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What to Eat, Servings, & Food Groups

January 12, 2015


One of your keys to sustainable and enjoyable fat loss and robust health is to forget about calorie counting and instead focus on simple modern food groups.

SANE Food Guide Pyramid

Here are some guidelines to help determine how many serving of each type of food you are taking in each time you eat.

SANE Eating Guide Table

Keep in mind that everything related to serving sizes is a general guideline. It is easy to get mired in details and to complicate things. Let’s stay focused on the big picture and use these guidelines to estimate our intake as accurately as we can.

SANE Plate

As a general rule, most people wildly underestimate their starch, sweets, oil, and cheese intake. A bagel is at least four servings of starch, not one. A big bowl of enriched sweetened cereal is four servings of starch and four servings of sweets, not one serving of starch. It’s easy to eat four servings of pasta in a single sitting. On the other hand, your estimate about a serving of nutritious protein and non-starchy vegetables is probably quite close. No need to buy a food scale. Just increase your estimates around servings of starches, sweets, oils, and cheeses.

Here’s how to determine and maximize your SANEity using this delicious simple science! NOTE: All of the food lists below provide common examples. They are not exhaustive. There are way too many SANE food options to list them all!

Non-starchy Vegetables (at least 10 servings per day)

If raw and leafy, a serving is the size of two of your fists. If raw and not leafy, a serving is the size of your fist. If cooked, a serving is a little smaller than the size of your fist.

Most people stop eating naturally at about three servings in a single sitting. It is practically impossible to overeat non-starchy vegetables. You would get too full.

Examples of a single serving of non-starchy vegetables:

  • Two heaping cups of raw leafy green vegetables
  • Six asparagus spears
  • Eight baby carrots
  • Five broccoli florets
  • One Roma tomato
  • Four slices of an onion
  • Five cherry tomatoes
  • Five sticks of celery
  • One whole carrot
  • A half cup of cooked spinach

Optimal (deep green leafy veggies)

  • Arugula
  • Bok Choy
  • Brussels Sprouts
  • Chard
  • Garlic
  • Greens
  • Kale
  • Mixed Greens
  • Romaine Lettuce
  • Spinach
  • Watercress

Normal (veggies that could be eaten raw)

  • Alfalfa Sprouts
  • Artichoke
  • Asparagus
  • Bean Sprouts
  • Beets
  • Bell Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Celery
  • Cucumber
  • Eggplant
  • Endive
  • Green Beans
  • Leeks
  • Mushrooms
  • Onion
  • Peppers
  • Squash
  • Sugar Snap Peas
  • Tomatoes
  • Zucchini

 

Nutritious Protein (3 to 6 servings per day)

A serving contains about 30 grams of protein and is about the size of a man’s hand.

Most people would stop eating naturally at two servings in a single sitting. Except men trying to “prove their manhood” at barbecues, it is practically impossible to overeat Nutritious Protein. You would get uncomfortably full.

Examples of a single serving:

  • A piece of humanely raised meat or fish about the size of your hand
  • A heaping cup of cottage cheese or plain Greek yogurt
  • One whole egg + five egg whites
  • Eight egg whites
  • A can of tuna

Optimal (shell fish, fatty fish, organ meats)

  • Oysters
  • Clams
  • Mussels
  • Liver
  • Salmon
  • Sardines
  • Anchovies
  • Sea Bass

Normal (humanely raised seafood & meats)

  • Catfish
  • Chicken
  • Cod
  • Cottage Cheese
  • Egg Whites Combined with Whole Eggs
  • Flounder
  • Grass-Fed Beef
  • Ham
  • Lamb
  • Lean Conventional Beef
  • Plain Greek Yogurt
  • Pork
  • Shrimp
  • Snapper
  • Squid (Calamari)
  • Tilapia
  • Trout
  • Turkey

 

Whole Food Fats (3 to 6 servings per day)

A serving is about the size your middle and pointer finger side by side. If the nuts are mashed into butter (that is, natural nut butter), a serving is the size of your thumb. Two whole eggs are a serving.

When combined with non-starchy vegetables and nutritious protein, most people would stop eating naturally at two servings in a single sitting.

