A glass full of Chocolate Milk. Warm Maple Syrup. Buttery Homemade Pancakes. These are three things that describe the flavors I had anticipated for weeks. My son’s birthday had finally arrived and we were going to celebrate it at our favorite breakfast joint. That’s right, my taste buds were so enthralled that I began salivating just thinking about it as we pulled out of our driveway and headed into town.
The moment came and I reached for my fork…
Bite #1: AWESOME.
Bite #2: YUM…need I say more?
Bite #4: Still, really good.
Bite #10: Wow, I can’t believe I’ve only eaten ¼ of this enormous short stack! Need to add more syrup.
Bite #15: *Sigh* Perhaps I am getting full. But wait, I dreamed about this meal for days—I owe this to myself to keep eating.
Bite #21: Why…why did I do this to myself? I am so stuffed that all I want to do is go home and go to bed.
Take a look at those series of bites. That first bite—wow—kind of hard to beat! Even at bite #4 it still tasted really good. But do you notice that by bite #10 I wasn’t even thinking about how good it tasted? In fact, I was already in the mindset of persevering to finish it.
As kids we were taught to always clean our plate. This meant forcing ourselves to finish even though it didn’t bring peace or satisfaction. So if bite #14 doesn’t taste as good as bite #1, don’t feel obligated to finish your meal. Yes, wasting food is not ideal, but managing your weight is more important. Plus, the more you learn which bite the food looses it’s charm, you’ll learn to adjust your portion size accordingly.
Those first few bites are simply hard to beat. So why not savor them and leave the rest? Utilize the calories you consume by making sure they get the appreciation they deserve.
Something to think about…
Take Home Message:
Bite #1 does not taste as good as Bite #21.
Peace with Food 
There is so much truth in this statement. I struggle with not doing this to my own children. Sometimes we do this because they won’t eat anything though. Its a fine line to walk.
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It can be challenging, that’s for sure. One way we were able to replace this habit with a better one is to take tiny steps and focus on little improvements. 🙂
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I’m reading this as I sit scooping hummus up like dip with my almonds. I generally only put it on wraps until I saw you dip yours at the park one day. Yummy!
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Ashley! I am so glad you are diggin’ the almonds and hummus! I’m also super flattered you are reading and enjoying our posts 🙂 The comments are very reassuring. ~Lara
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To begin with, I would have cut the pancakes in half and asked for a go- box.
Then I would have an another meal of enjoyment another day. Two meals of enjoyment for the price of one.
My new issue- bite 1 is wonderful, but if bite 8 is not as good and I am full, I still want to continue eating until I have my half. I have got to learn- let go.
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That is absolutely what we would recommend also–to ask for a to-go box from the get-go so the 2nd half is out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Excellent.
In some cases, that you have learned bite #8 doesn’t taste as good but you still haven’t finished your “1/2”, could you reserve 3/4 of the pancakes for later instead of always cutting them in 1/2? Why not offer yourself even less than 1/2 if you know you will be too tempted to finish it, even if you are full. I would imagine your stomach has shrunk a lot over the years, so perhaps, at times, you will have to cut the portions into 3rds (esp. when you have repeatedly learned that w/ certain meals you get “full” before you finish your 1/2)…and stretch 3 meals for the price of one. It sounds like if the food is available on your plate, it is hard to pass it up. So maybe cut your portion sizes even smaller to eliminate this struggle? Just a thought!
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I agree, I may just have to do this to lose those last few pounds.
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You can do it, girl! Let us know how it goes!
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