Clearing your plate after you're full...

natboosh69

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

I eat on salad plates and bread plates. I also use consomme-sized bowls often.

khhregister

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

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

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!

^^ Awesome!

kpkitten

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!

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

PeachyCarol

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.

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

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

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!

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

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.

Machka9

Mr_Knight wrote: »

Put less on your plate.

This ^^

Machka9

strong_curves wrote: »

I clean my plate every night... but I also weigh/measure everything that goes on my plate.

And this too! I know exactly how many calories are on my plate, and I know I can eat all of them.

chatnel

It is very hard to do, I struggle at lunchtime as that is my allocated eating time so I feel like I have to fill up to get me through the afternoon at work. Cannot leave anything on my plate - in case I get hungry later.

If you are open to alternative approaches, paul mckenna's think yourself thin was very helpful. Hypno for eating slower, stopping when full etc.

StacyJ8888

Bento boxes, smaller plates, kiddie forks and spoons if you need to slow down. I weigh everything..EVERYTHING and log it..I keep a small chrome book near the kitchen so I can either log while I am weighing or feel a great deal of guilt if I try to walk past it without logging and have my cell phone nearby to scan in new bar codes. I have been incorporating a spring mix salad during lunch and/or dinner and the semi bitter greens slow me right down(kills the need more sweet/salty craving)..giving those 'full' signals time to get from my stomach to my brain.

LiftAllThePizzas

ani_terzyan wrote: »

One of my main struggles during this weight loss journey has been putting my fork down when I've had enough to eat. It's really difficult for me to leave food on my plate even when I'm WAY past the point of being full. I know it's because of a combination of two things - growing up with the idea that we always had to clear our plates (not letting food go to waste) and the fact that I always just want to eat as much as possible, my brain is never satisfied even when my belly is painfully full. I'm really not sure how to stop - any tips, tricks or advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Log what is going to fit your goals. Measure as you put on your plate. Eat everything on your plate. The end.