Wasting Food

keithcw_the_first
keithcw_the_first Posts: 382 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Anyone struggle with the notion that not finishing your plate, or passing on free food (lunch leftovers at the office, dinner leftovers at home) is wasting it? It's a hard one for me to wrap my mind around - either throwing food out or having to throw it out through inaction.
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Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
    Don't put it there in the first place.
  • CassidyScaglione
    CassidyScaglione Posts: 673 Member
    So stick it the freezer. You don't have to eat it instantaneously
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    Better to throw it out than to waste it in a way that will affect my health!
  • Queenmunchy
    Queenmunchy Posts: 3,380 Member
    I either cook in order to split into an equal number of servings to put into the freezer for other days, or I pack or re-purpose my leftovers so that I can get another meal out of them. I don't like to throw food away.

    Work meals aren't mine, so I just ignore them.
  • SIMAKRA
    SIMAKRA Posts: 97 Member
    Someone wrote earlier: what is better, throwing it in thr trash or throwing it in the loo after passing through your system and adding fat? :)
  • ForeverSunshine09
    ForeverSunshine09 Posts: 966 Member
    Leftovers usually go to the fridge for a later date. Since I cook 90% of the time and plan the menu I rarely put more on my plate than I can eat.
  • sanfromny
    sanfromny Posts: 770 Member
    Lunch leftovers at work I either stick in the fridge for lunch the next day or bring it home. Someone will eat it there! Dinner leftovers become lunch or dinner the next day. The one thing I like with my job is that if there is a tremendous amount of leftovers after a meeting they donate it to a domestic violence shelter a few miles away. Might want to look into that.
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
    I think there are always going to be people at work who will help eat the leftovers, if not then they need to go. At home putting extra portions in the freezer is a good habit to start.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    Nope. Never.

    I'd rather "waste" food than end up overweight and diabetic like so many of my relatives. The monetary and psychological costs of diabetes--meds, dialysis, amputation, etc. outweigh the cost of a few bites of food that I throw out.
  • Diana_GettingFit
    Diana_GettingFit Posts: 458 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Nope. Never.

    I'd rather "waste" food than end up overweight and diabetic like so many of my relatives. The monetary and psychological costs of diabetes--meds, dialysis, amputation, etc. outweigh the cost of a few bites of food that I throw out.

    This. As a diabetic who has my disease under control I'm not going to do anything to risk going backwards. I'll happily throw unwanted food in the bin. As far as free food goes, it's not my responsibility to worry about if it gets wasted or not. If I have calories to spare and I fancy something then I'll indulge a little. Otherwise I'll happily leave it alone.
  • treehopper1987
    treehopper1987 Posts: 505 Member
    Try to cook to a decent portion size so that you can split into a certain amount of days/meals, or stick it in the freezer for later.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Eating food in excess of my calorie needs is equally wasteful.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    edited March 2016
    I totally understand and HATE to waste food, HATE it when people do it too. That being said you don't have to waste it, you have many options, throwing it away is wasteful and unneccessary. Now that being said as well, sometimes you can't save things like when bread gets soggy but you can at least make an effort with the stuff you can save. I usually plan my portions so I don't waste, give it to someone who will eat it, stick it in the freezer or put it in the fridge and use it with another recipe the next day or after. You can make some surprisingly good meals by throwing leftovers together.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    I had a mind set about having to clean my plate and having to use every food leftover from meals, preventing any wasting of food. I read a book on how to lose weight written in the 60's and one of the first 'excersizes' the writer gave to the readers was to throw a perfectly good plate of food on a paper plate in the garbage. You know, it gave me a freedom somehow.
    I learned that when I was full I was under no obligation to keep eating. As an adult I get to make the sole choices in what I eat or don't eat.
    This and her other 'excersizes' enabled me to lose 75 pounds and keep it off for 5 years. She didn't include any diet advice in her book at all. Unfortunately out of print now.
  • Mentali
    Mentali Posts: 352 Member
    edited March 2016
    I have struggled with it but I'm getting better and better at it. Part of the weight loss struggle of those of us that were poor as children - my family was so focused on getting the most calories for a buck that now that I'm food secure I have to deprogram all the things that say "you need at least 5 plates if it's all-you-can-eat" and "if you're full, finish your food anyway" and "if someone offers you free food, you better take it".

    Don't really have any advice. I just have to convince myself rationally and try to ignore the feelings that I'm doing something wrong until they subside.
  • tomteboda
    tomteboda Posts: 2,171 Member
    There is a miraculous invention called the refrigerator.
  • becky10rp
    becky10rp Posts: 573 Member
    Nope. I think you get that from your parents.....my Sister and I were always picky eaters - my Mom would serve dinner 'assembly' style - you walk yourself to the stove - dish out what you want. Eat what you can - no guilt if you can't eat it. Same rule applies in my house now (especially since my Daughter has an eating disorder) - take what you want - eat what you can - no pressure, no guilt.
  • ASKyle
    ASKyle Posts: 1,475 Member
    Passing on free food can be hard, but it's a false economy.
  • TheLittleRedHairedGirl
    TheLittleRedHairedGirl Posts: 154 Member
    As someone who grew up with the 'you eat what I put in front of you or you don't leave the table' environment, I think I get where you're coming from.

