"You have to eat everything on your plate..."

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JskC1893
JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
The 'problem' I keep having is I weigh/measure my food and often times don't eat it all.

Its not a problem really, I can just give myself less food/get more if I want more. The question I have is how do other people handle this in regards to logging food?

Are you someone who is obsessive about accuracy? Or just guess-timate your portions actually consumed?

For example I just measured out 3/4 cup of spaghetti squash and a 1/4 cup of sauce and did not eat all of it, but I logged all of it.

Just curious how other people deal with this :) A friend of mine says she just forces herself to eat it all. Shes logging it and keep at her calories and eats it even if she is full.
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Replies

  • themanda04
    themanda04 Posts: 60 Member
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    A friend of mine says she just forces herself to eat it all. Shes logging it and keep at her calories and eats it even if she is full.

    well that's just the silliest thing i've ever heard. i mean, c'mon...

    i would do what you do and log the whole thing. i think as long as you don't way overestimate the number of cals you take in you'll be fine.
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    A friend of mine says she just forces herself to eat it all. Shes logging it and keep at her calories and eats it even if she is full.

    well that's just the silliest thing i've ever heard. i mean, c'mon...

    i would do what you do and log the whole thing. i think as long as you don't way overestimate the number of cals you take in you'll be fine.

    That's how I feel. She's pretty concerned with the whole 'starvation mode/not eating enough'. Shes SUPER accurate. I just can't be like that. However, I do get concerned that I am not eating ENOUGH, but I always feel full, so I'll play it by ear for now and see over time how I feel/results.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    underestimating is bad too...

    For me I just started weighing my food more regularly...I put less on my plate then I expect to eat and log it. Then if I get more I add it in.

    For example last night I had 4oz of steak, 4 oz potatoes, 7 oz veggies...

    Ate it all (it was yummy) then went back and ate more steak...1.5 oz (no veggies left I ate them all)...easy peazy.

    Now if you think you are hungrier then you are measure what is left over and subtract it...
  • michaelmadonna
    michaelmadonna Posts: 105 Member
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    I'm sorry I read that your title in my mother's voice .. though there was usually a reward at the end .. "to get dessert!"
  • Determined518
    Determined518 Posts: 138 Member
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    I guess-timate to the best of my ability. I even add about 200 calories a day just in case I under guess because it is not realistic for me to measure every single thing precisely.

    I take it as a good thing when I eat a little less and get full.

    I also wouldn't force myself to eat if I were full. Maybe your friend can do smaller portion sizes?
  • MzPix
    MzPix Posts: 177 Member
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    Hey there!
    I do this all the time. I cover my plate, put it in the refrigerator, and call it "free food." Then I can eat it anytime I want and not have to count the calories for it because they have already been added in. I usually end up eating it as a snack the same day, or maybe as lunch the next day, or I might save it for a "free" meal-between-meals on a really high calorie burning day that week. It rarely goes to waste though.
  • Determined518
    Determined518 Posts: 138 Member
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    I'm sorry I read that your title in my mother's voice .. though there was usually a reward at the end .. "to get dessert!"


    Lol. I heard my dad saying "Eat the dang peas girl!"
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    I'm sorry I read that your title in my mother's voice .. though there was usually a reward at the end .. "to get dessert!"

    Fortunately my parents did not torture me with that!! I had one relative who babysat me for a weekend and made me eat everything I put on my plate, and I definitely overscooped. I was probably around 6 years old. haha, one of those memories....
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    Hey there!
    I do this all the time. I cover my plate, put it in the refrigerator, and call it "free food." Then I can eat it anytime I want and not have to count the calories for it because they have already been added in. I usually end up eating it as a snack the same day, or maybe as lunch the next day, or I might save it for a "free" meal-between-meals on a really high calorie burning day that week. It rarely goes to waste though.

    Wow what an interesting idea!! I never would have thought of that. I always put it on my boyfriends desk and it magically becomes a cleaned plate. I like your idea better.
  • DaniettaF
    DaniettaF Posts: 212 Member
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    Hey there!
    I do this all the time. I cover my plate, put it in the refrigerator, and call it "free food." Then I can eat it anytime I want and not have to count the calories for it because they have already been added in. I usually end up eating it as a snack the same day, or maybe as lunch the next day, or I might save it for a "free" meal-between-meals on a really high calorie burning day that week. It rarely goes to waste though.

    Such a good idea, although I rarely have leftovers :P
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    underestimating is bad too...

    For me I just started weighing my food more regularly...I put less on my plate then I expect to eat and log it. Then if I get more I add it in.

    For example last night I had 4oz of steak, 4 oz potatoes, 7 oz veggies...

    Ate it all (it was yummy) then went back and ate more steak...1.5 oz (no veggies left I ate them all)...easy peazy.

    Now if you think you are hungrier then you are measure what is left over and subtract it...

