Waste on the plate
haideralmosawi • 24 Aug 2024 •
I group up with the belief that it’s wasteful to leave food on my plate, so I would try to finish my entire plate, even if I was stuffed. What are a few mouthfuls more of food going to do?
But this belief prioritizes what we see on the plate rather than what happens (i.e. harms) our bodies. It’s better that extra food remain on the plate and be wasted there rather than be wasted inside our body, because eating excess food not needed by the body IS a waste!
I’m sure many of us make poor life choices based on such beliefs. This is obvious when it comes to money-related beliefs, too. It’s important to be aware why we make the choices we do, identify the beliefs that aren’t serving us, and either drop those beliefs or replace them with beliefs that serve us better.
What beliefs do you think are holding you back in life or encouraging you to make bad choices?
Comments
I grew up with that belief too. I value the values behind it, but that phrase is such a blunt tool. I wish instead of “don’t waste food”, we were told “order only what you can finish (even if you paid for the full portion)”, or “eat to 80% full”, “if you can’t finish, you can pack it to go”, or “it’s a waste of food, so let’s order less the next time”
@therealbrandonwilson Yes true. That’s another habit to work on: we order/put food on our plates based on how hungry we are, not how much we can actually eat.
@jasonleow great alternatives! Actually, this gave me an idea: I’m not sure how much attention I give to working on alternative/replacement beliefs and summing them up in easy-to-recall statements. Worth thinking about. Thank you for that inspiration!
I can still hear my mom’s voice when I leave food on my plate. “Finish your plate! Don’t waste!” It was a hard habit to break. The key is to control how much food goes on the plate to start with.