Remember animal crackers? That chalky vanilla snack packaged in a colorful red box to look like a circus wagon with tigers and bears and elephants, a thin little string provided as a helpful handle. I adored those as a kid. I’m thinking about this as I’m studying the nutritional information on the back of the one pound bag of animal crackers as I stand in the aisle at the Supermarket. The serving size is 16 crackers for a whopping 120 calories, so if I cut the serving size in half I will only intake 60 calories. Noted.
I wish I could say that Animal Crackers are where this kind of calculation madness stops, however, this will continue on as I make my way through the store. I’ve done it enough times there are items I’ve learned the counts and I won’t stop to do calculations, won’t mentally fret over it or have to pull out the cell phone and open the calculator app because sometimes the numbers are just too much. I’m not the only one doing this. I sometimes stop and observe and I can see the inner conversations other shoppers are having with themselves, studying the backs of packages and cans, looking up at the ceiling as they use their fingers to add things up. There are a great many of us obsesses with the nutritional labels.
Lately I’ve focused on the servings. Did you know the serving size reflects the amount you would typically eat or drink? It is not a recommendation of how much you should be eating or drinking. There are a few articles out on the web indicating the industry’s serving sizes have grown anywhere from 20% to 800% depending on the item, since the 1950’s. Food Portion Sizes Have Grown — A Lot – ABC News (go.com) and other articles stating that inflation is forcing serving sizes to shrink. Servings Sizes and Portion Sizes: Making Smaller Sizes the New Normal Again – Food Insight
As a consumer, I have to make my own decisions and stop letting the industry decide what my serving sizes should be. I became a chonky girl because I always threw caution to the wind and ate until I was full, or ate because I was bored or ate because it was there. Taking the reins and knowing what the servings are on packages and knowing that its what “they” think I’ll be eating, I decided to cut all those serving size numbers in half when portioning out from packaging. It’s a baby step, but it makes a difference.
However, I’ll be the first to admit, it sure was a much more simple life when I could grocery shop and just toss things in the cart without looking at the nutrition label. This new trend of mine adds a lot minutes to my shopping trips, which is why online shopping is such a blessing. I can look everything up from the comfort of my home, plop it in my cart and arrange for grocery pickup at my leisure. I don’t do that though. I brave the Saturday crowds and jostle the aisles, endure the annoyance of people bumping into me and I read those labels as if they were my last hope.
Trying to be healthy takes a lot of thought process. Wouldn’t it be great if we could all afford to hire someone to portion everything out for us and just let us eat? Sigh. Not all of us can be millionaires.
MY ADIPOSE & ME 