Ah yes portions have gotten insane

[nadinbrzezinski]

at restaurants....

http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/

Go take the two quizzes there and see why we are having a serious problem

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Wow.

That's a great site.

Thank you for posting!

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. You welcome, I posted a thread a while back

and some folks were a tad angry that I even dared say that restaurants were partly responsible for our obesity problem

It is them and that conspicous consumption

Hell, we went to Carls Jr today and they looked at us weird, we had a burger (hubby.... not that his was low cal) and a chicken sandwitch

And drinks, no fries

I left haft the bread on mine

Then after the movie we went to Barnes and Noble and had some latte (our luxury of the week), and I had some soup and he had cheesecake, we came home and I'll have a fruit before I go to bed. I am supposed to get a snack before going to bed

But after realizing that... I am all but sorry or afraid to leave food behind

Oh and they don't have it there, but my favorite example is Mickey Ds

Chicken Nugget Meal

It used to be SMALL fries, and six pieces of chicken, plus soda

These days it is TEN pieces and their small fries are what once was medium fries

When I go... I order the damn thing, and I substitute the fries for a side salad and add the sauce on the cover of the salad so I have as lithe or much as I want, and I sub the soda for coffee

Oh and I never finish it either, and I am not ashamed to put it in the trash....

[Cant trust em]

2. the standard burger size appears to be a half pound these days.

It doesn't seem that long ago that a half-pound burger would have been a novelty item on most menus.

[gateley]

4. Remember when a Quarter Pounder was considered humongous?

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Yep, and I pick the SMALL bagels at the supermarket

except when parents come visiting. When they do, we spit them any more

And I cannot finish one anyway, nor should

[Cant trust em]

10. That was we talked about in our conversation around the table.

Mind you, this was a couple of guys in our mid 20's talking about this. When a group of eating machines have noticed this problem, that really says something.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Then there is hope that perhaps folks will start

to do what is good for their health

[Cant trust em]

18. I always try to drop those hints when I'm in peer groups

Most people don't like to be lectured, so I interject little opinions like that and maybe people pick them up.

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. There you go

[gateley]

3. A Chicken Caesar is 790 calories? Shoot me now. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Yep and you really do not want to know what is the value for the "chinese" salad I like

at Islands... I'd rather have a bowl of tortilla soup... counterintuitive yes... absolutely, but the salads are just loaded...

[MonkeyFunk]

8. so true

I VERY rarely finish a restaurant meal these days, and I'm a big guy. They're just ridiculous.

[Kool Kitty]

31. Ain't that the truth?

I remember going out to dinner with my parents when I was little (about a hundred years ago), and you couldn't order dessert if you didn't finish your dinner. (And we didn't get the little child's portion dinners, either.) But you COULD finish it. Now a dinner portion winds up being dinner again the next day. I can't remember the last time I actually finished dinner in a restaurant, and I am a "good" eater. I wish they would halve the portions and charge less.

[Bill McBlueState]

38. some places do that, but...

Usually when they halve the portion, they still charge you 80% of the price. x(

[Captain Angry]

11. There is a reason portions have gotten so large.

Fixed costs have increased over the years.

So, a company can continue to have a normal sized portion for a much higher price than before. Or they can increase the size dramatically for a tiny bit more thanks to the low price of buying in bulk.

It's a value thing. I'm not saying it's right, but it's where a lot of this comes from.

Rent, labor, utilities. They're divided among each unit sold. As those prices go up, the unit cost goes up.

The question is, why do people eat the whole thing in one sitting? Normal people should be able to go out to a restaurant and be able to reheat half of the meal the next day for dinner.

[Cant trust em]

12. Self control is a problem for most people

The food is in front of them and it's easy to keep eating.

