Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I won't let my body out out well everything that
I'm made do. Won't spend my life trying to change.
I'm learning to love who I am. I get I'm strong,
I feel free, I know who everybody me. It's beautiful
and then will always out way if you feel it
(00:24):
with yours in the air, she'll love to the boom. There,
let's say good day and did you and die out
Happy Saturday. Amy and Lisa here Outweigh fam. Thanks for
joining us. If you're brand new, thanks for continuing to
come back. If you're a regular. Um, we've kind of
(00:46):
covered serving suggestions on the podcast before, or maybe it
was like back in the day when we first started outweigh.
I'm not sure, but I think it's an important thing
to remember because it's something that we're just used to checking.
It's kind of like, okay, well here's this item, and
there's the nutritional information on the back, and it says
the diserving size is the fourth of a cup, So
(01:06):
I guess that's what I'm supposed to have. And Lisa
can break down being that she's the registered dietitian and
can understand that like literally every single person's body is
so different and that was what was so refreshing for
me to like take a deep breath with whenever I
was obsessed with, like my fitness pal and entering in
all of the information into this calculator that really had
(01:27):
no hundred percent knowledge of how my body was functioning
or operating. Yet I thought that it was fact and
it was science and that app knew me inside and out.
So I would enter in my fourth cup of granola
because that is what I ate, because of course I
measured it because that is all I was allowed to have.
But then maybe later I was like, oh, I need
(01:49):
another fourth of a cup, so I would enter in
my two separate encounters with the granola as a fourth
of cup, which then totalled half a cup, which, in reality,
if I had just scooped out maybe what I wanted
in the beginning, it might have originally have been that
half a cup. And that's okay, because that's what my
body needed. But some part of me instantly felt like
(02:09):
I was doing something wrong because I exceeded the recommended
amount for serving size. And I don't know, Lisa, can
you just help us out with this again? And I
feel like it's a common question that I get so
here we are bringing it up again. Yeah. So when
learning to read a nutrition label, I feel like the
first thing we talk about is get to know the
(02:29):
serving size, because that's going to help you figure out
what you quote unquote should you even use the word
recommended serving size? From the information I've gathered from the FDA,
the governing agency that regulates our food and food labels,
a serving size is not a recommendation or a suggestion.
According to their website the last time I checked, which
(02:51):
I will admit was not within the last few months,
is that it's what people are actually eating. However, when
a food company goes to create a food and make
a label, I think more of what we're seeing is
how can we make these numbers look quote unquote better,
more attractive to the consumer. So by using oftentimes smaller
(03:13):
serving sizes, you're going to see that word calories as less.
The number that's associated with the calories is going to
be less because it's a smaller serving, and carbs and
sugar and all the things that people look for, all
those numbers are going to be smaller because they used
a smaller serving. Does that make sense? So when a
food company comes out with the food, They don't send
all the information to the f d A and say, Okay,
(03:34):
is this way like you know you guys are looking for.
There's a lot more like wiggle room when it comes
to it. And I think that oftentimes a food company
is just looking to position themselves in a way that says, Okay,
this is probably what people are eating slash. How can
we make these numbers on the right look a little
bit more desirable to somebody who's not going to pay
attention to the serving size but just wants to see
(03:57):
that one number that looks as low as possible does
makes sense? Yes, And this just like literally popped into
my head. Hadn't thought of it until now. But you
and I are both fans of Daily Harvest, right like
you actually introduced me to them, and I'm now a
regular customer. I get a weekly shipment one too. Oh yeah.
I do their bowls, I do their smoothies, I do
(04:19):
their flatbreads. They're flatbreads are one of my favorite things.
And I pro tip um. It says to cook them
in the oven, but I put mine in the air
fryer and it cooks so much better and a lot
faster than the oven. But Anyway, when I first became
a customer, they're flatbreads used to be too servings. If
you looked at the caloric or the fat intake or whatever,
(04:40):
it was lower. But then when you looked closely, you're like, oh, shoot,
that's only if I eat half. But listen, the flat
bed is really good, and unless you're pairing it with
something else, like, at least for me, I'm gonna want
to eat the whole flatbread. And so I was always like, Okay,
well now I'm having two servings, which again really didn't
bother me, but some of my old school thinking it's
(05:01):
obviously still rooted in me too, where I have to
shut it down. I have to shut down the noise
of like, okay, who cares, like I want the whole flatbread,
so whatever. But I noticed recently, and I don't know
when they change this, because again it's not something I
pay attention to, but their flatbreads are now one serving,
the whole bread. They no longer divide it in half.
