I am not one to count calories, fat grams or anything of the like, but that’s because the one thing I do try to stay mindful of is portion size (and only eating enough to feel full). But in today’s “super-sized” society (i.e. the United States) it’s harder than ever to determine if your portion size is even on par or not. Check this out:
According to French Kids Eat Everything, there was “A scientific study in which two researchers (one French, one American) weighed servings of identical meals at McDonald’s restaurants in Paris and Philadelphia. The serving sizes were wildly different: a medium-size serving of fries at McDonald’s in Philadelphia was 72 percent bigger than at McDonald’s in Paris.”
Let’s hope they aren’t charging the same price, ha ha ha. All kidding aside though, what’s up with that? And there’s more:
According to the CDC, over the last 50 years right here in America “The size of a hamburger has tripled, a basket of fries more than doubled, and the average soda has grown from a modest 7 ounces to a jumbo 42 ounces.” And some wonder why “The average American is 26 pounds heavier than in 1950. [And] about one-third of us are overweight or obese and that number is projected to hit nearly 50% by 2030.”
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One contributing factor, according to research and Michael Pollan, is that instead of using our internal cues to know when to stop eating most of us “allow external, and usually visual, cues to determine how much we [should] eat.” So many of us are likely not listening to our guts and instead just continuing to eat until our plates are clean, the package is empty, or the TV show is over. When was the last time you left some food on your plate simply because you were starting to feel full? I am the first to admit…it’s easier said than done!
So aside from ensuring I eat a variety of real, whole foods (including full-fat dairy), keeping my portion sizes in check is at the top of my priority list. When our family documented and photographed everything we ate for a week last year there were a lot of comments indicating some of our meals didn’t look like enough food. Is that because people were comparing our plates to the super-sized portions of today or the way things used to be (and still are in France)?
I personally think real food is much more filling than the processed stuff so it doesn’t take as much for me to feel full. Plus when I do overeat, and it does happen occasionally (I am human after all!), it really is not a good feeling. And the other great thing about real food filling you up nicely is that it prevents all those crazy spikes in hunger and energy levels throughout the day that people often experience otherwise. Goodbye afternoon crash!
So don’t be fooled by what society is telling you is the right amount of food…eat what’s right for you. You can always go back for more, and believe it or not it’s okay to feel hungry in-between meals on occasion! Here are some things to try:
- The next time you’re at a restaurant split an entrée with someone at your table.
- Prepare your food on an appetizer plate instead of a standard sized dinner plate.
- Eat more slowly to allow yourself time to feel full before going back for more.
- Stop eating when you feel full…don’t worry about cleaning your plate or finishing the last bite!
What are your thoughts about today’s portion sizes? How did they get so out of control?
Sponsor Shoutout: eMeals
Before you go I want to give a quick shoutout to our meal planning sponsor, eMeals. If you want to clean up your family’s diet but are having trouble getting started, the eMeals Clean Eating Plan could be the answer. Each week eMeals sends their subscribers 7 dinner recipes (including side dishes) along with a corresponding shopping list. Meal planning services are a great way to save time and money…and also keep you on track when it comes to avoiding the drive thru!
There is a chain restaurant here called Claim Jumper. I have never eaten there because whenever anyone I know talks about their experience at that restaurant, all they describe are the huge portions that they offer there. I have yet to hear of one person describe the taste of the food. It puzzles me that people would go to a restaurant for the portions sizes and not the taste.
I agree that our food portions are way out of control – Bagels are another example. Has anyone purchased a bagel recently? Even the healthy ones are about twice as big as what they used to be. Since I became aware of portion sizes, I usually eat about half a bagel now and that’s plenty for me.
Yep, it’s definitely affected me over the years. I get frustrated if there’s not enough food to either pack myself with or to bring home for lunch the next day. As I explore healthier options, I find the better and more high quality the food, the smaller the portions. SLOOOOOOWWWWWLY I’m becoming OK with this…
I just started participating in a program called The Light Weigh” it is by Suzanne Fowler. wwwlightweigh.com Its a catholic program but the main point for weight loss is portion size. I hear there are similar programs to teach us how to feel the natural signals our bodies are currently ignoring, some religious some not.
A good friend told me: What would you do with the extra food on your plate? Eat it just to clean your plate? Or throw it in the garbage? Why would you want to treat your body like garbage? Makes us really think about the amount of food we eat and how we are treating ourselves. (BTW, we now save very small bites of food – like 1/4 of a chicken breast or two slices of cucumber – and put them together with other “small” bites for snacks or lunch. We do not throw out much food!)
This is a multi layered issue. Many hunger for something that has nothing to do with eating and may not even know, connection,community,creativity………eating raises neurotransmitters, ironically the AAD (average American diet) does not nourish the brain as effectively and being really stuffed, even from junk food, calms the nervous system. Our culture has a persistent misconception regarding lack, cemented by advertising. We want a lot for our money…..And people do not know how to make food taste good if they have not learned to cook! And many people do not know how to season food well. Plain brown rice is not so yummy. Add some ginger and soy sauce or garlic and onion and yum, yum, yum……it is ironic that something as simple as nourishing ourselves has become a crises, the simple act of eating well is a grave concern.
WOW a 42oz drink? That blows my mind.
Hi!
I just wanted to say thank you for this blog! The information and recipes have helped me change my husband & I’s diet! I wanted to let you know I mentioned your blog in a recent post! http://willwork4cupcakes.blogspot.com/search/label/Recipes)
This is a wonderful blog,
Meg
I bought smaller plates….it helps a lot!
The worst part in restaurants is that eating half isn’t even safe, a friend who teaches nutrition told me that the average meal at olive garden is 6-8 servings of pasta. It has taken a while but I’m finally getting to where I can honor my own fullness, cutting carbs and eliminating sugar and adding good fats has helped tremendously with that.
We were out eating breakfast yesterday at a chain restaurant which is very unusual for us but it was a treat. I noticed the amount of food that was included in the breakfasts and was amazed. This was one of their special meals, two slices of blueberry stuffed french toast, choice of sausage or bacon, two eggs and potatoes. I cannot imagine eating that much food. Also, if you ordered just french toast that was 5 slices and I don’t remember what came with that, but I am sure some meat and something else. We ate some of the smaller portion breakfasts and that was more than plenty. Mine was a 2 egg omelet and a muffin which was huge and that was more than enough. My husband had one egg, two slices of bacon, hash brown potatoes, and 2 pancakes. That was a lot of food and we ordered the small portions on the menu. We don’t eat out often so I don’t really pay attention to portion size but I notice that it seems bigger every time we do.