Restaurant portions

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Kimmotion5783
Kimmotion5783 Posts: 417 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondering: has anyone else noticed how ridiculously oversized restaurant portions are?

Ever since I've started losing weight, it has become increasingly obvious to me how grossly disproportionate the sizes are. It's like 3 servings in one, if not more. The other day, I split a chocolate chunk cookie from Barnes and Noble with someone because I knew I wouldn't eat the entire thing myself as it was too big for me- it was like four cookies in one.

My question is this: have you been to a restaurant where the portion sizes are a bit more reasonable?
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Replies

  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    I know they're out there. It's not typically my experience to get a meal I could make three of when I dine out, though. At Applebee's a couple of weeks ago I ordered a chicken and pasta dish. I had the calories to eat the whole thing, but wound up eating all the chicken and veg but left probably 1/3 of the pasta. Certainly not enough for a whole other meal, though.

    I usually order something on the lighter side of the menu regardless of where we eat, simply because I don't feel like spending a whole day's worth of calories on one entree. These tend to have the additional advantage (unless you're looking for calorie bang for your buck, I guess) of being portioned smaller.
  • pinuplove
    pinuplove Posts: 12,874 Member
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    Restaurant desserts are a different story (sparked by your comment about the cookie). I'm amazed how many calories they manage to pack into those ooey gooey chocolate caramel cake ice cream monstrosities! If I'm going to eat that much of anything sweet, it will either be homemade or Ben & Jerry's :tongue:

    (and to @janejellyroll 's point, fine dining isn't really in my realm of everyday experience right now :lol: maybe 2 or 3 times a decade)
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    pinuplove wrote: »
    Restaurant desserts are a different story (sparked by your comment about the cookie). I'm amazed how many calories they manage to pack into those ooey gooey chocolate caramel cake ice cream monstrosities! If I'm going to eat that much of anything sweet, it will either be homemade or Ben & Jerry's :tongue:

    (and to @janejellyroll 's point, fine dining isn't really in my realm of everyday experience right now :lol: maybe 2 or 3 times a decade)

    I'm just spoiled!

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    Yes it's pretty well known that restaurants have too big portion sizes. It depends where I'm going and what I'm getting though. Sometimes yes it's certainly enough for 2 meals, but sometimes it's not. It's just more than I would have for 1 meal, but not enough for 2. Like if I go to a Mexican restaurant and order 2 steak tacos with rice/beans on the side, I'm eating both my tacos plus the rice and beans. Probably a high calorie day but I'm not just going to eat one taco lol. I don't go out to eat very often so it's not much of an issue.

  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I have generally found that the "finer" the dining experience, the more reasonable the portion sizes are. Places that are putting more thought into their food are often more particular about plating and less likely to try to impress a diner with a huge portion. They want it to look good, not huge (not that the two are mutually exclusive).

    There are exceptions, but this has been my experience.

    that really bothers me because my husband is extremely active (his job) and he's really tall, so he requires a LOT of food. When we go to a "nice" restaurant, he always leaves hungry. After spending that much on a meal, he shouldn't be hungry after. When I say "Nice" I mean the ones who put a ton of effort into making their food "look pretty" and have fancy sounding items and ingredients, and have their servers wearing white button down tops, etc. so needless to say we never go to those types of places.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    edited October 2018
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    I don’t like paying a lot for food and I love leftovers so big portions are a win-win for me. :D
    Sometimes I get three meals for the price of one.

    But, as stated above, fancier restaurants usually have smaller portions.
  • rsclause
    rsclause Posts: 3,103 Member
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    Kimmotion5783 wrote: »
    Just wondering: has anyone else noticed how ridiculously oversized restaurant portions are?

    Ever since I've started losing weight, it has become increasingly obvious to me how grossly disproportionate the sizes are. It's like 3 servings in one, if not more. The other day, I split a chocolate chunk cookie from Barnes and Noble with someone because I knew I wouldn't eat the entire thing myself as it was too big for me- it was like four cookies in one.

