Do you ever overeat because you don’t want to waste food or money?
Perhaps you spent $20 on a meal and felt like you’d be missing out if you didn’t finish your plate. And we don’t take it to-go because of other silly reasons like, it won’t be as good later.
Or maybe you can’t take it to-go and you feel like it’s disrespectful to waste food. That’s probably one that we can all relate to.
The fear of wasting food is one of the biggest psychological blocks to overeating.
It’s a block that’s usually ingrained in us as children, so they can be deeply triggering and difficult to overcome.
So let’s get triggered! And dig into the reasons why we’re afraid of wasting food, why it leads to overeating, and how we can stop both.
At the end of this post, there’s also a free 13-page ebook on eating psychology that you can get. If you want it now, click here to gain instant access.
7 Reasons Why You Hate Wasting Food
As far as I’m aware, the main reasons we hate wasting food involve money, morals, parents, or hedonic eating. But it’s more complex than that.
So I’ve created a list of 7 reasons why you might hate wasting food. And if your reason isn’t on this list, leave me a comment below!
Alas, here are the top 7 psychological triggers for overeating because of the fear of wasting food:
1. You’re afraid of wasting flavor or an experience
Whenever you feel blocks about wasting “flavor” or that leftovers won’t be “as good,” you should equate this to hedonic eating.
Unlike other forms of compulsive eating, which stem from the desire to numb our emotions, hedonic eating is different. It stems from the desire to gain pleasure, not numb negativity.
And when we are in the grips of hedonic eating, we don’t be willing to sacrifice flavor by taking something to-go. So we end up overeating and feeling like it’s because we’re afraid of wasting food.
But it wasn’t really about wasting food at all! It was about the desire for pleasure and joy. Which brings me to the solution:
To stop hedonic eating, you need to make sure there’s joy elsewhere in your life, otherwise you’ll remain stuck in this cycle.
2. You’re “eating in advance” (in attempt) to be economical
Sometimes we avoid wasting food by overeating because of (poor) logic. We know we’ll be hungry later, so instead of wasting food (or taking it to-go!) we just “eating in advance.”
But if we overeat now, then it means that we need to undereat later if we want balance. But undereating has consequences of its own (hint: it’s the reason why diets don’t work: restriction always leads to binges).
And we don’t want to be using logic to eat, anyways. The best way to stop overeating and achieve your natural weight is to listen to your body, not your brain.
3. You feel like you’re wasting money
But what about money blocks? Many of us refuse to waste our hard earned money, even if doing so means we’re overeating and self-sabotaging our weight loss goals.
Money blocks are some of the biggest blocks around wasting food. To tackle this one, let’s put the money you do have aside and consider this question:
If there was a magical procedure that would help you become your ideal weight by tomorrow, how much would you pay for it?
Seriously take a moment to answer this question…
For me, I told myself that I’d spend up to $20k. I have even heard answers upwards of $500k! Then, compare the price of your meal with that number the next time you’re afraid of wasting food.
You might be surprised at how trivial a $10 meal is compared to the thousands of dollars that many of us would honestly spend to achieve our natural weight.
4. You feel guilty for wasting food because of world hunger (except your guilt is not helpful)
Do you think that wasting food is disrespectful to those living without access to adequate food? This is a personal one for me.
I used to be wracked with guilt about wasting food when others in the world didn’t have enough of it. Then I realized that, whether I ate the food on my plate or not, it was still wasted; and it did nothing to help the people I was thinking about.
So, I started donating $15/month to Action Against Hunger, one of the best charities that helps fight world hunger. When I see my recurring charge each month, it reminds me what a privilege it is to struggle with having too much food.
I hope you’ll join me in actually making a difference.
5. You worry about what other people think of you (don’t we all)
Some people will judge you for wasting food. But your eating behavior is none of anyone else’s business. And keep in mind that you don’t really know what anyone around you is thinking.
Even a nasty side-glance from someone could be about something completely unrelated that they are dealing with.
We only assume that others are judging us because we’re judging ourselves in the exact same way.
You’re not a bad person for wasting food. In fact, your guilt is proof that you care! So try your best to think ahead, but when it’s not an option to avoid wasting food, let it go.
6. Your mom or dad taught you to always lick your plate clean
Many of us feel compelled to finish our plates — regardless of fullness — because we were trained when we were young.
