Throwing Food Away...

Jrh2os

As a baby boomer with parents who lived through the depression (for you under 40's that's the Great Depression, not the kind you can take meds for), I grew up with, "clean your plate", "don't waste food", and, "if you finish your dinner, you can have dessert" (i.e. if you eat a lot, we'll let you have even more but this time with lots of fat and sugar in it). I also heard the plight of starving children in third world countries who were somehow affected by whether I ate everything.

I've now discovered that one of the secrets to my being successful at losing weight sometimes involves...(drum roll)....being able to throw food away (gasps from the crowd, third world children recoil in horror). Sometimes this involves being very passive-agressive about it. Carefully boxing up half of a restaurant sandwich when I'm no longer hungry after eating the first half, then discovering it three days later, dried out and disgusting, and throwing it away. Sometimes it's very active. Asking for a very small tray of chips at Baja Fresh, ending up with a large one, eating the 10 chips I'm allowing myself and, if I don't have my marathon running husband with me to finish them off, throwing the rest away. Or throwing away the candy that a well meaning person gave to me for my birthday that isn't getting eaten and is sitting there calling to me. I also frequently take extra bread off of my sandwiches (then mash it up on my plate so I'm not tempted to munch on it). The other day, a friend I hadn't seen in a while came by and left an eclair on my desk from my favorite place (I couldn't be mad, she meant well). I REALLY wanted some, so I cut it in half, managed to foist one half off on a colleague, then took a bite of the other half. It was good but not as good as I remembered and certainly not worth the amount of exercise it would take to work it off, so I threw the rest away.

I even throw perfectly good "healthy food" away. Yesterday I had my 19 month old granddaughter over and I fixed her finger food for lunch, beets, chicken, cut up cheese, peanut butter on little crackers and banana slices, (she's a little kid, she eats weird stuff). Even at her tender age, she has a much better sense of when she has had enough than I do. All of a sudden after eating enthusiastically, she suddenly stopped and pushed her bowl away. I looked at the leftover food, it looked back at me and said, "now we've got you.." and I (who had already eaten lunch) thought, "This is how I got here" and I marched over and threw it out. I win.

For those of you who grew up in a different environment, this may seem obvious, but for me, it was a huge mental shift to see that it's better to throw something away than to eat it just to be eating it.

jarrettd

I soooooo know where you are coming from! I was raised exactly the same way. It was a moment of enlightenment when I realized nothing dire would happen if I didn't clean my plate. I especially had the habit of nibbling through whatever the kids didn't finish (once again an issue for me, since we adopted 2 of our grandchildren). I can remember my mother, who NEVER sat down to eat, admonishing me not to, pointing at her extra-large apple shape saying "How do you think I got this way?"

shoshi68

Oh, you have hit the nail on the head for me with this one. I had a parent who grew up in the Depression, and have a lot of trouble discarding food. I plan our meals meticulously, but, stuff happens, and I throw out a bit of food every week. I am learning, trying really, really hard not to waste, and am making progress.
A big one for me was the candy-as-gift thing . . . I have felt in the past obligated to eat what was given to me as a gift . . . Now, I re-gift it to folks at work. I know, not entirely cool, because I thus pass the problem on, but it is a start. I appreciate your contribution!

loriannmartin

yup... hated when my kids were little and wouldnt finish something... food waste ... echos of my parents voices saying saME THING....still trying to come to terms with it lol...

Ree_Chatelain

I'm not exactly a baby boomer but grew up wtih the same mentality from my parents. They never used the starving children in 3rd world countries to get me to eat but everything else is spot on. I gained some of my weight by "finishing" the bits the kids left on their plates. So I know exactly what you are talking about on that one.

Since there is still a part of me that's anti-throw food away, my dog has put on a few pounds. I have no problem giving their left overs to him and sometimes when my will power is feeling low, i'll have to make a mad dash to his bowl to get rid of it before i give in. lol

Oh and on the candy and treats. I had to throw away some perfectly good easter candy cause that bunny was calling my name.

Congrats on your accomplishment.

fitnesspirateninja

I've now discovered that one of the secrets to my being successful at losing weight sometimes involves...(drum roll)....being able to throw food away (gasps from the crowd, third world children recoil in horror).

This cracked me up. I grew up the same way and it's extremely difficult for me to waste food. Thanks for posting and brightening up my day!

tmarie2715

I hear junk calling, too. I usually compost the food. At least you can feel good about where it is going in some small way...

suzycreamcheese

A big one for me was the candy-as-gift thing . . . I have felt in the past obligated to eat what was given to me as a gift . . . Now, I re-gift it to folks at work. I know, not entirely cool, because I thus pass the problem on, but it is a start. I appreciate your contribution!

