How many people grew up with...?

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mmstgr
mmstgr Posts: 578 Member
in Food and Nutrition
"You have to finish everything on your plate."

I think this is one reason why there are so many overweight people in North America.
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  • Justkeepswimmin
    Justkeepswimmin Posts: 777 Member
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    I didn't, but I did grow up with, if you want seconds, you need to finish what's on your plate...not that that's more helpful..just forced you to eat the meat and veggies...not just the carbs.

    If it's 'buffet' style or 'family' style serving I still believe in eating everything on your plate, because you put it there, and you should learn not to take too much and waste the food later.

    We are a BIG 'leftovers' family, I hate waste. If you can't finish it have it for lunch tomorrow, just don't you dare throw it away.
  • Nanadena
    Nanadena Posts: 739 Member
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    Me, me me!!!!! My parents were kids in the depression and knew what it wa like to eat stuff that we would never touch. Even so, I am now a very picky eater.
  • StaceKaiman
    StaceKaiman Posts: 49
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    Oh yeah I remember sitting at the table for an hour after everyone else was done because my mom said I had to finish everything before I could go. I notice now my husband will tell me while we are eating dinner and he can see me struggling to finish that if I am full stop eating, but it was drilled into my head to finish everything on my plate. Whether it's related to me being overweight or not I won't be doing that with my kids.
  • vulrich93
    vulrich93 Posts: 99
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    I did, when I was overweight. Now I just learned not to take as much :)
  • megz4987
    megz4987 Posts: 1,008 Member
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    Oh yeah I remember sitting at the table for an hour after everyone else was done because my mom said I had to finish everything before I could go. I notice now my husband will tell me while we are eating dinner and he can see me struggling to finish that if I am full stop eating, but it was drilled into my head to finish everything on my plate. Whether it's related to me being overweight or not I won't be doing that with my kids.

    What she said!
    I sat at the table until bed time.
  • ChitownFoodie
    ChitownFoodie Posts: 1,562 Member
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    I grew up with....."if you don't like it, then starve!"
  • cocobeenie
    cocobeenie Posts: 98
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    No, I always just did it. I still do haha. Just gotta make sure you don't have too much on your plate to begin with.
  • ladybg81
    ladybg81 Posts: 1,553 Member
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    I didn't but my son's daycare calls it a "happy plate" and I really have a problem with it because I don't want him eating past satisfaction.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    Yes! I think you're on to something..

    " Clean your plate, or no desert."
  • Katie3784
    Katie3784 Posts: 543
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    I did not, but my older siblings did. I guess by the time they had me, they didn't really care. I wouldn't eat my dinner, but then I'd go have two oatmeal cream pies. My parents gave me free reign of the kitchen by the time I was 5 or 6, so I had food and weight issues up until about age 15 when I learned how to balance food and exercise. I never make my daughter clean her plate, but I do make her finish her veggies everynight, and have at least 5 or 6 bites of chicken. She always finishes whatever carbs we are having on her own(she's her mommy's daughter), but I have learned to wait until she has finished her veggies to give her some rice or pasta. Otherwise, she will fill up on carbs and not want anything else.
  • anastasiawildflower
    anastasiawildflower Posts: 197 Member
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    It started off that way. Then it was more of a negotiation tactic and I had to eat a certain number of bites and I always ate one extra to please my mother. Even so, there was always a level of guilt hanging over my head. I guess you could say, in a way my mother was a hoarder. Now I feel bad if I don't eat everything, but mostly because our funds don't stretch that far. My husband and I now have learned to share meals when we go out and make just enough at home..
  • nerdyandilikeit
    nerdyandilikeit Posts: 2,185 Member
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    At my dad's I did, but at my mom's I would eat as much as was available because if I didn't eat my share, one of the other 5 kids would eat it and I wouldn't have anything to eat if I were hungry later. It was more out of worrying about getting hungry after dinner that pushed me to overeat long after I didn't need to worry anymore. It's a hard habit to break.
  • MarshallLuke
    MarshallLuke Posts: 177 Member
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    "Eat all of your food. Don't you know there are children starving in Africa?!"
    So gorging yourself on extra buttery mashed potatoes, fried chicken and sugary carrots was really an act of humanity. Plus you got desert afterward. Charity and a sugary chocolate confection, it is a win win scenario!
  • melibea
    melibea Posts: 228
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    I did grow up with that! I still eat everything on my plate, but I've learned to put less food in my plate ;)
  • ninjakitty419
    ninjakitty419 Posts: 349 Member
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    No, I always just did it. I still do haha. Just gotta make sure you don't have too much on your plate to begin with.

