Portion Control Made Easy

(CBS)  Earlier this month, the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments issued new dietary guidelines that will be used to update the food pyramid over the next few weeks.

The new guidelines emphasize trimming portion sizes, consuming fewer calories, and eating more whole grains, vegetables and fruits, along with exercising 30 to 90 minutes a day.

For many, portion sizes seem very abstract: People don't really know what three servings of whole grains, for example, look like.

But Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, stops by The Early Show to demonstrate portion sizes that could aid your healthier eating program.

She told co-anchor Rene Syler it's easy to overindulge because "portion sizes have ballooned in recent years. Fast food portions have gone up about two to five times what their original sizes were about twenty years ago. It's all around us."

1600 calories (eat this much if you're trying to lose weight):

Breakfast:
1 cup bran flakes cereal topped with 1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup/8 oz. skim milk
1 cup/8 oz. coffee or tea

Lunch:
1 large whole wheat pita filled with 3 ounces tuna fish made with 1 tbsp. low fat mayonnaise
1 cup tomato or split pea soup (any vegetable soup)
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup water with lemon

Snack:
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 cup red grapes

Dinner:
4 oz. sirloin hamburger
1 whole wheat hamburger bun
1 tbsp ketchup
3 oz baked potato
1 tsp soft margarine (tub margarine)
1 cup broccoli sautéed in 1 tsp. olive oil and topped with 1/2 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese


2000 calories (eat this much if you want to maintain your weight):

Everything is the same as above, except there are additions:

Breakfast:
1 cup bran flakes cereal topped with 1 cup sliced strawberries
1 cup/8 oz. skim milk
1 cup/8 oz. coffee or tea

Snack
10 peanuts (+ 90 cals)
1 red apple (+60 cals)

Lunch:
1 large whole wheat pita filled with 3 ounces tuna fish made with 1 tbsp. low fat mayonnaise
1 cup tomato or split pea soup (any vegetable soup)
1 cup baby carrots
1 cup water with lemon

Snack:
1 cup low fat vanilla yogurt topped with 1/2 cup low-fat granola (+80)
1/2 cup red grapes

Dinner:
4 oz. sirloin hamburger
1 whole wheat hamburger bun
1 tbsp ketchup
3 oz baked potato
1 tsp soft margarine
1 cup broccoli sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil and topped with 1/2 cup shredded low fat cheddar cheese
1 glass/5 oz. red wine (+ 100 calories)

Dessert
2 small chocolate chip cookies (+100 calories)