Food for Thought: January 31st

Don't Be a Garbage Can

A garbage can is round and unprotesting as it accepts the leftovers which are stuffed into it. How many times have you treated yourself as a garbage can? As we stood up at the sink scraping what was left on the plates into ourselves, we rationalized that we just couldn't bear to waste good food. Why did we not remember the harm we were doing to our own bodies? "Is not the body more than food?" Certainly, it is more than a garbage can.

One way to eliminate waste is to prepare only what is needed for the meal. Sometimes we compulsive overeaters catch ourselves unconsciously overestimating quantities just so there will be something left to tempt us! Another way to avoid throwing out useable food is to keep a bowl in the refrigerator or freezer for scraps which can later be made into soup. We all know how to store complete servings for later use. It is the little bits here and there that get us into trouble.

If there is nothing that can be done with what is left in the bottom of the pan, then throw it away. Better to waste a small amount of food than to break abstinence, which is the most important thing in our lives.

Teach me to value my body more than food.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

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Here is a blog I wrote on this very subject a while ago:

Crumbs & Broken Bits


The topic of my blog today is crumbs, crusts & broken bits of junk food. That’s what calls my name…not whole cookies or thick slices of cake or pie…..just the crumbs. If I see a box of whole chocolates or an entire candy bar, I have no desire to eat it. If I see a plate with some crumbs on it though, I’m salivating like a maniac. What’s UP with that??

Maybe that’s why the junk-food manufacturers are making so many bite-sized options these days….because they KNOW how people are more prone to wanting them. Lately, there’s been a big trend towards making bite-sized junk food. In my previous life, I used to adore bite sized food. I could pop it into my mouth mindlessly & make believe I was eating less than I would have had I chosen a large serving size. In reality, I wound up eating a whole lot MORE though…who’s kidding who? And that’s probably the manufacturer’s tactic behind making those mini-sizes: WE wind up eating more, and THEY make more $$$$.

Take the new Reese’s unwrapped mini’s for instance. When you don’t have to waste a few seconds tearing off individual wrappers, how many more of those suckers can you eat? A whole lot methinks. If you have to stop to remove a wrapper, you may actually THINK about what you’re doing, and there goes the Mindless Eating Strategy, right? Hmmm.

But, back to the crumbs, crusts & broken bits investigation. Do you find yourself getting more tempted by the leftovers than anything else? Like, say, a crust of pizza dough on your kids’ plate? Or a chunk of pie crust? Or how about the bottom of a bag of pretzels or cookies?? An empty cake box with just a few blobs of frosting or remnants on the bottom?

Is it just ME, or do you find some certain allure here too? I’m trying to figure out if this craving is something we share in common, or just some wild hair up MY butt….

I think, for me, if I reach for a crumb or a crust, I can trick myself into thinking it’s no big deal…not ‘real’ calories….no real harm in eating SUCH a tiny morsel. Of course, it never ends with one tiny morsel though……

Because sugar is my personal poison. If I start eating sugar, I may as well inject myself with poison because it has the same effect: death. Well, not really…..of course I won’t die if I eat sugar….but doing so may kill off my whole program. And that’s a death of sorts, isn’t it?

So, let’s take a survey:

If you had a choice, would you prefer a whole candy bar or a bite sized piece?


This 'crumb mentality' is typical Compulsive Overeater behavior..............treating our bodies like garbage cans by eating all the leftovers.  For today, I pray to be relieved of temptations to take that FIRST compulsive bite.