Lose Your Membership to the "Clean Plate Club"

Appetizer
Commit to eating less of the food on your plate.

Main Course
For some of us, "Build it, and they will come" has turned into "Serve it, and I will eat it."

So much of what we eat is psychological. You may not even be thinking about pizza, but when you see the leftover pepperoni pie in the break room, you dive in and eat the WHOLE thing. And that's when you aren't even hungry.

Or maybe you grew up in a household where not finishing your plate was the 8th deadly sin. Sound familiar? If so, it's time for you to break the stronghold of your youth, and take responsibility for the sheer volume of food that you're forcing in after your body is full & satisfied.

When you're able to, try to wrap up part of your meal for later when you eat out or freeze leftovers if you're feeling stuck with too much food at home. If neither of these are options (i.e. You're on a road trip, at the zoo, stuck in the airport, etc.), well then guess what? Once you've eaten enough to satisfy your hunger...THROW THE REST AWAY!

- gasp -

Yes, believe it or not, the world will not come to an end just because we tossed 2 inches of a Subway 6" because we were full. Think of it like this, would you prefer that the excess calories be thrown away or attached to your thighs?

Think I'm being a bit dramatic? Well, you're probably right...but the point of the matter is that most of us are simply eating too much food.

Dessert
I'm so, so, so very guilty of overeating and mindless eating. Nothing breaks my heart more than to see the waiter take away an appetizer plate that still has a few calamari rings or stuffed mushrooms on it. Even though I'm TOTALLY not hungry, I'm usually the one that says, "Oh, you can leave that here."

Writing this post has motivated me to do better and be better. I'll keep you posted on my progress!