So therefore, to your point, the calories went up, the
(05:23):
fat went up, everything went up that people might look at.
But I wonder if they were finally, like, I have
no idea why they did it or if it was
an intentional move or just part of I feel like
they have a good handle on things and how they
approach it. I don't even know them. I don't know
why I'm saying that, but now I'm wondering, like, was
that a decision on their part of like, Okay, let's
stop being stupid. There's no way that half of the
(05:45):
flatbread is a survey, Like, there's just no way, Like
this doesn't equate a serving. So I think what I
aim to do in this episode is break down the
idea that serving, the word serving that you read, has
any indication on how much you should consume of that food.
That's the most important thing I want everybody to leave with.
(06:06):
I have so many clients that follow the serving, whether
it's for the peanut butter, the granola, the flatbread, and
will only eat what one serving is because they've decided
or believe that this is what the proper amount to
consume is. Also, those using my fitness pell know that
(06:30):
by entering one serving you can have a clean looking
number and easy math to do and easier calculations then
if you weren't measuring out completely. However, it's important but
what I want you to leave with today is that
a serving size is not a suggestion. It's not a recommendation.
It's just a number so that they provide the other
(06:51):
numbers based off of it, and therefore it's kind of arbitrary.
Meaning in many situations, it might be too big of
a serving for you in that setting, in that environment.
In other situations, it might be too much food. And
I know that might sound crazy, but I mean sometimes
when we're thinking about these foods, they're not you know,
a flatbread. It could be an ingredient that we're building
(07:13):
other things with, or piling on top of each other,
or you know, mixing together. But I need everybody to
walk away with the understanding that the only way you're
going to figure out how much you need is going
to be to consult with yourself, which is the hardest
job of them all, especially if you've been reliant on
(07:33):
these serving size quote unquote suggestions for all this time.
I think that something that plays a factor in this
too is not just serving sizes on like a label
on the back of an actual food. But we compare
to what other people are eating and they're serving size,
and then that's what we I feel like that falls
(07:54):
under serving size too. It's like, oh, whether you're eating
with them or you're looking at someone's you know, post
on Instagram of what I ate in a day or
whatever right now, and then you you compare, Oh, well
they only ate one slice of bread, so now I'm
going to only eat one slice of bread. That's another
(08:14):
way that we can mess with our servings, And a
lot of times it's subconscious, right, So we're seeing what
other people are doing and we're just emulating it and
then not saying I'm still hungry or I want more.
We're stopping ourselves there because I shouldn't have more, but
we don't know why we shouldn't have more. And the
same thing goes with portions, by the way. I you know,
for years, I remember reading magazine that a portion size
(08:34):
of protein should be about the size of your fist, right,
And again, it's taking no consideration in for your needs
in that moment as well as your daily and lifelong needs.
