Defeating that desire to not waste food...

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impromark
impromark Posts: 119 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I've been successful on my weight loss journey so far this year, and MFP has been a fantastic tool. I'm now into my last ten pounds, and am fighting not to plateau. I'll get there, I really will!

But with the end in sight, one thing about me has not changed, and that's the desire to not waste food. Even with the best intentions, there are times when there's more cooked than planned, or there's less eaten than expected. Now, I was raised with the mantra "take what you want, but eat what you take", which to me has expanded to "MAKE what you want, but eat what you make". In other words, leftovers are eaten no matter what, and anything thrown out is a waste of money - I'm no Rockefeller, and am frugal by nature.

As such, my instinct is to finish whatever I have in front of me. I see leftovers on a plate, I want to finish them - even on other people's plates in the restaurant. My wife's leftover cheerios and the little bit of milk she always leaves in the bowl, or the fatty bits she cuts off her steak - can't waste 'em. In the fridge for too long? Eat before it starts moving on its own. Something's expired? Better in my tummy than the trash.

While this is not debilitating to me (yet?), I can see where it can detract from eating completely healthily. How does one avoid the temptation to break diet for the sake of not wasting food? I feel like I'm getting to the point so close to my goal that even a little divergence from my calorie plan and exercise can add a week onto my roadmap. While I still feel I can reach my goal, I want to hear from other kindred spirits and what you've done to avoid this peculiar temptation. What do you think?

Mark
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Replies

  • konaswimming
    konaswimming Posts: 3
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    How about getting a compost bin? Put your leftovers in there and then use the compost in the spring to plant a vegetable garden.
  • impromark
    impromark Posts: 119 Member
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    Got one, and it's quite full actually. :P The way my wife prepares food leaves a lot of extra bits, but I can accept that. It's all the edible stuff that DOESN'T go into the bin that's the problem...
  • Safiyandi
    Safiyandi Posts: 151
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    I bring one of those lunch-sized tupperware boxes with me when I eat out. When I get my food, I look at what's a reasonable dinner portion - and put the rest in the box, in my purse or under my seat. Out of sight, out of mind!


    e: Meat trimmings and other scraps go to the dog. If you don't have one I have no suggestions for that, haha.
  • septembergrrl
    septembergrrl Posts: 168 Member
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    Oh, tough one! I think maybe you need to decide that giving your body something it doesn't need is "wasting" food just as thoroughly as if you tossed it into the trash. You're creating fat you'll just want to burn off, and it's not wasteful to avoid creating that fat.

    Also, to play armchair psychologist for a minute -- it sounds like a pretty strong compulsion, if it extends to soggy Cheerios and leftover coleslaw on other people's plates. If this is new and it's because your diet makes you a little hungry, that's one thing. But if you've just always been this way -- and it sounds that way -- you might want to think about talking to a therapist or reading about compulsions to figure out what's behind it.

    Good luck.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
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    Portion it out onto your plate and then put leftovers into tupperware containers for lunches or freeze. If you are at a restaraunt portion it out before hand and ask for a to go box and you'll get like 3 or 4 more meals.

    Portion portion portion and you'll never have left overs on your plate.
  • danofthedead1979
    danofthedead1979 Posts: 362 Member
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    i was raised the same. 'Waste not, want not'. I was terrible with finishing off what was on other peoples plates, always picking. No doubt i will probably do the same at Christmas this year. But, at the end of the day, you have to think of it like this: if you are nicely full up, putting it in your mouth is still a waste, except YOU'RE now carrying around the waste, instead of the bin.
  • CountryGirl8542
    CountryGirl8542 Posts: 449 Member
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    freeze stuff.... or give it away to your friends and family... I used to be like that too and then someone said "don't treat your body like a garbage can" ... that hit home pretty hard for some reason!
  • justlistening
    justlistening Posts: 249 Member
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    Get a dog. Ours will eat anything- we call ours the Vanilla vac.
  • Pattinan
    Pattinan Posts: 42 Member
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    I have the same issue! It's crazy! I am sorry to say that I offer no solution. The only thing I have found that helps is to plan the leftovers for my lunch the following day or to ask my husband to store them away into containers so that I do not have to touch it again.
  • sssgilber
    sssgilber Posts: 90 Member
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    The only thing that works for me is to throw leftovers in the trash immediately then take the trash outside to the dumpster. Once I've redefined it in my mind as trash, not food, I can forget about it. It's easier for me to do this in the morning when my willpower is stronger.
  • Katla49
    Katla49 Posts: 10,385 Member
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    i was raised the same. 'Waste not, want not'. I was terrible with finishing off what was on other peoples plates, always picking. No doubt i will probably do the same at Christmas this year. But, at the end of the day, you have to think of it like this: if you are nicely full up, putting it in your mouth is still a waste, except YOU'RE now carrying around the waste, instead of the bin.

    I love this.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    I've tried to cook so there arent any leftovers but if there are, even from plates, we put them into a container and in the fridge. If its not worth it and not spiced, I give it to my dog or the green bin.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
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    I try to portion out right away and put left overs in the fridge for lunch or freezer if not using soon. I leave my fridge top self left as the leftover zone. I have a teenage son so I rarely have anything spoil in there.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    No idea how people can eat other's leftover food off their plate or bowl. Gross! Either toss it right away or put it in a container in the freezer for later. Eat fat scraps off someone elses plate is just wrong.
  • glowbugg
    glowbugg Posts: 12
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    How does one avoid the temptation to break diet for the sake of not wasting food?

    I have to look at it in terms of what I will actually be wasting. If I have to spend another hour or more exercising to burn off the extra calories then what was the point of eating them in the first place? To fuel an extra workout or two? Now I have to waste time on extra exercise when I have other stuff I would rather be doing.

    Of course, the temptation of wanting to eat more just because I like to eat or because something looks good is a whole different problem.
  • sunsetzen
    sunsetzen Posts: 268 Member
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    No idea how people can eat other's leftover food off their plate or bowl. Gross! Either toss it right away or put it in a container in the freezer for later. Eat fat scraps off someone elses plate is just wrong.

    The person who didnt eat it gets it the next day...
  • cupcakes_and_cardio
    cupcakes_and_cardio Posts: 369 Member
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    I have the same problem as you; I eat the rest even if I'm full. If I eat out at a restaurant, I take the leftovers home and make SURE to eat them. I hate it. I want to break this as well because I was raised like this, too. So...bump!

    Edited to say: I don't eat leftovers off of someone else's plate though, pretty gross ;)
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    Get a dog. Problem solved. :drinker:
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I just put my leftovers in the fridge...usually eat them within the next couple of days or so for lunch or something. If there is a lot I'll generally freeze it. I don't waste food. Why is having leftover somehow the devil and a "bad habit"...weird.
  • Siansonea
    Siansonea Posts: 917 Member
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    I honestly think that this is one of the ways our minds play tricks on us. We really want to finish that yummy food, and the mind rationalizes it by telling us we don't want to "waste" it, even though the cash value of the leftovers is a mere pittance. Our minds will always try to sabotage our weight loss, our reptile brains just want the rush of those extra calories, and will use whatever tricks it has at its disposal to coax us into overindulging. Tell your amygdala who's boss—throw it out. :glasses:

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