food...food....food!!

I feel like I'm doing really great, but since I have vowed to do monthly weigh ins, the only way I know is by clothing.  I am the kind of person who gains and loses all over pretty evenly, therefore I can lose 20 lbs and not see a very big difference.

Anyways, the biggest thing I have to make myself do is push the plate away when I'm satisfied.  For so long I ate till I was full, and then stuffed in some more.  I measure out 1/2 cup of food and most of the time cannot fini**** all.  I struggle with leaving food in my plate.  I was raised like so many others in my generation to clear my plate, not to waist anything.

I am doing well so far, but still find myself bothered when I put my plate away with food in it, even if I'm putting it in the fridge for later.  It is a struggle for me to not clean my plate.  I have known this problem for a while. 

I have never made my kids clear there plate.  When they announce that they are full, I let them leave the table.  I do not want to see them struggle as I have.

I like you had to belong to as my dad put it " the clean plate club" it's very hard for me to not finish a plate..I also find it..not hard... I'd say, I'm more, uneasy about sitting with the family at dinner and I have on my plate what amounts to what a toddler would eat...and I look at the other plates full to the brim...and the tiny bites, and the stopping after the tiny bites putting my fork down...just feels odd..I know this is my new. Normal but I wonder what will be going thru people's head when I finally start socializing again and they witness this...

I'm very glad to hear you let your kids stop when they are full.....you love them, and don't want to create food issues for them.  Well, my advice is, love yourself too.  "clean plate" is a learned habit, not a natural occurrence....no one will starve in any other country if you don't clean the plate, only you will suffer if you do it.

yesterday I was at a very large bbq....I put a cheeseburger on my plate, along with some veggies and a slice of peach.  it looked full, no one noticed.  ate 1/2 the burger (not the bun)...easy to say " I'm not doing carbs" if necessary...no one noticed the rest of the burger under the bun.  had a little of the other stuff, and could only have a bit of the peach.  when done, I threw a napkin over the remaining food.  If you keep eating, you are going to feel very uncomfortable....and may very well throw up...I know I would, and throwing up at the bbq would be more uncomfortable than throwing away uneaten food!!

again, it's a learned thing...so learn to do what's best for you....

good luck!
Sophie

I know exactly what you mean.  I feel actual anxiety when I leave anything on my plate.  I would have been punished when I was a child for not cleaning my plate.  It's a hard one to get over.

Jane

Why only monthly weigh ins? I weigh every day. The trick is to just use that number as a guide not a measure. Are you heading in the right direction? How fast, etc. you can't let that number mess with your head.

Its' so funny that you responded with this.  You are the one I though of when I wondered who might question my monthly weigh in.......lol.

I know myself well enough, not to obsess over the scale.  The monthly loss is what matters to me most.  I don't need to see myself fluctuate weekly.  I just keep eating like I'm supposed to, feel my clothes get looser and check the actual number on the 24th of every month.

I think your pointing avatar fits you perfectly.  You are great at motivating with tough love.  You happen to be one of my favorites on here, and you have definitely earned your place. 

I've been weighing daily and am considering going to once a week. Watching these gains and maintains when I feel like I should be losing is difficult (my brain says, "hello, I am taking in 500 calories, how the hell am I not losing more?").

I also identify with your "clean plate" syndrome. Working on that. My extreme fear of vomiting will help.

Maybe start with less on your plate...