So you know, who knows if you're showing up to
that meal having eaten one hour before versus if you
haven't eaten in three hours before, your portion needs are
(08:55):
going to be different based on time that you last
eight composition of what you last eight, and then all
the things that are even less easy to kind of
put into a box, such as your hormones, your metabolism,
all these things, your movement that day, your movement that day. Right,
And and I think like especially dining out, and and
(09:18):
I would love to disrupt this one is this idea
that portions and restaurants are huge, Like if you dine out,
you know you're gonna eat so much because they have
huge portions. It's like, wait a second, I've been to
plenty of restaurants where they serve me food and I
literally leave still hungry. And who is to say that
every portion is always big? And maybe it is a
(09:38):
bigger portion than you're used to eating, but you can
still be hungry or want to eat after that. And
it really takes breaking down these ideas that there is
one portion or one serving size that is correct in
order to really break through that. And I also just
want to hold a little bit of compassion that it
might be really hard to move away from the serving
(10:00):
sized suggestions if you are listening and you've been measuring
or you know, using my fitness Pal, to only move
into that and the first piece of advice I'd just
like to offer you is you don't need to go
off the rails and consume double, triple, quadruple to break
free from that. But will I What I will ask
you to do, listener who this speaks to, is to
(10:21):
move away from the measuring thing that you're using, whether
it's the measuring cup or the table spoon or whatever
it is. I am aware that most people who have
been doing this can eyeball it to perfection. That being said,
I want you to live with the understanding of, oh,
maybe you ate a little bit less of this food
today or a little bit more, but without having that
(10:44):
perceived feeling of control of I know I only ate
a table spoon and then getting the feedback from your
body of what do I need? Do I need a
little bit of extra? I use the example of granola
because this one client would just only do three fourth
cup of cereal because that's what the cereal said the
serving size was. And I promise you there was no
way that this amount of cereal was enough food for
(11:05):
this meal that the client was having. And by getting
her to move away from the measuring cup and even
saying I get that you're going to eyeball it and
you'll probably hit three fourths because you've been doing it
for so many years. Allowed her to say, oh, I
actually needed more this day, or I had that, but
then instead I added something else to my meal because
that actually wasn't enough food. So I just feel like
that might be a helpful piece of information, is to
(11:27):
move away from the measuring tools that are helping you
control for those quote unquote serving sizes. And I'm glad
you said that you have compassion. We both do, and
there's a lot here. I mean, Lisa knows when I
stopped using my app, my Fitness Pal on my phone,
I had a lot of anxiety around it, and I
would text Lisa and I just I didn't think I
(11:50):
could do it. And then, you know, eventually you get
to the point, or at least I did where I
got over that hump and I was like, oh gosh, okay,
I just realized so much of it was all up
in my head and such mind games and lies and
some rewiring that had to take place, and then I
had to learn to trust myself. So yeah, it's not easy,
(12:11):
and we recognize that wholeheartedly. And sometimes you know, in
doing this, you're going to mess up, mess up meaning
under eat or overeat and figuring it out. And I
just want to encourage you to stay connected to what
happens next after you take a leap of faith to
say do I need more food? Did I overdo it?
And oftentimes the fears with overdoing it, and to just
(12:34):
see what happens after that. Notice how your body rebalances,
how it's hungry again at some point after how it
sends a queue that you need to eat again, and
be really gentle with yourself over this. And I know
we only have a few more minutes here, but I
also just want to say that the best way to
really change your relationship this could probably be its own episode,
(12:55):
So I'll say it quick and then maybe we'll do
a longer episode on it. The best way to change
your relationship to these serving sizes, to the amount that
you're eating, is to stop going into meals so hungry.
It will help you better fine tune how much you need,
what you want when you want it, and it will
stop that cycle of ce. I need to use the
(13:17):
serving sizes because if I don't, I overreap. So I
believe that I needed to tightly control the portion sizes
because when I didn't, I, you know, would just go nuts.
But really it was because every time I showed up
to a meal, I was so hungry that I was
ravenous and unable to find that place of Oh, I'm
noticing my hunger is dissipating. I'm noticing that satisfaction and
(13:40):
fullness are rising. So I just want to really encourage
everybody that this is a full approach to changing your
relationship to food, and it starts with regular eating, consistent eating,
trusting yourself. Yeah, And I think once you do take
the focus off those serving sizes, then you don't put
the pressure on yourself to quote unquote save for certain
(14:03):
meals because it's like, oh, if I know I am
going to be going to the restaurant and there's going
to be a quote unquote bigger serving size by again,
like you said, Lisa, who standards Like who's saying? Who knows?
But that's what we have been told. So we do that,
and we may save up for that meal, or we
may save up for maybe it's not even a meal out,
it's something that we're eating at home, but we know
(14:25):
because of what it says on the box, we suddenly
feel that we need to save for it. And that's
just piggybacking off of what Lisa was just saying, because
I know I was definitely stuck in that cycle for
a really, really, really long time, which leads back to
something that is a big, a big factor and why
why we even have this podcast, why these conversations need
(14:47):
to exist, is that restrict and binge cycle. So that's
serving sizes. That's not in a nutshell by any means,
but this is an episode for you to keep in
your back pocket next time you're it out to eat
or headed to the pantry. Thanks for hanging with us,
um and we'll see you next week on Outweigh MH.