All my life, I thought it was a crime to throw food away.  Even when full, I continued to eat until my plate was clean. I never used hunger as a reason to eat or fullness as a reason to stop.  I was able to follow the “clean your plate rule”  without weight gain until my late teen years.  My metabolism started slowing down and I began eating to soothe emotions.  When I hit my mid twenties, I started eating out more frequently.  Since I usually finished larger restaurant portions, my weight passed the 200 pound mark for the first time.

Psalm 145:15 is, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, And You give them their food in due season”  (The Holy Bible, New King James Version, 1982).  God provides me with food to nourish my body.  The hardest lesson I had to learn was to stop eating when I am full. If I stop eating and leave food on my plate, I can choose to save it for later or toss it.  Most people see throwing food away as wasteful.  However, I have found this saying to be true:  “The food can go to waste, or go to my waist“.

God has shown me that to continue eating after my body gets full is wrong.  If I choose to stuff down food my body does not need, I am consuming excess calories.  I would rather toss food than add it to my waist.  When I am tempted to mindlessly clean my plate, I look to God.  He helps me to eat only when I am hungry and stop eating once my body signals full.  With God’s help, I stay on track and continue to lose weight.