A 2004 New York Times article revealed a 30-year study on American eating habits between the years of 1970 and 2000. In 1971 a woman’s average calorie intake was 1,542 and a man’s average calorie intake was 2,450, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. By 2000, that average had grown by 22 percent for women to 1,877 calories and 7 percent for men to 2,618. A majority of the increase in calories was due to greater consumption of carbohydrates, particularly sugars and processed foods.
One of the easiest ways to lose sight of portions is by forgetting to count the calories in beverages. Sodas, energy drinks, smoothies, and even fruit juices are often just as many calories, if not more, than the meal you’re consuming. Pay attention not only to the calories, but the sugar grams. For example, Naked Mighty Mango juice is 290 calories for a 15-ounce bottle and has 57 grams of sugar and zero grams of dietary fibre. While the sugar from fructose might be healthier than the refined sugar in soda, sugar can still cause blood sugar levels to spike. You might be better off eating a whole mango, which has the fibre to slow down blood sugar levels.
Another downfall of drinking your calories is that you don’t realise how many you’re consuming because it’s easy to drink an entire glass in a minute or two. Your body feels differently when you drink 400 calories versus eating 400 calories.
Lastly, drinking alcohol, which usually also has high-caloric content, can impair your judgement as to how much you’re eating.
Any packaged food or beverage has a portion size listed on the packaging. You might be surprised to find out how little the portion is for the given amount of calories. For example, many breakfast cereals are portioned to be half to three-fourths of a cup. Once you measure it out, you realise how small your cereal portion actually is.