As everything gets bigger, bigger starts to seem like the norm, distorting reality. Average portion sizes have grown so much over the past 20 years that we are now living in a super-sized world! It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that the inevitable consequence of a larger serving size leads to overeating… a major driver of the ‘globesity’ epidemic.
Take bread, which used to be about 26g for a slice. Now most bread slices weigh 35-45g. We are all guilty of over eating, but consistently eating too much spells disaster for our health. Even the latest Australian Nutritional Guidelines report that it’s very difficult for obese persons to achieve a healthy weight given our obesogenic environment! In one study, individuals were given different-sized bags of potato chips to snack on. Over a period of 5 days, they found that irrespective of hunger, the bigger the bag of chips, the more chips they ate.
Some tips to avoid overeating…
- Share meals and don’t over order when eating out
- Eat from a smaller bowl/plate and drink from tall narrow glasses rather than short wide glasses. Studies have found that people pour 28-77% more into short wide glasses.
- Slow down, sit down and chew properly
- Pre-portion your foods and don’t eat directly from the packet
- Avoid that second helping!
- Don’t be tempted by value meals which offer “two for the price of one” or “ super-sized meals” at bargain prices. From a health perspective, we really need to reconsider whether a bigger portion is truly better value!
From a personal perspective, if there’s one thing that ruffles my feathers it’s food wastage. So many restaurants and fast food chains serve portions bigger than my head! There is no way this is good for the waist line, or the Earth.
How much should we actually eat?
As we grow older our caloric needs reduce, and so should the size of our plate. I recommend to my patient’s to only eat until they’re about 80% full. This means that even if the portion size is large, they are not over indulging. There is little room for gluttony if you’re aiming to lose weight.
Our hands can guide us to the perfect balance of foods – our stomach is the size of our two fists put together. Aim for one palm size portion of protein, with a few handfuls of vegetables/salad/slow carbs, and a sprinkling of favourable fats (olive oil, avocado, seeds, etc). This is a beautifully balanced meal which is keep us fuller for longer, and put very little stress on the digestive system. To watch a great video from Dr Damien Kristof on the ‘palm’ method, click here.
Until next time, Stacey.
