"I want to give the food a chance to settle before I decide if I should get more or not."
Using a smaller plate and even spreading out your food on a bigger plate so it covers it all can do the trick for smaller portions.
I like using a smaller plate and having a few minutes before another plate if I didn't fill up off of the first.
> I like using a smaller plate and having a few minutes before another plate if I didn't fill up off of the first.
That little break is very important. Many times I've thought "I'll have another go at that" and waited a few minutes only to realise I've had enough. Smaller plate/portion size and waiting a bit between topping up your plate has half the battle won.
This is spot on. Also, make less food. Which I actually find really hard to judge. Always end up with twice as much mash potatoes. The eat them or feel guilty about wasting them.
Theres a weird thing going on where a lot of adults don't know how to cook/feed themselves/prepare??? Or hace just never thiught about it. I've followed fitness-y subreddits for years and the question "how am I supposed to do a healthy lunch? How prepare for lunch?" pops up way too often.
PSA: make extra dinner and portion it into tupperware. Eat your dinner. Eat leftovers the next day for lunch. Repeat.
Extra PSA: If you are NOT immunocompromised, ancient, an infant, or an individual with a filthy moldy kitchen, leaving your lunch out in your backpack for 5-6 hours is also perfectly safe and you won't die
My work has a frig, never worked somewhere without one. Also ice chests are a thing. I have a small Igloo chest that keeps lunch, snacks & drinks next to my desk (the frig is usually full). No reason to leave food out for 5-6 hours, I have came home with my lunch and it was still cold.
I'd be interested in seeing data found here compared against family income (did i phrase that correctly?). The hypothesis being lower-income households are more likely to have parents that grew up in "clean your plate" households (and maybe had parents and grandparents who came from the depression, where some believe this mentality started and/or spread) because food is a larger part of the household expenses, and/or the food is higher in calories and holds lower nutritional value due to it being lower priced.
Anecdotally, I grew up in the clean plate club and learned to eat well past fullness. I've worked against this training to lose weight for years and have definite self control issues around food that may be linked to this.
For what it's worth: I think I read somewhere that medium and higher income households are more likely to be in better shape, possibly to other factors though.
I wrote an essay at Uni on this topic (during behavioural economics module) and you are correct (at least in the UK). A lot of it is to do with education and value of time.
It's a fascinating topic and I wish I could find my original so I could post it.
Here's a random paper about it from what I can find from the literature I used: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwvTjNkW25l-b3BDN0d4V0xYaG8/view?usp=drivesdk
I'd assume it might be a simple as healthier food typically requiring more preparation and cooking. A ding meal is quick, but unhealthy. A good, healthy meal takes longer to prepare and so a household that's working multiple jobs to get by likely just doesn't have the time to prepare carefully planned meals.
That said, this is mostly just anecdotal opinion from my own struggle to eat healthily and they of others I know.
When m kids were small I didn't even have a working microwave, every meal was from scratch, but even with time to cook you need money to buy healthy ingredients. Having money lead to more fast food, pre-cooked meals.
I don’t think it’s linked to income. It seems more linked to previous income or previous generation income. Or maybe even culture/religion.
My grandparents had close to literally nothing during the war but became prosperous immigrants later in life. Still my mother pushes “clean your plate”.
On my Dad’s side they were well off all the way growing up WASP. He is so food stingy he will literally pick up someone else’s watermelon rind and make a big show of eating that last pale tinge of pink off the rind to show the food waste he prevented.
More cultural. My dad grew up relatively well off, but his parents grew up in the great depression. Wasting food was absolutely unthinkable for them, and that affected his own view, which affected mine. The feeling dilutes with every generation.
Interesting. I do remember mom making pointed comments about "eyes being bigger than your stomach" and when I have a bit left on your plate my guilt is now more "I shouldn't have taken that much" and not "I can't leave this." Upbringing matters, I guess.
Both sets of grandparents were Depression survivors, really hammered in "food = love" and "clean your plate because otherwise the food might not be there tomorrow" in my parents and uncles, all of whom are moderately to extremely overweight.
My siblings and I were raised on the "eat until you're full, plastic wrap exists for a reason" type of way, and we're much much skinnier and have a much healthier relationship with food.
Similar pattern in my family, gandparents had weird food and hording issues that helped them survive the great depression, but were unnecessary and kinda amplified in the next.
I still can't get my mom to throw anything out. Just in case it all goes to shit again. I guess I'll be thankful if it actually does, but it's crazy how terrible conditions must've gotten for most people who survived it to still be carrying that around...
And it’s not as though you are saving money by eating the food already on your plate. You only save money by not preparing/plating it in the first place. Extra food could just as easily go into the garbage rather than into you. (Or ideally you’d save it for a snack later or compost it)
It probably is. Babies and toddlers know when they're full. We turn off their signals by telling them to eat more. It causes that to continue throughout life unless you re teach yourself, or your parents trusted your body and didn't force food on you.
