You can super-size it, you can biggie-size it, and 32-ounce sodas are not even the largest sodas on the market anymore.
These belly-busting sizes may seem like a bargain, but in the end, even with new low-fat substitutes, waistlines are expanding nationwide.
New products hit the market as often as one can make it to the grocery store, and often those products offer some reduction in fat or calories. Unfortunately, this does not mean the new food is healthy.
'The whole term 'low-fat' gives people the idea that it is guilt-free, and so they are doubling and tripling the portions,' said Liz Freitick, a nutritionist at University Health Services. 'You're better off sometimes eating a 1-ounce bag of regular potato chips instead of eating three ounces of baked chips.'
Freitick calls this the 'portion distortion,' and she attributes a large portion of belt busting to this phenomenon.
'We've gone from most people eating small portions to now we just expect more,' Freitick said. 'We eat more and expect more for our buck, and we're getting it.'
The blame does not simply rest with a few fast food chains or the local mini-mart with its 50-ounce fountain drinks.
An average chicken parmesan at any restaurant can have up to 9 ounces of chicken, a pile of spaghetti and as many breadsticks as can be squeezed in. This can add up to four or five servings of meat on top of eight or nine servings of grain.
Those ballooning portions often seem like just enough to satisfy a college student's hunger, but this is a result of poor planning.
College students are often guilty of pushing the limits of sleep. Whether they are staying up late to cram in a few more hours of studying or cramming in a few more beers at the pub, just getting to morning classes is an accomplishment.
Freitick recommends students listen to the old adage, 'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.'
Overnight, the body's metabolism slows down, and it is up to breakfast to get that metabolism up and running.
If the metabolism stays low, throughout the day the body cannot process the massive food portions being consumed at lunch and dinner. This can lead directly to weight gain.
Three meals a day is the best way to go, according to Freitick. A bag of Skittles does not count as a meal.
Since many of the nutrients the body needs to work with each other, eating a meal means eating at least three of the classic food-groups together.
A breakfast including a bagel (grain) with peanut butter (protein) and a glass of juice (fruits) is a perfect trifecta.
Similarly, for later meals, spaghetti with meatballs and some heated-up frozen vegetables is another perfect threesome.
Whichever meal it is, the most important thing is to make time. Five minutes a day set aside to eat could save five inches off the waistline later.
