Portion Distortion

I'm not part of the 68% of adults in the US who are overweight or obese, but in the past, members of my family have struggled with weight.  I probably would have too, by now, except that in my early 20s I learned that I am hypoglycemic (reactive not diabetic) and swore off eating or drinking anything that had more than two or three grams of sugar including refined carbohydrates.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no paragon of fitness, but when it comes to weight I'm only about 11 pounds heavier than I was when I started high school. It just needs to be firmed up and moved around here and there.  My reason for blogging recently about the movement Halfsies was motivated more by my concern about food waste and poverty.

The reinvigorated concern about portion sizes was spurred when I downloaded an iPhone app titled The Eatery by Massive Health, a start up.  I've been following it during the four months since I shattered my wrist and arm in a fall (no, it didn't happen when I was riding my Harley.)


Oh, good news is that yesterday my surgeon cleared me, even though it will be another 8 months before I know just how much ability I will fully recover but the bones are growing nicely around the 14 screws which anchors a long metal plate running from my wrist down my arm and the nerves in my fingers are coming back.

Massive Health intends to help people by giving them access to better data.  If you're interested even during the ramp up there is a blog at this link that is extremely useful.  I was particularly intrigued by one that was posted earlier this month about portion sizes even before I had learned about Halfsies, a philanthropy model that permits patrons of participating restaurants to order a half portion while contributing the remainder of the full price for a full serving to help those in need.

The blog post on “portion distortion” includes a fascinating infographic that illustrates just how portions have increased since the late 1970s to where today's studies show we are actually consuming 30% more.  Also included at the bottom the infographic are some handy references about what constitutes the proper serving in some easy ways to regain control.

If you are not someone who needs this information, please forward it on to the nearly 7 out of 10 Americans who apparently do.