Get Rid of the 'Clean Plate' Attitude
The Basics
Many of us are taught as children to not leave the table until our plates are empty, rather than learning to stop eating when we are full. This can be a difficult habit to break, but recognising ‘fullness’ and then stopping eating is a valuable skill to learn for helping weight control.
Common Myths and Misconceptions
- “There are children starving in Africa and I feel guilty about leaving good food”. True, however there are also people dying in this country because of eating too much food. Although when you were young you may have been told about the ‘starving children’ to get you to eat, unfortunately eating everything on your plate will make absolutely no difference to the children in Africa. If you feel guilty, buy less food and then send the money you have saved to a charity such as Oxfam or Save the Children, which really will help to make that difference.
Tips and Tricks
- Start to break the must-eat-all habit of childhood by leaving two to three mouthfuls of food on the plate at the end of every meal. Learn to ‘listen’ to your body telling you when you’ve had enough to eat, rather than eating everything just because it is there in front of you.
- Use your fridge magnet to begin learning how to recognise when you're hungry or full.
- Don’t fill your plate with more than you need (unless it’s vegetables or salad) just because you plan to leave some food on the plate!
- Fill half of your plate with vegetables or salad first and then add the protein (e.g. meat, fish or alternatives) and starch (e.g. potatoes, pasta) portions.
- Serve your portions and then clear away leftovers before you sit down to eat – freeze or throw away the leftovers if you think you’ll be tempted to pick at them.
- Always try to sit down to eat and turn the TV off – studies have shown that those who don’t watch TV whilst eating, eat less. Focusing on enjoying your meal will help you to stop eating when you are full – distractions will make it less likely that you will notice when you are full.
- Drink a large glass of water with every meal – this is great for your digestion and will also help you to feel full.
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