Many kids are often told to "clean their plate" at meals, and to not leave any excess food behind. There are many seemingly logical reasons behind this: money was spent on the meal, time was spent preparing it, etc. These encouragements when a person is younger often turn into habits when a person gets older.
This type of eating is in stark contrast to what I see with my toddler. First, all food is really eaten "on demand" - whenever it is called for. Second, I see no guilt whatsoever about not finishing a meal. In fact, leaving extra food happens more often than leaving none.
Historically, I feel hunter-gatherers probably had a different, healthier attitude to food than what exists today. If one person didn't want some food, it could be given to someone else. Certain meats could have been dried out and stored for the next day. I also imagine that if some fruits and vegetables went to waste, then it was no big deal. It was probably a much more casual attitude to food in general.
I am going to work on making my eating more intuitive. Personally, I too often eat by schedule and eat whatever food I've prepared. This type of routine eating can probably desensitive hunger cues, which isn't a good thing. In conclusion, maybe eating doesn't have to be such a serious business.
