Clearing your plate after you're full...

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  • serenity1097
    serenity1097 Posts: 135 Member
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    I switched to a smaller plate & weigh/measure my portions so that I am able to clean my plate. As kids we were sent to bed if we didn't finish our meal so it has been a struggle for me as well.
  • Homemaker57
    Homemaker57 Posts: 106 Member
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    You need to be weighing your portions anyway if you expect to log your food with any accuracy. So weigh it, log it, then eat it.

    From a mental aspect it helps me to change the way I think. Like this...

    "Don't waste food" - - - "I already purchased the food either way and that won't change. Now will I use the food to get more healthy or less healthy?"
  • Lasmartchika
    Lasmartchika Posts: 3,440 Member
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    Put less food on your plate... but what I've always done since I was a little kid, whatever leftovers I had on my plate, I'd put away in the fridge and eat it the next day. Although, it's been quite a while that I've had leftovers since I learned to put less on my plate. :smiley:
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
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    Try to UNDERestimate what you're going to eat.

    My husband will eat off my plate if there's any left (to the point of being sick), so I put only small amounts on and almost never have leftovers.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    I agree with what everyone else has said, but wanted to share the epiphany that got me over the urge to "clean my plate".

    Surprisingly enough, it was a small quip in a reader's digest I read in a waiting room: "Better to let it go to waste, than to waist."

    For some reason, this hit me because I realized that either way I'm throwing the food out because my body doesn't need it and will only store it as fat (which I certainly don't need more of!). Better to just throw it directly into the garbage than to throw it out in my body.

    Your body is not a garbage can--it's okay to throw garbage in the garbage rather than into your body! :smile:
  • SergeantSausage
    SergeantSausage Posts: 1,673 Member
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  • Gska17
    Gska17 Posts: 752 Member
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    I too use a small plate like others have suggested. The entire portion on my plate it weighed & logged. If I can't finish it (happens sometimes) I'll put it away for later.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    I portion and weigh out my foods before I eat so there's really no reason not to finish it. Even when I go to a movie I split up my portion of the popcorn before I sit down and start munching. I do the same think when I go out to eat. I prelog most of my food. If I go to a BBQ or party where its an all you can eat type of thing I make a plate of exactly how many calories I'm looking to eat at that event and don't put any more food on my plate. I eat that and I'm done. If I know I'm gonna have a 1000 calorie burrito for lunch I even plan those calories into my meal plan for the day by having a late lunch around 2pm and then skipping dinner. There is no need to waste food. Either plan for those exact amount of calories or put the left overs in a tupperware before you start eating. That way you're not tempted to eat extra calories than what you planned for.
  • velveteen7845
    velveteen7845 Posts: 70 Member
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    Like others have said, I plan what I am going to eat and I weigh my food before eating and then I know that I need to finish everything on my plate to avoid being under my calorie goal.
  • darrensurrey
    darrensurrey Posts: 3,942 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Put less on your plate.

    Agreed. I don't like wasting food so I always clean my plate. I just put less food on it. Apart from at Chinese buffets. I put everything on it.
  • natboosh69
    natboosh69 Posts: 277 Member
    edited July 2015
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    Yeah same as others have said, I weigh and pre-log everything so I can finish my plate. I hate wasting food, plus you can't log properly if you don't know exactly how much you've eaten.
  • MamaBirdBoss
    MamaBirdBoss Posts: 1,516 Member
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    I eat on salad plates and bread plates. :) I also use consomme-sized bowls often.
  • khhregister
    khhregister Posts: 229 Member
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    I recently bought some extra nice salad plates, and I've been eating off of those instead of dinner plates. I weigh everything (or use cup measures and tablespoons), and I've noticed that the right amount of food for me usually just about fits on one of these small plates.
    Even before I started watching my weight, we used to laugh at the size of plates in restaurants. One of our favourite Italian restaurants brings out a "dinner" portion of pasta on a plate that is a little bigger than one of our serving platters at home (that we use to serve 4+ people).
  • WandaMM1
    WandaMM1 Posts: 132 Member
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    This is only a problem for me when eating out. At home, I use a combination of the smaller plate with weighed/measured food. When eating out, I have been successful in 'leaving food on my plate' using a couple of options when the portions are big:
    1. Ask the waitstaff to bring you a to go container right away. Remove the part you don't need to eat immediately. This way, you still get to "clean your plate"! =)
    2. If timing or what have you prevents the to go container option, I will usually physically separate the portion to be saved (or not eaten). For example, cut a burger or sandwich in half and push the excess part to the side. I have also "covered up" the part I don't want to eat with my napkin once I've eaten the part I intended to eat. If the excess portion isn't addressed, I'll pick at it until it is gone. Delicately covering it still allows for a to go container if you eat leftovers. Or, fully smoosh the food with the napkin so it is no longer visible and/or appealing to eat.
    I guess both of these work with the "out of site, out of mind" approach.
  • WandaMM1
    WandaMM1 Posts: 132 Member
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    LeslieB042812 wrote: »
    I agree with what everyone else has said, but wanted to share the epiphany that got me over the urge to "clean my plate".

