Food waste for a slimmer waist
Throwing away food is very upsetting. But necessary if you want to lose weight.
I hate throwing food away. Food that’s gone off. Food I’ve started but didn’t want to finish. Food where I didn’t start it but threw it away because it went way past its sell-by date.
Food waste is sinful. Chucking away perfectly edible food is criminal. Yet I do it. I know there are plenty people who don’t get enough to eat and even being on a diet is a privilege. I am not deprived; I am deliberately depriving myself in order to lose weight.
With climate change rightly so high up the agenda throwing away food that’s taken resources to be grown, processed and delivered is a disgusting thing to do. But I do it. If I didn’t throw food away that is no longer palatable to me I would not be able to lose weight. If I treated my body like a human dustbin instead of using the actual dustbin I would not lose weight.
Mums who weep with frustration and anguish when their children won’t eat so end up “cleaning” their plates for them because they can’t bear to throw it away. When you’ve cooked something for someone and they don’t eat it all it’s very hard to throw it away. It’s a matter of pride I keep my food scraps down to a bare minimum. But there are still scraps.
Training myself to throw food away rather than eat every single morsel I’ve bought, cooked and prepared is a necessary part of my weight-loss regime. You can’t give food that’s half eaten to a food bank. I don’t have a dog though neighbours do and if it’s something I know their dog will like I give food scraps to them. But mostly food that is uneaten goes into the recycling bin. I’ve no idea if some use is then found for it. I hope so but I try not to think about it too much.
Obviously it’s best to buy only what you know you’ll eat and I’m getting better at that. But I do tend to over buy. I buy for my cupboards and ‘fridge so they are fuller than I am. At least cupboard food has a longer shelf life than fresh so it can go to a food bank if I think I’ll never get round to eating it.
I shop as if famine is coming. I love a very well-stocked kitchen. It may seem counter intuitive but the success of my diet is often thanks to having more in the house than I want to eat. It staves off hunger pangs knowing there is plenty food in my kitchen. I get a kick out of having a ‘fridge bursting to full. A kitchen crammed full of goodies.
Some foods I find I’ve simply gone off for no obvious reason. For example eggs. I used to love eggs. A dieter’s friend for sure. But I’ve gone off them; even the thought of eating them makes me feel sick. Perhaps dieting changes eating habits. It’s certainly changed one habit I used to have - eating all my food even if I didn’t like it and then cleaning other people’s plates if they didn’t like theirs! I keep hearing my parents’ dinner table words: “There are starving children in Africa who would love what you’ve left on your plate.” But when you’re on a diet you’re already restricting your calories. Last thing you want is to waste them on food you’re not enjoying.
I am well aware of my privilege that I choose to cut down what I eat while millions starve. I salve my conscience with contributions to the local food bank and donations to disaster zones. But I still feel bad about wasting food. At Christmas how much extra food that’s been bought will end up in the bin? We are so wasteful here in the over-fed West. Learning not to be is as much a part of deciding to lose weight and sticking to it.