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

2

Replies

  • MrSJWinship
    MrSJWinship Posts: 37 Member
    edited April 2018
    vingogly wrote: »
    The Olive Garden ads on TV seem to be based on the belief that Italians (or at least those living in Olive Garden Land) eat huge portions of food including obscene amounts of meat and cheese. It's a twisted American view of what the Mediterranean diet is about, and what we need to be satisfied.

    Restaurants used to refer to 6 oz steaks as "Ladies' portions" or "petite" steaks. This creates the impression that Manly Men should go for the big stuff - because there is such a thing as Man Food as recent Nutrisystem ads for men suggest.

    There's nothing wrong with getting an appetizer and a cup of soup or salad and leaving it at that. You have to filter out all this consume consume consume messaging flying at you and do what you know is good for you. And also forget any programming you have from childhood about the Empty Plate Club, and learn how to read your bodily cues for hunger and satiety.

    It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you've eaten enough. That's why eating slowly or eating half then waiting for a while are important strategies. As one book I've read pointed out (I think it was Intuitive Eating), you can always go back and have some more if you really want it.

    Absolutely, I have been getting full before im done eating now. Where as before id be half way through a Pizza when My Stomach being full hit me and i felt ill from overeating. My body has been trying to tell me for so long but i never listened! lol
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    Most chain restaurant portions are huge. I only eat half and take half home.
  • jefamer2017
    jefamer2017 Posts: 416 Member
    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.

    I went to one a few weeks ago. I skipped the potatoes got chicken, green beans and a few other items. Ate one plate and a small amount of ice cream after. It's possible to eat at them still just have to be careful about what you put on your plate and how much.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    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...

    Very true, a lot of appetizers are high in calories. This is where making smart choices helps. I also don't eat the whole thing myself. I go for grilled calamari, grilled baby octopus, chicken skewers, shrimp cocktail, beef carpaccio or something else similar. i usually eat about 1/3 of the appetizer and a side of vegetables.
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
    On the upside, I love leftovers so getting food from a restaurant and eating it for two or three meals is great and much more cost effective. :)
  • knotgood77
    knotgood77 Posts: 69 Member
    The portion control is definitely an adjustment....I have always thought some things were ridiculous though. Never understood why restaurants would advertise 3 egg omelets like it was something to brag about,lol.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    I think it has a couple of things to do with American culture. One, restaurants want people to feel they get there money's worth. Many people pay for quantity not quality. The second, people tend to thinks, a little is good, so a lot must be better! Just thoughts by me.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    vingogly wrote: »
    The Olive Garden ads on TV seem to be based on the belief that Italians (or at least those living in Olive Garden Land) eat huge portions of food including obscene amounts of meat and cheese. It's a twisted American view of what the Mediterranean diet is about, and what we need to be satisfied.

    Restaurants used to refer to 6 oz steaks as "Ladies' portions" or "petite" steaks. This creates the impression that Manly Men should go for the big stuff - because there is such a thing as Man Food as recent Nutrisystem ads for men suggest.

    There's nothing wrong with getting an appetizer and a cup of soup or salad and leaving it at that. You have to filter out all this consume consume consume messaging flying at you and do what you know is good for you. And also forget any programming you have from childhood about the Empty Plate Club, and learn how to read your bodily cues for hunger and satiety.

    It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you've eaten enough. That's why eating slowly or eating half then waiting for a while are important strategies. As one book I've read pointed out (I think it was Intuitive Eating), you can always go back and have some more if you really want it.

    This is one of my biggest challenges. I get extremely stressed if I don't eat every bite on my plate regardless of how much I started with.

    I've been thinking about focusing on this one habit for a while and see if I can break it over the next few months.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    knotgood77 wrote: »
    The portion control is definitely an adjustment....I have always thought some things were ridiculous though. Never understood why restaurants would advertise 3 egg omelets like it was something to brag about,lol.

    I have never made an omlette with 3 eggs unless I was making one big one for me and my daughter to split and I didn't feel like making 2. That's always seemed weird to me.
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    vingogly wrote: »
    The Olive Garden ads on TV seem to be based on the belief that Italians (or at least those living in Olive Garden Land) eat huge portions of food including obscene amounts of meat and cheese. It's a twisted American view of what the Mediterranean diet is about, and what we need to be satisfied.

    Restaurants used to refer to 6 oz steaks as "Ladies' portions" or "petite" steaks. This creates the impression that Manly Men should go for the big stuff - because there is such a thing as Man Food as recent Nutrisystem ads for men suggest.

    There's nothing wrong with getting an appetizer and a cup of soup or salad and leaving it at that. You have to filter out all this consume consume consume messaging flying at you and do what you know is good for you. And also forget any programming you have from childhood about the Empty Plate Club, and learn how to read your bodily cues for hunger and satiety.

    It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you've eaten enough. That's why eating slowly or eating half then waiting for a while are important strategies. As one book I've read pointed out (I think it was Intuitive Eating), you can always go back and have some more if you really want it.

