I’ve often said after a meal, “My eyes are bigger than my stomach.” I say this as I’m uncomfortably full. I ate everything on my plate. Maybe even went in for seconds as the food was sitting right in front of me. I wondered time and time again why I ate to that point or why I didn’t pay attention to my body until it was too late. Some have mastered this art of fighting against our bodies natural instincts, I am not one of them. I ate when people told me to eat growing up, I ate the portion sizes I was given and I ate second helpings when I was told to “Finish that up for me” by the cook (be it my Mom or my Grammy). I was praised by being a ‘good eater’ who never fought about food. (Though there was one crying instance or my hatred of canned french cut green beans… sigh.) Over the years I’ve noticed finishing everything on my plate has left me even more uncomfortable than I remember as a child. I found that there as an actual reason behind that.
I found this on a website called UpWorthy.com and I thought it merited a share so that people can look at how views on food and what is “enough” for our bodies. To live a healthier lifestyle these are the basics we need to understand. Remember this when you sit down to eat and and think you need a second helping, your portion was already double what your body needed or wanted.
On top of that I found on the DailySpark Blog: Over the past 50 years the average dinner plate has increased from 9 inches in diameter to between 11 and 12 inches. A two to three inch increase may not seem like a big deal until you understand that increasing the plate size ever so slightly allows for an extra 50% surface area to fill-up. Couple this with the greater convenience of food and it isn’t surprising that our waistbands are expending right along with the size of our plates.
Portion distortion is just one of the many factors that may be responsible for the growing obesity epidemic across the globe. With the increase in portion sizes from restaurants and fast food eateries even to the portions we serve at home, we have become a nation of gluttony.
Forbes had a great article about dinner ware and table cloths! Who knew that even a table cloth could have an effect? Its good information to think about and have rattling around in your brain. Read it here: How Size And Color Of Plates And Tablecloths Trick Us Into Eating Too Much.
You have so much control over your health if you pay attention to the little details that can make a big difference in your life. Simple little changes can lead to big benefits.
~Wendy
