eating food so it is not wasted

[zapzapp]

I come across this fairly regularly. People who had enough to eat but say I will finish that off so it does not get wasted. I don't understand that. People do not want the food thrown away but it is not considered a waste to eat more than you need.

My brother does this with his four kids. If one of the kids does not finish what is on the plate then the other kids have to eat so it does not get 'wasted' even if they are saying they do not want it.

I don't like waste either but I am not going to eat more than what I need just so it does not get thrown away. I would rather it get thrown away than just eaten when not necessary.

“the other kids have to eat so it does not get 'wasted' even if they are saying they do not want it.”

OP, this is awful and your brother is being V unreasonable. It’s the sort of thing that leads to kids being overweight, and eating disorders later in life. As kids, we always had to clear our plates and even as an adult, I feel guilty if I don’t - but I take the attitude that if it has been put out, I wouldn’t care if it were all eaten, so why would I care if it’s thrown away: it’s gone either way. Your brother does his kids no favours if he makes them eat more than they want or need - they will simply get into the habit of overeating.

I completely agree with you. I’ve had to learn this myself, because we was always brought up as a clear plates kind of family. My partner is still the same, he’ll eat just for the sake of not throwing it away.

So it goes on the waist, or it goes in the waste 😀

Tell your brother that dustbins are round and tubby and come in three varieties: plastic, metal and human.

Plenty of non overweight people have fat around their organs - skinny fat. So just because someone is not overweight does not mean they are healthy.

Are you specifically talking about food which is thought of as unhealthy?

People need to eat an appropriate amount of food for their activity levels. If someone eats a few mouthfuls extra at lunch, and they are maintaining a healthy weight, they will eat less at dinner. Obviously shovelling in junk for any reason is not good for you but that's a separate issue.

I’m with you. Once it’s been bought and cooked, it either gets eaten or thrown away - makes no difference which.

Kids should never be forced to eat what they don't want.

I lived in fear of not being able to finish everything on my plate. I was a thin child and didn't eat much but was told off for it.

Those poor kids might grow up with a complex.

It’s called ‘treating your body like a dustbin’.

Ridiculous
If no one wants it - it’s wasted !
so rather it be wasted in the bin - than a poor child’s stomach …
This is teaching eating disorders ….

No I don’t have fat around my organs - apparently that’s very low on me

but I still won’t waste food

what I had hoped my post would do would explain how I avoid wasting food rather then end up accused of setting people up for eating disorders

ah well

Because the food had already been cooked and served, and many kids (like mine) would leave food on their plate only to declare that they are "absolutely starving' an hour later. If you eat all your meal then you'll stay fuller for longer and not all food is great or safe reheated.

It's really not rocket science, and you've either not been brought up by parents that went through the war (my dad was born in 1919 and mum was born in 1945) or you've never been poor and worried about keeping your children fed! Not saying a clear plate policy is right, but it is understandable......

Completely agree OP, my DH and his entire family are so mental about this. It drives me insane!

People also need to remember that fridges didn't become commonplace in many homes until the 1960s, so once food was cooked it needed to be eaten.

We don’t eat food we don’t want or put it in the bin. Our two terriers take care of it.

Plenty of non overweight people have fat around their organs - skinny fat. So just because someone is not overweight does not mean they are healthy.
Are you specifically talking about food which is thought of as unhealthy?
People need to eat an appropriate amount of food for their activity levels. If someone eats a few mouthfuls extra at lunch, and they are maintaining a healthy weight, they will eat less at dinner. Obviously shovelling in junk for any reason is not good for you but that's a separate issue.

This. I don't tend to eat much processed food at home, lots of fresh fruit and veg, pulses, lean protein. Walk 10 - 20k steps a day so lead a fairly active lifestyle. No fat on stomach, normal blood pressure, so no reason to think there's an issue. If I eat a few extra chips at a restaurant once a month I'm not going to worry about it. Something will kill me one day!

I couldn't care less if other people leave food on their plate, unless they're deliberately being a dick and piling their plate with no intention of eating it and stopping someone else who is hungry from eating more.

Avoid waste by cooking less!
Eating more than the body needs is just as 'wasteful'

I always think, well, my stomach isn't a dustbin so why treat it like one? If something's not wanted then chuck it away!
I always get a doggy bag from a restaurant but if I can't finish it after a day then it will go in the bin.

Any food in excess is not good for the body. Shovelling healthy food is not good either.

You might eat a few more mouthfuls at lunch and then eat a few less mouthfuls at dinner. It is quite hard to regulate when you also take into account age, changing metabolism etc. The older you get the less food you need. So it is not so simple as deduct a few mouthfuls had at lunch at dinner.

It is hard to predict the exact amount to cook to match everyone's appetite on the day.

I dislike waste, so I don't put more food on my plate than I know I'll eat. If I eat out, I have no control over portion size but don't over order.

Nobody should be carrying on eating when they're full. But I used to do just that. And binge eat. It's a big part of why I ended up massively obese.

I'm in my 40s and grossly overweight because of things like this. Not wanting to see things go to waste, always having to clean your plate etc.

It's only been since I started on Mounjaro that I've given myself permission not to finish food, and also not to give it all to the dog to finish or she'll end up tubby too!

I'm 5 stone down with many more to go.

It creates eating disorders. People should stop eating when they feel full. My parents are Holocaust survivors and I know this only too well.

But if a person is not gaining weight then they are regulating their intake, aren't they? And therefore not overeating (over a period of a day or a few days).

I don't think it's good to encourage children to eat beyond being full because children need to learn to listen to their bodies but as an adult it's perfectly reasonable for me to eat a little more at one meal (because I don't want to throw perfectly good nutritious food away), knowing I will eat less later (because I am not overweight and never have been).

It is not just about gaining weight. If the additional food is creating visceral fat around the organs then that is not healthy regardless of not being overweight and never having been overweight.

I read recently that your body is not a bin, don’t treat it like one. You don’t have to eat the food that should be eaten by the bin. I think remembering that would save people a lot of health issues.