Empty Plate Syndrome.

99Tinkerbell

I so belong to this club and was raised this way. I t was hard on our parents and I understand that they worked hard to feed us. I have 3 siblings and when I was little my mom stayed home with us and my Dad worked three jobs. We always had to clean our plates,although I'm sure my mom had appropriate portions. But the idea still sticks with you and so just because you make the portions large enough for two, you still feel you have to finish. I would even clean my kids plates off I hated wasting food. I still struggle with this but I either have to put in trash right away or we have 6 dogs that love to eat the scraps. So I suggest get a dog they'll love the scraps.

Adrenaline_Queen

I could nto leave the table until the plate was cleaned!!! Also I never feel full... Apparently the hormone that travels to my brain, telling it I am full needs a little kick start... Just trying to find out what it is called and if there are any foods I cant eat to kick start it again... It would be nice just for once to feel full before I finished... But I know I can do this with all the support on this site xx

Whitneylol

Why don't you just put the amount of food on your plate that you feel comfortable eating, that way you can clear you plate and not waste food? win win!

Thing is, people who are raised like this (clean plate club) usually are trained to put more on your plate than you should really be eating. It takes some learning- so using smaller plates is sometimes the easiest thing to do!

Blackthorne99

i am the same i hate wasting food so i now use a smaller plate, smaller than a dinner plate but a little bigger than a side plate. I clear my plate and feel satisfied, i actually feel better as im not so stuffed after my dinner. Hope that helps.x

One of the things that helped me with this was realizing that the food was "wasted" whether I ate it or not, if it ended up in rolls of fat around my waist. Anything beyond what I need is a waste regardless of what I do with it. Now, if it's something that works well as a leftover, I'm all for it, but many things don't.

sweebeesmom

My husband does this.. with my plate too!! we've moved to the smaller plates, and I portion out exactly how much we should each have. It's helped tremendously.. of course, it doesn't help at buffets/bbqs/etc... but in most situations it works out great.

lemonadem

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels compelled to finish a meal. Empty your plate no matter what. It usually comes hand in hand with losing the ability to know when you're full.

Today for the first time in... I don't even know how long, I left my plate with food on it. To make sure I didn't go back to it a minute later, I tipped it into the bin. SUCCESS!!!!!

It's an NSV I hadn't even thought about but i feel triumphant.

Congrats on the NSV!! What a great accomplishment, something you should be proud of!!

jennajava

the house i grew up in YOU CLEANED YOUR PLATE!! so now i serve myself half of what i normally would. usually clear the plate, but i'm hesitant to go for seconds, and if i do want seconds, well, i serve my self a little less then i did before.

same here! i am so NOT going to do that to my kids. definitely teaches unhealthy eating habits. both of my parents are overweight, obviously.

jennajava

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels compelled to finish a meal. Empty your plate no matter what. It usually comes hand in hand with losing the ability to know when you're full.

Today for the first time in... I don't even know how long, I left my plate with food on it. To make sure I didn't go back to it a minute later, I tipped it into the bin. SUCCESS!!!!!

It's an NSV I hadn't even thought about but i feel triumphant.

Congrats on the NSV!! What a great accomplishment, something you should be proud of!!

word!

ddeckard46

Yup. I was always pushed to be in the 'Clean plate club' as my parents called it. Even now I really hate to throw food away, it really is a waste. I've just learned to use much smaller plates instead.

We did the exact same thing in our house. We only use "desert" sized plates now. I can't tell you the last time I put food on one of my "dinner" plates. It's been good for us to feel like we are eating a "full" meal, but actually consuming much less. I also measure everything according to the portion size listed on the product. Often, it's more that I think I'm going to get. HA! Anything that's left over gets measured out into individual containers - so that if I want to grab some for lunch the next day, I know I have the correct portion size and how much I'm consuming!

prettyfitchick

I really understand your syndrome when I was kid My mom wanted us to part of The Clean Plate Club for every meal

Great NSV

dlaplume2

Good for you. It's all about breaking those bad habits we have had for so long.


Keep up the good work.

LaurieEReid

I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels compelled to finish a meal. Empty your plate no matter what. It usually comes hand in hand with losing the ability to know when you're full.

Today for the first time in... I don't even know how long, I left my plate with food on it. To make sure I didn't go back to it a minute later, I tipped it into the bin. SUCCESS!!!!!

It's an NSV I hadn't even thought about but i feel triumphant.

Whatever strategy you use to deal with this going forward...it is a huge psychological accomplishment to be able to get over it now! Congratulations on breaking this habit and mindset. YAY YOU!

Gerald_King

Way to go

zoombie_bear

portion control is best and you'll be able to finish your plate guilt free

Aussie4870

since i changed my lifestyle a year ago i never renewed my membership to the Clean Your Plate Club...

i cant help but think that one of the reasons i was such an overeater was that i never knew when i was full...but only knew that when a meal was served, no matter how big i would eat the whole plate...

i bought new plates for myself and i will often use cereal bowls to serve myself a meal in...even two serves on the smaller plates is not even close to the portions of food that i was eating the past...

i do not make my kids finish their plates and serve them regular portion sizes on smaller plates as well...

we have a rule, if you dont want to eat it, then dont...