People cannot visualize reasonable portion sizes

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  • clicketykeys
    clicketykeys Posts: 6,568 Member
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    DomesticKat wrote: »
    Probably 5 or 6 years ago at least, most likely longer, I distinctly remember having a conversation with a close friend about calorie reduction for weight loss. I completely balked at the idea of reducing calories because I KNEW I was only eating 1500 calories and as a grown, active woman there was no way I could eat less. It was totally unacceptable to me that I would have to make a concerted effort to eat less than I was and clearly there was something wrong with me and I just couldn't lose weight.

    Nope. Denial. I just refused to see that I was eating too much. I refused to acknowledge all the mindless bites and snacks I was eating during the day on top of regular meals because it was a habit.

    I reminded her of that conversation a few months ago when weight loss came up again and totally admitted that I was full of *kitten* then. Some of us get so stuck in our own way that we will see what we want to see until we have no choice but to admit how full of *kitten* we are and really pay attention to what we're eating.

    What did she say??
  • Panini911
    Panini911 Posts: 2,325 Member
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    I STILL have trouble getting my mind around portions. my latest discovery is my "portion of chicken breast" was actually at least 1.5 portions. I am measuring more carefully but when i grab my chicken portion I almost want to cry (but I am going mind over matter on this one) as it is so small.

    For the reward I am a volume eater. So my plate is generally jam packed with veggies either raw or cooked without added fat. Because I need to EAT! ;)

    a portion of ice cream is a joke for me. so I DO eat the low cal stuff, cuz to me, quantity matters.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
    edited September 2018
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    clicketykeys wrote: »
    psychod787 wrote: »
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    Some years ago I had a revelatory conversation with an obese co-worker. Both he and his wife were obese and waddled on land like walruses. He, particularly, had ruined his ankles with the abuse of walking on them. He told me that he focused his restaurant food choices on getting the most calories possible for the fewest dollars necessary. It turns out, that is the mental calculation made by lab monkeys, too. Primates want the greatest reward possible for the least effort necessary. As global food production has incessantly grown to exceed the rate of population growth, more and more people around the planet are finding it possible to get more cheap food than they need for survival. The unconscious choice many people make to maximise their food reward for their effort or money expended is the ultimate root cause of the global increase in rates of obesity.

    "The struggle is real" isn't just a meme. It's not just the body. It's the brain. The executive brain has to overcome the reflexive brain. Portioning properly has to be learned and is a lesson which runs counter to our natural tendencies. It is hard.

    Spot on my man! I think it was Winton Churchill that said, " why run when you can walk? Why walk when you can stand? Why stand when you can lounge? Why lounge when you can sleep?" I think we are the same way. I get the exact opposite at work. I often take in 2 lunch bags with my food. People are like, are you going to eat all that? Well... my quinoa, veggie, avacado, lean protein plates take up a lot of space. When you eat a Hungry man dinner that's 900 cals for 225 grams, it's a small package. I start to talk about caloric density.... blank stare. At office parties same thing. If I eat small amounts of stuff, I get made fun of because they all tell me I am afraid of "good" food. Oh well.

    To Winston Churchill, I respond with Warren Zevon: "I'll sleep when I'm dead." I run so that I can be stronger and faster and do more and live longer and do even MORE. There are too many interesting things in the world and I want to miss out on as few of them as possible.

    (I do sleep, mind you! ;D)

    I was going to say... send lawyers, guns, and money, but i live in the southern states. We have plenty of lawyers and guns, but I will take some money! Lol
  • sunfastrose
    sunfastrose Posts: 543 Member
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    I see some cruelty in the posts here - specifically to how some of the people are referred to. I think all of us here were in their shoes before and it is good that now we are not.
  • psychod787
    psychod787 Posts: 4,088 Member
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    sunfastrose wrote: »
    I see some cruelty in the posts here - specifically to how some of the people are referred to. I think all of us here were in their shoes before and it is good that now we are not.

    I will refer to no one bad, just dont ask me about weight loss... i am no expert btw, just a dude trying to make his way, and then bad talk me. I know some of it is meant to be in good fun, but it can hurt as well....

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