Restaurant portion sizes are huge

[Paq]

Does anyone else find this? Went to a pub/restaurant last night and the portion sizes were insane. I managed a third of my salad, brought the rest home and shared it with DH for lunch today. DD got through half her curry and 6'1" hollow legged DH just about managed to finish his risotto but then felt overstuffed all night.

I've decided I'm eating in the wrong places. Where do I find this 'mountain of food' being served?!

Or maybe the MN orthorexics are out in force, as is standard on a food thread?!

I know, I have never had huge portions in a restaurant

@NoWordForFluffy

I've decided I'm eating in the wrong places. Where do I find this 'mountain of food' being served?!

Or maybe the MN orthorexics are out in force, as is standard on a food thread?!

just go for taster menus kind of things. ! Portions might not be humongous separately, but as a full menu, that's at LOT of food!

I don't know anyone who claims to have been left feeling peckish after a meal.

It is telling that people happy with reasonable portions are immediately abused though...

@NoWordForFluffy

I've decided I'm eating in the wrong places. Where do I find this 'mountain of food' being served?!

Or maybe the MN orthorexics are out in force, as is standard on a food thread?!

It's really not orthorexia. Most carveries, chain pubs and takeaways serve at least twice the portion you'd eat at home with the meal often containing a whole day's calories for an average woman (1500 to 2000). And that's before any drinks, starters, sides or desserts.

I don't mind because I nearly always take a doggy bag, which does lunch the next day, which means I get to enjoy the food again, without being uncomfortably full the first time.

But sometimes I do wish it was easier to just buy what I will eat for that meal, especially if I'm not in a position to save the food.

If it's not orthorexia, it's a competitive approach to what people eat when out.

I've never needed a doggy bag. I'm also a healthy BMI and quite tall.

We don't go for carvery meals, so I have no clue what you get, portion-wise, in one. When I have been for one (likely over a decade ago), you could choose how much / little you were given and there were different plate sizes. 🤷‍♀️

Food threads always bring out the people who pass scathing judgment over other people's food choices though. You can bet your house on it happening!

It also seems that some people make a big fuss about going to a restaurant, and make it the main meal of the day, and wouldn't consider having to eat anything else.

Same was as some people see a Christmas diner.

It's not that difficult to comprehend that when it's just a meal, even in a restaurant, you might not necessarily eat anymore than you would do at home, and you'll still have diner later on. So the portions look big.

People are just weird honestly.

Op you too have dysfunctional food issues lots of hateful descriptions, food seems loathsome to be managed
hate feeling over stuffed. hate food waste and hate situations that lead people to over eat
You can control your own dietary intake
You cannot control someone else someone else dietary intake
it’s bizarre that you ^hate situations that lead people to over eat no one appointed you chief arbitrary to sit and radiate hatefulness about how much other people eat. It’s not healthy to be so hateful

I really hope you keep your hate filled experiences to yourself and don’t impose upon others.

grasstreeleaf I take offence to your statement that people who don't count calories are obsese. I do not calory count food ever and oddly also have a healthy bmi. Your obsession about food sounds unhealthy to me. As does the multiple digs you make about men. Perhaps curt back on the alcohol too.

@EspressoDoubleShot

Op you too have dysfunctional food issues lots of hateful descriptions, food seems loathsome to be managed hate feeling over stuffed. hate food waste and hate situations that lead people to over eat You can control your own dietary intake You cannot control someone else someone else dietary intake it’s bizarre that you ^hate situations that lead people to over eat no one appointed you chief arbitrary to sit and radiate hatefulness about how much other people eat. It’s not healthy to be so hateful

I really hope you keep your hate filled experiences to yourself and don’t impose upon others.

Lol @EspressoDoubleShot how much do I owe you for your expert medical diagnosis? You really need to get a life if you think you can psychoanalyse someone on the basis of a casually written SM post.

I find if I go to bistro style places or pubs the portions are substantial and often can’t be finished (except for teenage/young adult boys), but if I go to a ‘nice’ restaurant I do tend to sit there and look at my plate and think ‘shit, surely that can’t be right, where’s the rest’. I’d never be able to fit in desert at a bistro/pub but have offers of room in nice restaurants and even then just feel satisfied but not overfull.

We are all judging sm posts, that’s how mn works @paq
You wrote about your hateful relationship with food and situations were you feel hateful about others overeating . By posting you invited comment , and comment I did
You started the thread about the huuuuuge salad, again you invited comments
You seem to want to selectively chose what posts to praise and what posts to deride. Again if you start a thread do expect a range of views and do anticipate a challenge

I have not offered my professional opinion, you need to make an appointment if you want that.

grasstreeleaf I take offence to your statement that people who don't count calories are obsese. I do not calory count food ever and oddly also have a healthy bmi. Your obsession about food sounds unhealthy to me. As does the multiple digs you make about men. Perhaps curt back on the alcohol too.

