Many of us grew up learning about the food pyramid in Health class. The truth of the matter is, however, that we rarely apply these rules about serving requirements even when we do know about them. Furthermore, the rules that we have been taught in the past are changing as society learns more about health and nutrition over the years.

The average adult only needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain their weight (more or less depending on your gender and body size), but more often than not we either exceed our caloric requirements or do not obtain the right amount of nutrients from what we choose to eat. A balanced diet is so much more than restricting calories, so make what you’re eating count!

Follow us on a visual guide to serving size, and what your daily requirements actually are.

Fruits: Adults should eat 2-3 servings of fruit per day. Examples of what a serving looks like are below.

Vegetables: Adults should eat 5-6 servings of vegetables per day. Examples of what a serving looks like are below.

Grains and Legumes: Adults are recommended to consume 5-6 servings of grains per day. Grains should be whole and un-refined if possible, such as brown rice, oatmeal and whole wheat bread.

Lean Meat: 2-3 servings of lean meat or other protein-dense foods per day, such as fish, chicken and eggs.

Dairy Products: 1-3 servings of dairy is plenty to get your vitamin D and other nutrients. A serving could be 1 ½ ounces of natural cheese or one cup of low-fat milk.

Sweets: Sweets are not recommended as a part of your daily diet. This being said, on the occasions that you decide to indulge (only a few times per week), this is what a portion size should look like:

2,000 calories (your total daily nutritional requirement from the above-mentioned categories) can be attained in a variety of ways. With a well-balanced diet it is easy to fill yourself up and meet your needs, however making wrong decisions at mealtime can lead to the consumption of a whole day’s worth of calories in one meal!

These options below show what 2,000 calories can look like:

Option 1-

One meal from Dominos consisting of (2)pieces of meat-lover’s stuffed crust pizza, a large soda, 2 chicken wings with dip and two cookies will cost you more than 2,000 calories in one sitting.

Option 2-

Breakfast is surely the most important meal of the day- however a combination of pancakes, sausage, juice and potatoes will equal about 2,300 calories from this single meal.

Options 3 and 4-

Option three shows the caloric cost of a high-fat meal with soda and a slice of cake, while option four shows the same amount of calories in a much more balanced and substantial quantity of healthy food.

Option 5-

With proper portioning and planning, there is no need to go hungry. Avoiding excess carbs and fried foods makes it easy to enjoy yourself while consuming 2,000 calories!

Paying attention to portion size and the quality of food that you eat is the best way to treat your body right and keep your weight in check. Pair a healthy, full diet with regular exercise and your body will certainly thank you!

By Destiny Kanu