Eating Out

Went to a small-town function the other night. They served fried chicken, pork loin, potato salad, green beans, salad. EVERYTHING, right down to the green beans and salad dressing was SWEET! I watched as everyone loaded their plates---each person at the table was overweight, some severely. Watched as they shoveled down food, and went back for seconds. Then dessert.

I have always been a slow eater, never could shovel down a lot of food very quickly.
Guess I got to over 300 pounds by eating small bites constantly!
I'm pretty sure the sugar in the green beans and salad dressing messed me up for a few days. Sugar does that to me. But more than that, WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIETY??? Why sugar everywhere in everything? Why mammoth portions of food. Literally, everyone at the table said, "I have problems with gluten, but I'm eating this anyway."

Even without my surgery, I could not have eaten a whole plateful of that food, let alone two. And now that I can eat only bites, I marvel at how much food people put away. I read calories on the menu at Red Lobster the other day. The meal my husband ordered was over 2300 calories. On one plate! Even half of that is still too many calories in one meal. Unless you are a lumberjack.
I don't know why; I just felt like writing about this. My perception of food has been altered for a very long time, but now the way many in our culture eat just astounds me.

I think after surgery we are acutely aware of societies food problems. Where before it would seem like someone was over eating, now we can identify genuine eating disorders. I recently went on vacation and I realized that all the women there were dumping their psychological eating issues on me, I guess because they felt uncomfortable with my weight loss/way of eating?

One of them constantly commented on how little she ate and how that was terrible because she never lost weight. Meanwhile, she shoveled in so much food. The other picked on my food choices and decision to go to the gym "while on vacation", I think to make herself feel better.

Weight and eating habits are one big mind f**k for all of the society I think.

So true. I still deal with mental issues. I told my husband that I went ahead and ate the green beans and salad even though I could taste the sugar so people wouldn't pick on me about not eating something. I know one issue is that we just have no concept of how much food we really need and how much is too much. Most people don't have a realistic perception of how much they are actually eating. I was astounded reading the calorie count on the Red Lobster menu and thinking, wow, I used to order that, and eat ALL of it, and leave thinking I had eaten "healthy" because I had salad, seafood, and veggies. This is why I am now in a place where I do not want to discuss eating or weight loss with anyone outside of the surgery community. I only discuss my journey with those who are on the same path. I'm not sure yet what I will say when the weight loss is noticeable and people begin asking, "Is that all you're eating?"

I got steamed broccoli at a restaurant a few weeks ago and was surprised that there was 5 grams of fat in it. It looked and tasted like regular steamed broccoli without butter. Restaurants have to make things tasty for even the pickiest person so they add extras!

You know I never have paid any attention to what anyone else is eating. Fat or thin. I was brought up to believe that it was just not my business - it certainly never had a bearing on my own eating behavior so I guess I just never even thought something like this through. I still don't notice what or how much anyone else eats. Same about what size people are. It really doesn't affect me.

You're completely right though about our society of course. Even just over the last 20 or 30 years obesity seems to have morphed into epidemic proportions. I don't know the answer to it, or if there even is one, but I'm going to follow your thread because I'm sure there are some interesting opinions on this.

Maybe I pay attention because I spent my whole life with others supervising my eating. Everyone felt entitled to tell me what to eat, what not to eat, and to comment on my weight and body.
It took me decades to get to a place where I took that power away from people around me.
I hope others bring their perceptions and experiences. Thanks for responding.

I absolutly know what you're talking about. Maybe it's a mental game I play with myself but it seems to be my favorite game lately. What's everyone around me eating, how much and then trying to figure out all the macros in their portions. I marvel at how I was them 11 months ago and quite frankly am one ice cream sundae away from being there again in a jiffy. I think in a way it's the best motivation for me. Sure, I can do the same and eat allll they do... but I will be over weight on the outside ( like they usually are ) and unhappy again on the inside.

I guess what that was all about is YES... I get what you're talking about. Lol

I don't really care that much what other people do.

When I think about portions now though...

People act like WLS patients eat tiny portions, but we are actually eating proper portions. A correct serving of protein for everyone is 3 to 4 ounces. I'm not eating small portions, I am eating properly sized portions.

When I go out and order a steak and the smallest one I can get is 6 ounces, I just chuckle to myself. Everyone else is ordering 12-16 ounces and eating it in one sitting which is a whole days worth of protein. It is ridiculous.

I just think of proper portion sizes to remind myself I am not being deprived or denied anything. Society is doing it wrong.

I grew up in a family of healthy athletic people. I grew up with proper portions and nutrition. I knew how to eat properly I just chose not to as an adult. The fact that I can easily get back to how I was raised without feeling deprived or stressed is a relief an a blessing.

Ditto this.

I cringe (inside only) at some of the sheer volumes my hubby and kiddo eat. Hubby doesn't really have a weight problem, he's maybe got 15-20# extra he could lose. But my kiddo is on her way to a serious health issue if she doesn't rein it in. She can't eat like a 6'6" man (hubby), no matter how active she is. I don't blame her, she grew up surrounded by people who have no clue what a real portion size is, myself included up until surgery.

I think even in my WW days I didn't REALLY clue in to the portion sizes, even though I was measuring my food. I was thinking of it in terms of WW portions, not that it was what a REAL portion size was. It was deprivation in my book.

We've had portion creep for so long with super sized meals and restaurants trying to compete for "value" that as a society we're eating crazy amounts of food. It's strange to realize that a kid's meal at most places (fast food and sit-down) is more in line with the portions a "normal" meal should be.

Exactly! I'm trying to teach my grandkids to read portion sizes and consider calorie and nutrient content. I grew up on a farm. We ate like farmers because we worked like farmers. Well, when you leave the farm, you can't keep eating like a farmer. My husband is in the same boat. Farm to the army. He could always eat as much as he wanted with no issues. Now he is retired and doesn't expend nearly as much energy and the pounds are piling on. He has no concept of portion control. This is one of those things that gets hardwired into our brain as we grow up and it is very difficult to rewire.