Disclosure: This is part of a compensated campaign with Kellogg’s. All opinions remain my own.
One of my biggest challenges when it comes to healthy eating and weight maintenance is portion control. I am not as disciplined as I can or have been in previous years which means I’m constant struggling to “lose those 10 extra pounds.” And despite the sheer number of fad diets promising instantaneous weight loss, the principles of portion control (i.e. burning more calories than you consume) are effective for weight loss and management.
You likely know that a well-balanced diet includes a variety of foods from each of the five food groups (dairy, fruits, grains, vegetables, and protein). But do you know how much of each your body needs? Do you ever feel like perhaps you’re eating more grains than you should? (I know I do!). A few years back, the USDA designed and introduced MyPlate, a visual illustration designed to help Americans make better food choices. Visualizing how much a serving, is has helped me realize that in many instances, I was overeating.
Since cereal is an integral part of many Americans’ daily breakfasts, Kellogg’s created MyBowl, an interactive online tool designed to help people create a balanced breakfast of cereal, fruit, and milk. Despite my years of nursing education (including nutrition), I don’t remember the exact U.S. Dietary Guidelines for nutrition. It’s helpful for me to have something visual and interactive, like MyBowl to ensure that I’m getting enough of each food group. Using colored bands, MyBowl is a visual depiction of how breakfast can deliver servings from the grain, dairy, and fruit groups.
The site is interactive and anyone can use the breakfast-building feature to experiment with different combinations of cereal, milk, and fruit. Additionally, you’ll find a list of key nutrients (calories, protein, fiber, fat) your personal MyBowl breakfast provides to help you plan the rest of your day’s meals. One of the things I found particularly interesting was the breakfast comparison feature. I plugged in some of my favorite breakfast foods and was surprised that they weren’t always the best choice.
If you have bowls in several shapes and sizes, you’ll want to get in the habit of measuring out your cereal until you feel comfortable knowing you’re consistently consuming the correct portion size. The portion control feature on the site does a good job of depicting a serving of cereal in varying shapes/sizes of bowls.
To learn more about MyBowl, or to get started, just visit Kelloggs.com/MyBowl.
Images: Kellogg’s
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This sounds like a really neat tool I will have to check it out!
Cool idea! I’m not eating cereal on Medifast, but good to remember for my family!
I think this is a great way to remind me about portion control and adding fruit to my grains!
I know I’m definitely guilty of eating two portions of cereal. I’m a huge fan of Kellogg’s Special K with Red Berries and I just can’t help myself. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