Do people really eat that much?

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ziggy67
ziggy67 Posts: 351
in Chit-Chat
I am from the UK and I have never been to America...although I know many people who have. I know they call America the land of the free...which got me wondering if it is really true when people say that their bars,cafes & restaurants operate on an 'all you can eat' basis...and doggy bags are offered for people to take all their left overs home in? I wondered if this was everywhere or just in selected places? They don't do this over here in the UK as far as I am aware..you pay for what you get and you eat it...take it or leave it!
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  • Gabbylou22
    Gabbylou22 Posts: 43 Member
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    It's not everywhere, and Australia is way ahead of America as the 'fattest country' at the moment
  • clarech
    clarech Posts: 157 Member
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    We have all you can eat places in the UK! Most of them are horrible but they are here. Don't get to take stuff home though well except for on the odd occasion one of my kids have refused their food they have offered to wrap it up but that's usually just sandwiches
  • donnaselene
    donnaselene Posts: 6
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    I am also from the u.k but am aware that in America the food is subsidized meaning alot cheaper so restaurants can afford to put on a lavish buffet and still make money from it. We should feel for our American friends who are trying to lose weight thay have a lot of temptation in there way.
  • TigressStripes
    TigressStripes Posts: 33 Member
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    Most places are not "all you can eat", though those types of restaurants certainly do exist (Hometown Buffet comes immediately to mind as one).

    That being said, most restaurants meals are typically more than one person reasonably should eat (and even if you can get calories low, you're still contending with a heaping pile of sodium) ... and I've yet to have a place refuse to provide me with a "to-go" bag.

    Quite frankly, if I was forced to eat everything that I ordered at the restaurant I ordered it at, I'd likely go out even less than I do now - being able to take home half of my meal means I can actually socialize with friends and family while still losing weight!
  • hush7hush
    hush7hush Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Uh, no, not everything is "all you can eat". There are buffets, but it's not everything.

    And yes, you can get your leftovers to go. Why would you want to waste the food you payed for? Buffets (all you can eat) do not have to-go boxes, though, since you're paying only for what you eat there.
  • mistyb47711
    mistyb47711 Posts: 861 Member
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    the "buffets" you cant take a doggie bag home, but everything here is FATTING!! Mcdonals, Rally's, ect......prices on healthy food cost more and the high fat foods cost less....I honestly think the USA is silently killing us with the less expensive food..
  • Lyadeia
    Lyadeia Posts: 4,603 Member
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    LOL, I went to an all you can eat buffet just today. :bigsmile:

    In order for me to be successful in losing weight, I simply don't go out to eat very often...like once or twice a month at the most. While not every place is all you can eat, the portions are really large anyway. And yes, if I stuff my face until I am too stuffed to eat anymore, I will get a doggy bag and have the rest later on.

    Learning to cook and re-portion my food was the biggest step in jump-starting my weight loss!
  • sharonuk10
    sharonuk10 Posts: 277
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    Being and American that lives in the UK I can say not all resteraunts are all you can eat type things and not all resteraunts have super size servings. Just like here you have to watch what you eat when dining out. Here in certain chain pubs you get HUGE portions just like you get in the USA. I have asked to be able to take stuff home from resteraunts here. I have no problem with this as it can be eaten for lunch the next day. I wish it was the normal thing to do though as it would save me from having to ask if they have something I can put my leftovers in... I hate wasting food but also hate feeling like I have to eat ALL I have been given. Which sometimes can be HUGE portions.
  • azheelshock
    azheelshock Posts: 25
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    The To-Go bag is actually a smart decision when eating out at your typical American chain restaurant, such as Texas Roadhouse, Chilis, etc. The portions are so large that it makes sense to immediately cut everything in half when it is served and put it in the box. Having said that, a large meal a couple times a month probably isn't going to derail weight loss plans.
  • ziggy67
    ziggy67 Posts: 351
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    I find this all quite interesting because when I go out for a meal and pay good money for it I feel I have to eat everything so as not to waste it. If I knew I could take some of it home in a to go bag I don't think I would be inclined to make such a pig of myself. The other side of the coin is if I knew I could eat all I want at an 'all I can eat' buffet.. I still would anyway!
    A friend of mine went to New York for a short break with her 4 daughters and when she came back she was 8lbs heavier!! Frightening!!
  • kr3851
    kr3851 Posts: 994 Member
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    In Australia, not many restaurants will give you a take-away container. It's got something to do with food handling laws, and the fact that food has to leave the premises at a certain temperature if it's take-away. It's kind of good, and kind of bad. I feel like I should eat whatever is on my plate, because it's a waste of money. But at the same time, I don't want to! So I don't go out to eat very often. At least I only eat the sodium laden meal once....
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
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    I'm in new zealand and the portions just aren't that big. I've never had a doggie bag, and never needed to.

    you can get two entrees at a restaurant, get one to come out with other people's mains. Often a clear soup and then an entree is fine.

