What's with portions these days?

I love food and I  admit, sometimes I let the rules of portion control fly out of the window.

But I was shocked at the amount of French fries that come in a large order at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I'd been craving beef all week, something that rarely happens, and after hearing that First Lady Michelle Obama snuck out of the White House to Five Guys, I decided I wanted a burger, too. Talk about the power of persuasion! 

I had never been to Five Guys before and hardly ever treat myself to fast food, so I was really excited Sunday when my husband and I went. We both ordered bacon cheeseburgers, which came with two patties (I removed one) and we shared a large fry.

Now, when Phillip came to the table with the food, that's served in brown paper bags, the bag was already greasy. Not a good sign. Phillip opened the bag and saw a mountain of fries. He couldn't even see the burgers! The fries were served in a Styrofoam cup that looked like it was about 12 ounces, but then there were fries just poured in the bag - enough to fill another 12 ounce cup! It was literally enough fries for six adults.

America is the fattest country in the world because we've let our portions get out of control.

There is no reason why a large fry should comfortably feed six. And it's not just Five Guys that's the culprit. Super-sized portions are in just about every restaurant and grocery store.

According to the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, portions have grown tremendously over the last 20 years. A bagel in 1989 was 3 inches wide and 140 calories. Today's bagel is double the width and 350 calories. A cheeseburger 20 years ago was 333 calories. Today, that cheeseburger will cost you 590 calories. A serving of spaghetti and meatballs in 1989 was one cup of spaghetti and three meatballs, totaling 500 calories. Today, it's two cups of spaghetti and three meatballs, equalling 1025 calories. I'm surprised the number of meatballs didn't increase! And an average-sized bottled soda, which, in my opinion, is just wasted calories, was 6.5 ounces and 85 calories. Today's bottle averages 20 ounces and 250 calories.

Half a regular order of Five Guys' fries, which the restaurant considers one serving, is 310 calories. I wish I would have known this when we ordered the large.

We need to reign it in, folks! Our portions have gotten out of control as have our waistlines.

And if you're wondering, we did not eat all of the fries! We barely put a dent in them.