In the last year, I've changed some habits, lost some weight and tried to be a little more aware of what I'm eating and what the portion size was.
About a month ago, my daughter and I went to Applebee's for dinner. The somewhat traditional thing is to get a salad bar and an entrée. I ordered a cheeseburger and a baked potato. By the time I had a salad and one of the rolls from the basketful they put in front of you while your waiting, I was stuffed. By the time my meal came, had I eaten anything more, I would have been miserable. It turned out that my "modest" cheeseburger was a full half pound of beef, with a huge bun, and the baked potato was also very large. I couldn't touch them. While we sat there, I watched the people at the next table each eat a salad plate piled up with salad, potato salad, macaroni salad, vegetables and all of the other peripheral stuff on salad bars. This same table, devoured 2 baskets of rolls between 3 people, and then devoured their meal completely. I've read before, that the US serves larger portions than many other countries, but I was never really aware of just how much until that night at Applebee's. Then, I started to notice things like "supersizing" fries and pop at McDonald's and similar menu offerings at other restaurants. The portions of a McDonald's "supersized" meals are enough for three people. Is anyone familiar with Chipotle? I LOVE the veggie burritos, but they're so big, I can't eat a whole one anymore (I admit, I used to be able to easily eat a whole one). There's a website that actually calculates the calorie count of Chipotle food. The typical Chipotle burrito, has 1975 calories. http://www.chipotlefan.com/index.php?id=nutrition_calculator Anyway, back to my point... The three people at the next table at Applebee's must have collectively weighed 1000+ lbs.(453.5 kilograms). I remember thinking that their car must burn through much more gas than mine since it's carrying significantly more weight. This afternoon, I ran across this article. I'm not sure how accurate the calculations are, but it goes along the same lines as what I was thinking a month ago..... http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15415446/wid/11915773/ CHICAGO - Want to spend less at the pump? Lose some weight. Thats the implication of a new study that says Americans are burning nearly 1 billion more gallons of gasoline each year than they did in 1960 because of their expanding waistlines. Simply put, more weight in the car means lower gas mileage. Using recent gas prices of $2.20 a gallon, that translates to about $2.2 billion more spent on gas each year. _____________________________________________ The Vulcan Neck Pinch is not half as powerful as the Vulcan Groin Kick, but it's more politically correct. ~ Quotes you'll never hear on Star Trek. _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
