Clean Your Plate.
Which belief do you subscribe to: – the “eat everything you’re given” or a ‘stop when you feel like it”?
Opinions differ as to whether it’s best to eat everything on our plates, or to stop when we’ve had enough.
Some say that eating all the food put in front of us can make us obsessive or encourage overeating, however I believe it can be a powerful behaviour.
I grew up on a farm and subscribe to the habit of eating everything I’m served. Sure, in my early years there was an element of survival involved, – trying to get my share along with 4 hungry brothers. Also, my mum was a great cook, so I rarely wanted to leave anything on my plate anyway. But over the years I’ve come to believe ‘cleaning our plate’ is a principle that relates to most areas of our lives: It’s about learning to manage ourselves, setting achievable goals and finishing what we set out to do.
Serving up an appropriate portion at each meal and finishing what’s there is a way of learning to take responsibility for ourselves and our decisions – and to complete what we start. There’s a lot of psychology in eating, as in most things: – If you want to cut down on your calorie intake, just eat from a smaller plate, and when you see you’ve finished what’s in front of you, you know you’ve had enough.
It’s also about making the right choices in the first place.
Of course, like most things in life there are at least two sides to this topic, and again like most things, it comes down to working out what suits you and your situation best – and sticking to it.
Either way, learning what and how much is right for us, being satisfied with what we choose and tidying up after ourselves is about taking responsibility for our lives.
Have a satisfying week.
Kim
