Waste not want not

Many of our eating behaviours are based on beliefs or fears that are unconscious to us, established from our early food experiences, conversations around our dinner tables in childhood and the values and beliefs of those around us.

I've spoken to people who's parents or grandparents grew up in war times, when food was rationed and eating everything on your plate was heavily reinforced behaviour. Others who's parents spoke about the 'starving children in Africa' who would be so grateful for those last few mouthfuls on their plates. For some, it's simply about not wanting to cause offence to a host. For these people, eating past their natural point of feeling full and ignoring their body intuition is not a conscious choice, but a behaviour based on these experiences. Although we are living in times of food abundance, patterns of thought that there might not be another meal soon and ingrained fears of food shortages can still affect our decisions about eating everything on our plates.

With food waste being a big issue, eating out can be particularly stressful for some, knowing that what they leave behind can't be simply saved for another meal like at home. The good news is that many cafe's and restaurants are open to you taking your leftovers with you.

Slowing down while eating and checking in with yourself throughout your meal is a good starting point to learning to feel your natural fullness and allow you to bring to consciousness why you desire to keep eating past this point.

- How do I feel right now?
- Am I fully tasting all the components of my meal?
- Am I still hungry? What is it about my body that's telling me that?
- What do I believe will happen if I finish/don't finish what's on the plate?

Your body has an amazing natural talent to regulate your appetite, some days you'll finish your plate and choose to go back for seconds, and other days you may have to learn to feel comfortable about leaving something on your plate. Take some time to listen, learn and follow your natural food flow.