    This. I think that if you put it there, you should eat it, if not then, at another meal. So this is a good time to teach kids, and ourselves, not to dish up more than they are able and willing to eat.
    Yes! I think you're on to something..

    " Clean your plate, or no desert."

    I hate this. That teaches children that veggies (or whatever they have left that they dont want to eat) is something unpleasant and dessert is the reward for doing it. It also teaches them that they may need to eat past the point of being comfortably full in and again, they will be rewarded. If dessert was a given and not a reward, they would stop caring so much about it and it would not be this magnificant thing. Let's not teach our kids that desserts are wonderful prizes.
  • Autumn1206
    Autumn1206 Posts: 126
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    it is definitely a hard habit to break, but I have to agree with some of the other posters. I have just learned to put less food on my plate so that i don't feel guilty. For a while, I used smaller plates so I wouldn't feel compelled to fill every space of the plate with food. Funny how that stuff sticks with you as adults.

    As to the comment/question of maybe that's why so many americans are obese, I was actually talking with my DH today about that, and I have to say I think it is the expense of being healthy. I am kind of p-o'ed because I need a new pair of running shoes and I feel like they shouldn't cost $100 + every time I need a pair of shoes. I can barely even run in place without my shins and calves hurting and I know it's because my kicks are worn out. I think eating healthy is cheaper, but you have to plan ahead and make lists and menus for yourself in advance. It's the cost of the gear that kills me.
  • hbrekkaas
    hbrekkaas Posts: 268 Member
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    I was one of the lucky ones that was never told that. But thats because my mom was forced to sit at the table and finish her peas as a child and its something shes never forgotten and she still can't eat canned peas.

    We don't tell our kids to finish what is on their plates either. We do tell them they have to eat X number of bites before they can have seconds though. My oldest would live off of salad/veggies if we let her, so before she can have more salad she has to have a few bits of chicken/steak/pork chop etc. My middle child would live off of meat, so she has to have a few bites of fruit (no way shes eating a veggies, not for lack of us trying) before she gets more meat.

    We do have a few rules, the kids eat what we cook. I try and make meals everyone likes, but with 5 people its impossible to please everyone all the time. We also have set meal/snack times and if they don't eat their meal, they don't eat again until snack time.
  • MegJo
    MegJo Posts: 398 Member
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    YEP - my Dad actually use to tap my plate with his fork if I still had food on there!
  • kappyblu
    kappyblu Posts: 654 Member
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    I remember being told to finish everything on my plate, but that usually wasn't a problem for me because I loved everything my mother cooked! Except that dreaded Spanish rice with chicken. She called it horsefeathers. Ugh!!! To this day, I cannot STAND any kind of Spanish rice dish. In a Mexican restaurant, I tell them leave off the rice and give me more beans! lol

    When I was a new mother, I used to make my son clean his plate and it was always a battle. I learned that it just doesn't work and can have lasting repercussions. So with my younger children, I try not to do that. I put some of everything we are having. I also tell them they need to take at least one bite of everything. We call this a "no, thank you bite." Something they learned in preschool.

    Dessert is trickier. I try not to make dessert every night. Sometimes dessert can be a piece of fruit or even a small bowl of cereal. Only every once in a while is it something like ice cream or brownies. Usually it's the fruit, or applesauce, or cereal.

    When we go to a buffet restaurant (we hardly ever do this anymore), I tell them that if they put it on their plate they have to at least take one bite. Hence, the "no, thank you" bite.

    All in all, I think we do ok now. There are no battles at the dinner table. I prefer the harmony to the chaos anyday. :bigsmile:
  • JosieMomGramma
    JosieMomGramma Posts: 727 Member
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    Yes I did grow up with parents that insisted we eat everything served on our plates. Even if we hated it, like squash. For a long time
    I thought I had to eat everything on my plate even if I was full. Not a good idea! I made my children try all foods but if after a bite & they did not like it ; I did not make them eat it.

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