Getting Cheated

We're getting cheated, and we're cheating ourselves, and we don't even realize it.  That realization hit me this morning as I read an article in our local newspaper.  The article was entitled, "Portion Distortion" and it talked about the fact that the average American consumes 100-200 calories a day more than we need. 

Part of this reason, according to the writer, is that portion sizes are often over-sized.  Since people are programmed to eat whatever is on their plate, it's easy to fall into mindless eating.  The writer cited a study conducted by Pennsylva­nia State University in 2003 that tested how the portion size of a package of potato chips affects the amount the subject eats of that snack and a meal following the snack. Snack intake increased significantly as the package size increased. On average, when served the largest package compared to the smallest, subjects consumed an additional 143 calories at snack and dinner combined.

The next paragraph in this morning's newspaper article is what really got my attention.  The writer noted that since the foods we tend to over­eat aren’t healthy, high- quality foods, they can be offered at a very cheap price because they cost very little to produce.

“Once you start getting to more refined restaurants, the quality of food goes up, and they can’t afford to slap so much food on your plate. 
But for the restaurants that load up plates and double or triple por­tion sizes, if their customers bulge a little at the waistline, it’s no sweat off their backs.  It’s costing the businesses pen­nies to increase the size a little bit, and from the consumer’s per­spective, biggie-sizing seems like a huge value. Then, of course, we feel obligated to eat it."

The writer makes a good point.  You never see "super-sized value meals" on the menu at a 4 or 5-star restaurant.  The emphasis there is on the quality of the food (which is NOT mass-produced as it is in chain restaurants) and on the presentation.  Portion sizes seem small when compared to other restaurants, but those portions are much more in line with what we should actually be eating.  Most of us (myself included!) can't afford to eat at expensive restaurants very often, but we can learn to make wise choices when we do go out.

The question is, why does "biggie-sizing" seem like such a huge value to most Americans?  This is a question worth asking, because those of us on a journey to health are learning to recognize proper portion sizes and training ourselves to recognize our body's hunger and full signals.  After we've adjusted to the portion sizes of our meals on this program, it's shocking to go to most restaurants and see what comes out of the kitchen.  People feel like they're getting a "good deal" because they're getting a lot of food for relatively little money; "biggie-sizing" only seems like a huge value to someone who is looking at quantity only.

In the process of going after the "biggie-sized" meals, Americans are being woefully short-changed on nutrition (check out the nutrition stats for calories, fat, carbs and sodium, as well as vitamins and minerals if you don't believe me).  There is a mindset that says "more is more", but when it comes to what's being served in most restaurants, the only "more" we're getting is more of us as the obesity rate continues to spiral out of control. 

One of the things we have the opportunity to change on this program is our mindset when it comes to food.  By embracing this as a lifestyle change, by learning to eat differently - in more frequent intervals and much smaller portions - we can develop healthier habits that will not only get us to a healthy weight, but will also keep us there.  We have to be vigilant, particularly when we eat at restaurant, and we have to become picky eaters and look for the most nutrition we can get for our money.  By doing that, and by paying attention to both portion sizes and our hunger/full signals, we will be getting true value in every sense of the word.  It's not always easy to make those choices, but those choices make the difference in the long run.  Choose wisely :-)