My move is to cut it in half before I start. It gives me what I call the "point of no return". Where you have to stop there to get a decent meal when you eat the rest the next day.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. There are plenty of studies on this

and most americans have truly distorted views of what a normal portion is

In fact, dish sizes for home have also increased in size, as well as portions at home

Of course there is the ever so popular eating in front of the TV (which now has invaded even fast food places) and other bad habits, such as an unwillingness to do exercise, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Oh and in the Western World people are supposed to feel full according to visual cues. If you close your eyes when you eat, you will leave half of what is on the average plate, I can bet on it.

Oh and we also tend to shovel food in... I have had to retrain myself NOT to do that...

So it is a combination of things

[Captain Angry]

22. I was really surprised to see the restaurants allowed TVs in.

Turnover would be what you'd expect they'd want.

[nadinbrzezinski]

26. Actually it is... if you are watching while you eat

you will eat that much faster.

A few will stay around, but for the most part they have that higher turnover, and also they even sell more food

If you shovel it in, you will still be "hungry" when you go get something else... or you will just order the larger meal because well, you can finish it

Gone to Mickey Ds (they've got good coffee, and cheaper than starbucks) and paid attention to people eating. Those paying attention to the teevee... at least from my observations, eat more.

It is kind of funny, and sad... a ten year old finished the same combo I had last monday, plus the shake... mom glared at me when I put the last four pieces of chicken into the trash (I was full), I asked her if there was a problem

Well there are starving kids....

Save me the routine... your kid is on her way to diabetes and obesity....

She just stopped yammering... and I am not thin by any stretch...

Oh and I've gotten those glares for throwing food at several other places from annoyed parents...

[Captain Angry]

28. McDonalds is my one vice.

I love a good fountain Coke. I am down to once a week, so it tastes that much better when I have that soda. The rest of the week, it's nonfat milk or water.

I have cut way back on what I eat there. I do a double cheeseburger and a small fries with the 42 oz. Coke.

I don't drink, I don't smoke, no drugs. But one big ass Coke a week is my way of misbehaving.

[nadinbrzezinski]

29. If you do this not that often, that is not that bad

I KNOW I go to Mickey Ds on Monday... and I always order the same thing

Why? I actually read the data on it

So the Chicken Nuggets are fairly safe, especially when accompanied by a salad and coffee... not your average combo

And now that they offer those healthier choices, I am tickled pink... that said, you still NEED to watch it since it can really deceiving

Oh and their breakfast burrios are great... but HALF of one is more than sufficient. and yes I have managed to do that while out of the home

[Captain Angry]

30. When I was playing hockey, that was the day I went to McDs.

I knew that I'd burn off a lot of the calories that night.

I'm in the process of trying to find a job, so I didn't sign up to play this season in case I had to move in the middle.

So it's even more important that I only eat the junk once a week.

[nadinbrzezinski]

32. For me it is the day I meet with my brother in Law for our writing

meeting....

Starbucks is way too expensive anymore, so I get that at McDs and near the time we are to meet I go to Starbuks and I get TEA... only thing that is half way affordable!

[AlCzervik]

14. i usually stick with the appetizers, small salad, soup, maybe if i'm feeling crazy

i get a dang quesadilla.

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. I do the appetizer routine as well

realize the appetizers are what once was a normal portion for a main course

:-)

Oh and senior menus are also a good option

[AlCzervik]

21. even some places have ok kids menu's. I really watch my portion size because thats

what gets me into to trouble and over the past almost 3 years i've lost now 90 pounds and i really cannot go back, just no way, it would just be the end of me mentally. Ok maybe that's a slight exaggeration but you know what i mean.

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. I started eating consciously a year ago

lost 25 pounds, have quite a bit more to go... caught the I can Make you Thin series on TLC... and these days I carry a pedometer around, and try to hit at least 6K steps daily, and I am biking every day, or close enough.. .thanks george, the days I don't bike, I step on my exercise machine (gazelle)

So yes I get it

:-)

[AlCzervik]

25. good for you! Sometimes i feel like the slowest weight loser is the world but here

i am 5 pounds from my goal weight and i think because it's taken me so damn long i've actually figured out what works for me.

