I've kind of realized over this holiday season that 'not wasting' food might have really contributed to my weight over the years. My dad grew up in the Depression, so he always said 'waste not, want not' and was really big on finishing your plate, not throwing things out etc. I have always been conscious as well, reusing leftovers etc and making sure to not let fruits and vegetables rot before they were eaten. But I've realized that it also extends to my (picky) kids' plates - I really hate to see whole plates of food go into the trash, barely touched.. and plates of christmas goodies sitting on the counter going stale. I find myself having a few bites of my kids' dinner before throwing out the remainder, just so it doesn't look so wasteful - even though I'm already satisfied with what I ate. Or having a cookie off the plate that is not being touched...

Anyone else find this is an issue for them?

The best advice I have heard is this: Your body is not a trash can!

If my son doesn't finish his plate, it gets wrapped and put in the fridge for later (if it's something he will eat). Goodies get taken to work and shared.

Yes, I HATE wasting too. As Juliana77 mentioned, my son rarely finishes his plate. In the past I would add what he didn't eat to my plate and finish it off - it's always been easiest and not wasteful. Happy to say, I don't do that anymore. Tupperware and storage bags work wonders.

My parents had the "clean your plate" mentality too. And I remember when I was younger watching my mother in the kitchen sucking the little remaining meat off the bone of my steak, chicken or pork chop. But she did it because she ate the leftovers before they were actually considered leftovers. Know what I mean? And I picked up that habit too when I got older and just gained and gained. I hate leftovers because I know I won't eat them and they will just go in the garbage later. Since I started my WL journey I became very consious of what I order out and make at home. Just making enough for one healthy meal that I will eat all of. Otherwise I'll eat it all in one sitting. Being a recovering binge eater this is very much a must.

For me I think the thought of wasting food and knowing I don't eat left overs gave me "permission" to overeat in the past. I don't have that issue anymore. In fact, I will purposely throw food out now. Once I went into binge mode, ordered a ton of food from a chinese food place but thought better of it when I got home. I simply COULD NOT have it in my house so I dumped out the containers in the garbage can after eating a few bites. But yeah, when I do that I feel terrible for a few minutes about the waste but the fact I derailed a binge made me feel better.

I had to give myself permission to throw food out. I hate waste, too, but it is better in the garbage can than on my body.

Someone here once posted that food eaten by someone who isn't hungry is just as wasted as food thrown in the trash and it's so true!

Cook smaller meals, freeze things if it makes you feel better, teach your kids to make smaller plates - or be realistic about what they ACTUALLY eat v. what you think a serving size looks like. As someone above me already said, you're a mom, not a trash can. If you can't let go of the guilt of waste, then find a way around it.

A compost also helps - it is extra work, but, in the end, you don't have to feel bad about simply filling up your trash bags, making them heavy and stinky.

In Germany, my apartment building shares a compost and when I throw away food, I know it will be used for something else. My parents live in America, out in the country..... so all of their leftovers go to outdoor animals.

My boyfriend's mother was gifting us TONS of food, even though we told her we couldn't eat it all. It really hurt me because I knew they spent their hard earned money on it.... I felt like I was throwing dollars away.

At least I had the peace of mind from throwing it in the compost to be used again later. But it still hurts.

I read once that the #1 indicator of weight loss/maintenance success is the ability to throw away food.

And yes, I grew up in the clean plate club household and I see it when my mom visits. Her monologue when we clear the table will go "Wow, I am stuffed. ... Are you going to eat the last bit of XYZ? ... Well there really isnt enough to keep for another meal. " and she will eat it.

As an aside I never really got "there isnt enough to keep". I have tiny tupperwares. If I really like something and it is something that keeps I have no problem keeping 2 bites for my lunch the next day.

I freeze a lot of scraps for soup too.

I have this problem as well. In fact, I used to feel better about throwing out food than I do now. I think it's because I spend so much darn money on food (I buy mainly organic). I try to buy just enough for me and my husband. That's why I would never be able to join one of those big warehouse stores (Costco or Sam's). I would inevitably end up throwing stuff out, and that bothers me. I don't care if I can get 5 lbs of oranges for same price at a warehouse as I can get 2 lbs in my grocery store: I'll buy the 2 lbs because I know if I buy more, it won't get eaten.

One of my biggest struggles losing weight is having to throw out food that I don't want to overeat.

I rarely end up throwing out food unless I've left something in the fridge for too long and it's past its use-by date. Occasionally leftovers go into tupperware, but mainly I'm tracking what I eat before I eat it, so I already have the portion size worked out and know how much I will be putting into the fridge/freezer right from the start. It must be much harder with kids involved, although when you're cooking the same thing regularly, do you not get a feel for what they like and how much of it they are likely to eat?

No. My 5 year old son can have days where he will eat practically nothing and days where he can out eat a full grown man.

I had a feeling that was the case.

Look, you can't "save" wasted food by wearing it on your hips!

You are not the garbage can into which unwanted food goes!

People make too much food and then feel trapped by it. Buy less and cook less! If you feel bad about throwing away food you don't need and shouldn't eat, then donate money to the many organizations that feed starving children around the world...

Jay

I have the same problem. I'm not as guilt stricken over throwing away food as many are, but I don't like wasting. I plan meals better these days, cooking just what we'll eat instead of cooking extra. I pack way leftovers for later, fridge, freezer or Food Saver. I'll have leftover nights instead of cooking dinner if I have a lot of leftovers, where my leftover-snubbing family is not given a choice if they want to eat it.

I kind of got over throwing food away awhile ago. Counting calories has helped me control myself when it comes to taking just one more bite (off of my kids' plates). As for leftovers.... I realized that packing away leftovers to rot in the fridge because I felt guilty about throwing them away was more work than just throwing them away in the first place! Now I chuck 'em if there is not enough to save for leftover night or for me to eat for lunch the next day. I also feed the good dinner scraps to my dogs, again, if there is not enough to save.

I like what Julianna said: Your body is not a trash can.

That, and also that one day they will LOVE something, and the next time you make it they will HATE it. It's really tough to guage - well, impossible really. If it was just me and my husband, it would be no problem. I know what we both eat, I'd cook a bit extra for his lunch the next day, and voila. Kids are the wild card, and they don't have the tiniest inkling of guilt about chucking their entire plates...

I know it doesn't help anything (the environment, the pocketbook, my psyche..) if I eat extra to keep from wasting it. I guess it was just a bit of an eyeopener for me - I hadn't realized that it was a habit for me until I found myself doing it over the past couple of days (when not calorie counting over Christmas)... makes me realize that's what I always used to do. Good news is that since I started calorie counting, I don't do it... but interesting to find one of the big roots of my excess weight.

Thanks all for your responses!