If someone asks to see the dustbin in your house, do you only point to the one in the kitchen? If so, you are mistaken… for many of us, our own stomach is the real dustbin!
Ever since childhood, our families have taught us a golden rule: “Never waste food!” But out of that exact fear, when we force-feed ourselves even without being hungry, we forget a crucial truth: food that should have been wasted on the plate ends up being wasted inside our own bodies. What belongs in a dustbin, we shove straight into ourselves.
We ate a lot when we were young, and rightfully so. That was an age of growth, hormones were active, and we engaged in a lot of physical labor. Back then, the body truly needed more food.
However, as we age—especially when transitioning into sedentary desk jobs—our body’s metabolism slows down. If you keep stuffing yourself using the same “don’t waste it” excuse as your younger years, your stomach simply cannot take it.
Think about it… even after eating a biryani and your stomach sounds the alarm saying, “There is zero space left!” we still say, “Oh dear, there are two pieces left. It’s a sin to throw it away… let me just eat these too!”
On top of this, we have our modern “evening tea & snacks” culture. Long before lunch is even digested, at four o’clock, we push samosas, fried bites, and tea down our throats without being hungry. The food we force into ourselves out of fear of wastage, combined with these unneeded oily snacks, later transforms into obesity, diabetes, fatty liver, high cholesterol, and blood pressure.
And then comes the next level: “Buffet Syndrome”!
Once we pay for a buffet, we have only one goal—get our money’s worth! We don’t care if we are hungry or not; we pile food onto the plate like a mountain. In the end, we force it all down and spend the next two days rubbing our bloated bellies. In an attempt to get our money’s worth, we end up paying far more at the hospital!
Past a certain age, wouldn’t it be better if we learned to view food as medicine? We don’t swallow medicine in unlimited quantities to fill our stomach; we take only as much as needed. Shouldn’t food be treated the exact same way?
Understand this: your body is not a waste bin; it is an engine that needs to be fueled strictly as required. If throwing away leftover food bothers you, there is only one real solution: reduce your serving size right at the start!
So, the next time there is food left over, before you shove it into your stomach thinking “it will go to waste,” ask yourself:
“Should this food go to waste outside, or should it turn into disease inside me?”
Stay healthy, Stay mindful!
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