The Clean Plate Club

I'm a life-long member. I probably always will be. And I really don't think there is anything wrong with that!

You see, back in "the day" parents always made sure their children finished the food on their plates. Their reasoning? To make sure their children ate their vegetables, to avoid waste, because it's what their parents did... I'm sure they had plenty of reasons.

And then portion sizes blew up and so did parents. Kids started to blow up right along with them. So we started hearing that IT'S OKAY to not lick your plate clean. Stop when you're satisfied. Good advice, right?

In theory, yes. We really should fuel our bodies when we feel hungry and stop when we're satisfied. But after years of training my body to just eat as much as I could of whatever tasted delicious until I made myself sick, it's really hard to figure this out. So I don't.

Instead I serve myself normal sized portions, and 99% of the time I eat every last bite. I just finish what's on my plate. Because I'm consuming a very low amount of calories right now. I need every one of the calories I put on my plate.

I'm still flexible. If I've over-served myself, I stop eating when I realize I'm starting to feel full. And if I finish and find myself hungry a while later, I allow myself an extra helping or a snack.

But most of the time I just eat what's on my plate. And I'm okay with being a member of the clean plate club.