Everyone tells me California is the land of the fit. I spent the weekend in LA with a friend. My first stop on my garden leave tour of the U.S. Michael, our visiting guide, tells us that everyone is obsessed with the gym, health, and looks in LA. Jay Leno often makes the joke that if you have a silicon magnet, you'd attract every girl's boobs in LA.
I am no expert in nutrition or health - I'm not even super diligent in what I eat. However, given what I saw in LA, I now have no doubt why most Americans are overweight. Every restaurant we went to, I could not finish a single serving/meal, whether it's burgers and fries, a salad, or a sandwich. For a full meal in Hong Kong, a table of 4 would usually share an appetizer or two, then each have an entree. On the boardwalk of Manhattan Beach, three of us shared one appetizer, which was only half done and none of us even made a dent in our food, which were 2 salads and a sandwich. The size of the servings were simply out of control. Each portion is at least 2x the portions in Hong Kong.
Of course, we get use to it as we dine out and our appetite gradually increase/shrink with the sizes we are served. My parents mentioned that I seemed to have lost weight since we last saw each other in February. I have taken no concious effort on that in Hong Kong. Yet when I was taking close care of my nutritional intake in U.S., it was difficult to lose even a single pound. Portion sizes matter.
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