No doubt, food choice contributes to obesity in this country, but just as bad is the mindset that “more is better” when eating out or serving a family dinner.
Does Eating "Supersized" Equal Obesity?
The movie, “Supersize Me” released in 2004, highlighted the insanity and toxicity of fast food eating and the portions involved. In the movie, Morgan Spurlock personally tests the effect of eating fast food for thirty days and gains 24 pounds!
Wholehealtheducation.com’s article, “Stress Causing Americans to Supersize” by Georgianna Donadio, Ph.D, points to this movie as a pop culture example of the issues of everyday gorging on food. She tells us that a study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, outlined how food portions grew in fast food chains, restaurants and even homes from 1977 to 1996, citing stress as the key motivator. Dr. Donadio heralds the effectiveness of low carb diets to counteract stress eating of comfort foods. She says “For many of us, our stress level is a major factor in the overconsumption of carbohydrates; therefore, reducing or eating normal amounts of carbohydrates is spawning weight loss.”
Dr. Donadio hit the important point that “normal amounts” of food may cause weight loss! Most Americans have lost sight of what a serving portion should be. Trying to outdo their competitors, fast food and sit down restaurants alike pile on the foods that are cheaper to serve, such as potatoes, pasta and rice. Many Americans today would feel cheated if they were served a meal that actually observed recommended portion size. Restaurant patrons have been consuming more, more, more, and the restaurant industry has responded by serving large portions of economical carbohydrates.
What is a Recommended Portion?
Most packaged foods indicate the number of servings the package contains in the nutrition section. To Americans who are used to eating large volumes of super-sized fast food meals, these indicated portions will seem small, and they will probably consume more than their one serving, even when eating at home. These eaters need to adjust their mental attitude about how much is enough, before they drive into the fast food lane, sit down at a restaurant or cook at home. The portion of food eaten matters, no matter where it is eaten!
The corporate dietician for Medi-Weightloss Clinics, Leslie Carter Rd, LD/N, gives their patients the following guide to adequate serving portions and an easy way to measure them if a scale isn’t handy. Here is her guide:
- Fruit, vegetables, rice and pasta – 1 cup or a portion equal to a “fist”
- Meat, fish and poultry – 3 ounces or a portion that fits in the “palm” of the hand, about the size of a deck of cards
- Nuts and raisins – 1 ounce or a “handful”
- Chips, popcorn and pretzels – 1 ounce or 2 handfuls
- Peanut butter or hard cheese – 1 ounce or an amount equal to the size of a thumb
- Cooking oil, mayonnaise, butter and sugar – 1 teaspoon or the tip of the thumb
These measurements are easy to use, especially when eating out. Application of these guidelines makes it painfully obvious that a serving is not what most people think it is.
Readjusting Portion Eating
A few tricks can help when trying to readjust to eating the correct portions of food:
- Slow down when eating to allow the brain to catch up with the stomach
- Drink water before and during the meal
- Use a smaller plate when eating at home
- Dish up meals cooked at home from the kitchen, rather than putting serving bowls on the dining table
- Create single serving containers of leftovers
- Split fast food and restaurant meals with a friend or family member.
- If eating alone or with someone who doesn’t want to split a meal, ask for a “doggie bag” along with the meal, and place half of the meal served in it before taking a bite.
Eating is necessary to sustain life, but not in the huge portions to which Americans have become accustomed. Simply saying no to "Supersize" offers and changing the portion size of meals might be enough to reduce the number on the scale and inches around the bellies of millions of overweight Americans!
Related Reading:
"How Does the Medi-Weightloss Program Work?"
Resource:
Wholehealtheducation.com - Whole HealthTimes "News" Section
Medi-Weightloss Handouts
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