Five years ago I ate half a hamburger….

That is a beautiful story @Annie42019 and I bet your half burger & fries tasted and felt far better than the full thing would have. You know how the first bite is always the best? Then Diminishing Marginal Utility kicks in... I bet with pretty much every meal I've ever eaten, the last bites were not enjoyable at all, quite the opposite.

I was taught as a child to never leave any food unfinished... but I never learned how to properly size my portions to begin with, and once I got older and was responsible for making my own food, I never figured out when to stop! Pre-planning my meals in MFP is teaching me to weigh and measure everything, and I'm starting to get a feel for what I actually need to be eating (and how much of it). For my main meal today I had a 5-oz steak and asparagus, and man, every bite was amazing. Such a revelation.

@lacylucy1935

I also look at it and think am I really hungry, is it worth it, no one will take it away. I can come back later...just paying attention to your feeling...

This is insightful, thank you. No one will take it away. You remind me of a story I read a few years ago:

[...] Whatever he looked at, whatever he thought about, it all seemed to him bright, joyous, and happy. He thought about his farming, and thought that it was all going well, that the furnishing of his house was all the heart could desire—there was enough of everything and all of it good; he looked at his wife, and she seemed to him lovely, kind, and gentle. He was delighted by the glow in the east, and the young grass, and his squeaking chaise, and the kite. . . .

I have held on to this thought in the years since, and made it my motto in many areas of my life: There is enough of everything, and all of it good. Now I'm learning to apply this to food as well.

Have a great day everyone!