How American Portions are Sabotaging Your Weight Loss
American portion sizes are far from a new discussion in the diet and wellness industry, but it is hard to really picture how inflated our portions are until you’ve traveled abroad.
This disconnect can be easy to miss when you don’t have the perspective of how other countries are eating. Here in the states, it’s normal to go to a restaurant and receive a huge portion of food. We even have shows like “Man vs. Food,” where the host travels the country taking on eating challenges which consist of enormous portions meant to be consumed in a short period of time for a prize.
Why Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Everyday people aren’t doing anything as extreme as doing an eating challenge every time they go out to a restaurant. However, the even just the normal portion sizes are significantly larger than they were in the 1970s and exceed the FDA’s recommendations.
Many people suggest that willpower and restraint should be enough to control yourself around these outsized portions, but this idea is not backed by science. Research has shown us that larger portion sizes alone can cause an individual to overeat.
Additionally, many American restaurants provide even more food in addition to large entrees for free such as the chips and salsa at your favorite taco shop or the basket of bread and butter at popular chain restaurants. These practices hit on food triggers, or reasons we eat that are unrelated to hunger.
So, if we know that larger portions are bad for our health, why do restaurants continue to promote them? The answer is complicated but a big part of why such huge portions are offered is for marketing purposes.
Another reason we underestimate food size is because we tend to estimate food in terms of units and not portions. In one example, study subjects estimated two appetizer platters to have the same number of calories despite one platter having 50% more food.
Our brains are largely motivated by a sense of scarcity, something we have discussed before on the blog. Companies use this to promote huge portions that make us feel like we are getting more for our money, also causing us to eat more.
Percentage difference between actual portion sizes of ready-to-eat prepared foods and standard US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) portion sizes.
My Experiences Abroad
I have been lucky to travel abroad quite a few times in my life and there is one thing I always notice whether I am in Europe, Central America, or beyond. No matter where I have traveled, portion sizes at restaurants or in grocery stores are significantly smaller than what is standard in the states.
Most recently, I went to Italy with my family and we were taken aback by the standard portion sizes we received. We like to eat family style so that we can try more foods, and so usually we would order an appetizer or salad, a couple of entrees to share, and of course wine, coffee, and dessert.
When we order this way in the U.S., we almost always have leftovers that we pack up and bring home, unless my clean plater son and son-in-law are present to polish everything off for us. However, over two weeks traveling throughout Italy, we found that we could finish our food and were comfortably full without having anything left over.
Not only were the portion sizes more reasonable, but the actual flatware was all smaller than we are used to. Rather than frisbee sized plates, everything was served on platters with smaller plates for us to serve ourselves on.
Even the cups and glasses were smaller. Where we are accustomed to a 16 ounce sugary latte, in Italy the largest coffee we could find was 12 ounces and that didn’t seem to be the norm.
Despite the smaller portion sizes, there wasn’t one day in Italy that we went hungry. Even sharing, we felt full and satisfied by our meals and enjoyed pastries and gelato throughout the day as well.
Return to the United States
We landed in the U.S. after 12 hours of travel including a 10 hour flight and were ravenous for an old fashioned, American cheeseburger. After scouring the Boston airport terminal, we settled on our only option, Buffalo Wild Wings.
When we went up to the counter to order, we asked for a cheeseburger and a double bacon cheeseburger for my son.
“Oh, we only have double burgers here, no singles,” the cashier said kindly.
We thanked her and paid, laughing amongst ourselves as we waited for our order.
“We are definitely back in America!” my daughter joked.
This immediate reintroduction to outsized American portion sizes at the end of a trip full of delicious food was funny, but illustrates a real issue in our culture. How are we to make better choices when often, the choice is not even ours to make?
How are we meant to refrain from overeating when the default burger is a double patty, more than double the recommended serving size of beef?
Unfortunately for our health, American portion sizes are not likely to change any time soon, so it is up to you as an individual to empower yourself to make better choices that support your health.
How to Make a Change
Like we mentioned earlier, studies have shown us that humans are both bad at estimating portion sizes and are also likely to eat what is in front of them, regardless of hunger. Knowing this, there are a few practices you can do to prevent yourself from overeating.
When you go out to a restaurant, you can plan ahead by taking a look at the menu options before you get there. If you are dining with a friend, consider sharing an entree between you and save money as well as calories.
You can also ask for a to-go box at the start of your meal and pack up half of it to enjoy the next day. This eliminates the inevitable picking at your plate just because it’s there.
Mindfulness practices are another great tool to use when approaching food. Being present, slowing down, and taking time to check in with your body are all good ways to get to know how true hunger feels. To learn more about mindful eating, check out this past blog post.
Knowledge is power, and simply by being aware of the portion size discrepancy, you have armed yourself with the tools needed to make sustainable change in your life.
References:
