It was about 3:30 p.m. last Wednesday when I started to feel some post-lunch hunger. I knew I had an honor society dinner at 6 p.m., so I decided to put off snacking until then. However, by the time dinner rolled around, I was starving and stared longingly at the buffet table as if I hadn't eaten in weeks. I went up to the table and got a reasonable helping of everything, but that wasn't my last visit.
After I polished off two portions of everything, including the desserts, I began to feel uncomfortably full. I began to question whether eating double portions of everything was a good idea. I had just heard about a study that day that suggested that when Americans were confronted with buffets, they couldn't help but eat more than they needed - and here I was, fueling that statistic.
Let me be clear, though. I do not need a buffet to eat more than necessary. There are plenty of reasons I can think of to eat a lot. If I buy a meal, I don't want to waste my money. If I am at a dinner party, I don't want to be rude. Or if I am bored, well, I obviously need to entertain myself. But after all that eating, I always find myself in a sad state of "eater's remorse."
So why do we eat past the point of being full? Why can't we stop ourselves? In the true nature of being American, let's blame it on uncontrollable societal forces and our warped psychological processes. A Cornell Food Lab study showed Americans tend to depend on cues, such as if their plate is clean or if other people are done eating, to determine when they are finished. In comparison, French people stop eating when their food no longer tastes good or (gasp) they are no longer hungry.
It's no wonder we are always eating so much when at every corner there is another fast food restaurant and serving sizes could feed a small nation. We are conditioned to use external cues to help us determine when we are full instead of listening to our own bodies. Other cultures view mealtime as the most valuable time of the day - when they can spend hours eating and conversing with friends. Only in the U.S. do I so frequently hear the phrase "I am uncomfortably full."
Here's how to combat these habits. Since we are used to eating everything that is put in front of us, try smaller portions and smaller plates. One of my friends suggested that if you are out to dinner, cut your meal in half and immediately put one half in a to-go box. I have even seen plates that have special little sections to show you the needed portions in case you are a visual learner.
Another way to eat less is to focus on your food. We often eat on the run or while sitting in front of a television. When we do this, we lose track of what we are eating and tend to eat more. Also, since we tend to eat quickly, we don't realize that we are already satiated. So if you have the time, slow down and enjoy a healthy, reasonably sized meal.
Often in American culture, food is seen as a secondary component to our lives. We don't focus on what or how much we are eating, but what we put in our body is extremely important to our overall health. So from now on, I am going to try and take some time out of my crazy schedule for an actual well-balanced meal, and of course, avoid buffets at all costs.