[nadinbrzezinski]

27. Yes you have...

and it is a lifestyle change...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

42. I'm not old enough for a "senior menu".

I'm a small person and I have never eaten very much.

I wish restaurants would give us a choice of a half-sized meal at half the price. For all ages. :grr:

At Benihana I can eat 1/3 of it, take the leftovers home and get two more meals out of it.

At all restaurants I can take home half to 2/3rds of it for another meal.

[tuvor]

17. What are they using for data?

Whose bagels are they using for comparison? Whose cheeseburgers? Whose fries? Whose plate of spaghetti?....

Did I miss something?

[nadinbrzezinski]

20. Go to any bagel shop and ask for a nutition data sheet

go to your local burger joint and do the same

I suspect these are averages

And yes... have you seen the size of a spaghetti portion at your local restaurant?

By the way I always ask how many pieces of pasta come in a dish, or in the case of spaghetti how many cups... for spaghetti, three to four cups is not unusual any longer

[tuvor]

33. If one needs to guess about their data, then it's a poorly-presented quiz.

I'm not disagreeing with their main message, but there seems to be absolutely no source cited for their data. (Again, correct me if I'm wrong.)

That's just plain lazy and sloppy at best, and deceptive at worst--not to mention indefensible should you try to show this quiz to a skeptic.

[nadinbrzezinski]

41. This same quiz is used by dietitians to EDUCATE patients

in fact they also use little plastic models of what a PORTION looks like... and it is anywhere from one third to two thirds of what you are served at a restaurant... depending on the food item. Rice is a good example.

If you think it is deceptive, fine by me, but HAVING SEEN THE DATA on this since my sister is a registered dietitian, I know they are ON THE MONEY in their averages... and I also know I have quite the distorted view of what a normal portion happens to be like MOST americans.

Hell, they have the five hundred calorie Muffin... I have found some tipping the scales at 750... aka half of your caloric requirements if you are a short woman.

By the way, have you noticed the links to NIH? Department of Health and Human Services and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the bottom?

[tuvor]

43. Oh, knock it off and stop shouting. All I ever asked for was the source data.

Why you seem to think that's asking too much, I don't know, nor do I care.

But some of us might actually like to know where the data comes from. After all, not all of us have sisters who are registered dietitians, and therefore not all of us are as knowledgeable as you obviously are on the subject of the quiz.

And please don't entertain the thought that I think the quiz is deceptive. I said "deceptive at worst". Surely I don't need to help you understand that there's a difference.

And finally, yes, sarcastic one, I did notice all the damn links to all of the US government organizations at the bottom of the page. I also noticed that the site the quiz resides on is also from the US government. And that's precisely why I'm so surprised that no source data is listed!

[Skittles]

19. portions will get smaller because of food prices now n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

23. I suspect we will see small restaurants close before that happens

but they will start to drop... in fact TGIF is now pushing the reasonable lunch routine...

[cap]

34. take a look at some of the food shows about meals in the 1950's

you'll be amazed at the size of the portions. We are eating 2-3x what we ate back then and much fattier food as well.

[tuggle]

35. yeah, I eat too much

I'm not really overweight, but I go up an down about 5-10 pounds either way. I would be thinner and stay steady if I didn't ever stuff myself.

[nadinbrzezinski]

39. Start eating consciously and stop when you feel satiated

without distractions... you'll see the difference

[a kennedy]

36. @%$#^&*

D*mn. and thank you. Gonna be really aware of size now. :wow: I knew portions were larger but oh my gawd!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. Senior portions are closer, didn't say there, but closer to normal

kids are too, just be careful, kids menus tend to be really, really fat and salty heavy

And even then in some places a "kid's portion" is still too big even for an adult

[Tracer]

37. I don't know about fast food joints ...

... 'cause I never go.

But I DO know that when we take-out General Gau's Chicken (yum!) from our local restaurant, the ONE HUGE serving feeds the two of us for THREE DAYS!