I think thats fine and you shouldnt look at is as passing a problem on, because they might have no problem in just having one or two.

im terrible for always wanting to finish my plate, but im at least getting better at leaving what i dont want, and putting it in the fridge for later, or giving it to the dog )

TourThePast

When I started reading your OP, I was going to reply by saying that it's stupid to throw stuff away, and it would be far better to only buy what you need, but after reading the examples you gave, find that in those cases, I can only agree with you.

perrytyra

I have this problem too. But here is another way to look at it that might also help. That food is wasted whether you eat it or not. If you eat more calories than you need, it is wasted, AND making you bigger. If you throw it out, it is only wasted.

This is also an eye opener for us to plan ahead so we can eat less, and feel good about not wasting food. It is still going to happen from time to time. Especially when it is beyond our control(other people giving it to us).

I am trying to keep myself from going to the store more than once a week. I also need to make a list. I sometimes buy things I already have, or forget stuff I think I have. The fridge is packed, and I can't find stuff. Then it expires.

Also, when I do end up going out to eat with my youngest, I order less than I need. If it is fast food, I try to only order one thing. Then, eating my daughter's leftovers is not as big a deal. For example. I might only order one small hamburger at a fast food restaurant. Then I wont feel so bad if I drink the rest of my daughter's chocolate milk, or eat her last nugget. I also always order water to drink.

catcrazy

Yep, know exactly what you mean...we are programmed and have programmed our kids to over eat with this "finish it off if you want pud" Even as young babies we try tempting them to finish it...remember the aeroplane noise to get the last spoonful in? I'm guilty of doing that.

No more! I'm now likely to not quite do enough food because I HATE HATE HATE waste (those pictures of starving kids in 3rd world countries still haunt me!) If I haven't done enough to fill them they can always have a piece of toast later. Don't think I will ever be able to comfortably throw food away but if I do less then hopefully there will be less waste...if not I chuck it out for the foxes, it saves them ripping open my bin bags!

tacticalhippie

My grandparents raised me... with that mentality and the 3rd world country kids thing too.
We did have dogs on our farm, so they got a lot of scraps.

I once told them that if they kids needed the food so bad, that we could just send them my portions.
I was an uber picky eater, so they used it a lot with me to try to eat foods I didn't like.

They also made me play outside all the time.
So I didn't gain until I was a sedentary teenager who hated to waste food, since I didn't have a dog when I moved to the states.

savvynurse

I have to agree with this thinking! It's been my downfall all my life. About 8 its ago I had gastric bypass and part of my failure was this exact same thinking! I'm not THAT big of a sweets eater but I do like my food. Since starting this ( and having a shrinking family! That empty nest syndrome sucks) I've learned to cook less and with cooking healthier I able to eat more. So in the long run it's been a win win situation. I do miss big dinners with my kids though

milaxx

Yep. like if I'm in a rush there's a salad I can get from the local pizza place that is surprisingly good and if I only use half the dressing they give, well within my eating plan. The problem is the butter garlic roll they send it with. Delicious and dripping with butter. I tell them not to send it but they sometimes forget. In the trash it goes.
Like you if I can give it away good. I've even giving stuff to the cats, but if not, sorry into the trash it goes.

NeuroticVirgo

Well I'm under 40, but I grew up with a similar mentality in my family. We didn't have money to be wasting by throwing away a bunch of left overs. So it was always the same lines about finishing your plate. I also got stuck with the "Bang for your buck" mentality when going out to eat.

I still can't bring myself to go to a fine dining restaurant that serves small portions (well probably correct portions! lol), no matter how pretty it is. I can hardly go out to eat anymore because when we used to go, it was always buffet places. Yep...$8...and you eat 10 days worth of food "to get your moneys worth". *sigh* No wonder I got fat.

I still have a hard time when I go out to eat. But I'm getting better about it at home. I don't finish my plate if I'm not hungry. Depending on the amount of left overs, I do put them in the fridge for the next day. But if I buy something (like say a doughnut, muffin etc), while I'm out, and I feel full before its gone, instead of choking it down, I just throw it away. It still bothers me (like omg I just threw away 1 dollar and 20 cents ! ), but that moment passes and I feel better that i didn't force myself to eat it in the long run.

So I totally agree with you. Throwing food away can really be a first step in recovery. lol

ImperfektAngel

my dog gets all my left overs lol

SweetTooth68

Yep - I had to sit at the table staring at my cold food there for hours because it wasn't finished yet. I was a stubborn child!

This has been hard for me too - couldn't bear to throw anything away.

Husband bought me back a pastry the other day - not even tempted and so not worth the calories, but in the past I would have eaten it to not waste it, even though I wouldn't really enjoy it. This time I let it go a bit stale to feel better about it, and then tossed it away! Victory!

Valtishia

I grew up in a household where you had to finish your plate, even when you weren't the one that filled it in the first place. I am now out of that mentality, I stop when I am full. Luckily though, food doesn't go to waste around here cause my husband will gladly finish my plate after he is done with his lol