Optimal

  • Coconut
  • Cocoa
  • Avocado
  • Flax Seeds
  • Chia Seeds
  • Macadamias
  • Olives

Normal (eggs, raw nuts and seeds)

  • Almonds
  • Brazil Nuts
  • Chestnuts
  • Eggs
  • Hazelnuts
  • Kola Nut
  • Pecans
  • Pistachios
  • Pumpkin Seeds
  • Squash Seeds
  • Sunflower Seeds
  • Walnuts

TIP: Peanuts are not whole-food fats. They are legumes.

Low-Sugar Fruits (0 to 3 servings per day)

A serving is the size of your fist.

Most people would stop eating naturally at two servings in a single sitting. It is practically impossible to over eat berries and citrus fruits. The food would become unappetizing. The first orange would be tasty. The second one would be good. The third one would be tiresome. The fourth wouldn’t be appealing.

Examples of a single serving of low-sugar fruits:

  • Six strawberries
  • One orange
  • Half of a grapefruit
  • Half cup of blueberries

low-sugar fruits (berries and citrus)

  • Blackberries
  • Blueberries
  • Boysenberry
  • Cranberries
  • Cantaloupe
  • Casaba Melon
  • Cherries
  • Coconut Water
  • Grapefruit
  • Guava
  • Lemon
  • Lime
  • Nectarine
  • Papaya
  • Peaches
  • Raspberries
  • Rhubarb
  • Strawberries

 

Legumes/Beans (0 to 1 serving per day)

A serving is the size of your fist.

Most Dairy (0 to 1 serving per day)

A serving of butter is the size of the tip of your thumb (one tsp.). A serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb. A serving of milk and yogurt is one cup (8 oz.).

Most people could easily eat four servings of butter or cheese but only a serving or two of milk or yogurt in a single sitting. Baked goods can saturate you with butter before you know it.

Every time anyone eats pizza, they are likely eating over four servings of cheese. Butter and cheese are easy to overeat.

Other Fats (0 to 1 serving per day)

A serving is a conventional fatty steak or dark meat that is the size of your hand. A teaspoon of oil is a serving.

Barring men trying to “prove something,” most people would stop eating fatty meat naturally at two servings in a single sitting. Yet it is extremely easy to over eat oil. Eat anything fried and you will easily eat at least four servings of oil.

Other Fruits (0 to 1 serving per day)

A serving is the size of your fist.

Starch/Starchy Vegetables (0 serving per day)

Serving sizes vary. The key point is that a serving of starch is small. For example, a medium bag of popcorn contains eight servings.

Starches are extremely easy to over eat because they are dry, relatively low in fiber, and protein poor. Most people over eat starch daily without knowing it. When ranchers want to fatten livestock, they stop feeding their cows non-starchy vegetables and start feeding them starch (generally corn). If you do not want to fatten yourself, avoid starch.

The number of starch servings in common foods:

  • Bagel: At least four servings
  • Muffins: At least three servings
  • Baked potato: At least three servings
  • French fries: At least four servings
  • A traditional portion of pasta or rice: At least four servings
  • A traditional bowl of cereal: At least four servings
  • Baked goods: At least four servings

TIP: As a general rule, if it is not sweet, does not need to be refrigerated, and take a long time to spoil, it likely fits in this group.

TIP: As a general rule, if you can’t find it directly in nature (aka there’s no such thing as a bread bush) and it is not sweet, it likely fits in this group.

Sweets/Sweetened Drinks (0 serving per day)

Ten grams of “sugar” (anything with calories which is added to food to make it sweeter) is a serving.

Sweets are the easiest food to over eat. Some sweeteners aren’t even recognized as food by the body and never trigger a full feeling. This is why you can take in three servings of sweets by drinking a soda and still have plenty of room for a super-sized value meal. Traditional portions of sweets and sweetened drinks contain three to eight servings of sweets. The fastest way to gain fat and damage your health is to eat and drink sweeteners.

The number of sweetener servings in common foods:

  • Can of soda: At least three servings
  • Desserts: At least four servings
  • A traditional bowl of sweetened cereal: At least four servings
  • Candy: At least three servings
  • Store-bought fruit juice: At least three servings

TIP: As a general rule, if it is sweet, does not need to be refrigerated, and take a long time to spoil, it likely fits in this group.

TIP: As a general rule, if you can’t find it directly in nature and it is sweet, it likely fits in this group.

NOTE: Natural non-caloric sweeteners such as stevia, erythritol, xylitol, and luo han guo do not count as a serving of anything.