Portion Size
Portion sizes are much smaller in Japan than they are in most places in the world I have visited. There is more attention placed on food quality and presentation than on quantity. Most of the American students I work with lose anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds in the first semester. Part of this is due to smaller portion size and smaller percentatges of fat and sugar, but also because more time is spent on foot and bicycle than than in cars.
Stomachs grow accustomed to smaller portion sizes quickly. The body and mind feel better too. My wife and I went out to eat on our anniversary at a gourmet restaurant in Missouri. The food was delicious, but by the time we had finished the appetizer, we were more than half full and couldn’t even begin to finish the main course. We would have happily paid the same price for half the amount of food. How is it that Americans have come to eat so much at one sitting?
John G wrote:
I’ve been walking to work nearly every day of the week to keep my weight in check and it’s been working. At the same time though, I do find myself eating more food per sitting, simply because the food is there. At first, Keisha and I tried to make a point out of sharing our meals, but we’re slowly becoming accustomed to the portions and can now easily finish our own separate meals. I’ve been told that if you reduce the size of the plate then you can also reduce the amount of food you body thinks it needs to feel full. Also there is the point that eating slower helps you stomach to better gauge when it is full. If you gobble up the food, your brain doesn’t respond quickly enough and your feeling of being full doesn’t kick in until you’ve overeaten!
Posted 05 Jan 2006 at 12:38 am ¶
Jay Pfaffman wrote:
When I did Weight Watchers I was struck by how much I was overeating. “THAT’S HOW MUCH I’M SUPPOSED TO EAT!?” As pointed out, it didn’t take that long to re-train my body to know what “full” felt like. One of my favorite quotes from a counselor in response to someone’s lamenting how much food was required to be consumed at a religious holiday was “you’re not here because you over-ate at [holiday]“
Posted 05 Jan 2006 at 5:43 am ¶
EFL Geek wrote:
And people wonder why America (and Canada) is full of obese people?
Posted 05 Jan 2006 at 7:04 am ¶
Aaron wrote:
Well, it really is amazing how the body can adapt itself so quickly. Like Jay and John suggest, “full” is relative to what the body is used to. Obviously Americans have pushed that meter over the limit of what is healthy and acceptable. Combine that with lack of exercise and poor diet choices (processed, starchy foods, etc) and well, it doesn’t take a genius to guess what kind of health problems the society will have. Now, where’d my donut go…..???
Posted 06 Jan 2006 at 8:43 am ¶
Empress wrote:
I’ve herd your suppose to eat the equivalent of the size of a match box for cheese your hands clenched together for a portion of rice or pasta ect…would love to find a site on that subject.
Reply to this if you no a site!!
Posted 30 Aug 2006 at 10:16 am ¶