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Europeans who travel to America joke about how much weight they're going to gain on their trip, but it's not really a joke. There's just so much food. American

Europeans who travel to America joke about how much weight they're going to gain on their trip, but it's not really a joke. There's just so much food. American restaurants serve appetisers that are big enough to be a main course and main courses that could feed a family. Everything about the American food culture works to subtly distort your sense of what a sensible portion looks like. A Big Gulp is a grotesque amount of soda, but it seems almost parsimonious compared to a Double Gulp. It's almost like gaslighting - you're constantly being told that vastly excessive portions are the norm. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/news-events/matte1.htm https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/wecan/news-even...

danmaz74 8y ago
Not just that, also the amount of sugar in those portions is astounding. Luckily, when I visited the USA for 3 weeks, I didn't have time to get accustomed to that, and I actually didn't enjoy to eat that kind of food. Unluckily, now that I've been living in the UK for 6 months - where the amount of sugar is less than in the UK, but much higher than in Italy where I used to live - I'm starting to notice it less and less.
tome 8y ago
> Europeans who travel to America joke about how much weight they're going to gain on their trip, but it's not really a joke. There's just so much food. American restaurants serve appetisers that are big enough to be a main course and main courses that could feed a family. I've heard this a lot but never experienced it. Are portions smaller in NYC (which is the only place in the US I've visted much)?
- nradov 8y ago
  Obviously this varies a lot from restaurant to restaurant. But yes in general portion sizes tend to be larger in the US southeast and midwest regions.
- swift532 8y ago
  I definitely think so from my limited experience. I ate what seemed like normal meals in bars and ethnic restaurants in NYC, but in other areas we'd go to some place like Chilli's were the calories are insane - most appetizers are over 1000kcal, and most single courses 1500-2000kcal.

danmaz74 8y ago

Not just that, also the amount of sugar in those portions is astounding. Luckily, when I visited the USA for 3 weeks, I didn't have time to get accustomed to that, and I actually didn't enjoy to eat that kind of food. Unluckily, now that I've been living in the UK for 6 months - where the amount of sugar is less than in the UK, but much higher than in Italy where I used to live - I'm starting to notice it less and less.

tome 8y ago

> Europeans who travel to America joke about how much weight they're going to gain on their trip, but it's not really a joke. There's just so much food. American restaurants serve appetisers that are big enough to be a main course and main courses that could feed a family. I've heard this a lot but never experienced it. Are portions smaller in NYC (which is the only place in the US I've visted much)?

nradov 8y ago
Obviously this varies a lot from restaurant to restaurant. But yes in general portion sizes tend to be larger in the US southeast and midwest regions.
swift532 8y ago
I definitely think so from my limited experience. I ate what seemed like normal meals in bars and ethnic restaurants in NYC, but in other areas we'd go to some place like Chilli's were the calories are insane - most appetizers are over 1000kcal, and most single courses 1500-2000kcal.