American Portion Control

[icemoose]

Some US portions are larger, but the choice will always be yours if you eat it all or not. Eating establishments won't be offended if you leave some behind or ask for a container to take the remainder with you to have at a later time.

As for portion size being the reason why so many Americans are obese I would have to disagree with that. Some UK portions can be just as massive. I will never forget the first time I ordered fish and chips while here on a holiday and just staring in amazement as the chippy lady just kept shovelling on the chips. Even the superest (I know that's not a word) of super size fries from McDonalds or Burger King won't come close to normal chippy portion chips.

And I am not just attacking chips. Exactly how many calories and grams of fat are in those deep fried sausages and meat pies and puddings?. Lets see, meat and gravy in a suet pastry crust....hmmm. We don't know because unlike corporate McDs and others, Chippys (and Curry houses and Pubs, and Kebab takeaways) aren't harassed into divulging the nutritional content (or lack thereof) of their menu.

Should we start on the quintessential Full English breakfast?,...thought not.

I guess what I am trying to say is while I am not expert on English cuisine, I have yet to come across any typical dish served here that can be lauded as heart healthy or low fat or in any way inherently better for you than typical American cuisine.

As for gaining massive amounts of weight after moving to America, sure that is very possible, but know that I reached my heaviest ever weight after leaving America and moving here.

Maybe I should blame the food/portions served here and not myself for indulging in it....but I don't. I know I could have gotten just as fat if I had moved to Japan or some Mediterranean country that is purported to have "healthy" eating regimes.

I agree that it is the individuals choice to eat but the reality surely is that the more you put in front of people the more they are likely to eat, when they did that recent study on portion control with kids it showed that the more they presented to the children the more they ate but the satisfaction level was the same.

As much as I would like to say I can stop when I am full etc etc the reality is that some people (me included) tend to eat what is put in front of us and hence portion control in my opinion is a major reason for obesity.

Saying that I also more than agree that it is a problem in this country as well!

M.

 

[Russiandoll]

I agree that it is the individuals choice to eat but the reality surely is that the more you put in front of people the more they are likely to eat, when they did that recent study on portion control with kids it showed that the more they presented to the children the more they ate but the satisfaction level was the same.

As much as I would like to say I can stop when I am full etc etc the reality is that some people (me included) tend to eat what is put in front of us and hence portion control in my opinion is a major reason for obesity.

Saying that I also more than agree that it is a problem in this country as well!

M.

I'm inclined to agree Mike. I tend to eat what's placed in front of me and to a certain extent I think that it removes the guilt as far as overeating is concerned ... 'I didn't make it - I didn't serve it - this is what's considered a portion so I'm not being a pig by eating it.'
I've never really been able to manage a whole portion of chippy chips though - in the past, if we've had them we would buy 2 small portions between 5 of us ... most people I know also did the same. I agree they're not exactly healthy - but years ago before the fast food phenomenon (and before the lazy car culture we now live in) people were slimmer and fitter despite chippy chips. The obesity epidemic is down to many factors IMO ... portion sizes, snacking, lack of activity, chemical additives, social perception / attitude - they all play a part.

 

[icemoose]

Oh absolutely it is a load of factors but if you placed a 1500 calorie meal in front of me in a restaurant I would eat it and enjoy it, but if you placed a 750 calories meal I would eat it and enjoy it just as much.

I realise absolutely we are all responsible for what we eat and we all have the ability to say no but I would like the service sector to lose the "eat as much as you like" mentality and try and move us to a quality not quantity view over food.

Sedentary lifestyle does play a big factor as well, when i got promoted to a desk job here I put on about 2 stone in a year as I wasn't walking anymore during the day.

M.

 

[Russiandoll]

Sedentary lifestyle does play a big factor as well, when i got promoted to a desk job here I put on about 2 stone in a year as I wasn't walking anymore during the day.

M.

Yes! I could say that my serious weight gain started when my son died in 1986 but the fact I learned to drive and passed my test in the same year, I feel, has far more to do with it. Oh, and when my husband got a better paid job, my weight piled on even faster as we were able to afford the 'yummies' that were previously off the agenda.

I agree with the 'satisfaction' issue too ... if I had a tiny Freddo frog chocolate then I'd be satisfied once I finished it ... equally, I'd munch my way through a large bar of Galaxy until it was gone - but my level of satisfaction would be no greater.
A fab talking point Mike!

 

[Coley]

I watched the truth about food programme about portion control. Seems that if there is more on your plate, you'll eat more. Here is the link: BBC - Science & Nature - Portion Size

xx

 

[tishtosh]

Interesting thread

Hi All,
What a great thread this is! Not because of the rant about American vs UK portions/fat content so much, as the 'satisfaction' chat.
I also saw that programme about children, portion size and satisfaction and I think it was that realisation that led me towards starting LL. I had all but given up on my weight (oh well you have to die of something etc etc) and I realised that out of the hundreds of diets I tried over the years - portion control was not something that twigged with me. Silly I know but when the light doesn't go on you can't see the obvious.
Oops sorry if I've gone off on my own tangent- I look forward to the rest of this debate.
Cheers xx

 

[sonkie]

I was always told I couldnt leave the table unless my plate was cleared. I think many of us were brought up like this and it has just stuck, though now if my boys say they are full I get them to bin what is left.

 

[Russiandoll]

I realised that out of the hundreds of diets I tried over the years - portion control was not something that twigged with me. Silly I know but when the light doesn't go on you can't see the obvious.

I agree.
I remember when I was on one of my (many) diets, I ate really healthily, low carb, low fat etc etc BUT my plate would be heaving with steamed veg ... it's not that it was unhealthy or even loaded with cals but the fact that I had my plate piled high showed that I still had little control over portion control (still don't I reckon).

My 11 year old daughter seems to have it sussed. I don't pile her plate but even so, she eats slowly and then, quite often part way through, she stops for a few minutes (she calls this 'a food rest') This little gap allows her to assess her hunger - if she's still hungry after a few minutes she carries on - if not she stops. A natural PMK'er I reckon!

I could learn a few lessons from my 11 year old!

 

[Ugly Betty]

I totally agree with you Icemoose. I was also in Florida for 2 weeks at Easter and was shocked by the portion sizes. Order a regular portion of MacDonalds "fries" and what arrives is a what in the UK we have as supersize. Our large 12 inch pizza, was a small at local pizza place, with a large being a 20 inch pizza.

It was scary though that by the end of the 2 weeks, we were getting used to those large portion sizes and didn't see them as so big anymore. Yes people have a choice, but if it's put in front of you, then you'll eat it, and it becomes normal and what you expect and what your stomach wants.

There were so many obese people, but what really annoyed me was the number of obese CHILDREN there. So many huge children were being handed junk food and sugary drinks, and were stuffing their faces with burgers while their parents tucked in too. One boy (approx 10) could hardly walk because he was so big, being helped to walk by his obese mother, carrying his ice-cream for him. 3 year olds with fat bellies hanging over their clothes!

Half of the US tourists travelling around the theme parks in ECVs (electronic convenience vehicles) were only in them because they were just too huge to walk around.

Don't get me wrong, I love the states and Americans but what happens in the US normally ends up over here in the UK. I don't know that the answer is ,but we can't just let this become normal over here too.

 

[Britmummybites]

Ugly Betty - love your nick. Ohhhhhh the final episode is on tonight as well (usa).

Going to florida in december. Just the incentive i need to not cheat.