    Surprisingly enough, it was a small quip in a reader's digest I read in a waiting room: "Better to let it go to waste, than to waist."

    For some reason, this hit me because I realized that either way I'm throwing the food out because my body doesn't need it and will only store it as fat (which I certainly don't need more of!). Better to just throw it directly into the garbage than to throw it out in my body.

    Your body is not a garbage can--it's okay to throw garbage in the garbage rather than into your body! :smile:

    ^^ Awesome!
  • kpkitten
    kpkitten Posts: 164 Member
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    LeslieB042812 wrote: »
    I agree with what everyone else has said, but wanted to share the epiphany that got me over the urge to "clean my plate".

    Surprisingly enough, it was a small quip in a reader's digest I read in a waiting room: "Better to let it go to waste, than to waist."

    For some reason, this hit me because I realized that either way I'm throwing the food out because my body doesn't need it and will only store it as fat (which I certainly don't need more of!). Better to just throw it directly into the garbage than to throw it out in my body.

    Your body is not a garbage can--it's okay to throw garbage in the garbage rather than into your body! :smile:

    Thank you so much for this! It's such a good way of thinking about it.
  • PeachyCarol
    PeachyCarol Posts: 8,029 Member
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    I use small plates, I weigh everything and I prelog. Most times, under these circumstances, I clean my plate.

    Sometimes, I don't finish my food. I've learned to eat slowly to let my fullness signal click in.

    IT'S OKAY NOT TO CLEAN YOUR PLATE, OP. I give you permission. :smiley:

    Your stomach feeling just comfortably satisfied is the signal to stop eating -- it's well before you're stuffed. The clean plate club ruined our hunger/satiety signals if our parents gave us outsized portions! I know my parents did. I've had to learn to get in touch with my hunger/satiety signals again.

    So, my advice to you is to be mindful of your mission, really. Give yourself permission not to finish your food.

    1. Take less to begin with, weighing, measuring, and logging your portion. Use a smaller plate to fool your eye.
    2. Take smaller bites
    3. Eat slowly
    4. Chew thoroughly, appreciating the different textures and the mouthfeel and the flavor of your food
    5. If you want more after you've finished eating, wait 20 minutes. If you're still hungry, have more. Chances are that you won't be hungry.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    Mr_Knight wrote: »
    Put less on your plate.

    Yes. And for those times when your eyes are bigger than your stomach, plastic wrap is a thing.
  • LeslieB042812
    LeslieB042812 Posts: 1,799 Member
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    kpkitten wrote: »
    LeslieB042812 wrote: »
    I agree with what everyone else has said, but wanted to share the epiphany that got me over the urge to "clean my plate".

    Surprisingly enough, it was a small quip in a reader's digest I read in a waiting room: "Better to let it go to waste, than to waist."

    For some reason, this hit me because I realized that either way I'm throwing the food out because my body doesn't need it and will only store it as fat (which I certainly don't need more of!). Better to just throw it directly into the garbage than to throw it out in my body.

    Your body is not a garbage can--it's okay to throw garbage in the garbage rather than into your body! :smile:

    Thank you so much for this! It's such a good way of thinking about it.

    Glad it helped. It's made a huge difference for me for those times when I either don't have an option on the serving size or accidentally over serve myself.
  • flamingblades
    flamingblades Posts: 311 Member
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    I have always heard "The clean plate club is a dangerous organization". I thought it was clever. I, too, grew up having to empty my plate or I would get scolded. BAD IDEA, FOLKS. Now, I just don't use dinner plates for my food. I have even kept a stash of small paper plates and bowls and I rarely use full sized dishes to eat from. You eat with your eyes, first. If you see a full, small plate of food, your brain is more likely to say "that's enough" after eating a small portion. Some people eat about 3/4 of their portion and store the rest. I sometimes throw it to the crows.

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