Hello, my dears! It’s Alla Sem here. There is a rising problem in the U.S. today, and this problem is contributing to weight gain of Americans at a fast rate. This problem is the ever growing portion sizes provided in restaurants and stores across America.
Research from a study conducted by the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Pennsylvania State University shows that the larger the portion size on your plate, the more you will eat. Most people do not stop eating when they feel their “full” cue in their stomach. We eat because it’s there. The problem is that portion sizes are growing at an alarming rate. As this rate continues to grow, we become immune to it, and it just seems like a normal portion, leading us to consume more and more calories.
On my journey from 110 kg to 80 kg, I had to relearn what a normal portion actually looks like. It was eye-opening.
The Growing Portion Problem
In the 1970’s, a 12 ounce soda was a typical size you would get as a fountain drink from a restaurant or quick stop. Now it is 20 ounces. Bagels used to weigh 2-3 ounces and now weigh 4-7 ounces. A regular size serving of French fries from McDonald’s (you remember the one that came in the little white paper bag) weighs one third of the weight of the largest size now.
This becomes so normal to us that when we see the “smaller” servings, it looks like a tiny amount of food that surely couldn’t fill us up. This is an even bigger problem for the youth today. This is all they know, and when they see what a portion size should look like, it will appear very small to them.
The Fake Food Reality
In my office, I have fake food samples to show correct portions. Most people laugh and say, “I eat three times that amount!” or “That would never fill me up.” These are, in fact, the portion sizes we should be eating. Once people start to pay attention to their fullness cues, they start to realize that these smaller portion sizes, along with learning how to balance their meals correctly, can fill them up.
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The Cold Stone Lesson
When I lived in Santa Barbara, California, my husband and I would occasionally treat ourselves to Cold Stone ice cream. Anyone who lives in Santa Barbara knows that the line at Cold Stone is always so long it goes out the front door. I always noticed as I waited in line that the majority of people would come out with giant waffle cones stuffed with what looks like a pint of ice cream.
My husband gets these giant cones, and one day I asked him, “Why do you get such a huge ice cream cone?” He paused and said, “Because it’s there and everyone is walking out with them. It looks good.” He then glanced at my single scoop on my small cone and said, “That looks like a sample.” It was true. My regular sized ice cream cone now looked like a tiny sample.
The Calorie Reality
Portion sizes of this magnitude are going to lead to alarming rates of weight gain. I estimated the calories in one of the large cones (ice cream with cone and topping) and it equals around 1,160 calories, compared to the single sized cone of 370 calories. My small “sample” size, as my husband calls it, is still a large amount of calories for a treat. The large cone is almost equivalent to a day’s worth of calories.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t a lecture on having treats once in a while. It is just a friendly reminder to not get too comfortable with these large portion sizes, because they will lead you to gain weight at a rapid rate. Enjoy your food, but remember an actual portion size is usually much smaller than what you will get in the store or restaurant.
If you want to manage your weight successfully, go for the small size or “kids” size, even if it looks like a sample. Your waistline will thank you.
With love and belief in you,
Alla Sem
