Portion sizes (rant)

[Raindrop]

Portion sizes have been quickly enlarged over the last twenty years. Just google what a serving of french fries was in 1983 vs 2006. Likewise, the huge increase in high calorie drinks and I'm not just talking about carbonated beverages, but the high-energy and smoothy drinks that come across as "healthy".

Add to that our "time saving" devices (garage door openers, remote controls (for EVERYTHING!), light vacuume cleaners (We wouldn't want to actually work at our housework!), dishwashers, clothes dryers, automatic sprinkler systems etc. etc.

Then, we drive to work, drive to the store, drive our kids to their organized sports and/or play dates, school etc. etc.

I know most of us here try to commute by bike when possible, but for many, unsafe neighborhoods and busy streets mean our kids can't just play outside like we used to do and we can't just walk down to the store or send our kids down when we need a quart of milk or even just get on our bikes and ride to the store without carrying our u-locks and chain cables to keep our bikes safe while we're inside.

For most of us...it's been an easing into our current soft life with a slow degeneration of our formerly active, safe and productive lives.

What's the answer

[Kitsune06]

I call for the complete downfall of all society. Folks will certainly lose weight when farming for themselves, pounding and drying corn/acorns/wheat and steel-cuttinog oats etc etc.

Anyone with me?
...anyone?
**Crickets**

[CyclChyk]

Anyone with me?
...anyone?
**Crickets**

Um.... count me out cuz that would take time away from me Riding my Bike......

[chickwhorips]

I call for the complete downfall of all society. Folks will certainly lose weight when farming for themselves, pounding and drying corn/acorns/wheat and steel-cuttinog oats etc etc.

Anyone with me?
...anyone?
**Crickets**

here here!!!! its how i grew up! hated it then, but miss it now.

[Kitsune06]

Woohoo!
Oh- D'oh~ I hijacked the thread. Back on topic, though,
After thinking about it a little more, there's such emphasis on 'eating until you feel full'.
Two separate thoughts come out of that...
1. If you do that often enough, wouldn't the stomach stretch to accomodate more and more food, so you need more all the time to get that sensation?
2. If you're eating until you 'feel full' (and I don't mean 'sated' I mean 'if I eat anymore I'm going to burst', because that's were a lot of people go) and then hop on your bike to get home, you'll hurl. (pardon the graphic speech) but it's alright to eat that much, then waddle out to your car, sit down, and drive home, then take a nap while you wait for things to digest (and go straight to your butt and thighs- thank you, Thanksgiving dinner...) so maybe biking to/from restaurants for meals isn't such a bad thing, either. Certainly enforces the take-out box mentality.

[HipGnosis6]

I have to throw in my two cents here... portion sizes are all kinds out out of whack everywhere. Ever been to the gas station convenience mart and found a bag of chips that's actually ONE serving? Most of them are more like three or four servings. People think a liter of Coke is OK to drink with their lunches. Super-Sizing is happening everywhere, not just at McD's or at the local greasy spoon.

I've been to expensive French restaraunts and been shocked by the "tiny" portion sizes - and then realized that it was just one portion when I'm used to seeing two or three portions served.

Now I admit that I usually am not sated by what you ladies are talking about as a healthy meal. I'm also fat. BUT... I've been a boxer (and therefore a bodybuilder) and played field hockey at state level and miss being able to bike commute a 7 mile round trip, and I'm several inches taller than a lot of you. I consider myself to be very out of shape these days but I'm probably about 100 times healthier than the "average" American woman. My blood pressure and cholesterol and sugar levels are fine.

As somebody who has done some very, very serious training I have a pretty good grip on my metabolism and I assume that each one of you do, too. That guy at the grocer was totally out of line!!

I've known some women who were too thin. And they were as unhappy and self-aware (and self-conscious) of it as I am of being overweight. Anybody who isn't your doctor or yourself should sod right off if they say you're too thin. They're just jealous.

[Dogmama]

I read that toxins are stored in excess body fat. I wonder if that is why losing weight can be so unpleasant because the body is releasing toxins?

[Grog]

I read that toxins are stored in excess body fat. I wonder if that is why losing weight can be so unpleasant because the body is releasing toxins?

Very interesting theory Dogmama....

[Tater]

Portion sizes are just out of control nowdays. If we go out, my husband and I have gotten to where we will share an entree, as there is simply way too much food for either of us to consume on our own. Mr. Tater was once quite the pudgy spud. That was before I moved in and educated him on reading lables and such. Now that he's been eating low fat, low sodium, high fruits and veggies, he's lost sixty-two pounds since December of '05. He recently looked at the back of one of those little chocolate pudding pies, a favorite snack at one time, and exclaimed, holy s**t, I can eat a whole meal for the amount of calories in this!

Speaking of gross, have you ladies heard of the burger that is served between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts?! I heard that it is quite the rage at a few state fairs. Now that is just hurl worthy!

[CycleChic06]

Has anyone ever eaten at a Cheesecake Factory? Talk about portion sizes. I was there last week with friends and ordered a lunch sized salad for my meal...it was made of a whole head of lettuce! I always feel so guilty eating there because it's just the epitomy of a gluttonous society. The amount of food they serve there is just plain ridiculous.

[chickwhorips]

ahhh i miss the cheese cake factory. it was good. i always split whatever i was eating (or took it home) and ate the cheese cake. mmmmm.... cheese cake.

[Bluetree]

I rarely eat out any more specifically because of the portion sizes. I can't always put leftovers in a fridge and I hate paying for food I'm going to be throwing away.

Recently I've been doing my food shopping at Whole Foods. I like to go in the mornings so I can enjoy breakfast there in their cafe. They have a delish breakfast bar that includes scrambled egg whites, turkey or chicken sausages, grilled red peppers and other healthy alternatives. The best part is.. you only pay for what you eat! It's $6.99 a pound, but my typical breakfast only comes out to $3-4.

Now, if only more restaurants had such offerings!

Speaking of gross, have you ladies heard of the burger that is served between two Krispy Kreme doughnuts?! I heard that it is quite the rage at a few state fairs. Now that is just hurl worthy!

Yeah, I saw that on the news. That's even worse than the Skookum Chief Burger of North Vancouver... a towering burger topped with fried eggs, bacon, a sliced hot dog and gobs of cheese.

[Eden]

I don't think I saw this link anywhere else in the thread, but apologies ahead of time if its already been posted. I saw this quiz awhile ago and found it to be quite interesting. http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/keep.htm

On a separate, but related note - it seems (from the media at least) that surgery - gastric bypass- is getting be more popular for drastic weight loss. When you think about it what the surgery is pretty much about, is enforced portion control. They make the person's stomach so small that they can't eat too much at once. Yup Kitsune, if you regularly over eat you can stretch out your stomach so that you need more food to feel full, but if you have the will power to eat less you can shrink it back down to a point as well - I do not know how far you can take this before its too stretched to go back -I would bet its like skin and can only take so much stretching before it won't go back.