    My question is this: have you been to a restaurant where the portion sizes are a bit more reasonable?

    After switching to keto WOE I am no longer faced with a huge bun or mound of fries anymore. My wife and I like to go to a Mexican restaurant that even without the tortilla shell the fajitas are huge. The solution is to only eat what we want about 1/2 and box up the rest for our lunch salads the next day.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    edited October 2018
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    I find them pretty standard, maybe at a chain the portions are larger, I usually take some to-go, But at a nicer restaurant as stated, the portions are normal if not small. Sometimes I have to do a double and go get more food after dinner :D
  • admaarie
    admaarie Posts: 4,297 Member
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    Like others have said, it really depends on the restaurant. I find a fancier restaurant (like the Keg for ex) has reasonable portions vs a restaurant like red lobster where they are huge and can be split between 2-3 people.

    I like options from the “lighter side” of the menus (Cheesecake Factory for example), but I typically order what I want and split it.
  • MikePTY
    MikePTY Posts: 3,814 Member
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    If you think US restaurant portions are over sized, it's nothing compared to your average lunch place in Latin America. I swear they put an entire bag of rice on your place just to start.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    Mouse_Potato wrote: »
    I used to think restaurant portions were huge. Then I started lifting. Now I usually finish my meal and start eyeballing my boyfriend's food. "You gonna eat that, sugar?" :lol:

    ^ Yes...My husband feels your boyfriend's pain.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    There are a few places here that are local that really emphasize the quality of their food over the size of their plates. They aren't exactly fancy or "fine dining," but definitely nice establishments where you would get a little dressed up and expect to spend a pretty penny...I suppose this would be "fine dining" New Mexico style...we're pretty laid back and don't have much in the way of really fancy places.

    A lot of chain types of places sometimes have a lower calorie menu.
  • Kimmotion5783
    Kimmotion5783 Posts: 417 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I have generally found that the "finer" the dining experience, the more reasonable the portion sizes are. Places that are putting more thought into their food are often more particular about plating and less likely to try to impress a diner with a huge portion. They want it to look good, not huge (not that the two are mutually exclusive).

    There are exceptions, but this has been my experience.

    Because they're a fine-dining establishment, they are going for quality of the food over quantity. This may be something to consider. Thank you!
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    edited October 2018
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    Kimmotion5783 wrote: »
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I have generally found that the "finer" the dining experience, the more reasonable the portion sizes are. Places that are putting more thought into their food are often more particular about plating and less likely to try to impress a diner with a huge portion. They want it to look good, not huge (not that the two are mutually exclusive).

    There are exceptions, but this has been my experience.

    Because they're a fine-dining establishment, they are going for quality of the food over quantity. This may be something to consider. Thank you!

    Yep. I don’t have a refined palate so that’s all lost on me. I’m actually happy about that. Don’t care for restaurants in general.

  • bigbandjohn
    bigbandjohn Posts: 769 Member
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    Kimmotion5783 wrote: »
    Just wondering: has anyone else noticed how ridiculously oversized restaurant portions are?

    Ever since I've started losing weight, it has become increasingly obvious to me how grossly disproportionate the sizes are. It's like 3 servings in one, if not more. The other day, I split a chocolate chunk cookie from Barnes and Noble with someone because I knew I wouldn't eat the entire thing myself as it was too big for me- it was like four cookies in one.

    My question is this: have you been to a restaurant where the portion sizes are a bit more reasonable?

    Yes... They are few and far between. Most restaurants I end up taking half home for lunch the next day. One place I go serves a jerk mahi over zucchini "spaghetti" and that is just enough for a meal... and it's even fairly low calorie. Another place for lunch does a cup of soup and half sandwich, and it's "just the right size"... depending on the soup they have that day (the beer-cheese is filling and a no-no right now...)

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