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What Do 300-Calorie Meals Really Look Like?

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By: Nicole Nichols : 1/14/2009 6:04:02 AM : 654 comments

Wonder what 300 calories looks like? 300 calories look drastically different when you're eating in instead of dining out. Choosing healthier, more nutritious foods--at home and away--means you can eat much more food and still lose weight. Check out these 18 meal comparisons to see for yourself, then forward this post to your friends!

Breakfast: 300-Calorie Meals & Portions
Here are three morning meals that each weigh in at 300 calories. Healthy and quick homemade meals (left column) pack whole grains, fresh fruit, and protein--a filling combination that will keep you fuller longer. You could only eat a fraction of the comparable restaurant meals (right column) for the same number of calories. Get more healthy breakfast ideas here.

Lunch: 350-Calorie Meals & Portions
These midday meals contain 350 calories each--the perfect amount to keep you going without wrecking your diet. Packing one of the homemade lunches on the left doesn't take long, and look at all those low- cal and filling veggies you'll get! Notice how seemingly healthy options like the restaurant foods on the right can be very misleading! Those 350-calorie portions are pretty small. Pack a healthier lunch with these tips.

Dinner: 400-Calorie Meals & Portions
Many people consume a larger meal at night, so we picked 400-calorie dinners here. By combining whole grains with lean protein and vegetables, these homemade dinners (left column) are a snap to prepare--and they'll keep the late-night munchies at bay! In contrast, the high-fat and high-calorie meals on the right don't offer much in the way of nutrition or volume. Get thousands of healthy dinner ideas at SparkRecipes.com!

The bottom line is that you can eat more and lose weight when you know how to pick the right foods and the right portions. Use the images and portions above as a guide to create your own healthy, diet-friendly and nutritious meals every day!

Are you surprised by how much (or little) you can eat for the calories, depending on which foods you choose? Which meal was most shocking to you?

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Comments (Scroll to end to leave a comment)

