Portion Size: To Avoid Overeating, Know Thy Enemy

When we ordered a soda in the 1950s we got approximately 7 ounces. Today, we get anywhere from 12 to 64 ounces. An average portion of french fries then was 2.5 ounces, today it’s up to 8 ounces.  A single meal can easily contain a day’s worth of calories.

Our perception of a serving size has been influenced by the current trend for super sizing everything. What hasn’t changed is the number of calories in a pound. It’s still 3500. The difference in a 7 ounce soda and a 12 ounce soda is only 150 but if we consume 100 additional calories a day we’ll gain 10 pounds in a year.

Today’s servings, especially in restaurants, are sometimes as much as 8 times greater than the USDA standard recommended serving sizes. The size of our dishes, glasses, and waistlines grew to accommodate all the extra pounds.  To get a grip on what a single serving used to look like here’s a glimpse at what our mom ate in order to fit into her girdle!

Posted by admin in Blog Tags: how to avoid overeating