We often think of “value” as being able to get more for our money, right? Food is no different: we’ve been conditioned over time to believe that getting more is better, regardless of what it is. We often feel cheated if we don’t get a huge plate of food at a restaurant, even if what we get is of excellent quality. We also feel like we’ve gotten a great deal if we get more food “for free.”

How many times have you heard (or said) things like this:

  • “Man, don’t go to that restaurant! The food tastes good, but the portion sizes are small. It’s a ripoff.”
  • “Hey, Burger Bubba has their triple burgers on sale for $1.99 - I don’t want to pass that up!”
  • “Super-size me!”
  • “Thirty percent more - FREE!”
  • “I’m gonna have that twenty ounce sirloin tonight…” (Note: that’s a pound and a quarter of meat!)

Buying more food - as in groceries - for your money is a good thing, as long as you eat right (ideally, five or six reasonably portioned meals and snacks, spaced out through the day). Value is also in the food itself: it’s a good value to buy food that’s rich in nutritional value and without chemicals, fat, and other junk.

But there’s no value in buying a huge burger, fries, and a massive soft drink. You’re just buying a couple thousand calories of fat, sugar, and sodium. And while a lot of people joke about it (hey, I used to!), those aren’t food groups. They’re the things that are making us fat and giving us a load of health problems the size of the Exxon Valdez. It doesn’t do anything positive for our emotional state, self-esteem, or sex lives, either.

And at restaurants, don’t order something huge and think you’re getting a great “value.” If you sit there and stuff yourself - because of course you don’t want to leave any of that good stuff on your plate, right? - the only value that comes out of it is the interest on the national debt to pay for the health care you’re going to need because you’re becoming obese.

But I guess you’d be in good company these days. Consider this: in every state but one, the obesity rate is twenty percent or higher - with thirty-odd states having obesity rates at thirty percent or more. And in one state, forty-four percent of the children of the age of ten to seventeen years old were obese. That’s almost half the kids in that state!

So, when you’re at a restaurant and place your order, ask the server right then for a box. And when your meal comes, before you take a single bite, take half of it and put it in the box to take home with you. So in one fell swoop you have 1) saved yourself from feeling like a stuffed pig, 2) set aside a full second meal of that yummy stuff that you ordered, and 3) made your money go twice as far.

And the fast food stuff? Avoid it like the plague. And if you do find yourself in a situation where there aren’t any alternatives, try to be smart about what you get, and don’t use it as an excuse to “indulge”. Your body can do without those sorts of treats! Is it hard? Sure it is, and I’ll be the first one to tell you that I succumb to temptation now and again. But fight it and do the best you can.

Most important, go through your pantry and refrigerator and get rid of all the junk. Throw it out. “Holy cow!” you say, “That’s just like throwing away money!” No, it’s throwing away stuff that’s making you fat and miserable. Get rid of the junk and replace it with stuff that both tastes good and is good for you, and eat it in reasonable portions frequently through the day.  Get your money’s worth from the quality of the food you eat, not just the quantity.

That, my friend, is value.

Related posts:

  1. How To Eat At A Restaurant Without Blowing It It was Jan’s birthday, and she wanted to go out...
  2. Nutrition 911, Part VIII: Pop Goes the Diet— The Worst Food in the World By Steve Edwards, Director of Results, from the Team Beachbody...
  3. Nutrition 911, Part V: 5 Quick Steps to Mastering Food Labels By Steve Edwards, Director of Results, from the Team Beachbody...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.