I did something yesterday that I almost never do. I had leftover spaghetti in the fridge and Tuesday night, I ate a little of it cold out of the pot. It took me right back to when I did this all the time and I got so worried I'd slide back into old bad habits so Iast night when I got home from work, I took that pot of spaghetti and tossed it into the garbage.

My therapist had said that it was fine to throw away food because she said it wasn't wasteful, but smart. In my case, eating it rather than throwing it away was like treating my body as though it was a garbage pail. I thought of that yesterday and decided the spaghetti belonged in the garbage pail under my sink, and not in my belly. Otherwise, I'd be tossing it away regardless if it went into the garbage or into me.

I felt such a sense of relief that the food was now no longer calling me. We all have trigger foods, and mine is Pasta. I know now that I can't have it sitting in the fridge. I decided that next time, if the BF doesn't finish it at dinner, any leftovers go right into the trash.

Good for you.

Learning it ok to have leftovers, that it is ok to throw out said leftovers, or even to not keep leftovers was real progress for me.

Totally get it I never save anything that's a trigger for me. If I get a treat I eat what I want and then I MAKE- (yes sometimes there are kicks and screams), myself throw it away. So, if I want a treat I get it and then it's goners.

@@gowalking

Whoa..You are not a garbage pail. I'm also of the generation that you never waste food. It's absolutely ok to get rid of it. . Getting rid of the things that trigger and cause more hunger helps. Way to be on top of things.

Congratulations!! I hope as I get further down my journey that I will be able to do the same!!

Guess I have to work on that "voice" inside of me from when I was a kid and my mom would say if I didn't finish my plate "You don't know how lucky you are to have food because there are kids in China that are starving."

Plus coming from an Italian family where they are always pushing food on you and would be insulted if you didn't eat.

I have been getting better with turning down food that isn't quite healthy, but I do have trouble throwing away food.

There was a period in my childhood that we were practically homeless and food was scares and we went hungry so yes I have a very hard time not eating stuff left in the fridge

I understand food calling to you and mindless eating because it's there. Good for you for tossing it out.

I can either throw it out or tape it to my hips.

Keeping it real, sister. I've started to actually prepare less than before, so throwing extra away is happening less. This is huge for me, since I've never learned to cook "small" my whole life.

I will add, my dog is not a garbage pail either. Poor guy was getting all the excess p rotein from my plate once I felt my soft stop signal. I've lost ten pounds in about five weeks. Problem is, he is up ten pounds from last summer. Routine vet visit weigh in. I was shocked. He's a big dog but that's not good for him. So I abruptly stopped giving him the extras. Now he gets an essential oil head massage each evening instead. Healthier for both of us.

I agree that throwing out good food is a new habit I had to learn. Years of saving. Or shoveling it into me ... Really mindlessly ate leftovers straight out of the fridge in the old days.

Now...Even when I try a new dish, if I don't "love" it ... It gets tossed.

I am missing my faithful Labrador though. Cats don't like much of what I eat except a little bit of chicken.

I'm learning how to handle leftovers differently, too. Really working hard to not turn hubby and son into garbage pails. Tonight, we needed to go out to eat. Plan A (chili) got thwarted when the place was too busy. Plan B got thwarted when the restaurant was closed. We ended up at Fuddruckers. Ughh. I ordered a grilled chicken salad. It has hard boiled egg, grilled chicken and a little bacon. Well, I hardly ate any of the protein - didn't touch the lettuce. Got a carry out container - put the protein in it and left all the lettuce there. It felt weird, but oh well!! I do think I'll eat the leftovers. Maybe.

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I can look at a chocolate cake and not think twice about eating it. When my husband brought home a bag of pretzels I had ask him to throw them out. I was obsessed with eating just one, then two, by the time I ate the third one I felt myself slipping into my old ways. I learned very quickly that it is okay to pitch trigger food and not have it in the house.