We're all supposed to have them, right? Yet study after study seems to show that if we're offered big portions, we eat everything on the plate. At the buffet table, if there's a lot of food available we can really load up our plates. Hunger doesn't seem to have much to do with it either. People don't seem to realize that they're offered more food when it happens -- they think they're eating about the same as usual. It's not just us big people who have this problem. People who don't have a weight problem and aren't dieting also eat much more.
Again, the answer seems to be awareness. Know that this is going to happen to you in a restaurant or at a buffet table. When your meal is served, ask for a doggie bag right away and put away part of the meal. This way when you clean the plate, you aren't eating everything although you might feel like you are. You can always eat later from the doggie bag if you are still hungry.
Serve lots and lots of vegetables and serve meals on smaller plates to give people the illusion that they're eating plenty of food. Set out huge bowls of fruit for dessert. Sounds doable? Read this article for more suggestions.
One more thing: being broke cuts down on cravings! Why? Because I know I can't go buy anything anyway. Hmmm...is this a good thing?
About Me
- Irishcoda
- happily remarried widow with 3 kids from my first marriage, 2 from my new marriage, 8 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. I have been blessed to have had 2 great loves in my life. I have had another blessing too: I had bariatric surgery (a duodenal switch) and that has saved my life!
Go Pink For October
1 comment:
You're absolutely right and most of what you've said is stuff that can be done easily, without much effort. Going out to eat anywhere becomes just as you've said - so much food is offered, and now with the supersize meals and the 'two for' sandwich deals, people eat more than they realize.
I work at a restaurant that offers unlimited soup, salad and bread for customers when they order a dinner entree. Many customers will have 2, 3 or 4 bowls of salad, maybe a bowl of soup and four loaves of bread between two or three people, and then continue to attempt a dinner size entree or pasta dish, the size of which is bigger than one would expect. A dinner size pasta at my restaurant fills a regular size dinner plate, mounded over. That's a lot of food to eat in one sitting.
It is all about awareness, people need to be more aware of what and how much they eat. Portion sizes get bigger but that doesn't mean people have to finish them off.
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