FREDANNA 2/9/2010 8:21:59 AM	Wow! The Chinese food picture gives me motivation to do more stir fry at home!	654
GOLDDUSTTWIN 1/30/2010 5:24:40 PM	Now I really really liked this one...the saying a picture is worth a thousand words really shows here. Presentation because we eat with our eyes before our stomachs comes to mind. Thanks for all the great ideas...nice to SEE other ideas for meals.	653
LOVETORUN9 1/29/2010 6:37:50 PM	Thank you this is actually quite helpful!	652
APINKNEY 1/29/2010 2:00:41 AM	This is very helpful !!!	651
NIBLITZ 1/29/2010 1:32:30 AM	Astounding! I lol'ed at the Sbarro pizza. My boyfriend worked at a Sbarro's in a mall, and we ate soooo much greasy, fattening pizza that semester. And that same semester, he worked across the street at a Panera Bread. I could never eat Sbarro's nastiness again and be happy, but I DO love me some Panera . . . mmm . . . Sorry to go off on a tangent. Thank you for this article so much! You've strengthened my resolve to cook more at home so I know for SURE what I'm getting into!	650
JENNYCLAPPER 1/23/2010 11:29:07 AM	Wow! The pictures sure make an impact! Unbelievable!	649
KLASSICALKAT1 1/15/2010 10:19:05 AM	I'm new to Sparkpeople and this helped a lot. My biggest problem is coming up with a variety of things to eat. There's only so much hard-boiled eggs and tuna that one can eat. Also, a question: Why don't more diet plans include tomato juice with breakfast or as a snack? Low in calories and tomatoes are supposed to be so good for you.	648
GRAMECLM 1/14/2010 9:37:44 AM	Super article, it helps seing the servings sid by side. t	647
VIDABONITA 12/9/2009 6:00:59 AM	This is great. My personal favorite comparison is the Dunkin Donuts Coffee Cake muffin. I used to love these. Practically stopped by DD on the way to work every day to get one. Then I found out that 1 muffin contains 580 calories. Wow. Especially considering I'd get a hot chocolate on the side too sometimes. Was it any wonder that I'd ballooned up to 200+ lbs.? Great read. Thanks.	646
MMMONTAGUE2001 11/9/2009 8:32:26 PM	Wow... Great reminder of calories and portion sizes.	645
DANITX 9/17/2009 10:58:30 AM	That is so crazy, I remember when trying to order from Friday's one night with my husband the salads had more calories than some of the regular entrees it is very hard to eat out so I try to avoid it and only do it on special occasions.	644
BICPLEASE 9/17/2009 10:40:08 AM	Oh my gosh! The muffin comparisson one is hillarious. I guess I never realized how much I was actually consuming until I read this. Holy moley! I think I will try the pasta one though. That looks delicious! So does everything else though. :D	643
DAFFODIL93 9/17/2009 10:36:45 AM	I'm going to eat more waffles! the special K strawberry are another good choice for waffles!	642
LAVENDERPURPLE 9/10/2009 6:18:48 PM	wow i love this....picturesof what real food is to look like...yes real food...the kind I cook now. I could use about 600 more pictures of how these meals are suppose to look, my kids would love to look at them as well. thanks so very much for this. I appreciate this more than you know.	641
1LBDOWN 9/8/2009 9:33:36 PM	I've learned so much about how much food a person can actually EAT while staying under target by eating the Flat Belly Diet. I also love Hungry Girl's 200 Under 200 Cookbook (200 recipes under 200 calories). The recipes posted here look great, too! Thank you for the article!	640
RASHELLLYNN 9/7/2009 8:04:00 PM	no wonder im over weight!!!	639
VGIMLET 9/7/2009 2:17:42 PM	In Washington state the resteraunts have to provide calorie and nutrition information if you ask. I ask. I get the book, and figure out what I'm going to have. I was shocked at some of the calories of my favorite salads, but I also found a lot that I can have.	638
ANGELN325 8/24/2009 5:05:37 AM	I have to agree with morgen1217. Part of living a healthy lifestyle is to be able to eat out. I know that is one thing I will eventually have to tackle. I never like to eat out because of the pictures illustrated above, but I know if I ever want to date in the future, I need to be able to tackle this scenario. It would have been better if there were more healthy food restaurant comparrisons. I think eating more food at home is definitely the way to go, not even for your waist line, but your pocket book too, but every time I looked at the picture on the right, my stomach started growling again. LOL!	637
CEEJAYTEE 8/21/2009 9:01:38 AM	There's this great book, Picture Perfect Weight Loss which is filled with pictures like this. It's amazing how much you can eat, when you're eating the right things. You can find it here: http://www.amazon.com/Shapiros-Pict ure-Perfect-Weight-Loss/dp/15795424 17/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1 250859635&sr=1-4	636
KIERA09 8/20/2009 10:04:24 PM	I eat veggie burgers when I go out. It's my fall back meal w/ a veggie. Why the one at the restaraunt worse than the home one?	635
KEEPITMOVING 8/18/2009 8:28:54 AM	wow! awesome article and great reminder of calories and portions! leave it to coach nicole to focus like a laser on the fine points of incorporating and mastering the art and skill of good eating habits. coach, you rock my world! you are a SPARKSUPERHERO! nancy	634
MSFLIPPER 8/7/2009 9:51:44 PM	It is especially difficult when I go out to eat with friends! I try to stick to dinner salads but that can be difficult to do when everyone else's food smells sooooo good! :) Whenever I go out to eat, I order an entree and small salad (side salad or half portion salad ordered with the dressing on the side). I immediately pack up half (or more - depending on what it is) of my entree. I fill up on the salad first and then eat the rest of my entree. That way, I feel full and satisfied without overdoing it. An added bonus - the leftovers make a great lunch the next day! I also read this tip once: Dip the tip of your fork into the dressing with each bite. This way you get dressing with every bite and you control the amount of dressing too!	633