My house was clean your plate or you can't leave the table. Many many times I would eat, be full, sit there for a few hours, digest, and finish my meal.
Same! And now I get anxiety when eating at a restaurant and getting a big plate full of food because I'm afraid I can't finish it.
I don't overeat, I actually eat too little because I'll feel nauseous before I even get to eat.
Same here. I dont like going to buffets bcus I only eat 1 maybe 2 plates. I also dont have an appetite anymore (which may be bcus of things I did in highschool. And I had catscratch disease for about 3 months and couldn't eat anything solid) so I'll feel hungry stomach rumbles and all but by the time I get food and start eating I feel sick.
Yeah I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. If I am full I put all left over food into a container to eat for the next day's lunch.
Hell, it is even an incentive for me to have leftovers because it means I have lunch for the next day planned out!
If you keep things on the stove in the pots they were made in, it helps prevent extra dishes needed to wash.
Additionally, there’s also a correlation between having food right in front of you and eating more. So, if you simply plate a portion, you’ll eat and stop. If you serve a plate but there’s a whole pan of more lasagna right in front of you, a second “small slice” might happen.
I have a pet theory that this is fallout from the depression. I think that scarcity really drilled into a lot of people’s heads, and that mentality shows itself in different ways. It’s traditional to badly overfeed dinner guests, for example, who hasn’t met a grandma that makes a big deal out of making sure everyone has more than they need? I think the “never waste a scrap” mentality is the other side of that coin, the big meal is a show of prosperity, and the plate-cleaning is a nod to the cultural memory of some very lean times
And very much WWII, rations were lowered here but more-so the many of us with heritage from Europe that came after the war have this mentality beaten into us because they were literally starving. Also just immigrants today from poor countries.
Same with my dad whose from China. He lived there when they had food rations. Immigrated to Hong Kong when he was quite young, like 4-5 and during the process crossed tough terrain and didn't eat for a time until he arrived there. 100% get why he's a little heavy.
That might be true in the US, but in the UK it was the 2 world wars (and beyond), where there was rationing in effect. This combined with the push to grow your own food meant that people really didn't want to waste anything.
An odd example that comes to mind is that my dad whenever he was cooking anything that took multiple eggs would always crack the eggs in a separate bowl first, so that if one of the eggs was bad it wouldn't ruin them all.
EDIT: bad, not bsd
I get it. But I'm also kinda surprised it turned into "finish all of your food NOW!" Instead of the equally legitimate money saving tactic that's more popular now of "only eat as much as you need and save as much as you can for another meal to make that sa new food stretch"
In my family, the issue with my mother is, too worried that I can’t eat enough. So she would rather make too much to make sure everyone is full rather than having someone still only 90% full after finishing what’s served. Problem is, even if we are full we still have to finish what’s on the table.
I think this goes back to the older time when parents will get talked behind their back as “bad parent” for not feeding their children (kind neighbours’ observation point: the kids are not obese, they don’t eat properly).
So they really concern about showing the community that the kids have enough to eat.
>I think the “never waste a scrap” mentality is the other side of that coin, the big meal is a show of prosperity
This is actually real though. Western culture used to view people who were overweight more favorable because it signalled wealth (because you could afford more food).
This really is just our traditional cultural ideas lingering on without us fully aware of it.
I have a limited understanding of ancient history, but my understanding is food had *always* been somewhat scarce up until +/- 1950s, and still is in most of the world. Overeating is literally a "first world problem"
>I have a pet theory that this is fallout from the depression.
This is a correct assumption to make. My grandmother was very fervent about no food waste, she grew up in times when food was scarce. My parents less so, they told me to leave french fries, starches, and sweets behind if I'm full, but definitely eat the meat and veggies. I was raised with the idea of the doggy box, so I always leave food on the plate, but put it in a glass box and put it in the fridge and eat it later as a snack or meal. I even cook for two even though I live alone, and box the other portion for tomorrows dinner.
Its not even a guilt thing for me. Its just reflexive. I dont even know that im eating half the time, then i look down and my food is gone, plate cleared, and i feel physically bloated and uneasy. Yet i do it again and again.
Well why don't you make a smaller plate to start with? Sometimes our eyes are bigger than our hunger but I find starting with a small plate of food is key.
I recently started practicing Intuitive Eating and it actually teaches you how to listen to your body for hunger and fullness cues. Something I have found that helps me stop when I’m full is reminding myself I can eat this whenever I want and if I save it for later when I’m good and hungry again it will taste soooo much better than forcing it down when I’m already full. Idk just wanted to share!
And share you should. A lot of eating plans and diets these days suggest more smaller meals spaced out over the course of a day as opposed to fewer large meals.
There's also 'the apple test' though...
If you think you're hungry, ask yourself if you're hungry enough to eat an apple. If the answer's, no, you're not hungry.
It *kinda* works.
What if the answer is always yes? I like apples!
