Did anyone else have to get over food issues related to waste/leftovers

I just needed a place to vent....

I have a problem...have had it for years. I even wondered if I could go get hypnotized to get over my problem.

Part of my weight troubles can be attributed to my membership in the clean your plate club.  Somewhere along the way I was taught to eat everything on my plate and any/all leftovers because it's a sin to be wasteful, you must be a good steward of what God has provided and for heaven's sake there are starving children in Africa, you know!!!

I managed this decently as a single person.  But, since being married, I've struggled to cook the right amount of food.  I can NEVER get it right.  I divide foods into servings and cook accordingly.  There are 3 in my household and I'll be damned that if I cook the exact serving amount for 3 people no matter what there's either not enough (hubby wants more) or WORSE...there are freakin' leftovers!!!!   It's even more difficult now because my portion isn't necessarily a "real" serving anymore.  Not to mention soon it will be just the 2 of us when my daughter heads off to college in the fall.

Leftovers are the devil. 

I can't throw them away-- (remember, they must be eaten).  My husband doesn't "do" leftovers, so that leaves ME to eat them.  Fast forward years of me being the garbage disposal you get me, the lapband patient. 

So obviously now I can't be the garbabe disposal.  I still have this mental issue with discarding them.  I know somebody out there is going to say freeze them...It's never enough to make a new meal....just enough to make me feel guilty if I throw it away. 

It's not just cooked food, it's bread, produce, even milk that's not consumed in a timely fashion....you name it.  At least Debbie Meyer has created her green bags and now green boxes...that's helped to preserve those types of foods.  I thank the Lord for that!!!

Just sounding off about my issues!  Feel free to console

I completely understand your frustration!!  I'm a 3rd generation accountant.. cheap is in my blood!!!   But, if you're over eating, you're adding way more than the cost of all the food in your health problems.  (Plus, it ends up in the potty anyway)  So, start valuing YOU more than any food that goes uneaten. 

*hugs*
Smilin'

PS  I read where you said that your daughter was heading off to college in the fall.  I almost fell out of my chair!!!  You look like you could be heading off to college, not possibly old enough to have a child that age!!!

LOL...Thanks.   (I'll be 39 this year!)

I want to learn to get over this crap and just put the food in the REAL garbage disposal without crying about it.  Thank you for the encouraging words.

why don't you try it one day... put your left overs in the garbage disposal and see how it "feels"...  might be interesting...

LOL...sounds like a worthy experiment!

I have started freezing left overs...Last night I cooked a triple batch of the quiche from eggface and not as much was eaten.  I put some in the fridge, but also put like 5 or 6 small 1 meal containers in the freezer to take to work for lunch.  I am really trying to not throw away left overs.  My family will do leftovers for like 1 night, but that's about it so then it's left on me.... 

I know what you mean, it is hard to throw away good food.
I just don't "Think" about it anymore I just do it. I do feel guilt, but I have been through to much to eat that extra food and gain more weight.

Do you have family members that may like the left overs?. If not and you can't freeze them and no one will eat them for lunch the next day...THROW THEM AWAY.

And pat youself on the back for being a strong woman:).

I hear you...i so struggle with this and the crazy part is my parents did not require that i clean my plate as a child..but as an adult...i have a hard time leaving it alone until it is gone. Even if I am full!!

Me too!!! And may God bless my psychologist for being the most patient man ever in trying to help me re-program my thinking on this one over and over and over again.  It's a tough one to beat, that's for sure. I certainly haven't mastered it yet, but the fact of the matter is this: our eating the last bits of leftovers, regardless of how small they are, does absolutely NOTHING to help one starving child in Africa (or China as it was in our house growing up). 

I've started to modify my cooking so that there are fewer leftovers than before, but it's a definite learning curve and I'm still swirling around in it. Better than I was, but still feeling guilty about throwing away perfectly good food. I try taking leftovers to work that I just can't throw out whenever possible. But, when it becomes necessary to throw things out, I just have to bite the bullet and do it. I was also told to remind myself that I am not a garbage disposal.

I suppose hypnosis could work for something like this; I've actually had it done for relaxation purposes and it's pretty powerful stuff, so if you can find someone to help you re-program yourself, I'd say go for it!

I really understand how you feel.  I actually can remember when I was a child being made to sit at the table (usually with my sister) and being made to finish cleaning my plate, and to add insult to injury we were rewarded with some sort of dessert when we were done.. And my parents use to wonder why I was overweight. LOL
I now give most my leftovers to our dogs. Probally not the best for them but they love the treat.