"Never finish your plate"

Adusenka
Adusenka Posts: 108 Member
edited September 26 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey guys, so I was wondering what you think about the whole concept of always leaving something on your plate. I know my parents taught me to always finish whole meal I got, and I know that playing with food and leaving certain parts of food can be sign of behavior of people with eating disorders.

So I want to ask, what's your opinion on this particular thing? Do you think it's a healthy way of altering eating habits? :)

Replies

  • Macacadopai
    Macacadopai Posts: 183 Member
    I honestly physically can't leave food on my plate :happy:
  • SarahJaneDeschamp
    SarahJaneDeschamp Posts: 359 Member
    thats a good question....the other day i was eating my dinner and id got to the point where i was full...but i finished it because id added the calories LOL.....not sure if it was a good thing or bad :(
  • chubbachub
    chubbachub Posts: 40 Member
    I think if you got to the point where you were full and then kept eating - then you should have left it. Over-eaters tend to be unable to recognise when they are full, they don't listen to their bodies. If you have allocated those calories then it doesn't mean you have to eat for the sake of eating. Just my two pence worth.
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
    If you're eating correct portions, then there is no reason to leave anything behind.
  • vicidoesstuff
    vicidoesstuff Posts: 214 Member
    I think it's a good tool to train yourself to recognise when you're full or satisfied. You should eat until you've satisfied your hunger, not necessarily until you're full to the point of not being able to eat another bite (unless that's a one off, i've been known to do that in restaurants and at christmas).

    Definitely leave something on your plate if you're full!

    I made a fairly large lunch yesterday and even though I'd added all the calories onto here beforehand, to save me time, I couldn't finish it all and had to chuck away half of it. Avoiding the guilt of eating too much balances out the guilt of having to throw it away.
  • Terri73
    Terri73 Posts: 238
    My parents always told us to clear our plates but saying that it was good home cooked proper nutritious dinners.
  • bossmodehan
    bossmodehan Posts: 210 Member
    I was always made to finish what was on my plate. now, i simply cannot leave stuff on my plate.
    portion control and eating off smaller dishes has helped me stay within calories etc. without that that feeling of needing to finish a massive serving.
    A have this great bowl that's round enough for soups, porridge etc, but also 'plate-y' enough for a less liquid meal. it's small but always nearly overflowing so it's psychologically and physically satisfying!
  • fitnessjch
    fitnessjch Posts: 449 Member
    I think just have proper portions in the first place.

    However, I also think that everyones different, so if it works for you to have bigger portions, and always leave something, then thats what works for you
  • Adusenka
    Adusenka Posts: 108 Member
    Thank you for all your replies :) I'm gonna think it's okay to stop eating when I feel full :)
  • NyxDominique
    NyxDominique Posts: 271 Member
    I was always taught to eat everything from my plate as well. Sometimes we couldn't leave the table until we finished eating everything on it. So if I over cook or over order a restruant I mentally can not leave the food to go to waste. I end up eating everything. Somestimes I feel like a bottomless pit.

    This is probably why I have gained the weight over the years.

    I have learned recently though, as everyone else has stated. Its all about planning ahead of time, and make proper portains. That way you can still eat everything on your plate. Many times that is all it takes for me to think "okay... I have eaten" and not be hungry for awhile.
  • davewdm
    davewdm Posts: 1
    I read somwhere, in some cycling magazine on how to balance your diet, that if you eat proportionally and carefully, but increase your excersie, and most importantly, your metabolic rate, you'll be able to consume more food, and as long as you've increased your metabolic rate, your body becomes more efficient at buring the calories and can actually burn these faster.
    It also claimed that to watch your food for 7 days a week, is somewhat painful, and as we know, difficult, but it recommended that on at least one day, eat the things that make you feel good: Chocolate, Steak, Cakes, Beer, Wine etc, again, based on your increased metabolic burn rate, you'll increase the weight loss o nthe following day as you'll burn this off faster.
    Of course, you must keep up the exercise in a cntrolled way, and get into that cardio-vascular "zone" and this will be OK.
    Must confess, never managed to meet the "metabolic brun rate criterior" but I guess it's good for some people!

    In response to the initial "never finsih your plate", well, i'd just say, have big plates, with less on it.
    My wife has large dinner plates, that have a large raised rim, a little bit like a bowl really, and the food is in the lower part of the plate.
    So its physcological that you have a big plate, but the portion is small!
    Works for us!
  • SarahJaneDeschamp
    SarahJaneDeschamp Posts: 359 Member
    I think if you got to the point where you were full and then kept eating - then you should have left it. Over-eaters tend to be unable to recognise when they are full, they don't listen to their bodies. If you have allocated those calories then it doesn't mean you have to eat for the sake of eating. Just my two pence worth.

    thank you i appreciate that :)
  • jkleman79
    jkleman79 Posts: 706 Member
    I read this a few months ago and actually checked it out for myself. There was a gentleman that was remodeling his home and wanted to keep the kitchen cabinets to the house since it was built in the early 1900's. When it was time to move in none of his dinner plates would fit in his cupboards. The size of the dinner plate has nearly doubled in size from then until now. So if you think about this then you should not be eating all of whats on your plate unless your plate is still 9 inches or less.

