Jamoosh, ring leader of The HardCORE Club, the program that promises A Better Life With Awesome Abs, gives sensible advice on eating sensibly to lose weight. Rick links to another portion control tip – drink water before you eat.

I’m a pretty skinny dude. Now, if I were to pursue a career modeling underwear I would have to tone up some jiggly spots, but I don’t need to lose weight. Since I last expressed concern for my lightness (can’t find the link in my own frakkin blog), I’ve gained about three pounds. I think it’s the lack of long runs. That doesn’t mean I don’t need to change some habits.

Tonight at around seven, it was really nice. Fluffy clouds in the sky, 75 degrees, birds chirping, sun getting all sunset-erific; it was a perfect time to run. The problem: I was stuffed. I pigged out on pizza an hour before. I would like to run in the evenings more often, but by that time my pants don’t fit right at the waist.

Anyway, I thought I would give my advice on how to control your portions: throw food out. Never clean your plate. Not just when you’re full.

Look, if it’s on your plate, it’s not going to do anyone any good. Certainly not the starving child in Ethiopia. And you didn’t pay for the portion, you paid for the meal. You are in charge of your portions. If you really want to be frugal, put it in the fridge. Whatever you do, get used to the idea that just because it’s in front of you, you don’t have to eat it.

Practice this with everything. Every time you eat something, leave a bit for the garbage can. More often than not you’re going to crave a larger portion than you need. It doesn’t make sense to make portion judgments when you’re hungry. You might as well pile the food on, then start evaluating your sustenance needs halfway through, when you’re in a better position to judge. You might end up leaving more on your plate than you think.

So get the hamburger, just don’t eat all of it. Leave a few fries. Train your brain to get over the idea that you have to eat everything because tomorrow you might starve. If you’re reading this, chances are pretty good that food is plentiful and cheap for you. When something is plentiful and cheap, waste is required in order to function properly. If you don’t waste, you become obsessive compulsive (not to mention economically blind) and waste time and energy trying to avoid wasting something that’s readily available.

Here’s a (gross) thought, if you’re still uncomfortable with the idea of throwing food out: from your trashcan, food is transported to a landfill where it decomposes. From your toilet, “food” is transported to a sewage treatment plant, which uses a lot more resources.

The poorest of the poor don’t care about what’s on your plate or in your trash. There are ways to help them, but eating everything dished out to you isn’t one of them.