    Your final statement is smart. I never do it, I just can never be bothered. That however, is a pretty good solution.
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
    Options
    Hey there!
    I do this all the time. I cover my plate, put it in the refrigerator, and call it "free food." Then I can eat it anytime I want and not have to count the calories for it because they have already been added in. I usually end up eating it as a snack the same day, or maybe as lunch the next day, or I might save it for a "free" meal-between-meals on a really high calorie burning day that week. It rarely goes to waste though.

    Such a good idea, although I rarely have leftovers :P

    I know right?? I feel like she should get an award for that idea. Perfect answer, I think.
  • michaelmadonna
    michaelmadonna Posts: 105 Member
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    I'm sorry I read that your title in my mother's voice .. though there was usually a reward at the end .. "to get dessert!"

    Fortunately my parents did not torture me with that!! I had one relative who babysat me for a weekend and made me eat everything I put on my plate, and I definitely overscooped. I was probably around 6 years old. haha, one of those memories....

    Actually, at the time it wasn't torture, I didn't get to where I was leaving food on my plate.
  • crazylilrae
    crazylilrae Posts: 29 Member
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    If you create a meal in which you measure all the ingredients to come up with a count for the entire meal, I would say save what you don't finish and snack on it later in the day as you get hungrier. The calories won't change if you eat the whole amount in one sitting, or in 2-3.
  • rosemaryhon
    rosemaryhon Posts: 507 Member
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    The 'problem' I keep having is I weigh/measure my food and often times don't eat it all.

    Its not a problem really, I can just give myself less food/get more if I want more. The question I have is how do other people handle this in regards to logging food?

    Are you someone who is obsessive about accuracy? Or just guess-timate your portions actually consumed?

    For example I just measured out 3/4 cup of spaghetti squash and a 1/4 cup of sauce and did not eat all of it, but I logged all of it.

    Just curious how other people deal with this :) A friend of mine says she just forces herself to eat it all. Shes logging it and keep at her calories and eats it even if she is full.


    I log after I eat.
  • sabified
    sabified Posts: 1,051 Member
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    underestimating is bad too...

    For me I just started weighing my food more regularly...I put less on my plate then I expect to eat and log it. Then if I get more I add it in.

    For example last night I had 4oz of steak, 4 oz potatoes, 7 oz veggies...

    Ate it all (it was yummy) then went back and ate more steak...1.5 oz (no veggies left I ate them all)...easy peazy.

    Now if you think you are hungrier then you are measure what is left over and subtract it...

    I think this is good... if you underestimate your cals, how do you know if you're hitting your nutritional needs? It's easier to take a little and then get yourself more if you want it.

    I also like the idea of putting food in the fridge as "free food" (if you think you'd actually eat it). Then you don't have to worry abt measuring out how much you didn't eat and subtracting and all that.
  • AlongCame_Molly
    AlongCame_Molly Posts: 2,835 Member
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    The 'problem' I keep having is I weigh/measure my food and often times don't eat it all.

    Its not a problem really, I can just give myself less food/get more if I want more. The question I have is how do other people handle this in regards to logging food?

    Are you someone who is obsessive about accuracy? Or just guess-timate your portions actually consumed?

    For example I just measured out 3/4 cup of spaghetti squash and a 1/4 cup of sauce and did not eat all of it, but I logged all of it.

    Just curious how other people deal with this :) A friend of mine says she just forces herself to eat it all. Shes logging it and keep at her calories and eats it even if she is full.

    I do this, too. I figure the few times I don't eat everything I log will in part make up for the times I eat a small amount of something un-loggable (taste of sauce while I'm cooking, ONE french fry off my son's plate). I suppose it all evens out in the end. I lost almost thirty pounds this way, so it must work, right? :wink:
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    I weigh everything so the leftover amount is easily subtracted if I don't finish it. Normally this does not happen as I tend to put less on my plate thus forcing myself to have to go and get more if I am still hungry. Occasionally when 'putting it back' isn't an option I will save it for later and use it as 'free food'.

    One of the biggest hurdles that I had to get over when I started down this path was getting out of the mindset that I HAD to eat everything - and clean everyone else's plates for them as well. It was easily the most destructive habit I had and much of the reason I got as big as I did.
  • Ldbg289
    Ldbg289 Posts: 236 Member
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    I don't force myself to eat the entire thing if I'm no longer hungry. I put the remaining food in a container and save it for later, if there is a considerable about of food but if it's just a little bit leftover I just ditch it. I had school officials when I was a kid that forced me to eat when I wasn't hungry because they felt I was too small and felt my parents weren't feeding me correctly at home which was an incorrect assumption. As a result, even years later, if I say I don't want something and it's put on my plate, I have been known to throw a fit and demand it's taken off my plate or I will not eat anything on that plate. hahaha sounds stupid I know but....I was impacted by the school officials forcing me to eat when I wasn't hungry. Side note: As soon as I notified my mother of what was going on with the school and lunch she went in and told them they had to stop doing that because she was afraid it would cause food issues, I guess she was right to be afraid of that.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    What's a leftover?

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