New here with a few questions - portion size and drinks

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flagirl
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Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:50 pm
Location: United States

New here with a few questions - portion size and drinks

Post by flagirl » Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:56 pm

Good morning, everyone. I am really excited to find this diet and the forums. Hoping this will be what I need to reset my body. I know I've been very guilty about idly eating and drinking with neighborhood friends late in the day. I hope this will help me be more mindful!

Here are my (probably dumb) questions:

Does a meal need to be concluded in a certain amount of time?

Does anyone have a recommendation of a portion-control plate?

If you're having a drink (say, coffee in the morning), do you need to finish it when you finish your meal (because it takes me forever to finish)? Same goes for having wine or cocktails.

Thanks in advance :)
5'6; 168 lbs; goal 135

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Over43
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Post by Over43 » Mon Jan 05, 2015 3:21 pm

Hi,

1) One plate per meal. A plate is not a platter.

2) I imagine the length of your meal depends on social setting. But it goes back to one plate.

3) I do not see why you would need to?

Good luck.
Bacon is the gateway meat. - Anthony Bourdain
You pale in comparison to Fox Mulder. - The Smoking Man

I made myself be hungry, then I would get hungrier. - Frank Zane Mr. Olympia '77, '78, '79

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Mon Jan 05, 2015 5:29 pm

One of the first things you might need to do is gently let go of the idea of being guilty of idly eating and drinking. It's natural to want to relax with food sometimes. Slim cultures do it; just a lot less often than we do. They also are less likely to do it to get really full or the like. You'll likely find over time that the delight of N days, once you get them down, will affect how you want to feel on more relaxed days of eating.

I know this probably isn't a popular idea, and, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know about the research, but I suggest you not have a weight goal at this point. Having this thought hanging over your head that this is supposed to lead to weight loss as its major result can definitely mess up the internal physical and mental changes that can happen. It's a war mentality and the fight will be on. But it doesn't mean it's a free for all. The new deity is moderation; as you learn how to revere and savor her, trust that things will change.

Your meal should take at least 20 minutes, but it sounds like you're talking about making it last longer. As long as you know all the food before you start would fit on a plate, I don't see anything wrong with eating parts of it as courses and taking time in between, but it should be in order to enjoy the meal, not out of fear that it will all be over soon! In fact, slim cultures eat in course, but they are quite judicious in how much they serve for each course. I sometimes apportion out the hot food and then put half of it back to stay hot while I take my time on the rest of the food.
I would avoid having it take so long that you are in essence eating a late night snack.

But you also have to be honest. If you find that the habit is not helping you feel moderate, you'll need to adjust. That's okay! Adjusting your meals as you go is the name of the game.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

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Blithe Morning
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Post by Blithe Morning » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:46 pm

As far as the meal having to be finished within a certain period of time, there is no rule.

However, you shouldn't load up your late and then eat from it all morning, telling yourself that you are still eating breakfast. That's still perma-snacking.

oolala53
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Post by oolala53 » Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:53 pm

Good point! I hadn't even thought of that one. Oh, how the fake-hunger mind can mess with us!
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

flagirl
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:50 pm
Location: United States

Post by flagirl » Mon Jan 05, 2015 7:23 pm

Thanks everyone!
5'6; 168 lbs; goal 135

Dale
Posts: 144
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:27 am

Post by Dale » Fri Jan 09, 2015 7:56 am

I do have a portion control plate, and I use it, but it's not terribly helpful. I often cook dishes that have mixed ingredients (stirfries, curries, etc.) and they don't work with the plate. If I do have the traditional meat/carb/veg meal, I tend to eat a lot of veg - more than I can fit on the veg portion of the plate. However, I do find it helps to have the visual guide.

When I started dieting, I didn't need to use portion control, though - I lost weight just through No S alone. In fact, if anything, I ate bigger than usual meals to start with (I was worried about getting hungry between meals so I ate plenty). So I wouldn't recommend starting with a portion-control plate or similar - you could add that in as a mod if you're not losing weight later.

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bonnieUK
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Post by bonnieUK » Fri Jan 09, 2015 11:53 am

I sometimes do multi course meals, French style. My husband grew up in Greece so this pattern is familiar to him too. So we might have soup or salad, somekind of main dish, then plain yoghurt or plain fruit as a dessert. But I try to keep my amount of overall food in a meal to something that could logically all fit on one plate. I don't set a time limit on how long to take to eat because I believe in the European concept of slow food, that you should take time to eat properly and only good quality foods :)

osoniye
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Post by osoniye » Sat Jan 10, 2015 3:29 pm

My $.02:
I was in an OA group that gave the following guidelines: Finish your meal within 1 hour and spread your meals out so that it is 4 hours from 1st bite to 1st bite. I don't follow that religiously, but still find it to be a helpful guideline to keep in mind, since NoS follows a pattern of regular meals as well.
I like any ~9 inch plate. I do enjoy using a divided plate that keeps my salad/raw veg away from hot sauces, but I don't always use it.
I think any drink like coffee or tea is fine any time of day, as long as it's not a sweet. I drink milky coffee whenever I want to, and that seems to be fine for me. I try to keep a limit of 2 alcoholic drinks at the most per day, and rarely exceed it. (Most of the time if it's not around the holidays or vacation, I don't drink at all.)
-Sonya
No Sweets, No Snacks and No Seconds, Except (Sometimes) on days that start with "S".

Amy C.
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Re: New here with a few questions - portion size and drinks

Post by Amy C. » Sat Jan 10, 2015 4:38 pm

flagirl wrote:Does a meal need to be concluded in a certain amount of time?
I don't time my meals. I prepare the food, put on the table, serve myself, eat and carry on my day.
flagirl wrote:Does anyone have a recommendation of a portion-control plate?
I use a 9 inch plate with a bowl for a salad.
flagirl wrote:If you're having a drink (say, coffee in the morning), do you need to finish it when you finish your meal (because it takes me forever to finish)? Same goes for having wine or cocktails.
I sip drinks that have few or no calories all day long. Higher calorie drinks like wine or cocktails should not be consumed between meals and limited amounts at meals - at least that is what I do.

ironchef
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Post by ironchef » Sat Jan 10, 2015 11:26 pm

I think others have answered the first two questions well.

On drinks: Vanilla No S (that is No S without any mods) doesn't put limits on drinks based on calories, meals or times of day, it just says to avoid sweets and snacking. So, if a drink is a full sugar soda, or a cocktail called a "toblerone", then I'd call that a sweet and leave it for a weekend or special event. If a drink is a "smoothie" type thing with yoghurt/fruit/honey, then I'd tend to call that a snack. However, a glass of wine, beer, vodka lime & soda or a coffee with cream and sugar are all fine if you choose to have them (obviously alcohol is a personal choice) and do not have to be with meals. In fact, if you are really hungry between meals and trying to avoid eating, Reinhard even suggests trying a glass of milk.

Good luck!

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