Avoiding over-eating in US restaurants?

Hi Friends,

I need some advice of how you all manage to avoid over eating in the restaurants in the US.

In most restaurants, the portion sizes are too big for an individual; 70% of the portion size is actually enough for me. However, I never "to go" the rest 30% because

a. It is too small for another time and
b. The food never tastes as good at home as it does at the restaurant

Not wanting to waste it, I end up eating the rest 30% as well. Offcourse, the fact that food is tasty makes it easy to over eat the 30%. The net result is love-portions here and there

How to break this cycle?

Indira

Dear Indira,

Your observation about eating at restraunts is both sad and humorous. You are right, food portions can be real big at some places. Believe me, years ago, they were even bigger, I think inflation has caught up with them.
However atrocious it may sound, one has to leave the food one cannot consume to go for waste. Sad but better that way. If not, before you realise, you will be belonging to the 'supersize' people and it will be tougher to get rid of the excess food (read it fat!) accumulation from your own body and those love handles soon will not look so lovely!! Hence, better leave them in the plate. What say you??!
It is also true that the leftovers taken in doggy bags do not taste the same when eaten at home a day later, with some rare exceptions. Well, there is no winning solutions!
I can empathize with your dilemma!

L, Kamla

Indira,my strategy is simple. I don't go to restaurants often,infact we go only once in 5 mnths! .Once you realise that the extra food is anyway going to get wasted(either it goes to the dustbin at the restaurant itself or it ends up as extra unnecessary waste fat in our bodies),it becomes easier for you to leave the leftovers at the restaurant itself. I follow the same principle at home.If something is extra,I just throw it away instead on stuffing myself with it !