit or other fruit; add bananas, raisins or berries to cereal; drink a 6-ounce glass of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice without excess sodium or sugars (not “fruit drink,” “cocktail,” or “punch.”); or add chopped vegetables to your eggs or potatoes — try onions, celery, green or red bell peppers, or spinach.

Lunch: have a fruit or vegetable salad with lunch; put vegetables on your sandwich, such as cucumber, sprouts, tomato, lettuce or avocado; eat a bowl of vegetable soup. (Compare food labels and choose the product with the lowest amount of sodium you can find in your store, or make soup from scratch.); or have a piece of fruit or raw veggie sticks instead of chips.

Snacks: keep raw veggie sticks handy, such as green or red bell peppers, green beans, celery or carrots; carry dried fruit, such as raisins, dates or dried apricots, in your purse or pocket; or have any type of fresh fruit — grapes, apple, banana, orange, kiwi, etc.; and on hot days, snack on a bowl of frozen fruits or vegetables, such as grapes, peas or bananas.

Dinner: have a fruit or vegetable salad with dinner; add a side of steamed or microwaved vegetables — frozen veggies are OK; when using the oven to cook a meal, put in a whole potato, sweet potato or yam at the same time; add chopped vegetables such as onions, garlic and celery when cooking soup, stew, beans, rice, spaghetti sauce and other sauces; and when making rice, add some frozen peas for the last three minutes of cooking.’

How much Fruits and veggies for weight loss?

As far as veggies are concerned one can have as many vegetables as they want whether it be raw, cooked, steamed or canned. While for fruits 2 to 3 fruits a day is enough which should be spread out.

 What is a portion of fruits and vegetable?

The portion control chart below shows one portion of fruits and veggie. Let’s explain one portion of fruit for example a small sized fresh fruits portion is two or more for small fruits like two plums or 6 strawberries etc. A medium sized fresh fruit portion is one for example 1 apple, banana, pear or orange etc, while a largefresh fruit portion is half a grapefruit, ne wedge of papaya, one slice of melon (5cm slice) or one large slice of pineapple etc.

Dried Fruits:

Dried fruits exclude nuts it only includes fruits such as raisins, apricots and currants etc. so a portion of dried fruits is 30 grams or 1 tablespoon.

Therefore, fruits and veggies in portion control for weight loss is important and should be included in ones diet.

Food Name	Quantity
All vegetables	As many as you like (at least a plateful daily)
Corn on cob	Once a day
Olives	1 tablespoon in a day

Food Name	Quantity
Melons	Cubes/80grams
All fruits	Palm size/medium
Orange	Small 80grams
Grapes	Handful 80 grams
Dry fruit small (raisins etc)	Heaped
Canned fruit	3 heaped tablespoon
Dry fruit large (fig, injeer etc)	2 to 3
Mango	2 to 3 slices a day
Cut up fruits (mix fruit chaat)	Half cup
Fruit Juice	150 ml once a day
Fruit + vegetable juice	150 ml once a day
Sugarcane Juice	150 ml once a day
Sugar cane	Handful
Grapefruit	80 grams/half
Stewed Fruit	3 heaped tablespoon
Avacado	Half per day