Portion Sizes

[NMAmy]

No, portion size doesn't influence our choices but the quality of the food does. I don't want an enormous serving of crap food.

With good food, though, I'll take half home if the portion sizes are large.

 

[SAHDad]

I have a teenage son who is a runner. We just try to keep our fingers out of the way when he eats.

I am another "more concerned with quality than quantity" vote.

Yeah, I remember those days. Fortunately, things have slowed down a little - but there were days when, as a teenager, I would get back from XC practice, and go through a meals worth of food. And then have dinner a couple hours later. And then another dinner a bit after that.

 

[bicker]

I think people generally are better judges of what things affect other people than what actually affects themselves.

While not precisely the same thing, time and time again, I have been interested to read about the disparity between what people think of themselves and what objective measures say about people in general. For example, 30% of overweight people don't believe that they are.

There's even a fancy name for this... the Dunning-Kruger effect. Some of the supporting studies indicate that as many as 80% of people generically consider themselves "above average" (when the reality is that only 50%-1 of people can claim that distinction).

So my contention is that the one thing we can rely on is that we're probably wrong about whether we are affected by something or another. Being immune to what would be generally considered unworthy factors for making a decision (in this case, the fact that the portion sizes are arguably far more than people should be eating anyway) would be a form of self-appraisal likely to exhibit the Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I know that I eat portions larger than I should--but in restaurants, I do consider the possibility of leftovers when I order. I know that the serving will be too large, so I have to think of what I would enjoy later.

As a rule, I do prefer restaurants that serve regular sized meals.

I am very much into visual cues. I was raised in the clean your plate club, so I have a hard time adhering to the "stop when you are full" rule and not the "stop when your plate is clean" rule.

In "You Again", when the dad was blindfolding himself before meals, it made me wonder if that would work for me.

 

[disfan07]

No.

If we are going straight home afterwards, I know I will have another 1 or 2 meals from the restaurant. If not, I usually share something with someone or I knwo I willl be leaving at least half left over.

I don't eat a lot at all. A LUNCH portion of the shepherds pie from cheesecake factory lasts 3 meals for me. Right now, my lunch is half of a small sub from quiznos with an orange and some carrots.

My bigger concern is whether or not they can and will accomodate my allergies.

 

[SpecialK]

We avoid restaurants with giant portions. Not a fan of the doggy bag.

 

[tvguy]

Does the portion size at restaurants influence where you eat?

This is a discussion we are having at work and I'd like to hear from others besides the few people that work here.

No, because someone in our household always ends up bringing leftovers home either way.

But I have to say, all the restaurants known for large portions around here have either cut portion size, or no longer including, soup, salad and break with the meal.
Sadly, while the portions are smaller, the prices aren't.

 

[PattnFmly]

I guess we would be another Yes and No to this one. For us, it is a question of does the food cost = $ value for our family? I do not want to go out to dinner and have to make my DS's more food an hour after we get home. Or even listen to them complain that they are hungry again, even if I'm just advising to "go have a banana"... But I have to admit I just love to take leftovers to work for lunch the next day! Not an easy one to answer!