How Big is Your Plate?

You've seen this before - it is THE 9 inch plate

I was flipping through Weight Watchers magazine the other day. In the "Full Plate - news you can use" section, they had the following:

"92% is how much food the average adult eats from his or her plate during a meal, according to a new Cornell University study.   In other words, if you plate it, you'll eat it.  So whatever you plate, make it great." 

My first reaction was that adults only ate 92% of what was on their plate?  That would imply that the "clean plate club" concept has gone the way of the dinosaur.  I am surprised about that and also that 8 percent of the food is in the garbage.  Okay, I suppose people may save it for leftovers.  

The new standard in American plates, the 12 inch or larger plate, holds a lot of food.  It is amazing how much the size of the dinner plate has grown over the last 65 years.  Back in  1960, the standard dinner plate was 9 inches.  That growth allows for a lot more real estate to fill on a plate at a meal.  You would almost hope that we weren't filling a 12 inch plate and eating every bit of it.  But most are filling and eating.  (I am sure I would do the same.) 

The yellow plate is a 9 inch plate.  The other plate is 13 inches.

When Silent Sam was first diagnosed, there was a lot of information thrown at us.  The suggestion to switch to a 9 inch plate was one of the only suggestions I remembered.  Everything seemed so complicated.  Besides, I might have a bit of a shopping bug and it seemed like a mandate to buy new plates. 

We have used 9 inch plates for years now and I don't think anything about it now.  There is plenty of food on a 9 inch plate. The switch to a 9 inch plate is not a magic pill.  It did not stop us from overeating.  I wish just switching to a smaller plate had done that.  But I am sure it has helped.  

What is your favorite movie snack?

The magazine also reported on another study from Cornell.  In this study they looked a people's eating while they watched movies.  They found that people watching comedies ate less than people watching heavier themed movies.  Sad movies also cause more eating.  So the healthy snack you pick when watching a move should depend on the type of movie.  The heavier the movie the lighter the snack. 

Have a great week.

Thanks for reading!