    I don't think we have mega food over here yet.
    I've seen supersize me and we have nothing whatsoever size-wise like that.
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
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    A friend of mine went to New York for a short break with her 4 daughters and when she came back she was 8lbs heavier!! Frightening!!

    When I was in LA a few years ago, I came home 4lbs lighter! :laugh:

    I went to some great restaurants, and only Buca di Beppo served up enormous portions (including the best strawberry cheesecake I've ever had - amato mio and I shared one portion, and there was still loads!).

    I've been to lots of restaurants in the UK where you can have a doggie bag (in London I give mine to homeless people). A lot of places will also re-cork your wine bottle so you can take it home (I *don't* give that to the homeless - I believe it would be irresponsible to do so). I've also been to several all-you-can-eat buffets here in the UK, and I agree with one of the other posters, that they have always been sub-standard (apart from an Indian one I went to earlier this year). I have also been to restaurants in the UK and asked for, and been given, smaller portions. I don't think that large portions and buffets should be an excuse to lose one's self control! :smile:
  • yaddayaddayadda
    yaddayaddayadda Posts: 430 Member
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    YES... people do eat that much! If you eat at a "fine dining" restaurant, the portions are smaller and more appropriate, but if you eat at a chain restaurant or a less expensive eatery, the portions are HUGE!

    We ate out yesterday at a restaurant in a tourist spot that serves only breakfast. The portions were huge. I was full after the third bite. I don't like the large portions b/c I grew up in a "clean plate" family, and I was trained to clear my plate. I am able to push my half eaten plate away most of the time, but I believe that the large portions served at restaurants are a big part of the cause for the "obesity epidemic" we are experiencing in the USA. People have come to think that the large portions are appropriate.

    If you are trying to lose weight, it is best to stay home and measure your food!
  • jennyocox
    jennyocox Posts: 143
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    The only reason we can't take home doggie bags here are because of stupid health and safety regulations. It's ridiculous really. (I'm in Ireland)
  • sarad777
    sarad777 Posts: 210 Member
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    I had a conversation with a waitress while eating at a restaurant in England. She wanted to go to Canada to eat lots of junk food some day. Oh my!! Is that what we're known for? Buffets, junk food, sauces on everything AND sauces to DIP everything in. She loves the maple syrup pancakes also.

    After that conversation, we took a look around on the Tube. My husband was one of the largest people on it and he was only around 210 or 215 at the time.

    I then came back to Canada and read an article and it said that in England they are more heart healthy. Well, I saw why! No crap, lots of walking.
  • ladylu11
    ladylu11 Posts: 631 Member
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    I'm from America (Texas). Most of the places serve a very large portion of food which is why I always split a meal with my daughter and we still have leftovers and yes we take them with us.

    Buffets do not allow to-go boxes.

    Not sure about other places, but here, all celebrations revolve around food. No matter what the occasion! Which could be part of the reason why we have so much.
  • sarad777
    sarad777 Posts: 210 Member
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    You can get take out chinese food buffet here where I live. You walk around the buffet with containers. LOL
  • bethdris
    bethdris Posts: 1,090 Member
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    If I go to a nice steak house (which with3 young kids doesn't happen often) I will order a meal and ask them to put 1/2 in a box right away. That temptation is then out of sight to "pick" when what I do have on my plate is gone.

    Some restaurants will let you order "lunch size" portions even at dinner time. The lunch portions are probably a little bigger than a true serving size, but not near as big as dinner "portions".

    The all you can eat buffets...well I just have germ issues and other ppl, so I don't eat at any of those anyway.
  • TheGoktor
    TheGoktor Posts: 1,138 Member
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    I had a conversation with a waitress while eating at a restaurant in England. She wanted to go to Canada to eat lots of junk food some day. Oh my!! Is that what we're known for? Buffets, junk food, sauces on everything AND sauces to DIP everything in. She loves the maple syrup pancakes also.

    After that conversation, we took a look around on the Tube. My husband was one of the largest people on it and he was only around 210 or 215 at the time.

    I then came back to Canada and read an article and it said that in England they are more heart healthy. Well, I saw why! No crap, lots of walking.

    Believe me, there's an awful lot of rubbish food and overweight people here in the UK! However, as with anywhere else, social status, income, educational level, geographical location etc., all play their part. Some areas are more health-conscious than others, and conversely, some areas have higher obesity levels. If you were in the middle of London, it's unlikely you would have seen an abundance of overweight people; however, had you ventured off the tourist track, your husband would probably seem very slim in some places!

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