    This is one of my biggest challenges. I get extremely stressed if I don't eat every bite on my plate regardless of how much I started with.

    I've been thinking about focusing on this one habit for a while and see if I can break it over the next few months.

    Use a bread plate then. Think that the plate that the restaurant served to you is the family portion that you'd pass around a dinner table. Take your part off that plate and put it onto a smaller bread plate. That is your portion. The rest is to go.
  • mutantspicy
    mutantspicy Posts: 624 Member
    edited April 2018
    Salads can be tricky too! Once you start adding all the craysins, croutons, dressings, oils, seeds, feta, olives, etc. They load up with calories quick. A lot of people think if you eat your soup and salad first you will fill up and not eat as much of the meal. Well often if you eat that soup and salad thats an entire meals worth of calories right there.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
    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.

    I noticed that portions of high calorie foods were often oversized. It is pretty rare to get giant portions of low calorie vegetable dishes.
    I'm not scared to eat too much. I log and prelog. I use my food scale to help me. I cook and eat food from home for most of my meals. I eat out 1 meal a week and look up nutritional info and make the best choices I can. I am not 100% accurate. The worst that ever happens really is I maintain and need to increase my accuracy a bit.
    It takes time to change and learn what is the right amount for you of different foods. You don't have to be perfect to lose weight. Make informed mindful choices where you can but don't be scared to eat.
  • amyteacake
    amyteacake Posts: 768 Member
    I realised this when I started to lose weight and learned about portion sizes. It was also when - the other day actually - I bought something that I used to eat before I started to lose weight and I couldn't finish it when I used to be able to finish it easily. I struggled to even get half way.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    I feel like portions are small. 2 oreos are a serving? 1 cookie or poptart in a package of 2. etc. 1 cup of ice cream :(
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
    I became aware after getting my food scale. If you don't have one, get one. 100% worth the money.

    Another "Me too" though I had heard it said often I didn't realize how much. I look at the side of cereal boxes, even sweet kids' cereals, and think "how can that be so bad?" and then pour some in a bowl on a scale and realize exactly how it can be so bad.
  • ryenday
    ryenday Posts: 1,540 Member
    I’m no longer overweight by any measure but I could easily have that 12 oz steak. With beef, I have to strictly control myself- and I never eat steak (or beef unless it is a very good hamburger) out. Way too expensive and I don’t need the butter/oil calories that come from eating restaurant prepared steak.

    I still eat quite large portions for someone my size. But I don’t eat anything I don’t love anymore unless I need the nutritional value (my 5 servings of veggies are mandatory each day even though I don’t like them much).

    BUT I leave the bread, rice, pasta, salad dressing, and desert alone. I don’t care for any of those enough to give up an extra ounce of steak for them. Now I have to be very careful with potatoes and butter (my kryptonite) but again, I usually save potatoes for home cooked meals so I can control the portion more easily.

    When I eat out, now, I go as plain as possible. Chicken or turkey with the least dressing/ sauce I can find. Salad, with oil and vinegar on the side. I can usually find something at a nice restaurant. I miss the taste of fried fast food but not how it made me feel or how I always wanted more.
  • JaydedMiss
    JaydedMiss Posts: 4,286 Member
    I dont eat out really ever and this is why, I eat every bit of food i have. I was born without the ability to feel full (seriously) Mixed with a moderation issue ... So when i get around hyperpalatable foods i eat it all. And then likely other things lol. Its quite sad though now that im aware from weighing my food to see just how huge restaurant meals are. And sadly things like yummy fries vs yummy broccoli, You get WAY more fries.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,572 Member
    No. I can eat so much. I really can order for 3 and eat it all even with large portions.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
    Salads can be tricky too! Once you start adding all the craysins, croutons, dressings, oils, seeds, feta, olives, etc. They load up with calories quick. A lot of people think if you eat your soup and salad first you will fill up and not eat as much of the meal. Well often if you eat that soup and salad thats an entire meals worth of calories right there.

    Yep, soup and salad and bread and you probably have 500 calories worth already, lol.

    That being said, feta isn't too bad calorie-wise because it has a lot of flavor and you don't need as much though... Mozzarella though... I made myself a tomato mozzarella salad the other day (no oil) and it came out to 300 calories for just 3 slices of mozzarella... In restaurants you get more than that, plus oil, and it's typically considered an appetizer.

    It's kinda funny though, when I compare sandwiches and crepes too... Here in the US they are STUFFED with stuff, so much in fact that I have yet to find a place selling crepes that I like, because you can't even taste the crepe anyway. In France, there is just less filling overall, so you actually taste the bread/crepe (same for pizzas, much less toppings over there than here). Can't say how much it filled me in comparison though, I can eat a huge burrito or a huge sandwich and still be hungry...

    Maybe it's not so much portion sizes as the fact that overall, we just don't move enough. My sedentary calories are pathetic and nowhere enough to satisfy me, for example. I'd still be obese if I wasn't so active.