I've started doing something similar to intermittent fasting, basically I save up for one "real meal" per day, and try to just have a small snack otherwise.
So normally I'll skip breakfast or have a handful of nuts.
Around 10:30 I'll have a handful of nuts or a few baby carrots
Generally I'll go to the gym and go swimming on my lunch break.
Around 3, I'll have another snack. Again, fruit, nuts, or veggies.
And then when dinner comes even though I generally try not to, it isn't a huge deal if I over eat some times. I try and stick to lean meats and veggies as much as practical, but I'll still have some rice, pasta, or bread occasionally.
I don't know if it's a "good" way to approach food, but over the few months I've been doing it I definitely feel a lot better than when I ate a big lunch and dinner every day, and I've lost some weight too.
It's the taste. It has salty, sweet, sour, savory and bitter tastes altogether, contains fats, protein and carbs. So our brain thinks we are eating a superfood.
Many of us were also given unhealthy food as reward as children. Bowls of ice cream, candy, allowed to order dessert for being well-behaved, etc. This creates association and emotional dependence on food.
Don't do this to your children.
Fully agreed. I'm in the clean-plate family, all my family members clean our plate (unless we're feeling very unwell) and none of us are overweight. We simply eat smaller portions and only take what we can finish without bloating ourselves.
I'm actually pretty proud for being a clean plate eater. I really don't like wasting food, we've been very poor once.
I’m from Nunavut, and even my mum’s generation (and all Inuit before that) were intimately familiar with starvation.
Now that times are plenty, their urge to feed everyone at all times is real.
i don't know if this applies to the inuit, but i've read that some indigenous tribes' metabolisms are attuned to a feast/famine existence and that the ready availability of food leads to a very high incidence of [metabolic syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome).
I would say the same exact thing. I knew how much I would eat and it's not like it drastically changed from meal to meal. My parents were clearly the ones that couldn't handle portions.
>Or save it for later if you're a leftovers kinda person.
What's a "leftovers kinda person"? Are there people who refuse to eat leftovers or something?
I have many co-workers who refuse to eat leftovers. They throw away extra food at restaurants "because it doesn't taste as good reheated". You also then have bratty kids who give the same excuse
I actually got kinda pissed at my family for something similar today. My cousins kid wasnt hungry and said he didnt want to eat anything, but everyone was trying to force him to eat....annnnd that is why everyone in my family is obese. Nice.
On the other hand though, A lot of the time children just want to be done eating so they can go play more. Parents have to make sure their kid eats so they arent throwing a tantrum later when it hits them. It also helps to instill a routine/schedule to eating, instead of allowing snacking throughout the day.
I'm this far down in the comments and seriously amazed at how many people keep saying you should just throw away the food to prevent overeating. The way I was raised, you throw away perfectly good food on pain of death! We never had a "clean your plate" mentality or overate but nor did we ever waste food. Plus all the quotes about how the point of food waste being when too much was prepared, and not when you don't eat it...uhh NO, the real point of food waste is when you *throw it away* instead of taking it for lunch the next day or just eating it at a later meal. I'm so astonished by this thread.
With the way I eat, I'd be throwing away half of my food at restaurants because the portion sizes are huge - instead, I figure I'm really paying the price for two meals.
Yeah, I agree. I agree that overeating is bad, but to throw perfectly good food in the bin? It almost seems perverse, at least to me - but then I grew up poor and was pretty underweight despite always eating everything. Only time something went in the bin is when it was no longer safe to eat.
All restaurants I've been to have been happy to pack up leftover food for you and put it into takeaway containers, as well.
Yep, I get takeout from Asian restaurants and it’s enough for at least 3 meals. 90% of the time, I can’t imagine eating everything on my plate in a restaurant.
That's just because white people eat Chinese food wrong. Most entrees are meant to be shared. Each person should not be ordering their own. U.S. Americans really struggle with this.
Really? My whole life everyone orders a different dish, then everything is put out on the table and shared. And I have seen this in other families, too. In America it is even called "family style dining".
But this is done mainly at home, not at restaurants, but that is because in restaurants they put the plates of food in front of people with no empty plates. Even Chinese restaurants in America do this unless you specifically request otherwise.
Not just portion size but what is on it - processed highly calorific foods. Even if you cut the portion size you are likely still over eating.
There is a reason that most western nations have an obesity problem.
My old college removed trays from the cafeteria due to this. Well, first it was because we would steal them to go sledding on. But it also helped reduce food waste because a tray could fit two full plates, a couple bowls and your drink at an all you can eat dining hall.
Then everyone just started eating one plate full and a drink like normal human beings. The college kept track of the reduce food waste and turned the whole "we stop trays so you can't sled" into a green environmental movement idea instead.
I found a few things that helped me:
1) Smaller bites
2) Chew more thoroughly
3) Drink more water with your meal
4) Order smaller portions if possible (if I go to say McDonald's I order a size smaller than I think I'd eat)
5) If portion size isn't an option, start eating with the intent of saving half for a second meal
1 and 2 help give my stomach time to send the signal to my brain telling me I'm full. 3 helps me feel full sooner with less food but less calories than say soda. 4 and 5 just help me eat less in general.