The significance of this compulsion shows how effective mental programming can be. So take back your power.
Try reciting the affirmation “I am allowed to leave food on my plate” over and over and over.
This will help program new beliefs into your subconscious, and it can seriously help. (Affirmations are backed by science, y’all.)
7. You have major FOMO with food
In the comments below, you’ll see a comment from Ted sayes, “If I see something I like, I wonder when the next time I’m going to have the opportunity to eat it again. I also feel like I have to take it now before someone else does.”
The fear of missing out triggers lots of unwanted behavior, including overeating. If you feel like your fear of wasting food is linked to the fear of missing out, get curious.
What do you think you’re missing out on? Exotic food? Flavor? Joy? (If it’s joy, go back to #1 and address hedonic eating.)
Then, think about the opportunity costs of overeating: feeling gross, feeling stuffed and lethargic, feeling frustrated with self-sabotage. There are opportunity costs everywhere.
The next time you feel FOMO pushing you to overeat, think it through from the other side. (Or do more inner work if that feels like an impossible task.)
Warming Up to Wasting Food
The fear of wasting food and money are some of the biggest blocks that exist. It’s not supposed to feel good to confront your beliefs around wasting food. So if this post was unsatisfying, it means we touched on something that needs more attention. Lean in.
If you’d like to dig further into the psychological reasons for overeating, check out the ebook below. It comes with a free 5 day course on Psycho-Spiritual Wellness: my method to stop binge eating based purely in psychology and spirituality.
Originally published September 22, 2017 // Last updated July 14, 2020
Love it, Kari!
Thanks Emi! ????
Excellent article. I have another one for you that goes along with 4. Make a difference. I feel very guilty to throw away food due to environmental reasons. If I cooked more than needed, this is a big issue for me, even if it is leftover food from my kids. I try to now just put it into the fridge but then something else goes bad. Buying only what is really needed is the ultimate goal of course..
Agreed, Eva! It’s a fine balance between diligence and compassion.
Such a great text! Thank so much for sharing this!
Thanks Tatiana! ????
It’s a tough one for me. In my short life so far I’ve been through 2 financial crises where I didn’t have enough food and was forced to lose 20-30 pounds (I know, it’s not a dream come true!). So the financial one still kind of makes sense to me, I have to pack up the pounds when I’m able.
I’m sorry to hear about the hardships Andrew. This is why these blocks are the hardest — they’re so REAL.
I have a tendency to finish food I don’t even like because of not wanting to waste the money I spent on it, and while I don’t have a binge eating problem, your advice here helped motivate me to go ahead and throw away a package of God-awful chips my roommate gave to me to finish. Money well-spent.
Rock on Natassja ????????
For me it’s not so much about wasting food, it’s about viewing food as an opportunity. If I see something I like, I wonder when the next time I’m going to have the opportunity to eat it again. I also feel like I have to take it now before someone else does.
Oooo it’s almost like there’s a little FOMO in there. I might need to add this to the article!! Thanks for your input
Well dam, grow up poor. Wasting food feels like a sin. I think it’s because I see money on my plate and not food. I’d be throwing away $3.32 not half my paste.
I get it, and this is why these are some of the hardest blocks to overcome ????????
For me personally its because i feel like if i waste my food then i am wasting all the CO2, fuel and animals used to make it. Also I feel like I am polluting the earth with even more waste. I find it really hard then to even leave a bite.
This is interesting Thea! I can definitely relate. Do you think it would help if you started donating $15/month to nonprofits that improved the environment and fought animal cruelty?
That doesn’t make sense though. You could have still donated money. You’re still letting the animal or plant die in vain. Every food is sacred, I think we should feel bad to waste it. Otherwise it’s like not acknowledging a wrong ot evil.
That said, I think prevention is always best for this problem. If only the normal mindset is “It is better to cook / order less than more.” – which sadly isn’t the social norm =\
I love this comment. Let’s say you go out to eat and have a pasta dish, but feel full halfway through. But you also have your kid’s soccer tournament afterwards (i.e. there will be no fridge near you anytime soon), so you can’t take the leftovers to go. It should be okay to “waste” half that dish of pasta. Whether if it goes in your mouth or not, it’s wasted. Maybe you’re thinking of asking for less next time? But what if you thought you were really hungry when you first ordered? There needs to be a little room for error and a constant strive for balance.
