Has anyone else suddenly become aware of how large most portion sizes are?

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MrSJWinship
MrSJWinship Posts: 37 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am Large, I have already lost 60 pounds and have much more to go. Recently I remembered a tip my mother gave me years ago, that if I Eat really slow and take smaller bites I will eat less. And she was right!, I take way longer to eat a meal and feel much more full before I'm done. And now I realize that most meals I've had are way too much. It kind of scares me. Am I alone? and is it bad that I'm now kind of afraid of eating too much? I don't want to develop a complex or disorder.
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Replies

  • Falklang
    Falklang Posts: 220 Member
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    Yeah I see some servings a food and think...man that's way too much for one person lol. I think it's just when you start losing weight and educating yourself, you start to become more mindful of your food.
  • MichelleSilverleaf
    MichelleSilverleaf Posts: 2,028 Member
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    I became aware after getting my food scale. If you don't have one, get one. 100% worth the money.
  • MrSJWinship
    MrSJWinship Posts: 37 Member
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    MichelleSilverleaf wrote: »
    I became aware after getting my food scale. If you don't have one, get one. 100% worth the money.

    I got mine as a present! love that lil guy.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    It was the first thing I noticed when I was counting calories. I had to be re-trained to see what a normal portion size is. I sure miss those all you can eat buffet bars.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
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    It goes both ways. Once I started weighing and measuring food. I surprised by how many vegetables you can eat at minimal calories. It was like, How can I possibly fit all of that in my stomach. I was surprised similarly by lentils and couscous.
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
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    I often think that! I got the breakfast platter with sausage at McD and only needed to order ONE more sausage patty to have breakfast for me, my mom and my grandma. And we didn't eat the biscuit! It come with three pancakes, biscuit, sausage, hashbrown, and scrambled egg. With the one more sausage, split three ways, that a pancake, 2/3 sausage, 1/3 hashbrown, and about .75 eggs worth of scrambled eggs. That's plenty for me.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    Not recently, but it was pretty much the first thing I took note of when I started 5.5 years ago. A restaurant plate is easily 2-3 servings for most people.
  • joeydahatt
    joeydahatt Posts: 12 Member
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    I think that's only true with prepared foods. If you look at whole foods and serving sizes they actually seem small. Look at 3.5 oz of grilled chicken breast or it's 4 oz raw equivalent. 1/2 cup of broccoli spears or spinach is tiny. And those are the serving sizes for those foods. Get away from food in a box or a package and you'll find the struggle becomes getting enough calories instead of too many.
  • whitpauly
    whitpauly Posts: 1,483 Member
    edited April 2018
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    rsclause wrote: »
    It was the first thing I noticed when I was counting calories. I had to be re-trained to see what a normal portion size is. I sure miss those all you can eat buffet bars.

    Me too! I kinda hate that restaurants post the cals in things in a way,,I miss being in denial sometimes :'(
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    I rarely order a full meal because of this. I usually order an appetizer and maybe a side to go with it. Or, I'll get a cup of soup and an appetizer. My boyfriend and I can share the appetizer and then I can eat some of what he orders. I really like to share food and I see no point in order a whole meal, only to leave most of it. I'm not a big fan of leftovers and my dog can only take so much people food.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    Cbean08 wrote: »
    I rarely order a full meal because of this. I usually order an appetizer and maybe a side to go with it. Or, I'll get a cup of soup and an appetizer. My boyfriend and I can share the appetizer and then I can eat some of what he orders. I really like to share food and I see no point in order a whole meal, only to leave most of it. I'm not a big fan of leftovers and my dog can only take so much people food.

    Appetizers often have more calories than a meal!

    I don't know about meal sizes though. It really depends on where you go. I don't really like chains so it's usually not a huge portion for me (except the protein - nobody needs 12oz of beef). The sides themselves are often not that big.

    The problem really is how many calories are packed in everything for the size - so you have to eat more to be satisfied. I can pretty much never get away with eating half an entree or I leave hungry still. Just all those empty calories in butter, oil, condiments...

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    It shouldn't scare you, and you are not alone - that's how many of us became overweight. And that's why we are here - to weigh and log and hit our nutritional requirements, without exceeding it.
  • sytchequeen
    sytchequeen Posts: 526 Member
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    You are not alone...

    I don't know how much portions served at restaurants have increased over the years, but visually it accustoms us to normalising that portion size in our brains.
  • MrSJWinship
    MrSJWinship Posts: 37 Member
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    Cbean08 wrote: »
    I rarely order a full meal because of this. I usually order an appetizer and maybe a side to go with it. Or, I'll get a cup of soup and an appetizer. My boyfriend and I can share the appetizer and then I can eat some of what he orders. I really like to share food and I see no point in order a whole meal, only to leave most of it. I'm not a big fan of leftovers and my dog can only take so much people food.

    Yeah i noticed I am less Greedy/Gluttonous now too. i use to Eat everything in fear i wouldn't get something. And now i think "Who cares if i only get one cookie, and people I know might eat them all. Ill just enjoy the one i do get" And Appetizers are fun now as i don't need to worry about how much I'm eating but just enjoying What I'm eating.
  • MrSJWinship
    MrSJWinship Posts: 37 Member
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    sytchequeen wrote: »
    You are not alone...

    I don't know how much portions served at restaurants have increased over the years, but visually it accustoms us to normalising that portion size in our brains.

    Yeah i had a 6 Inch sandwich yesterday after years of thinking only a 12 inch will fill me. I was surprised how full i felt after the 6 inch. a 6 Inch looks like so much food to me now XD.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
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    MrSJWinship wrote: »
    sytchequeen wrote: »
    You are not alone...

    I don't know how much portions served at restaurants have increased over the years, but visually it accustoms us to normalising that portion size in our brains.

    Yeah i had a 6 Inch sandwich yesterday after years of thinking only a 12 inch will fill me. I was surprised how full i felt after the 6 inch. a 6 Inch looks like so much food to me now XD.

    I'm a female, 5'6", and I used to eat foot long veggie subs from Subway. Now I can just eat a 6" turkey sub and feel pretty full (especially eating slowly, like you said).
  • amfmmama
    amfmmama Posts: 1,420 Member
    edited April 2018
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    I almost think that it is better when it is obvious. I went to a steakhouse the other night, I narrowed down my choices to a 6 oz filet or the 12 oz steak tips (with the plan to take 1/2 home) Every other steak on the menu was over 24 oz! That's friggin' 8 servings! Not that I ever eat just one serving of steak, but 8!?!?

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