Old Habits Are Hard To Break, The Art Of Not Wasting Food

[CamarilloCA 41]

I bet that there are some of you out there like me that were taught or otherwise learned not to waste food, up to and including eating everything on your plate.

I am the youngest of six children, and not wasting food was drilled into me. When I couldn't eat everything on my plate, my father made me sit at the table with my plate of food after the table had been cleared and everyone had left. It usually didn't work as I was full, and I just sat there until my father said I was excused from the table.

I was thin as a child, but I ate plenty. I used to pick the peaches and plums and figs from our trees as afternoon Snacks, and maybe that is why I didn't always eat all my dinner sometimes. Or maybe it was because my father insisted that we occasionally try unusual foods like tripe, cow brains, tongue, soy Beans, octopus, and a few other weird food that I remember being forced to eat as a child.

Anyway, I digress, and, yes, I should probably see a therapist about my abusive father issues.

So, now, I have lost 56 pounds so far with my sleeve, and I'm wondering if there are others out there who eat food that could be questionable just because they don't want to waste it.

For example, I bought a lobster, and I ate 1/4th of it for four nights in a row. By the fourth night, I was wondering if maybe I shouldn't eat it, but it smelled okay, and so I did.

I can eat very little now, and so I end up eating a Chipotle burrito for four days in a row until it is gone when I get one.

One trick I have learned is to freeze food that I won't be able to eat much of and then defrost it for dinner when I am ready. I did this with a few things, and it helps relieve the pressure of having to eat it before it goes bad.

A few things I did throw out like a can of fat-free refried Beans I had made with onions and cheese that I had in the refrigerator but couldn't get to for about a week. I really do hate wasting food, but I figure it is better than getting a bad stomach ache from food that has gone bad.

[doxieville 799]

Please DO go see a therapist. I did. While I wasn't eating food that might be questionable, i had the opposite problem. When we were punished as children the food was taken away. If we were good we were allowed dessert. Of course, we were good/bad according to his mood. It was a VERY abusive household.

As an adult, i continued this behavoir. I'd starve myself and splurge. I was a mess. It wasnt until earlier this year when I saw the therapist to start this process that I was really able to connect the dots. And I'm an intelligent woman!! The abuse that we sustain as children really needs to be worked thru for our own peace of mind. I still struggle with it. Not with the splurging thanks to my neat sleeve, but not eating because I don't think I deserve something yummy. I fight with that feeling a lot.

So yes, please, you are worthy of fresh food!!

[Spirit Fire 115]

I learned through this process to no longer WAIST food. I don't eat what I don't have room for just because it is on the plate because I want to keep my waist in losing mode vs. gaining mode.

[Jolie_KeMi 345]

I HATE to waste food. I grew up in a lower middle class family and am the oldest of 5, so to waste food was like a deadly sin.

I live in Houston where one of the popular things to do is go out to eat. I usually eat 4 or 5 bites of food and put it in a to go box. I then eat off of this for 2 to 3 days, or until my husband makes fun of me enough to where I HAVE to throw it out.

Questionable foods I've eaten: 3 day old grilled tilapia, 4 day old crawfish bisque, 3 day old Chipotle salad bowl, and some other things I'm not proud of. LOL! But I felt like I got my money's worth. I haven't gotten sick, but my hubby is waiting for the day so he can say "I told ya so!!"

[TracyLynn 30]

CamerilloCA, great topic, I have such a problem with this. I have not eaten so much I have made myself sick yet, but I feel sometimes I eat too much. If I have a bowl or plate of something, if there are two bites left, I feel like I have to eat them, or I will waste it. Then I go from being satisfied to being full. Anyone have any tips to stop this?

I think oh I should not waste, or there are people starving how can I throw it away, or I spent good money on that, or someone took a long time to make that. I feel guilty to waste, but sometimes it is nessessary, I feel as though it will harm me instead of help if I keep eating a bit too much.

So here are my questions, any ideas or tips or thoughts to be able to not 'have' to eat it all? Also, any tips or ideas on freezing food? I don't know what I can freeze or how long it can be frozen.

[Butterthebean 8,146]

I have been known lately to let my dogs help me finish something because I hate leaving those last 2 bites. Before surgery they didn't get much off my plate.

[socal13 7]

Do you know when we can eat peanuts or almonds??