I only suggested they might be, if you read my posts in context. This was in reply to a post which stated calorie counting wasn't the done thing so people could enjoy their food. For information, I usually look up menus and usually do my counts before eating out at a place.And I drink less than 8 units of alcohol a week (typically drink 1 glass of wine on a weekend evening.) I'm not obsessed with food. As I have stated repeatedly I would simply like the choice of a smaller than (what is increasingly a standard) massive portion. And no digs about men. I very happily live with 2 of them.

Hang on, carvery restaurants don't serve any portion at all, they serve the meat, usually somewhat sparingly as it's the most expensive part (sliced very very thin) but if that's still too much you could take a child's, then you help yourself to (or at the moment due to covid tell the server how much of what) to the rest. I absolutely can't imagine taking home food that had been cooked in a kitchen, transferred to heat lamps and sat there for an unknown length of time and had gravy added etc just like I cannot imagine taking home that mix of guacamole and hummus (do they even go well together, odd combo). Seeing the size of it though I'd definitely not need to. It doesn't even have any filling components such as meat, egg or potatoes that can make a salad more of a meal

See, I don't think the amount of meat you get on a carvery plate is 'sparing' or thin, there's plenty, probably well over a recommended meat portion.

And when I had a carvery recently, so in the 'post covid, served for you' era where I had to tell the server what I wanted, I had to keep saying 'just a little, not that much, only a couple' as he piled my plate higher and higher so I ended up with about twice as much food as I would have served myself and I could have had more if I'd wanted to but the large dinner plate was piled high anyway.

But I do agree that a carvery is less of the sort of place set up for doggie bags. That's more suited to Indian, Chinese, pizza etc.

Op you too have dysfunctional food issues

@EspressoDoubleShot if you can't tell the difference between debating opinions and ridiculous armchair diagnoses then I can't help you.

@HoppingPavlova

So true. I've had a 9 course tasting menu and still felt hungry despite it costing £79! Each "portion" was literally a mouthful

We recently visited Whitby and the famous Magpie Cafe there offers a variety of portion sizes and tells you what weight of fish you will be getting ( very helpful with DH who has on occasion sent fish back for being too small ).

There are a few pubs I've been to where size of portions definitely exceeds quality, but generally I find portions ok. Plus DH and I will do some horse trading- so in The Magpie he ordered fish and chips and I ordered a posh fish dish. He gave me some chips and I gave him a scallop and a bit of fish. Still chips left though as normal as the portions are big. But I'd feel a bit short changed with a calorie controlled chip portion tbh.

@Paq

I can't quite keep up with this thread but here's some of my thoughts on the general gist:

1. Yes, restaurants should put calories on their menus, makes entire sense.
2. The population is fat and getting fatter. This doesn't mean as a whole people are becoming more stupid or weak willed. We live in an obesogenic society and restaurants have a part to play in tackling that. Being a business doesn't absolve them of all responsibility, we expect companies to operate within environmental standards, I think we should do the same for human health.
3. Being fat or thin isn't a measure of a person's worthiness or success or value, it's just a crude health measure. Generally being too fat or too thin is bad.
4. I hate feeling over stuffed. I hate food waste and I hate situations that lead people to over eat. Varying portion sizes in restaurants would be amazing, doggy bags are the next best thing.

Excellent post @Paq

I agree with your points & think you make them well

Paq, you seen somewhat defensive regard my posts and trying to deflect by criticising me
It’s a obvious and somewhat crude defence mechanism. However, please do continue

@EspressoDoubleShot

Paq, you seen somewhat defensive regard my posts and trying to deflect by criticising me It’s a obvious and somewhat crude defence mechanism. However, please do continue

I don't see that at all. I think you've made wide-sweeping comments about what you've decided is OP's dysfunctional attitude to food.

I've re-read her posts & can see zero evidence for this.

Even if there was, your tone is nasty.

I feel Paq has been quite restrained in her replies.

Let Paq reply about my posts without you piling in
If you wish to address me regard my posts do, but don’t involve another poster. Paq doesn’t need saved and you don’t need to pile in to save her

@EspressoDoubleShot

Let Paq reply about my posts without you piling in If you wish to address me regard my posts do, but don’t involve another poster. Paq doesn’t need saved and you don’t need to pile in to save her

🤣🤣

I don't think you realise how this works! I'm completely entitled to give my view on your post, or any other on the thread.

I agree, I'm sure Paq doesn't need me defending her - I wasn't doing that, in fact,I was giving my views on your nasty & unfair posts, as I see it.

What a strange over-reaction from you.

Crude attempts at misrepresentation. You’re arguing with me vicariously about my posts to someone else. Now if you want to get vexed and aerated about my posts on behalf of someone else, that’s up to you. Not sure I understand your motivation, unless you too have hateful experiences of food

The two laughing faces🤣🤣, somewhat incongruous given your irritation
Anyway, as you were