I've been struggling with always HAVING to clear my plate with every meal. I don't know what it is, but I hate seeing food go to waste. I guess celebrities and their commercials about starving children in Africa are to blame. What do you do to avoid eating everything on your plate?

I don't always have access to weigh my food, especially when eating out. This makes it very easy to think "just one more bite" which becomes one bite too many.

I've heard of people asking for to-go boxes as soon as they receive their meal. What else?

I guess the right answer is "just shut your trap and stop eating."

I only put HALF of what I think I can eat on my plate. Sometimes I will go back for "seconds" and then it's only a bite or two of the things I liked the most. Most of the time the half portion is more than enough. I also have a rule that once my plate is clean I wait at least 5 minutes before going for more. Usually I find that I'm content, not stuffed. And that's where I want to be. When we eat out, I only order if my daughter or husband orders something I can't have or don't like. We don't eat out often, and my daughter and I have very similar tastes in food. I usually let her order an adult meal, and take a few bites from her plate. She is 12, and most foods on kids menus don't really appeal to her. She won't eat breaded food, and hates hot dogs that are not all beef. So she usually orders grilled chicken, or Pasta with grilled chicken or beef strips. I will eat a few bites of her Protein, and sometimes will order a side of Beans, or veggies. That's more than I can finish. I have also learned that most places will do the meat ala carte. That saves me money, and keeps me from wasting the side dishes.

My husband and I share a lot but I'm the queen of a la carte!!! It's wonderful, isn't it?

My poor husband can't gain weight if his life depended on it! You'd think cleaning my plate would help but nope. He weighs before bed and he'll be up like 5 pounds then in morning those 5 pounds are gone! Haha! How I wish I had that problem!

I give my extras when I'm full to my dog (if it is safe for him) or my fiance.. he is 155lbs soaking wet lol.

LOL - so you DO understand how remarkable this was!!!! I knew someone would see what a big deal it was.....greatness, well, I'm not sure about that, but it was a "wow" moment!!! I'm sorry you weren't there to hear it first hand, I thought maybe I'd told it at our Saturday meeting!!! Oh well.....I'll repeat it, I'm sure!

I'm going to make this one of my NSV -- to throw out perfectly fine food and not look back. I couldn't have done that -- I would have been feeding it to the dogs or something on the place (surely the raccoons would have liked that, right?).

It's been enough for now that I'm okay with leaving a bite or two on the plate and then handing it over to my older cat if it's something he really likes to finish off. Since moving to more solid food I've been eating more and more fish and he loves it.

I remember being in the kitchen one night and couldn't eat more than 2-3 bites of salmon. I didn't want to put it back in the fridge so I fed it to Alex. It was a little unsettling watching him eat that and realizing that my cat can now eat more food than me.

I've always cleaned my plate. I don't remember anyone saying anything about "starving kids in China (I think it was more Ethiopia for my generation). I don't remember my parents ever getting upset (or needing to) about a plate with stuff still on it. It's just something that I've always done & not sure I could change.

I'm still eating whatever is on my plate (with the exception of going out to eat). We already had smaller plates & bowls on hand (that weren't getting much use) so that was handy. I track everything I eat & before I do I usually already have it planned out on my tracker (making sure that I have enough Protein in there and seeing if anything else needs tweeking). When I go out I figure out how much of my plate I should/could eat & how much should be left to box up. I wait till I'm done before asking for the box. One time that I was a little unsure was when I got an appetizer for dinner of muscles. The plate was HUGE & they didn't seem like a great thing to take home. I ate what I wanted & then had the guys at my table finish them off for me.

My grandma (98 lbs soaking wet) taught me the starving kids in China thing. I still remember not wanting to finish dinner one night and told her to send it to those kids because I didn't want it. Lol

Years later when we decided to adopt people asked why China? I said I was going to go get one of those starving kids over there my grandma told me about! And she was starving, 11 lbs at 13 months!!! The really sad thing is the Chinese people who came up and felt my fat arms!

Food doesn't go to waste in our house, we have a dog lol. She gets all the leftovers. I also eat off of a saucer plate because there's no point in having such tiny portions on a huge plate. At 9 months post op I've gotten used to not being able to finish all my food. The thing that I noticed is once I'm satified food no longer taste good, so I just stop eating and have zero desire to eat more.

