Once, I ate until all the food was gone from my plate.  My focus is now on God instead of food, and the food is not as important as it once was.  I have learned to enjoy each bite and am satisfied with less.  Now that I am listening to God and eating only what my body needs, I am usually full before my plate is clean.

God does not want me to obsess over leftovers.  John 6:27 is, “But don’t be so concerned about perishable things like food.   Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you.  For God the Father has given me the seal of his approval.” (Holy Bible, New Living Translation, 1996, 2004, 2007)  God is way more important than food.  I no longer stuff food in my month that my body does not need.

I have several choices when I am full and have food left to eat.  One option is to toss food left on my plate.  That is hard since I grew up in a time when we cleaned our plates.  Many moms feel a need to finish what their kids don’t eat.  Our brains believe wasting food is bad, so we eat food to avoid waste.  I have learned my body does not need this excess food for nutrition, so I should not eat it.  Eating extra food causes me to gain weight and suffer stomach discomfort.

The other choice is to save leftovers for later.  Since I pack a lunch for work each day, leftovers make an easy lunch.  If what I have left looks good and I know I will eat it later, I save it.  I have saved many leftovers, only to deal with disgusting remains later.  Throwing away food my body does not need and I won’t eat later was a hard lesson to learn. Eating only what my body needs is more important than eating all the food on my plate.