Your Eyes Aren't Bigger Than Your Stomach...

...Your Portion Size Is.

I turned on the tv the other morning to Good Morning America. They were talking about Starbucks adding a new sized cup - the extra large 31oz Trenta. This got under my skin. I put as a facebook status; who the hell needs 31oz of coffee? And I was a little bit shocked by the response - most people said "oh me, I need that much coffee!" But really?! You're tired, ok - coffee is your go-juice, ok. Would you really sit down to drink a whole 31oz of coffee in one sitting? The average coffee mug is 8oz; drinking 4 cups of coffee, ok... but each of those mugs is warm and usually somewhat fresh... you couldn't even fit a 31oz coffee into your microwave to heat it up!!

This all got me to thinking about our expanding portion sizes. Over the last 20+ years, portion sizes have gotten bigger and bigger. [Now let's quickly define portion versus serving; the portion size is the amount of food offered to you; the serving size is a standardized unit of measuring food(in cups or ounces or something else measurable). So when you pop your bagel into the toaster you may think, one bagel = one serving, but this isn't always the case and usually 1/2 a bagel is one serving.] Even salty snacks and prepackaged convience foods have gotten bigger. The larger size for a reasonable price appeals to people's economic sensibilities. So it's no wonder that most people are going to buy the big 20oz soft drink, rather than the 8oz single serving, because they only have to pay $0.05 more. But once you have that giant drink in hand, whether you 'need' it or not, chances are pretty good that you will drink most, if not all, of it - why? Because it's there and we don't want to waste it.

Our plates are getting bigger; more room for more food. Our portions are getting bigger; more to eat for less money. Our pants are definately getting tighter. So how can we eat better, healthier, in spite of being given enough food to feed two or even three people? When eating out, ask for half of your meal packaged up right away if you aren't able to eat only half your plate. Check labels and see how big a real serving size is - measure it out. If you need the look of a full plate to feel like you are eating a full meal - use a smaller plate. And above all else, be aware of what you are putting into your body. If you eat well all day and plan to go out for a steak dinner that night, make healthy choices to go along with your steak, and savor every bite. If you are aware of what you are putting into your body, then you can make better choices in regards to what you says yes or no to.