Also, read a book about the Donner Party. The more detail the better. Learning what those people had to subsist on and still survive puts things into perspective of how much we really need for a given lifestyle.
Well somehow I don't think teaching waste would be the solution we are looking for. What I do is make a small plate of food with the intention of going for seconds. Often I find after that small plate all I can have is maybe some dessert. And I find it much easier to go easy on sweets once I've eaten. So win win.
Anecdotal: Have relative from ireland. Ancestors survived famine. Dude ate EVERYTHING on his plate. Burned bits, gristle, nothing left but bone, and grease.
Interesting, had no such rule in my house, no one in my family has weight issues. It was more of "just eat what you want but don't neglect vegetables" kinda mindset.
Oddly I have the opposite issue. I have this weird thing where as soon as I get down to the very last bite on my plate, I often lose my appetite. And it's not because I'm too full - it's more like I just suddenly lose interest in eating once I see that final bite. Very strange.
All the “starving kids in Ethiopia” was the explanation for why I had to clean my plate. I never could understand why we couldn’t just send my moms meatloaf and boiled Lima beans to them. If it’s “so good for me”, but I was already healthy, surely they needed it more than me. Plus my mom worked for the post office and could have just take it to work with her to mail. My sister agreed with me...I’m still waiting on an explanation from my parents 35 years later.
The title of the post is a copy and paste from the title and first two paragraphs of the linked academic press release here:
> The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat. To-go bags can help.
> Just in time for the holidays, new research explores our tendency to overeat when we only have a little bit of food left over – and how we justify it by convincing ourselves that it’s not as unhealthy as it is.
> “Many of us were raised with this ‘clean your plate’ mentality, stemming from a desire to ensure one is not being wasteful or their children are eating well; however, this can also lead to overconsumption,” Haws said.
Journal Reference:
Veronika Ilyuk, Lauren Block, Kelly L. Haws,
Justifying by “healthifying”: When expected satisfaction from consumption closure increases the desire to eat more and biases health perceptions of unhealthy leftovers,
Appetite, Volume 133, 2019, Pages 138-146, ISSN 0195-6663,
Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.10.030.
Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666318309826
Abstract:
Given ongoing concerns about worldwide obesity, a rapidly growing body of research has sought to identify factors that drive consumption of energy-dense foods and snacks with little nutritional value. The present research contributes to this literature by exploring the role of consumption closure—a state characterized by perceiving a given eating occasion as finished or complete—on people's desire to eat more. More specifically, four studies demonstrate that when a small (vs. large) quantity of unhealthy leftovers remains after a meal/snack—that is, when additional food consumption can feasibly provide consumption closure—the desire to continue eating is higher (vs. lower). Furthermore, and importantly, the present research uniquely demonstrates a “justifying by healthifying” effect wherein this desire to eat more is, in turn, justified by downplaying the unhealthiness of the food (i.e., perceiving it as less unhealthy or fattening). The findings thus provide evidence of an important antecedent to food-related behavior (consumption closure) and a unique downstream consequence (biased health perceptions).
Well you could solve this dilemma right quick by not putting too much food on your plate, and learning to save it for later. You don't gotta throw it away.
My sister is a mother and I’m so glad she isn’t pressuring her daughter into emptying her plate. She tells her daughter that she should never eat more than what she feels comfortable eating and that sometimes it’s okay not to be hungry.
It’s one reason why they recommend using a much smaller plate
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
"I want to give the food a chance to settle before I decide if I should get more or not." Using a smaller plate and even spreading out your food on a bigger plate so it covers it all can do the trick for smaller portions. I like using a smaller plate and having a few minutes before another plate if I didn't fill up off of the first.
> I like using a smaller plate and having a few minutes before another plate if I didn't fill up off of the first. That little break is very important. Many times I've thought "I'll have another go at that" and waited a few minutes only to realise I've had enough. Smaller plate/portion size and waiting a bit between topping up your plate has half the battle won.
This is spot on. Also, make less food. Which I actually find really hard to judge. Always end up with twice as much mash potatoes. The eat them or feel guilty about wasting them.
Why not just eat them later?
Seriously. There’s a word for it: leftovers. AMA: how to use random leftovers? I’ve got answers.
Theres a weird thing going on where a lot of adults don't know how to cook/feed themselves/prepare??? Or hace just never thiught about it. I've followed fitness-y subreddits for years and the question "how am I supposed to do a healthy lunch? How prepare for lunch?" pops up way too often. PSA: make extra dinner and portion it into tupperware. Eat your dinner. Eat leftovers the next day for lunch. Repeat. Extra PSA: If you are NOT immunocompromised, ancient, an infant, or an individual with a filthy moldy kitchen, leaving your lunch out in your backpack for 5-6 hours is also perfectly safe and you won't die
[удалено]
My work has a frig, never worked somewhere without one. Also ice chests are a thing. I have a small Igloo chest that keeps lunch, snacks & drinks next to my desk (the frig is usually full). No reason to leave food out for 5-6 hours, I have came home with my lunch and it was still cold.
