Our Eating Disorder Is Supersized
Ordering too much. Many people that find themselves overweight have more than an eating problem, we have an ordering problem. We may experience eater’s regret afterward but we stand in the fast food line knowing we shouldn’t even be there in the first place but justify it with time or expense. Then we hear that all to familiar line, “May I take your order please?“. Here’s where our mistakes compound drastically. “Yes, I’ll have that huge monstrosity of a sandwich packed with a full day’s calories“, we say in more forgiving words. We tell ourselves we’ll order less tomorrow. The fast food franchise knows how to run a business and they have trained their employees well, “Would you like fries with that?” or “would you like to make that a meal?“. We give in because it’s almost like getting the drink free, right? You know what’s coming next… “Would you like to ‘upsize, biggy size, large size etc.’ that?“. We are very familiar with the routine, we quickly say, “Yes“, before we allow two seconds to consider the consequence. We don’t want to have to think about it. We know we are overeating all the wrong foods and we’ll regret it later but right now we’ll enjoy the high-calorie, high-fat meal loaded with a bunch of taste and very little nutrition.
It’s no wonder 57% of American adults are overweight according to the CDC. Every corner is packed with two things – gas stations and fast food restaurants all competing for your business. No one knows marketing better than the fast food industry. We can’t go ten minutes in the city without seeing a big juicy burger on the side of a bus or a roadside billboard announcing the latest ‘deal’ waiting for us just a half mile up the road.
Fast food restaurants know many will walk in just to order a small sandwich to hold them over for a while. The restaurant franchise also know people and they know a large percentage of those frugal and health conscience people can be transformed into bigger profits. Poster and life-sized, full color signs strategically located assault you from every direction before you even step up to the counter. There’s no escaping them. Even the drive-thru has glossy professional posters lining the curb. These are high quality graphics touched up better than a super model’s front page photo. You can almost taste that wonderful delight, no expense has been spared.
We eat every bite of the food we purchased. We force those self disciplining thoughts back until we’re finished. After all, we don’t want to waste food, right? I walk out of the dining area feeling too full and tired. We know how to deal with this familiar feeling, that’s not a problem.
The only way to beat our over-ordering disorder is to understand we do it and get a handle on it. First of all, pack a healthy lunch and stay out of restaurants at all costs. Start looking at the marketing tactics in a new light. Admire the marketing message or get mad at it, whatever makes you not fall for it. Most importantly, understand that smaller portions are going to be a fact of life if you are going to lose weight. It takes very little food to curb hunger. We just need to eat until we are no longer hungry, not until we are full. All we need to do is listen to ourselves. We know right and wrong. We have become pros at pushing reason and rational thought away for instant gratification and over indulgence. Don’t be afraid to step out of the line line and walk it off.
Excellent post Brian!! Thanks!! I love it – “Our Eating Disorder is Supersized”! Couldn’t agree more
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This is really unfortunate but so many people fall victim to this. Something must be done. I do what I can to help but this definitely needs to be more publicized. Thanks for sharing.
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Way to many people eat very poorly, myself included I think its a byproduct of our culture
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