[CamarilloCA 41]

Thanks, everyone, for your comments and input. I too have been guilty of finishing the last two bites so that I don't waste food, but when I get that too full feeling, I say to myself, "I shouldn't have eaten those last two bites." So I try to put the food that I didn't finish, however small, in a baggy for the next day's lunch.

Just to be clear, I would never eat food that had clearly gone bad, but I've eaten a few things, like Kendra has, that sat in the refrigerator for a few days to a week just so I wouldn't waste food and therefore waste money.

I think the answer is that most things can be frozen and defrosted. Lettuce doesn't freeze well, but I think a lot of things like fish, meat, cheese, bread, and nuts can be frozen and defrosted. When I get a burrito from Chipotle or Freebirds, I don't get lettuce or avocado on it now because I know that I intend to eat just a little and freeze the rest.

Giving a few bites to the dogs is a great idea, Butterthebean, and I do that too. I also have chickens, and they'll eat anything pretty much.

Socal, I started eating nuts as soon as I got to the solid food phase. They are good for you. Just chew well.

[socal13 7]

Thank you,, great post

[mylifeinpink 349]

I have learned in my own journey so far ---- to throw things away! Donating feels good too, and yes I'm talking about everything. From food to kitchen stuff I don't use.

I'm using this life change as an opportunity to make myself lighter and more free than I ever have been in my life

<3 it's a very liberating habit to get into.

All the best to you!

[doxieville 799]

Don't give it to the dogs!!!! Says the dog trainer in me.... But seriously, if your dogs are healthy and not overweight, it's fine. I'm just used to working with behavoir issues and a lot of times I can pinpoint craziness to food issues. I've seen pics of Butterthebeans dogs and they are GORGOEUS.

I have a 28 year old son and he's been enjoying the foods I can't eat. He and his roommates are eating pretty well some days! My hubby bought me Lobster Bisque that just turned my tummy looking at, so I called up my son. :-)

Pink: EXCELLENT idea about Freebirds! I didn't think of freezing it. The tortilla defrosts ok?

Great ideas, everyone. Thanks!

[Butterthebean 8,146]

Yep I'm pretty picky about what I give my dogs. Primarily it will be meat and meat only. Occasionally they might get a small bite of cheese or a tiny taste of scrambled egg beaters. They don't get junk because there is no junk on my plate. My dogs are healthy, fit and very active. We work hard to walk their little legs off. Two regular walks a day plus about 2-3 times a week we take them to the local woodland trails for about a 5 mile hike. They love that because it ends at a lake and they get to jump in.

My FIL, now he is one of those that thinks the only way to get a dog to love you is to give it cinnamon rolls. We have had to keep a close eye on our dogs whenever we visit him, because he will sneak them biscuits with butter and sugar while we aren't looking. His dog can barely walk because it's so fat. It needs a canine VSG.

[CamarilloCA 41]

Thanks for your replies on this. I have been away, and so I'm sorry for the delayed response. I can take about five bites of something, even with a 38 bougie, and I'm done. Most everything gets saved for tomorrow's lunch or dinner, but many times, the leftovers go to the dogs, the chickens, or in the trash. What I can freeze, I will. If it goes bad, then it gets tossed. I now try to freeze almost everything including deli meat, and just take out a few slices at a time to defrost.

Yes, Doxieville, the burritos from Freebirds and Chipotle freeze nicely, including the tortillas. I buy tortillas from costco and end up freezing them and just defrosting them when I need them. Lately, I've been trying to eat the burrito in the bowls (without the tortilla) instead of the burritos because the tortillas have a lot of calories, but they are tasty.

[Crystalite 26]

I also hate wasting food. When I have leftover I think to my self I have to eat it. When I was a kid coming home from school I would have a snack, a sandwich or maybe some Cereal. If I heard my dad coming in the door I would run and throw out what ever I was eating. If he would see me eating he would make me eat everything that was in the frigi. All the deli meat and if there was no bread he would use tortillas (Mexican household). And he would sit at the table with this belt made from chains and told me if I didn't finish it i would get hit with it. He was mentally and emotionally Abuse man.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

I have been known lately to let my dogs help me finish something because I hate leaving those last 2 bites. Before surgery they didn't get much off my plate.

Very good. I am the same way with my dog.