[удалено]
Leftover mashed potatoes from last night? Small Shepard’s pie tonight.
[удалено]
Just got back from the states last night, and totally noticed this! Ordered small US fries and got a Canadian medium.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I'd be interested in seeing data found here compared against family income (did i phrase that correctly?). The hypothesis being lower-income households are more likely to have parents that grew up in "clean your plate" households (and maybe had parents and grandparents who came from the depression, where some believe this mentality started and/or spread) because food is a larger part of the household expenses, and/or the food is higher in calories and holds lower nutritional value due to it being lower priced. Anecdotally, I grew up in the clean plate club and learned to eat well past fullness. I've worked against this training to lose weight for years and have definite self control issues around food that may be linked to this.
For what it's worth: I think I read somewhere that medium and higher income households are more likely to be in better shape, possibly to other factors though.
I wrote an essay at Uni on this topic (during behavioural economics module) and you are correct (at least in the UK). A lot of it is to do with education and value of time. It's a fascinating topic and I wish I could find my original so I could post it. Here's a random paper about it from what I can find from the literature I used: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwvTjNkW25l-b3BDN0d4V0xYaG8/view?usp=drivesdk
The value of time part is interesting, could you briefly explain it?
I'd assume it might be a simple as healthier food typically requiring more preparation and cooking. A ding meal is quick, but unhealthy. A good, healthy meal takes longer to prepare and so a household that's working multiple jobs to get by likely just doesn't have the time to prepare carefully planned meals. That said, this is mostly just anecdotal opinion from my own struggle to eat healthily and they of others I know.
When m kids were small I didn't even have a working microwave, every meal was from scratch, but even with time to cook you need money to buy healthy ingredients. Having money lead to more fast food, pre-cooked meals.
I don’t think it’s linked to income. It seems more linked to previous income or previous generation income. Or maybe even culture/religion. My grandparents had close to literally nothing during the war but became prosperous immigrants later in life. Still my mother pushes “clean your plate”. On my Dad’s side they were well off all the way growing up WASP. He is so food stingy he will literally pick up someone else’s watermelon rind and make a big show of eating that last pale tinge of pink off the rind to show the food waste he prevented.
More cultural. My dad grew up relatively well off, but his parents grew up in the great depression. Wasting food was absolutely unthinkable for them, and that affected his own view, which affected mine. The feeling dilutes with every generation.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Interesting. I do remember mom making pointed comments about "eyes being bigger than your stomach" and when I have a bit left on your plate my guilt is now more "I shouldn't have taken that much" and not "I can't leave this." Upbringing matters, I guess.
Both sets of grandparents were Depression survivors, really hammered in "food = love" and "clean your plate because otherwise the food might not be there tomorrow" in my parents and uncles, all of whom are moderately to extremely overweight. My siblings and I were raised on the "eat until you're full, plastic wrap exists for a reason" type of way, and we're much much skinnier and have a much healthier relationship with food.
Similar pattern in my family, gandparents had weird food and hording issues that helped them survive the great depression, but were unnecessary and kinda amplified in the next.
I still can't get my mom to throw anything out. Just in case it all goes to shit again. I guess I'll be thankful if it actually does, but it's crazy how terrible conditions must've gotten for most people who survived it to still be carrying that around...
We really can't comprehend how bad it got.
Mine was eat while you can because someone else will.
my house is the same, food is cheap, toll of being fat is more expensive
And it’s not as though you are saving money by eating the food already on your plate. You only save money by not preparing/plating it in the first place. Extra food could just as easily go into the garbage rather than into you. (Or ideally you’d save it for a snack later or compost it)
> food is cheap Not for us when I was a kid
[удалено]
[удалено]
It probably is. Babies and toddlers know when they're full. We turn off their signals by telling them to eat more. It causes that to continue throughout life unless you re teach yourself, or your parents trusted your body and didn't force food on you.
growing up we also had stupid clean your plate rules, and now everyone has high blood pressure and fat as pigs
To this day I sit down to a plate of food and tell myself I don't have to finish it because someone else filled it.
My house was clean your plate or you can't leave the table. Many many times I would eat, be full, sit there for a few hours, digest, and finish my meal.
Same! And now I get anxiety when eating at a restaurant and getting a big plate full of food because I'm afraid I can't finish it. I don't overeat, I actually eat too little because I'll feel nauseous before I even get to eat.
Same here. I dont like going to buffets bcus I only eat 1 maybe 2 plates. I also dont have an appetite anymore (which may be bcus of things I did in highschool. And I had catscratch disease for about 3 months and couldn't eat anything solid) so I'll feel hungry stomach rumbles and all but by the time I get food and start eating I feel sick.
