You have probably not heard of the freshman 15. It is the name given to the way first year students away at college gain 15 pounds in their first semester. So what has that got to do with you as a new arrival in Canada?
It may have a lot, depending on how you adjust your eating habits once you get to North America. The thing we notice most of all is that the portion sizes are huge. We are currently in the US and I’d say that they are even bigger here than they are back at home in Vancouver.
When you sit down in a restaurant and look over the menu choices, you may find that there are options to choose smaller portions. If not it is worth asking the waiter. You can also share a dish rather than having one each. Most waiters are happy to help out.
When your food comes, even in smaller portions, it can still be a larger serving than you’re used to. This week we had an italian meal and our half sized portions were big enough to feed a family of six. Look at the groaning plate and imagine your groaning stomach when you’ve eaten it all – pretty soon you’ll get into the habit of leaving a hefty chunk of the food on the side of the plate. If you want you can always ask them to box it up for you and that way you can feed the whole family for the rest of the week.
The other thing we notice is that the food can be pretty rich. It does depend what you are eating and this week our diet is not the usual one we would enjoy in Vancouver. But rich sauces, salad dressings and sugary desserts may look good (and hopefully taste good too) but they all go a way towards that freshman fifteen.
Be well!