    Just an interesting tip I thought I would pass on. =0)
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    I don't think external measures are a good way to control your diet. I mean, it just depends how much is on your plate to start with. I was thankfully never taught to finish my food, so I have always been aware of my feeling full signals, and known when to stop eating. Listening to your body and what it is telling you is far more important than arbitrary rules.
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
    I measure all of my food so most times I eat everything. I use a small plate also. But there has been times that I've had to stop eating because I just couldn't eat anymore so I just put it away until later.
  • girlhealthy
    girlhealthy Posts: 2
    I, too, was raised to never leave food on my plate. So, in my opinion, if you are serving yourself, there is no reason to put food on your plate that you will not eat. Especially if you are a guest at someone elses home. It seems wasteful. However, when you are eating at a restaurant, to stay within a reasonable calorie range, leaving food on your plate is necessary. And because you are paying for the meal, there is nothing to feel guilty about.
  • Sezmo83
    Sezmo83 Posts: 331 Member
    If I stopped eating when I was no longer hungry (which is what I've heared to do) then I'd eat one or two bites of every meal and then throw the rest away because that's all it takes to stop me feeling hungry. Obviously that's nowhere near enough food to be healthy. I weigh my food and most of the time clear my plate. I've found that way I'm not eating until I'm stuffed but I'm also eating enough calories.

    Eating food someone else has prepared and dished up for me is the problem for me. If I don't eat past the "okay, no longer hungry stage" I'm going to leave a full meal but because I have to eat past that point every meal I can't tell when I should stop when the portions haven't been measured.
  • Poy_Ella
    Poy_Ella Posts: 23
    I used to have to finish everything on my plate but after my partner comparing me to a dog telling me I didn't know when I was full (I'd sit and complain about not being able to move) I try to listen to my body and if I'm full, I won't finish my dinner. The other half tends to eat the leftovers, haha!
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
    But that is healthy. I eat small amounts off food throughout the day. I can't eat more than about 4 bits of something without feeling stuffed, but an hour later I'm hungry again, so I eat again.
  • rakelros
    rakelros Posts: 67
    I always used to finish my plates. No matter how big. I just couldn´t deal with the conscience of throwing good food away.
    I fixed that at home by getting smaller plates. They´re even smaller then the plates that my grandma used.
    I piled them up with food, and that way I could finish everything off the plate, without feeling too full afterwards.

    These days I still use the same small plates, but I only fill them about 1/3 or 1/2 way up. I can´t manage larger meals anymore, and I always leave more than half on the plate if I do go to a restaurant.

    I tend to eat about 6 times a day. Very small meals each time.

    So my advice to you is: If you can exchange your plate for a smaller one, do it. It will help you with portion sizes in the future :)
  • jennmoore3
    jennmoore3 Posts: 1,013 Member
    bump
  • FairyMiss
    FairyMiss Posts: 1,812 Member
    grew up with that finish everything on your plate, and at home still tend to, not always though. Usually i do when fixing my plate my self which is most of the time because i know exactly what i want to put on there. If some one else fixes my plate , my mom being nice when something is wrong (liek when my knee was bad , or my back) well then i don't always. Or at family dinners or resturants when i have no control over what is on my plate, i have no problem with leaving food, after all as far as resterauts go hehe thats my lunch for tomorrow ,(at those prices sometime you want to get more than one meal out of it)
  • R_is_for_Rachel
    R_is_for_Rachel Posts: 381 Member
    was also told to eat everything off my plate as a child (think of the starving children in Africa!)
    so i've always felt i had to clear my plate
    until a couple years ago when i read the Paul McKenna book and since then will leave food when i feel full, in fact last night i left half my stir fry!
    i think if i hadn't read Paul McKenna, i would be a lot larger that what i am now
    i also feel better, as i don't leave the table feeling sick!
  • ejmcam
    ejmcam Posts: 533 Member
    I dont usuallt leave food on my plate, unless i'm at a restaurant and dont want to eat it all because of the calories! I control my portions before I put them on my plate, so I know what i can eat! No sense wasting!
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
    I honestly physically can't leave food on my plate :happy:

    me too. its mental for me. i find that if i use smaller plates, its easier to trick my brain into thinking i'm getting more so i feel satisfied with the healthy portions.
  • prov31ms
    prov31ms Posts: 62
    I too am a member of the clean plate club! These days, I only cook enough food for everyone in the family to have 1 serving, and I measure out my food. That way I can clean my plate without over-eating & there are no seconds to go back for! =0)
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    If I go out to eat, I always leave food. I'll usually get a to go box.

    At home or if I fix my own plate, my portions are small usually so I don't have to leave food on my plate.
  • appleofmyeye
    appleofmyeye Posts: 94
    I think it's just important to be mindful of your portion sizes and of when you are full. Sometimes that will mean you're part of the happy-plate club, and sometimes it'll mean you're packing up some leftovers. At home, we measure or at least carefully eyeball all of our portions to make sure we aren't serving ourselves more than what's reasonable, and we also use our salad plates (~8") as dinner plates, so it looks like we're eating a nice big meal (and really, we are!). I'm usually able to finish my food, but I've found that sometimes, if we've cooked something really rich and heavy, I'm satisfied with just half--then, it just means that I can log half the calories for dinner that night and the other half for a delicious lunch the next day! I have a hard time wasting food, but if I can save enough for another meal, I'm less likely to overeat.

    Sidenote: when I was in kindergarten, our teacher had a rule that we were supposed to clean our plates at lunchtime in the cafeteria. If we had clean plates every day for a week, we got to sit with her at what she called the "pig table." At the time, this was some serious motivation, because we all wanted to be little piggies! (Oh, how things change!) I always wanted to sit at the pig table, but every single week with one meal or another the stupid cafeteria would serve this gross, creamy, mayonnaise-y coleslaw that I just could not bring myself to eat. My teacher made a deal with me that if I ate one bite of the slaw that week, and had clean plates every day except for the slaw, that I could sit at the pig table. Well, I made it, and it was kind of cool, but the slaw just about made me gag. It was kinda of traumatic--I still can't eat that stuff! Just wanted to share that. :)
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