I don’t think the people that follow Psycho-Spiritual Wellness are wasteful monsters. I think they’re really good human beings that always strive to do their best and sometimes accidentally order too much food, and then overeat because they feel guilty. For these people, it should be okay to leave half a plate of pasta uneaten, guilt-free.
I think Ted from Oct 2019 probably is my reason also. When is the next opportunity to have this along with wasting money. Sometimes I eat cause I am bored. And that didn’t satisfy me maybe this will. I look forward to your Tuesday Newsletters.
Thanks Mona! I’m glad you’re on my newsletters because that’s where my best content is ????
Hi, that part where you discussed ‘You think that wasting food is disrespectful to those living without access to adequate food’ can you please expand on that? I struggle with that a lot and I’m not sure how to recover from it, do you have any tips? It’s how I justify overeating and i just feel so bad throwing away food that is leftover. Thanks!
Hi Lily! I’m so glad you shared this! Because, as you can see in this article, I wasn’t sure how many other people felt this way. For me, it helped to start donating to a charity. It relieved the guilt of wasting food. Because as Geneen Roth said, it either goes in your mouth or in the trash, either way it is wasted. Once I realized that overeating was doing nothing for the people I was thinking about (those living without adequate food), I tried to make an actual difference by donating to Actions Against Hunger. I hope this helps! And if it doesn’t, leave another comment and we can keep digging. xo
Hi,
I enjoyed your article. What’s your advice for responding to the childhood cultural message that not graciously accepting and eating all of the food provided by a host (eg at a family member or friends house for dinner) is extremely disrespectful to the host serving the meal?
Hi Lily! I love your question!!! My response (based on the limited information I have) is to celebrate being an adult, and being able to make adult decisions. Who cares if someone is going to judge you for not graciously accepting food that was provided by the host? If it means disrespecting your body, no thanks. And if anyone guilt trips you for not eating even though you’re not hungry, that person is not being very nice. You get to decide where you create the boundary, and you get to defend your boundaries.
My reason is superstition I guess. I have the feeling that if I don’t eat the food in my plate, I am snubbing the universe that gave me so much and it will punish my arrogance by depriving me in the future. I know how irrational it sounds but I can never get rid of that feeling. I also grew up poor.
Hi Nina, thanks for sharing! While it may feel irrational, it sounds like you are just trying to do the right thing. And who can blame you for that? I hope you can find compassion for yourself, by seeing the innocence in your actions <3
Great article!!
I have one question though: How do you deal with the idea of wasting the KIND of food? Like, right now I‘m very low on money. I have enough stored food to last me for weeks. Mostly things like pasta, soups etc. that I bought myself, other things that were given to me. Sometimes my mother drops off random perishable things like veggies. There are some things I generally like, especially the ones I bought myself, but also a lot I don’t like. Like today, I dived deep into nutrition articles and remembered a time where I ate paleo-ish (but not in a diet-y way, rather to gain more health benefits) and I felt good then. Then I got the urge to throw out the pasta, chocolates and artificial things because ultimately, they do me no good. But I think „I bought them myself, in a phase where I wanted them, it’s stupid to suddenly want to go gluten free or whatever and then chuck it!“. Now I‘m hungry and debating whether for the next meals, I should spend the little money I have on things that I want to rather eat right now or at least use up the stuff I have even though it’s not what sounds best. So it’s not about being full and keep on eating or so, it would actually be smarter to first eat my moms veggies (she brought tomatoes – I don’t like those watery tomatoes though! I only like the cherry kind – I feel so stupidly picky!) and the salad I have before going out and getting a steak or organic joghurt . What do you think?
Hi Norah! There’s a lot going on here! I would actually recommend focusing first on the Stop, Drop, and Feel before trying to decipher any more of this. It can help reduce all the “noise” around food, so that you can gain more clarity on your own. I really do hope it helps. <3
What a fantastic list! 3 of these are me and my whole problem. Much impressed. Well done ????
Ooo thank you Anton! Would be curious to know your top 3!
Thanks so much for this article. It helped address something with me. I am so glad to know that I am not alone.
You are most definitely not alone 🙂 in fact, if everyone from the comments section here were in a room, we’d be having an amazing party, celebrating how beautifully HUMAN we all are. xoxo