Obesity and are restaurants partly responsible for this? [View All]

So we went to IHOP the other day... yes my hubby likes their pancakes... and I remembered my mom mentioning that you could order from the senior menu

I went, ok... I am not eating as much as I used to...not since I started eating consciously.

So I ordered the Senior breakfast

So here is what it came with it

Hash browns, about four ounces of it (for the record enough carbs in one meal right there), two eggs, two slices of bacon, and I had a choice of two slices of toast or two pancakes

Given the size of their "normal" portions... this was down right "small"

So I turned to my husband and went... this is what an average hearty breakfast looked like thirty years ago. This was NOT a senior portion, but a regular portion at a restaurant. In fact, remove the pancakes and there you have it... what used to be normal.

Yes, been reeducating my eyes as to what a normal amount of food looks like

Suffice it to say that I could not finish this hearty breakfast, but over the years portion sizes have been super-sized and super, duper sized

And to prove my point that night I was watching bulging brides. Not because I want to make fun of these brides, but to see what these brides consider normal eating...

One of these women ate 13K calories in one seating (Chinese buffet), Another had 750 calories just for breakfast and 11K calories for dinner.

Here is the telling part, at no point did the dietitian try to change their impression of what a normal portion is, but even things like ... have half a bagel with peanut butter, coffee and a small piece of fruit for breakfast... that is a normal breakfast, but for these women (and they are not the exception) this is a very small amount of food. And I think restaurants have helped to skew what we think is normal, and given that many of us eat out far more often than we used to, we bring what we see at restaurants home, as a normal portion.

And I do blame restaurants partly for this problem. We have had portions grow... and I wonder if one of the solutions would be a massive, national reeducation campaign of what a portion looks like. Oh and add to that a massive PSA campaign on teaching people to LEAVE food behind. If you cannot finish it, try NOT to be part of the clean your plate club. Trust me, since I started doing that, I am not stuffed, and I can actually leave the table with a feeling of satiation, not the I can barely move, where is the couch, I am stuffed feeling.

For the moment you can reeducate your eyes, and once you do that... you will be amazed at the sizes of portions you are getting, like four or five carbs in one plate (rice), or the incredible amounts of fat that go with your meal. Once you learn how to do this you can do something about this, but in our national obesity crisis, I say restauranteurs were also partly responsible for this.

Oh and for the... salad healthy and nothing else crowd... start readying menus. You are in for a shock.