Put less on the plate.

I'm going to make this one of my NSV -- to throw out perfectly fine food and not look back. I couldn't have done that -- I would have been feeding it to the dogs or something on the place (surely the raccoons would have liked that, right?).

It's been enough for now that I'm okay with leaving a bite or two on the plate and then handing it over to my older cat if it's something he really likes to finish off. Since moving to more solid food I've been eating more and more fish and he loves it.

I remember being in the kitchen one night and couldn't eat more than 2-3 bites of salmon. I didn't want to put it back in the fridge so I fed it to Alex. It was a little unsettling watching him eat that and realizing that my cat can now eat more food than me.

Firefly - It is VERY liberating. Other than seeing my collarbone for the first time in years, this was probably the most exciting NSV I've had!!! Who would have ever guessed throwing perfectly good pizza away would feel so darn good!!!!!!?????

... throwing perfectly good pizza away ...

I think I'm going to need therapy after reading that so many times today!

I think I'm going to need therapy after reading that so many times today!

Maybe we can get a small group together and have a moment of silence, then talk about it!!!

I have that same problem & for me it comes from many yrs of my moma or family member saying "u better eat everything on that plate & u not getting up until then"...So we were forced 2 eat it ALL! Our brains are sponges' date=' so what was put in us..stays in us & I have done the same thing 2 my son's PRE-surgery...now I tell them if their full put the plate away. After all, I'm here due 2 YEARS of over eating. Getting a smaller plate is much more beneficial. I dont have a way 2 measure my food either, so I went to the 1 store & got paper plates (the cake size) & it works. We have 2 play tricks on our own minds so 2 speak. Good luck...u CAN do this[/quote']

Ditto here...don'get up until you are finished.

I am SO with you. I had lapband surgery four years ago and have a revision to sleeve scheduled for tomorrow. I was very successful with my lapband' date=' but my body started rejecting it. I have found that I have to put a very small portion on my plate, because I am going to clean my plate, period. I know that I can always go back for seconds. Understanding that I cannot leave anything on my plate has been key. Cleaning your plate was something that was ingrained in me as a young child.[/quote']

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow. I had the lapband 5 years ago and I was not successful with it at all.

I am now working with my insurance to get the revision sleeve surgery because I think it would be a good decision for me now.

I'd love to pick your brain a little when you're feeling better.

-Kara

Thank you so much for all of your responses!

I remember when I was in kindergarten, or maybe first grade, the entire class sat around a table in the cafeteria with our teacher. She said "first person who finishes everything on their plate is the leader for the day!" The leader (in kindergarten) meant that you were the first person in line who led us to the classroom. Very serious business. I was first to each everything. Including the corn, which I hated. I even drank all the milk in the carton and crushed it up to prove that I had indeed cleared EVERYTHING off my plate. Yea, I was leader for the day, but that led to years of clearing plates and obesity.

I'm only three months post op so I'm trying to get the hang of it. Usually, I'm pretty good at stopping when I feel full but sometimes I just have to have ONE LAST BITE. It's all trial and error. Sometimes it goes down fine, and others, not so much. The learning process continues.

I use salad forks and small salad plates at home, and that usually works out fine since I can put it back in the fridge and not look at it again. Restaurants are a different story. Like someone said, appetizers at restaurants don't give the healthiest option. It's always fried calamari or fried chicken wings, etc. If I have to, (meaning I'm not in the position to share with people, like with my boss, or coworkers) I'll get a chicken sandwich and eat only the chicken. No bun, no tomato, no fries.

Like I said, it usually works, but sometimes, I just HAVE TO have one last bite.

I have no problems throwing stuff out of the fridge. Even if its two day old chicken, I'll throw it out because I know I won't eat it (I'm getting sick of constantly eating chicken as a protein) and it serves no purpose just sitting there.

Thanks again for all of your responses and suggestions. Keep em' coming!

I have the same problem, but more when I go out. Have to remind myself that throwing away the food is NOT a bad thing. In the past I would have eaten it all and worn it around. If I eat a little and toss the rest, I spent the same amount and I'm healthier with the rest in the trash.

Of course I try to split a meal, order an appetizer, or ask for a smaller portion when possible, but if not, the trash is the right place for it!