When I was growing up, I remember my parents telling me that I must finish everything on my plate. Wasting food was just not acceptable.
I have never liked waste and continue to look upon it unfavorably when I see anything wasted – time, money, food, etc.
But having said that, my views on finishing my plate of food has changed over time.
Let me explain…
When you leave food on your plate, it goes to the garbage can. Chances are that many of us reasonable people will feel bad about wasting food, as we should, since we know in the back of our minds that there are people going hungry around the world. We should be thankful and blessed for the food that we have received and wasting it is definitely not a good thing. Agreed.
Having said that, there are times when you just get to a point where you know that you should not be putting more food in your mouth. You are full.
So why did you end up having more food on your plate then you could eat?
Sometimes it’s just not avoidable. For example, at a party where you are served food on a plate. For times like these, you just don’t have a choice as to the plate that was put in front of you. Or sometimes you just made a mistake and took too much food. You’re human. It happens.
The only choices you have at that point are:
- Do you put it in the garbage can knowing that you are wasting food?
- Do you put it in your body knowing that it’s not good for your body?
I used to be the person that would religiously finish his plate and would tell my kids to do the same.
As I have grown older, I have learned to respect my body more.
Your body is not a garbage can.
It’s true that it’s not good to waste food by putting it in the garbage but it’s worse to treat your body like a garbage can by ingesting food that your body doesn’t need
Same could be said for any other substance that’s not good for your body. The fact is that we have been given only one body and if we don’t treat it respectfully, we will suffer the consequences as we get older.
Be good to your body and be considerate of your future self. You deserve it!