Stopping Yourself from Taking that Last Bite
Ever since I was little I’ve been a skinny minnie, always getting teased on the playground. Being called the “human katydid,” witch, and, my favorite, “chicken bones.” And because of my tiny frame, my nana was always telling me to finish everything on my plate or face the belt. She’d say, “La ultima mordida es la que te engorda…andale coma!” (”The last bite is the one that fattens you up, come on eat!”)
But I just couldn’t force my self to swallow that last bite. As soon as I would get full, my stomach would grumble and I knew that if I were to dare take that last bite I’d spend my play time inside with a tummy ache. Sometimes I would sneak the bite to the puppy, or Pop-pop would eat it for me, but other times I was not so lucky and had to face the belt. This is what I recently realized as being so awful.
Since the time I was little I was told to do something that I in reality I should have been parented away from doing. Instead of being taught to eat mindfully, I was taught to eat with others in mind. If some kid is starving in Cambodia, then I should be happy to eat all the food my family was able to give me in America. But my stomach isn’t like that. I shouldn’t over indulge because someone else in the world can’t.
My stomach is like the rest of me – to nurture it I need to maintain balance. Luckily for me, I didn’t grow up to have an eating disorder, but I did manage to continue my “bad habit” of ceasing to eat once I felt full.
As a child I was told that this was wasteful, and as a teenager I unintentionally offended many. But I have realized that weighing my actual needs against my perceived wants is important. When I go to a fancy restaurant and cannot finish everything on my plate, despite how delicious it tastes and looks and how much my eyes are saying, “More!” I’m able to heed my mind’s insight. I try to enjoy each bite fully, so that when the time comes to push the plate away I don’t feel guilty and can ask for the check.
If you feel pressured to finish what’s in front of you just because it’s there – don’t! You don’t have to. It can be an effective strategy for weight control, or it can just help you avoid a stomach ache after dinner, and in any case it’s great for building willpower.
My friend recently saw me do this with a molten chocolate cake and was so appalled that she just had to finish it herself. Of course, she later regretted the decision, and when I asked her why she couldn’t just let it go, she justified her actions with the conventional wisdom: “You can’t let food go to waste!”
(Photo credit: Emily Szettell )
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