too much is the new normal

I saw this via The Morning News.

What does 120 calories look like?

Do you know?

I am not sure I did.  Plus the pictures are beautiful.

I noticed in Toronto that portions in restaurants tend to be smaller.  Not unsatisfying, but smaller.  And much more full of vegetables used creatively and thoughtfully than I am used to.
The exception was the Indian restaurant - which was delicious, but the vegetarian platter was enormous.  I ate too much.  Carrot pickle, yum.

I noticed that though Torontonians do come in the full range of sizes available to the human being, they too, tend overall to be smaller that what I am used to seeing.
I expect there is a connection.

Don't you?

Comments

[Ted]

And for some very interesting reading on how we get "tricked" into eating more than is healthful, read Brain Wansink's "Mindless Eating". The good thing about the book is that he shows you how to make the "tricks" work for you so you can control what you eat. It was a real eye-opener for me.

http://www.mindlesseating.org/

[anne]

interesting . . the only thing in those pix that looks like not enough of a portion is the cheetos. that stack of cheese looks like a lot.

[Carol]

The apples look delicious! I almost always wind up taking home another meal's worth. After the drinks, I'm half full ;)

[seizuresalad]

As a Canadian I have been alarmed at the creeping big-ness of our restaurant portions too. But having travelled a bit in the U.S., I would say that the problem is even bigger there. It's all out of whack - people putting soda in baby bottles because milk is too expensive, as told to me by a friend in Dallas.

I have been off my feet due to an achilles tendon injury, and was afraid of gaining a lot of weight due to the immobility so I ate every meal from a lunch-sized plate and tried to cut my portions in half. It worked, and now I consider the amount I used to eat in one meal too much. My digestion is happier too.

We have digestive biscuits here too - mmmm, Peak Freans.

[Cassandra]

Hi Juno,

There is an interesting book that covers the trends that set America on this road to fat-dom. The writing is a little dry but the topics are riveting: "Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World" by Greg Critser.

If you're looking to change your life a bit maybe check out Alexandra Jamieson's book "The Great American Detox Diet: Feel Better, Look Better, and Lose Weight by Cleaning Up Your Diet" Despite the title it's not a diet book (although I have lost a couple pounds) it's about your lifestyle. She's married to the guy who put together the "Super Size Me" documentary.

[Specs]

Oh man, DEFINITELY a connection (I know you were asking that sarcastically, but I still feel compelled to answer). As a vegetarian -- one of the nice ones, not one of the psycho ones -- I'm continually frustrated by the way restaurants do vegetable portions and dishes. Massive steaks for the meat eaters and tiny limp, brown salads for me. It's enough to make me grab a steak just so I can get a full meal. It's like the vegetables are just there as a perfunctory nod to healthy eating, while big gobs of meat and grease and cheese are what's important.

/end soapbox rant

[Sarah]

Getting a handle on portion sizes without becoming obsessive about it (and other things) is tricky, too.

[Phil Boncer]

A lot of the portion size growth is due to simple economics of restaurants. Most of the cost in a restaurant is overhead; the cost of the food itself is maybe 10% of the cost of the meal. So if a restaurant can add 50% of food to the plate and get even 10% more money for it, their profit margins increase, while the consumer feels like he gets a better deal as well.

Everybody wins! But only if the consumer is capable of stopping his consumption at a reasonable point. I actually am very pleased by the increased portion sizes, because it usually means that I can get 2 or 3 more tasty meals out of the doggy bag.

PhilB

[--Deb]

Love the pictures, and particularly love all the very-British foods. (I think the last time I saw a Scotch Egg was when I was IN London in 1987.) Thanks for the links!

[elizabeth]

I think I could get down with this logic.

[Gina]

This reminds me of a eating plan called Volumetrics. There are photo of what a certain amount of calories looks like -- say cheeseburger vs. huge salad. It is interesting to see what a portion really looks like. Yikes.

[Marin]

Huh. I would have guessed there would be less cheese in 120 calories. I'm thinking this is a dangerous revelation for those of us round of belly and fluttery of thigh.

[Ken]

NHS? Um hello, can you say socialized medicine? You definitely can't trust anything those commies have to say.

Pretty pictures, though, and I have to say that celery is the most hilarious "edible" ever. I understand it to be the only thing we eat that causes us to expend more calories than we gain from eating it, although that may be an urban myth.

[Dr. Steph]

I missed the 1.8 kg of celery!
(that's almost 4lbs).

Crunchy.

[Dr. Steph]

I want an apple. And a digestive biscuit, preferrably dipped in chocolate.

Eating in Atlanta actually scared me--the plates were so huge.

[liz]

I always put breakfast and lunch on a "salad" plate. It takes much less food to make the plate full and I'm not tempted to fill up the empty space. That, and making sure that most of my plate is occupied by veggies has helped quite a bit. Even if one of the veggies is a baked potato, I'm leaving less room for meat and bread. Baked potato with fresh lemon juice and pepper is amazing. The lemon juice makes the potato just as creamy as does butter.

[Laura]

I'd love a plate with both the cheese and the apples, please. Sounds like lunch. You can keep the cheetos. ;-)

[Jessica]

Portion control?! What's that?! ;)

But seriously, big connection. And when your 100g of whatever has High Fructose Corn Syrup listed as the first ingredient... well... don't get me started.

[Spinning Fishwife]

I think a digestive biscuit is what you call a Graham cracker?

It`s a good link, isn`t it? I`ve seen it before. The NHS long ago worked out that spending a few pennies on health education could save them a whole lot more on medical bills. Currently, they`re targeting obesity. Unfortunately, the UK is becoming more american by the day. Portion sizing here is growing at an alarming rate. .....I just got back from France, where portions are half the size, food costs more but the quality is amazing and you genuinely feel totally satisfied with the prefectly formed meal you just ate. And french people are a lot thinner than the Brits, on average.

There`s a very good book called "Picture Perfect Weight Loss",
by Howard Shapiro. Basically, it`s all about making healthy food choices and learning to fill your plate to overflowing for the same calories as a tiny snack. The photography is an edible feast in itself.

[Rachel]

Yes, quite a strong connection!

[melissa]

Ahhhh yes, we - americans - are raised this way. I was anyway. My parents were dirt poor as children. Now, look at all this food we can afford! Hubby and I always share one appetizer and one entree when we go out and rarely leave hungry. I shan't mention the wine though...

[cursingmama]

That isn't nearly enough cheese curls -

That is also why I tend to purchase most of my snack foods already weighed & measured.

[Joan]

Really notice the difference in portion size south of 49 - My Mother Always Said "finish everything on your plate" and I'm learning that even she couldn't have imagined how much "everything" could be fit on one plate! For Kathy: check out a small sprinkle of salt either plain or flavoured with cumin on the carrots. Sometimes it's the salt not the crunch!!

[Manise]

In this country it seems to be bigger or more is better accompanied by the attitude of "more bang for your buck" . The all-you-can-eat-buffet gives people the license and idea that one should fill ones plate multiple times at one meal. So ones brain as a result thinks that portions should be huge.

I prefer smaller portions as in Europe and enjoy walking away more satified as opposed to stuffed and logey feeling after.

[Eva]

wow what a great site :) What amazed me is that you can have more cola than most fruit juices for your 120 calories... I find that a bit weird...
In Luxembourg the portions are often enormous too, although, not quite as big as in the US. Luxembourgish people like to have a plate piled high with good food. The good thing is that in the past few years they finally have salads (like a meal salad, not the side dishes) in most restaurants, but even those tend to be ginormous.

Cheers Eva