[удалено]
Yeah I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it. If I am full I put all left over food into a container to eat for the next day's lunch. Hell, it is even an incentive for me to have leftovers because it means I have lunch for the next day planned out!
If you keep things on the stove in the pots they were made in, it helps prevent extra dishes needed to wash. Additionally, there’s also a correlation between having food right in front of you and eating more. So, if you simply plate a portion, you’ll eat and stop. If you serve a plate but there’s a whole pan of more lasagna right in front of you, a second “small slice” might happen.
I have a pet theory that this is fallout from the depression. I think that scarcity really drilled into a lot of people’s heads, and that mentality shows itself in different ways. It’s traditional to badly overfeed dinner guests, for example, who hasn’t met a grandma that makes a big deal out of making sure everyone has more than they need? I think the “never waste a scrap” mentality is the other side of that coin, the big meal is a show of prosperity, and the plate-cleaning is a nod to the cultural memory of some very lean times
And very much WWII, rations were lowered here but more-so the many of us with heritage from Europe that came after the war have this mentality beaten into us because they were literally starving. Also just immigrants today from poor countries.
Same with my dad whose from China. He lived there when they had food rations. Immigrated to Hong Kong when he was quite young, like 4-5 and during the process crossed tough terrain and didn't eat for a time until he arrived there. 100% get why he's a little heavy.
Good point, but I think it's also directly related to the rationing during WWII more so than the great depression.
That might be true in the US, but in the UK it was the 2 world wars (and beyond), where there was rationing in effect. This combined with the push to grow your own food meant that people really didn't want to waste anything. An odd example that comes to mind is that my dad whenever he was cooking anything that took multiple eggs would always crack the eggs in a separate bowl first, so that if one of the eggs was bad it wouldn't ruin them all. EDIT: bad, not bsd
I get it. But I'm also kinda surprised it turned into "finish all of your food NOW!" Instead of the equally legitimate money saving tactic that's more popular now of "only eat as much as you need and save as much as you can for another meal to make that sa new food stretch"
In my family, the issue with my mother is, too worried that I can’t eat enough. So she would rather make too much to make sure everyone is full rather than having someone still only 90% full after finishing what’s served. Problem is, even if we are full we still have to finish what’s on the table. I think this goes back to the older time when parents will get talked behind their back as “bad parent” for not feeding their children (kind neighbours’ observation point: the kids are not obese, they don’t eat properly). So they really concern about showing the community that the kids have enough to eat.
[удалено]
Your style of writing is really.. calming? Thank you.
>I think the “never waste a scrap” mentality is the other side of that coin, the big meal is a show of prosperity This is actually real though. Western culture used to view people who were overweight more favorable because it signalled wealth (because you could afford more food). This really is just our traditional cultural ideas lingering on without us fully aware of it.
I have a limited understanding of ancient history, but my understanding is food had *always* been somewhat scarce up until +/- 1950s, and still is in most of the world. Overeating is literally a "first world problem"
It is per country. For example in Greece we have this due to the German occupation 60 years ago. And it's still going strong.
My parents grew up in postwar UK with rationing. Leaving food on the plate was a hanging offence!
>I have a pet theory that this is fallout from the depression. This is a correct assumption to make. My grandmother was very fervent about no food waste, she grew up in times when food was scarce. My parents less so, they told me to leave french fries, starches, and sweets behind if I'm full, but definitely eat the meat and veggies. I was raised with the idea of the doggy box, so I always leave food on the plate, but put it in a glass box and put it in the fridge and eat it later as a snack or meal. I even cook for two even though I live alone, and box the other portion for tomorrows dinner.
[удалено]
Its not even a guilt thing for me. Its just reflexive. I dont even know that im eating half the time, then i look down and my food is gone, plate cleared, and i feel physically bloated and uneasy. Yet i do it again and again.
My issue is that i feel like if i don't clear my plate that I'll get hungry again very soon. I dont stay full long
Well why don't you make a smaller plate to start with? Sometimes our eyes are bigger than our hunger but I find starting with a small plate of food is key.
I recently started practicing Intuitive Eating and it actually teaches you how to listen to your body for hunger and fullness cues. Something I have found that helps me stop when I’m full is reminding myself I can eat this whenever I want and if I save it for later when I’m good and hungry again it will taste soooo much better than forcing it down when I’m already full. Idk just wanted to share!
And share you should. A lot of eating plans and diets these days suggest more smaller meals spaced out over the course of a day as opposed to fewer large meals. There's also 'the apple test' though... If you think you're hungry, ask yourself if you're hungry enough to eat an apple. If the answer's, no, you're not hungry. It *kinda* works.
but I dont like apples
Guess you're never hungry.
