The proverbial expression, “WASTE NOT, WANT NOT” was first recorded in 1772 but had an earlier, even more alliterative version, willful waste makes woeful want (1576). The meaning: If we don’t waste what we have, we’ll still have it in the future and will not lack (want) it.
Okay, enough history lessons about expressions, so what does this have to do with weight control? Here goes:
It is sort of inherent to our nature that we do not ever want to “waste” food, i.e. throw food away before it is fully consumed. Part of this probably goes back to our parents imploring us to finish every morsel of food on our plates with the inspirational statement being something to the effect that “children are starving in (fill in the blank country) so you should never, ever toss food away without finishing it.
I know as parents (and grandparents) we find ourselves reaching over to our children’s plates when they sort of finish eating. Rather than see this food get thrown into the trash, it seems like a good idea to partake of the Happy Meal remnants, partial plate of pasta and/or whatever else our kids leave behind. Also, if we go to a buffet restaurant and overfill our plates, we feel obligated to finish everything despite not being hungry for fear that we will be scorned for being a food-waster.
During a long-term weight control journey, try to NOT reach for food left over on their plates by our family members. Wasting food is not a good thing at all but neither is packing on weight because of our “waste not, want not” behavioral patterns.
And one of my biggest WASTE of money on a musical show was going to see a Andrew Lloyd Webber (yes, of Phantom Of The Opera and Evita fame) failure called “Whistle Down The Wind”. BUT, this did contain one of the sweetest Broadway musical songs I ever heard . See if you agree.
