Defeating that desire to not waste food...
impromark
Posts: 119 Member
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
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
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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.0
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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...0
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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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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!0
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Get a dog. Ours will eat anything- we call ours the Vanilla vac.0
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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.0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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...0 -
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
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Get a dog. Problem solved. :drinker:0
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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.0
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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:0
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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.
Totally agree with this!
Before I started using MFP, it used to drive me CRAZY when I'd dine out with other women and most of them would leave half (or more) of their food untouched on the plate. It did not make me want to eat the food for them. But it made me think "WOW what a waste of money!" Honestly it still would probably drive me crazy, but I dine out less often and I'm now (for better or worse) more interested in what is on my own plate than anyone else's.
For me I think it comes from being poor and struggling financially on and off throughout my adult life. As a kid and teen I never had to worry about going hungry, but from college age onward there have been periods when I was definitely struggling to make ends meet and the idea of ordering a $10 restaurant salad and leaving some of the grilled chicken breast chunks uneaten was just mind-boggling to me (and still sort of is, even though I no longer eat poultry hehe).
Sometimes it is better to order small portions, a la carte, etc. The other day I went to IHOP with my dad and ordered 2 pancakes. That was not on the menu. 4 pancakes is the "serving" they offer. I did not want four, I wanted two. It's not always the best value, but I prefer that to having a huge portion I'm not going to eat or that would be cumbersome and difficult to transport home.
Mostly, though, I prioritize my eating. Would it bug me to leave shrimp or half an enchilada on my plate? Yes. So I don't. But I regularly leave 2/3 of my Mexican beans and rice uneaten, thinking of calories and fat. I try to choose what I really want and/or need and eat that, leaving the rest, if it's not convenient or feasible to save the leftovers.
Good luck to you Mark!0 -
I have this issue too...but in trying to eradicate it, I end up throwing away more than I want. Ugh. I have to learn how to cook smaller.
To those of you giving your leftovers to your dog, PLEASE be careful. I'm in the pet industry (nutrition sector) and you wouldn't believe how many people have called me because they used to feed scraps and their dogs ended up with all sorts of serious and expensive health issues. If it's fatty, has cooked bones, or has seasoning (even salt), your dog doesn't need it any more than you do. And always check out this list of hazardous foods for dogs: http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/foods-are-hazardous-dogs0 -
Reading these stories, I feel very fortunate. I grew up poor, but I'll throw away food so fast it'll make your head spin. I bought a dozen eggs a while back, boiled up half of them, thought I'd eat them…and I didn't. In the trash they went. I won't sit there and agonize over the fact that I wasted two dollars on eggs I didn't eat. Oh well. Some flies in a landfill somewhere will get a nice snack. :laugh:0
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Eat slower, recognize when you've had enough (when you sigh is a good sign), and ask for a to-go box before you demolish what's on your plate when you're eating out. We don't eat "family style" at my house. Everything is portioned out (mine is weighed), and anything left over is put away. Mostly because my dogs are counter surfers, but it helps! When we go somewhere that has dessert (birthday party, family gathering...), I don't even get my own plate anymore. I know my daughter won't usually finish hers, so I'll finish it. That way I've had "some", but not a whole helping, and I don't feel deprived.0
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