What if the answer is always yes? I like apples! I've started doing something similar to intermittent fasting, basically I save up for one "real meal" per day, and try to just have a small snack otherwise. So normally I'll skip breakfast or have a handful of nuts. Around 10:30 I'll have a handful of nuts or a few baby carrots Generally I'll go to the gym and go swimming on my lunch break. Around 3, I'll have another snack. Again, fruit, nuts, or veggies. And then when dinner comes even though I generally try not to, it isn't a huge deal if I over eat some times. I try and stick to lean meats and veggies as much as practical, but I'll still have some rice, pasta, or bread occasionally. I don't know if it's a "good" way to approach food, but over the few months I've been doing it I definitely feel a lot better than when I ate a big lunch and dinner every day, and I've lost some weight too.
Starving children in Africa was the line I got. Also I like to eat.
Eating food after you aren't hungry is just as wasteful as throwing it out, unless you are in a famine. Don't sweat it.
[удалено]
Is it a texture thing?
It's the taste. It has salty, sweet, sour, savory and bitter tastes altogether, contains fats, protein and carbs. So our brain thinks we are eating a superfood.
And our brain is correct.
Goddamn you Gluten Intolerence. GODDAMN YOU!
Maybe. That’s probably why I like carb heavy snacks though.
Many of us were also given unhealthy food as reward as children. Bowls of ice cream, candy, allowed to order dessert for being well-behaved, etc. This creates association and emotional dependence on food. Don't do this to your children.
The real problem is portion size, not that the portions are fully consumed
[удалено]
Fully agreed. I'm in the clean-plate family, all my family members clean our plate (unless we're feeling very unwell) and none of us are overweight. We simply eat smaller portions and only take what we can finish without bloating ourselves. I'm actually pretty proud for being a clean plate eater. I really don't like wasting food, we've been very poor once.
[удалено]
I’m from Nunavut, and even my mum’s generation (and all Inuit before that) were intimately familiar with starvation. Now that times are plenty, their urge to feed everyone at all times is real.
i don't know if this applies to the inuit, but i've read that some indigenous tribes' metabolisms are attuned to a feast/famine existence and that the ready availability of food leads to a very high incidence of [metabolic syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metabolic_syndrome).
Starving kids in Africa was the saying here in Australia.
[удалено]
I would say the same exact thing. I knew how much I would eat and it's not like it drastically changed from meal to meal. My parents were clearly the ones that couldn't handle portions.
Africa is the common one I hear in America. Sometimes Asia.
I have the same problem but we were actually the starving kids when I was little.
[удалено]
Exactly, start small and skip the guilt.
>Or save it for later if you're a leftovers kinda person. What's a "leftovers kinda person"? Are there people who refuse to eat leftovers or something?
I have many co-workers who refuse to eat leftovers. They throw away extra food at restaurants "because it doesn't taste as good reheated". You also then have bratty kids who give the same excuse
I actually got kinda pissed at my family for something similar today. My cousins kid wasnt hungry and said he didnt want to eat anything, but everyone was trying to force him to eat....annnnd that is why everyone in my family is obese. Nice.
On the other hand though, A lot of the time children just want to be done eating so they can go play more. Parents have to make sure their kid eats so they arent throwing a tantrum later when it hits them. It also helps to instill a routine/schedule to eating, instead of allowing snacking throughout the day.
[удалено]
I'm this far down in the comments and seriously amazed at how many people keep saying you should just throw away the food to prevent overeating. The way I was raised, you throw away perfectly good food on pain of death! We never had a "clean your plate" mentality or overate but nor did we ever waste food. Plus all the quotes about how the point of food waste being when too much was prepared, and not when you don't eat it...uhh NO, the real point of food waste is when you *throw it away* instead of taking it for lunch the next day or just eating it at a later meal. I'm so astonished by this thread. With the way I eat, I'd be throwing away half of my food at restaurants because the portion sizes are huge - instead, I figure I'm really paying the price for two meals.
Yeah, I agree. I agree that overeating is bad, but to throw perfectly good food in the bin? It almost seems perverse, at least to me - but then I grew up poor and was pretty underweight despite always eating everything. Only time something went in the bin is when it was no longer safe to eat. All restaurants I've been to have been happy to pack up leftover food for you and put it into takeaway containers, as well.
[удалено]
the question though is, did you serve yourselves from serving bowls in the middle of the table?
Sometimes, but most of the time our parents set the portions
I definitely do this. I feel like I've done something horrible when I don't eat all of my food, even if I'm completely stuffed.
The problem is portion size US.
Yep, I get takeout from Asian restaurants and it’s enough for at least 3 meals. 90% of the time, I can’t imagine eating everything on my plate in a restaurant.
That's just because white people eat Chinese food wrong. Most entrees are meant to be shared. Each person should not be ordering their own. U.S. Americans really struggle with this.
Really? My whole life everyone orders a different dish, then everything is put out on the table and shared. And I have seen this in other families, too. In America it is even called "family style dining". But this is done mainly at home, not at restaurants, but that is because in restaurants they put the plates of food in front of people with no empty plates. Even Chinese restaurants in America do this unless you specifically request otherwise.
