Big bellies caused by big portions
My wife and I went to a restaurant the other day-something I rarely do. Trying to keep with my healthy ways, I ordered a salad. When it came to the table, I was amazed at how large it was. By the time I was done, I was barely hungry anymore. But nothing could have prepared me for the main course.
Again, trying to be healthy, I ordered salmon with potatoes and a vegetables. And when the waitress put the plate in front of me I was amazed-the portions were enough to feed me and my wife. And as I looked around, I saw the same thing at every other table: I was surprised anyone could see over their plates.
But the worst part of all is that it looks like those super-sized portions we're constantly seeing in restaurants these days are now carrying over into our homes.
Recently, a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association laid out a sort of portion size time capsule. And one of the most interesting findings is that for many folks, large portions-in some cases too large-are starting to look normal.
Most people get a huge heaping portion and think, "Great, I'll have leftovers" But in reality, people tend to eat much more when get big servings. And with huge servings becoming the norm, more and more people are unwittingly overeating.
During the study I mentioned above, researchers hosted 177 mostly female college students at a breakfast, lunch, or dinner buffet. The students were asked to serve themselves what they considered a normal portion of each item.
For breakfast, the menu consisted of cornflakes, sugar, milk, orange juice, toast, butter, and jelly. Lunch and dinner was tuna salad, bread, tossed salad, salad dressing, fruit salad, and soda (either diet or regular).
But before the students sat down to eat, the researchers took note of their portion sizes. Then they compared those portion sizes to what people served themselves during an identical study performed in 1984. Turns out, portion sizes had risen dramatically.
In fact:
Cornflakes servings were up nearly 20 percent.
The amount of milk poured over the cereal were up 30 percent.
Orange juice servings rose by about 45%.
Fruit salad servings increased by a third.
This just goes to show how our super-size culture is affecting our homes and lives.
My advice is to always start out with less than what you need, if possible. You can always serve yourselves seconds. And remember-it takes a lot less time to get up and get seconds than it does to work off those extra pounds.
