Be Size Wise

Never skip a meal—and keep your hand out of the pretzel bag—and you'll ride faster than ever

Cyclists are pretty savvy about numbers, from weights to miles. But when it comes to keeping track of how many calories we eat and the sizes of our portions, most of us are way off.


Studies conducted at the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab in New York indicate that people generally underestimate a meal's calories by about 20 percent--even as much as 50 percent after a tough workout, which means athletes often consume twice as much as they think they do.


Ellen Coleman, R.D., a sports dietitian in Riverside, California, lays part of the blame on the American food industry, which has supersized just about everything: Today's 6-inch bagel contains 210 more calories than the 3-inch versions that were the norm 20 years ago. And a 2005 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that people typically eat 92 percent of any food they serve themselves.


The problem is that as portion sizes creep up, so does our weight. Here are a few strategies for curbing those excessive portions before they slow you down.


Add It Up

Spend a week writing down everything you eat--it's the best way to evaluate what and how much you consume. It also lets you identify troublesome patterns: You may not realize how much snacking you do until you see it on paper. Says Coleman, "People are often surprised by what they see."


Don't Overeat Healthy Foods

Cyclists often think "healthy" foods are fine no matter the serving size. But cheese and nuts, though highly nutritious, are highly caloric, too. Pasta and bread portions are also worth watching. "Athletes think they can eat carbs with impunity," Coleman says. "But eating massive quantities of even low-fat foods can pile on the pounds." Vegetables are the exception: Eating lots of spinach, peppers and carrots won't spike your calorie count--as long as you don't drown them in fatty dressing.

Eat Now, Before It's Too Late

Never skip breakfast. Without it, your blood sugar plummets come afternoon, inducing a raging hunger that makes it hard to moderate portion sizes. The same thing happens when you head out for a ride after eating little throughout the day: "Recovery eating" becomes a pig-out. Eat early to avoid overindulging later.


Make Foods Look Bigger

Portion out foods, even snacks such as pretzels. "You lose touch with what you're eating if your hand's disappearing into a bag," explains Coleman. Transfer snacks to a smaller baggie, and eat meals on small plates. The 2005 JAMA study also found that people ate 56 percent more when they served meals in large bowls, because big dishes make generous portions appear smaller. If you reduce your dish's real estate you can't inflate your portions.


Eye Up Your Food

Weighing and measuring food is a sure way to monitor portion sizes, but it isn't always practical. Use these equations recommended by the USDA to estimate portions.

1 deck of cards = 3 ounces meat, fish or poultry or one slice of bread

1 Ping-Pong ball = 2 tablespoons peanut butter or 1 ounce nuts

4 stacked dice = 1.5 ounces cheese

1 die = 1 teaspoon butter or margarine

1 baseball = 1 cup cooked rice or pasta

1/2 baseball = 1/2 cup ice cream

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