how do you like your ribs?

[amw]

I think i am losing weight. I never weigh myself and very rarely look in the mirror, so it's an unusual thing for me to notice. When i moved to Germany from Canada i think i might have lost a little bit of weight because the serving sizes are smaller, but probably not very much. I did notice a small change when i started walking to work every day.

Comments

[sweetmeow]

You are right about Americans and portion control. Restaurants serve enough for 4 people to one person. Plates are getting larger, and of course we must fill them up. We don't know enough to know we are full. If we were to actually follow what an optimum portion is, we would all be surprised (and hungry) since we've all gotten so used to eating way too much. That's my biggest problem.

"Of course, a more likely explanation for all of this is that i am getting old. My body is withering away and soon there will be nothing but skin hanging off my skeleton. Inevitably i will trip in the shower and throw my hip out before hobbling pathetically into my grave.

Yeah, reality. I'm approaching 40."

Humm ... Ok ... here's some more reality. I'm 27 + years older than you. You're close to my son's age - he's 38. But - yeah, you're right ... skin does that. Slowly. There IS evidence of the sag in this nearly 68 year old skeleton. Hips and backs and knees buckle when you stupidly fall when on a beach photo walk (yes - did that). But - I'll be damned if I'm ready to hobble pathetically into my grave! :-P

[amw]

The scary thing about large portion sizes in America (and Australia and Canada) is how we brainwash ourselves to expect it. Even though most people know that scientifically speaking many of these dishes are more than the body needs, you still "feel" hungry when you are given a smaller portion.

This really struck me when i returned to Canada after living in Germany for a while. I went back to my favorite pub to eat my favorite burger - a bison meat deal with blue cheese and bacon in a sweet/soft onion bun. But when the dish arrived i realized i could barely even make it through the burger, much less the mountain of fries. When i lived in Canada i regularly ate that burger along with several beers and it felt like a great meal. It was only after going "cold turkey" in a place where all the portions were smaller that i realized it was much more than i needed. And it's not just restaurant food - even things like bags of chips and jars of peanut butter and boxes of cereal contribute to the problem, imo. It's insidious how trained we are to expect abundance.

The age thing was a bit of hyperbole because it was more fun to write that way ;-) I do hope to be active and still enjoying my life in my 60s and beyond!