BLU_AMAZON 7/29/2009 4:09:03 PM	Wow! It makes you think twice.	632
SUDDENLYISEE 7/27/2009 12:47:46 PM	I've tried to find something within my calorie range when eating out and it is near impossible, as the pictures point out so well. The "at home" meals taste great and make me feel so much better because I know I'm accomplishing my weight Ioss goal one meal at a time. Now, I don't really enjoy or look forward to going out anymore but sometimes I'm required to by the people I'm with. Each time I have gone out I come home to enter what I ate and I always feel awful afterwards because I know it just killed my efforts. I've tried to plan ahead of time but that isn't easy either. Some of those restaurant salads have more than 800 calories!!! SP has been great at providing information on dining out so I know I will get better and better at making good choices.	631
BIBIANAJ 7/27/2009 11:52:32 AM	They are so shocking! It's already good to see how many calories the low calorie items are at the restaurant.	630
LILA30S 7/26/2009 8:37:36 PM	good to know!!!	629
1RUTHANN 7/24/2009 11:10:02 PM	Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words! Great idea!	628
MARIABELLA 7/24/2009 8:39:27 PM	My family was going out to eat tonight but before we left we checked the nutrition info. on-line and were shocked, some of the meals I thought were healthy were ourageous in calories, sodium, and carbs. we ended up cooking up a great and filling meal at home and when I did the calorie count it was right on target. Thanks for the visuals, it reinforced what we saw on-line earlier today. Stay home, it's cheaper, more filling and actually lighter for you!	627
JOYFULMN 7/24/2009 7:23:32 PM	What a terrific comparison. Thanks for the visuals. It really makes me think again about eating out.	626
JULIE0309 7/24/2009 6:40:01 PM	Eating out can be difficult if you don't look up the restaurant's nutrition guide before you go (many restaurants do not have this available). I love the comparison side by side. Thanks! This helps.	625
HPTEAGUE 7/10/2009 11:00:37 AM	Often times, the things that we think are "healthy" at restaurants are not at all, but a healthy version can be made at home. I would caution about SparkRecipes, however. They are definitely not all healthy.	624
FABBECKY 7/8/2009 9:41:37 AM	I was pretty much eating the waffles and berry breakfast as I was reading this article! I just added a tablespoon of peanutbutter to help keep me full and up my cals a little - my goal is around 2000 calories a day so my meals tend to be around 500 and my snacks 100-150.	623
MIZBUFFETT 7/6/2009 9:14:54 PM	Amen to it all! I cooked what weighed out to be 4 oz of dry pasta (radditore - the funkier the pasta the better for me), and cooked it. My 4 oz of dry turned into 12 oz of cooked Pasta!!! Hello....I have had (3) 4 oz servings of it this week alone, with my super vegged up marina sauce. Unless you really start measuring and counting it all out, you will never get it right. I agree that the McD double burger has the same calories, but holy guacamole, I sure would feel better eating the turkey sandwich (you don't have the negative mental impact). Its all about moderation, flexibility, endurance and tenacity to keep it healthy, fun and filling!	622
COOKIEBROWN 7/6/2009 12:10:00 PM	Great reminder of calories and portion sizes. The pizza slice at Sbarro was laughable. Thanks!	621
MASONSMOMMY4 6/30/2009 8:23:42 PM	great article!!!	620
MIRRI66 5/19/2009 12:46:33 PM	Great article!! Eggs and toast was a shocker.. looks great too	619
ELLEN_MELON 5/11/2009 5:26:15 PM	The one that surprises me the most is the waffle breakfast on the left - that is a HUGE meal! You can bet that I will be checking out those waffles on my next grocery trip!	618
ASTALANYA 5/10/2009 1:15:33 PM	This is so surprising to me -- I wouldn't have thought some of those things could be eaten in such portions on the left!	617
HIPSIPPER 5/9/2009 4:35:36 PM	I am still in shock at the P.F. Chang visual..I love that place and to think the Orange chicken dinner contains the amount of calories I should intake for one whole day! :P	616
ENCHANTEDALANA 5/5/2009 11:06:14 AM	Great idea with the pics...really shows how teensy the portions have to be at a restaurant. Please do another article like this one.	615
SHANMARIEH 4/26/2009 10:37:16 AM	This is great informatioin. The omelette really surprised me! Makes me wonder , when I go out and eat, if my salmon is truely healthy! This should keep me home more often.	614
SGMEACHAM 4/12/2009 11:34:16 PM	This reminds me of why I need to eat at home. When I eat out my I will always gain weight.	613
NGSHANNA 4/12/2009 8:59:04 PM	Wow! Looks like what I perceive as 1 portion could actually be more! Great to have a visual!	612
UKANNIE 4/12/2009 4:20:58 PM	What a great article,more pics please.It just prooves that eating at home is far healthier than eating out.Kitchen here i come!	611
RAMONAFAY 4/12/2009 2:25:20 PM	I really liked this article. It really makes you stop and think about what you put in your mouth.	610
KHALLEXY 4/8/2009 11:43:42 AM	That is why I do not eat out! Man, talk about fatness on a plate. No wonder it is so hard for many to lose weight. Even if you eat a decent portion you are still packing major calories. Home cook food is the way to go. What an eye opener for real....!	609
KAZZANDRA 4/7/2009 9:49:38 PM	Eating out is a bad deal. They make you fat and take your money, while simultaneously encouraging people to not appreciate what they eat and what went in to making it. This article illustrates this point well.	608
CLOWN54 4/7/2009 9:10:23 PM	I really loved this article. wish these images would stay in my head	607
DDHEART 3/30/2009 4:34:15 PM	Great! Seeing is believing!	606
JAMIELYNN125 3/21/2009 3:27:24 PM	Oh, I LOVE this article. This is exactly what I need...a visual!! There's no need to "go" hungry. We just have to learn to make better choices!! Awesome, thanks :D	605