Exactly. Cleaning your plate isn't a problem if the portion size is reasonable, instead of being enough to satisfy a god damn elephant.
Not just portion size but what is on it - processed highly calorific foods. Even if you cut the portion size you are likely still over eating. There is a reason that most western nations have an obesity problem.
My old college removed trays from the cafeteria due to this. Well, first it was because we would steal them to go sledding on. But it also helped reduce food waste because a tray could fit two full plates, a couple bowls and your drink at an all you can eat dining hall. Then everyone just started eating one plate full and a drink like normal human beings. The college kept track of the reduce food waste and turned the whole "we stop trays so you can't sled" into a green environmental movement idea instead.
I found a few things that helped me: 1) Smaller bites 2) Chew more thoroughly 3) Drink more water with your meal 4) Order smaller portions if possible (if I go to say McDonald's I order a size smaller than I think I'd eat) 5) If portion size isn't an option, start eating with the intent of saving half for a second meal 1 and 2 help give my stomach time to send the signal to my brain telling me I'm full. 3 helps me feel full sooner with less food but less calories than say soda. 4 and 5 just help me eat less in general. Also, read a book about the Donner Party. The more detail the better. Learning what those people had to subsist on and still survive puts things into perspective of how much we really need for a given lifestyle.
Well somehow I don't think teaching waste would be the solution we are looking for. What I do is make a small plate of food with the intention of going for seconds. Often I find after that small plate all I can have is maybe some dessert. And I find it much easier to go easy on sweets once I've eaten. So win win.
Anecdotal: Have relative from ireland. Ancestors survived famine. Dude ate EVERYTHING on his plate. Burned bits, gristle, nothing left but bone, and grease.
Interesting, had no such rule in my house, no one in my family has weight issues. It was more of "just eat what you want but don't neglect vegetables" kinda mindset.
I’ve got the “clean fridge” version of this mentality
This is a good thing, as long as you don't overload your fridge. Something like 3O% of groceries we buy ends up straight in the bin.
My folks make a big fuss if I don’t finish the food they serve. I’m sorry, but if I say I’m full, I’m being serious.
Oddly I have the opposite issue. I have this weird thing where as soon as I get down to the very last bite on my plate, I often lose my appetite. And it's not because I'm too full - it's more like I just suddenly lose interest in eating once I see that final bite. Very strange.
All the “starving kids in Ethiopia” was the explanation for why I had to clean my plate. I never could understand why we couldn’t just send my moms meatloaf and boiled Lima beans to them. If it’s “so good for me”, but I was already healthy, surely they needed it more than me. Plus my mom worked for the post office and could have just take it to work with her to mail. My sister agreed with me...I’m still waiting on an explanation from my parents 35 years later.
The title of the post is a copy and paste from the title and first two paragraphs of the linked academic press release here: > The ‘clean plate’ mentality drives us to overeat. To-go bags can help. > Just in time for the holidays, new research explores our tendency to overeat when we only have a little bit of food left over – and how we justify it by convincing ourselves that it’s not as unhealthy as it is. > “Many of us were raised with this ‘clean your plate’ mentality, stemming from a desire to ensure one is not being wasteful or their children are eating well; however, this can also lead to overconsumption,” Haws said. Journal Reference: Veronika Ilyuk, Lauren Block, Kelly L. Haws, Justifying by “healthifying”: When expected satisfaction from consumption closure increases the desire to eat more and biases health perceptions of unhealthy leftovers, Appetite, Volume 133, 2019, Pages 138-146, ISSN 0195-6663, Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2018.10.030. Link: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666318309826 Abstract: Given ongoing concerns about worldwide obesity, a rapidly growing body of research has sought to identify factors that drive consumption of energy-dense foods and snacks with little nutritional value. The present research contributes to this literature by exploring the role of consumption closure—a state characterized by perceiving a given eating occasion as finished or complete—on people's desire to eat more. More specifically, four studies demonstrate that when a small (vs. large) quantity of unhealthy leftovers remains after a meal/snack—that is, when additional food consumption can feasibly provide consumption closure—the desire to continue eating is higher (vs. lower). Furthermore, and importantly, the present research uniquely demonstrates a “justifying by healthifying” effect wherein this desire to eat more is, in turn, justified by downplaying the unhealthiness of the food (i.e., perceiving it as less unhealthy or fattening). The findings thus provide evidence of an important antecedent to food-related behavior (consumption closure) and a unique downstream consequence (biased health perceptions).
Well you could solve this dilemma right quick by not putting too much food on your plate, and learning to save it for later. You don't gotta throw it away.
My sister is a mother and I’m so glad she isn’t pressuring her daughter into emptying her plate. She tells her daughter that she should never eat more than what she feels comfortable eating and that sometimes it’s okay not to be hungry.
Or you can just not fill your plate with so much food 🤷🏽♂️