    Here's what I do. I meal prep, I vacuum seal portion sizes, I weigh and measure my food. I put on my plate what I know I've planned for and am going to eat. I don't leave it open-ended, there are rarely left overs from dinner, if there are, I'm not tempted because I'm usually too full, and I can plan on eating it for the next day's lunch.

    With left-over food at work find out if you can start donating left-over food to a food pantry or homeless shelter. If not, then avoid the kitchen.

    It's not your responsibility to eat everything anymore. When you're tempted run down a mental list as to why you're on this journey to begin with and will eating that left over food help you to succeed?
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
    I have had to employ some tricks to circumvent some serious "wasting food" guilt issues. As kids we were definitely told to clear the plate. I was also a fat kid. Huh funny how that works?

    Anyway, you come up with ways around it. Always serve yourself a small portion to begin you can always take more if you need but you're less likely to have excess on a plate you don't want to waste.
    At work, even if the food is offered to you, it belongs to someone else. Begin to use this a lot. If you didn't directly buy it you don't own it, therefor should drop any feelings of obligation to have some.

    Im a nanny and my boss often offers me parts of treats they buy or receive, such as taking a slice of a cake or offering me a few muffins. I don't even have to say no I just don't take it. It's not mine.

    I have started leaving one bite on my plate. I'm almost always satisfied, I just like to taste it all. So denying myself just one bite is helping me let go of this compulsion to finish the plate. It's not waste, it's got hot sauce and my germs all over it - not going back in the pot and surely doesn't get a whole container in the fridge.
  • Lindsay375
    Lindsay375 Posts: 49 Member
    I always felt that I HAD to get "value" out of free lunches at work. A co-worker said to me " its costing you something in the long run", since then I find it much easier to say no thank you, or to eat only what fits within my food budget. Monetary value isn't the only consideration.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    There was one year where a person at our work for some reason every friday was able to get everything and I mean EVERYTHING from the bakery part of panera bread and she would bring it in for us. OH GOD THE HUMANITY. Breads, Pastries, Cookies, Brownies the dieting HORROR. as I said I hate wasting so instead of that I would freeze it or take it to friends and family for a little treat.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Freezing stuff seems to reduce or change its flavour and texture though. Having a dog, a goat and some chickens helps to deal with the leftovers.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    Gamliela wrote: »
    Freezing stuff seems to reduce or change its flavour and texture though. Having a dog, a goat and some chickens helps to deal with the leftovers.

    I was gonna say a dog is great for this, just gotta be careful what you feed them.
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    No chocolate, chicken bones or raisens for the doggies!
  • 2snakeswoman
    2snakeswoman Posts: 655 Member
    I only put on my plate what I can eat for that meal, no more, no less. I package leftovers for future meals; they're great to grab and go.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    My husband is that way. He can be already full, but he'll force himself to eat the last 1/4 cup of beans or 1/2 a potato so that it doesn't go to waste. He's getting better about it, slowly, because being pre-diabetic has forced him to reconsider what and how he eats. In our area we have an excellent 'green waste' composting program that takes food scraps along with the garden waste, so it's not like it's not getting recycled if it doesn't get eaten.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited March 2016
    Its called the sunk cost fallacy. Once you prepared the food you can't get a refund so it is a sunk cost. If your choices are only eat it or toss it, then the choice shouldn't be decided based on the sunk cost. The choice should be based on if you are going to benefit from eating it or tossing it.

    If you are hungry and enjoy the food and have the calories, then eat it for maximum benefit. If you don't have the calories, or even just don't like the food, then toss it for maximum benefit. Eating the food when you really don't want to doesn't maximize your benefit in fact, it may cost you even more (more time spent trying to lose weight).

    However, with food there are sometimes extra options like freezing/fridge or giving it to another person who does want to eat it.

    So, while I hate wasting food, I focus on reducing the amount I prepare to the proper amount, not on making sure my plate is clean when I finish. For example, I'd rather serve my kids 2 small bowls of cereal than 1 large bowl and toss half of it.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I don't waste food that much. I don't feel responsible for eating food someone else bought just because it is there. I don't feel bad if it is thrown away. I would take free food home if it is tasty to share with my family or save for later. Dh will bring home food from work sometimes to share with dd or me because he thinks we might enjoy it.

    I plan meals carefully. I prelog my food for the day. I measure my portion and put it on my plate so I eat all of it.
    I cook or buy less food or save food for later. I have dinner leftovers for lunch a lot. I'm not wasting a lot of food personally.
    I was not made to clean my plate as a kid through guilt or force so I don't have that baggage.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    edited March 2016
    OP I understand what you're saying. It's the "there's starving kids in Africa" mentality that those of us of a certain vintage had drilled into our heads. I have a hard time moving away from that mentality too, but I'm getting better. I find that weekly meal planning is very helpful. I've also moved away from one big grocery shop once a month, to one smaller shopping trip each week. At meal time, weight and measure out your plate so that you don't take too much.

    ETA: I also feel less guilty since our city enacted new laws that ALL food scraps must go into the compost. At least I feel like the plants are getting yummy food instead of the landfill :lol:

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