www.thelighterweigh.com
It is interesting how serving size really does influence our perception of how much we are eating.
We were upstate this weekend and ordered sandwiches from a new restaurant. I got my favorite (turkey, ham, lettuce, tomato, onion, and honey mustard). When the food arrived, we could not believe the size of thesandwiches! Each one was a huge hero. I picked up half of my sandwich and began to eat. Three quarters of the way through, I was no longer hungry. Yet I found myself continuing to eat because it was "only half of the sandwich so it shouldn't be too much". Mid-bite, I stopped myself, hearing my own voice in my head. How many times have I counseled patients to stop eating as soon as they were full, regardless of how much was left on the plate? How many times have I observed that when served larger portions, people almost always tend to eat more than they need to? I asked myself to put the sandwich down and not let myself fall into the same trap that plagues children (and adults) throughout the country.
So what happened? I put the sandwich down... and then picked it up and finished it. I can't tell you why- I just felt the unfinished piece calling to me. I wish I could say that I was strong enough to resist the temptation- but I was not.
Now I have to try to learn from it. I have known for a while that I don't feel full until I clean my plate. No matter how hard I try, it is very difficult for me to leave food on my plate. So over the last six months, I have made some changes. I switched from dinner-sized plates to salad plates so I trick myself into thinking I am eating more than I am actually eating. I serve myself very small helpings, knowing that I can always go back for more. At a restaurant, I call over the waiter the moment I feel full so I don't have the opportunity to pick at my plate. I usually ask him to wrap it up so I can eat it (or what usually happens- leave it in my fridge until it is barely recognizable and then throw it out) another day. I am famous at my local frozen yogurt store for ordering a small non-fat cone and asking them to give me 'much less' than the normal small serving. Again- I know that if they give it to me, I will eat it- and their smalls are super big!
So what can I do with this sandwich? I can cut the half in half before I start eating and only put one piece on my plate or I can make myself IMMEDIATELY throw the rest of the sandwich in the garbage as soon as I feel full. I will let you know what happens the next time we order from that restaurant.
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3 comments:
Joanna - that is so true about cleaning our plates. We went to a soft serve icecream place the other day and my favorite part is the cone. Before even starting eating I took a napkin and threw out over 1/2 the ice cream. I had asked them to not give me so much and even though my cone was much smaller than the rest of the families it was still too big. Theresa
My wife originally lived in Australia and was shocked to see our portion sizes in the USA! For example, the other day she ordered one "scoop" of ice cream at a local restaurant and was a little taken aback to get a large sized bowl with about 3-4 literal scoops! I've heard of people who put a bunch of salt on their food to stop from eating it too. I hate wasting food, so I like your idea of ordering smaller portions at the outset better. Either way, the portion sizes are outrageous.
This really does happen to the best of us! No matter how much we try to stop when we're full it is really hard. And the portion sizes here really don't help! But what you suggested is really something every person should consider!
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