Everyday Systems

Virtual Plates

Sometimes, mostly for social reasons, it isn't possible to fit your entire meal on a single physical plate. Maybe you're at a buffet that has tiny, appetizer-size plates; maybe you're at some kind of banquet where multiple courses are being served; maybe you're at a restaurant where they bring out a separate salad before the entree; maybe you've been invited over to dinner at a friend's house and you don't want to be a demanding guest. For these situations, there's an advanced No S Diet maneuver called "virtual plating" that makes it possible to retain some of the moderating power and integrity of the no seconds rule without offending anyone or making a scene.
It works like this: Instead of relying on a physical plate, you imagine a regular-size plate and use that as your limit. As long as what you're eating could fit on your imaginary plate, you're okay. If possible, I would suggest making this as concrete as possible by clearing out an area of your physical plate to make room to visually accommodate your next fractional portion.
Virtual plating is an advanced maneuver, and I would recommend saving it for unusual situations like buffets and parties. If it's a celebration, it might be preferable simply to call it an S day (a special day) or even just to chalk it up as a one-time-only failure. You don't want to run the risk of normalizing virtual plating. It's a way to technically bend the rules when you'd otherwise have to break them and it's still not ideal. There is a lot of potential for self-deception and abuse, and habit is never going to understand something this complicated.

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What About Salad?


Salad can go on your main plate. Really, try to do this; it keeps things simpler. If you must eat salad on a separate plate, leave a corresponding void in your main plate, as described above in the "virtual plates" section.

What About Soup?


Soup can confound the clarity of No S a bit; it's certainly a mainstream, normal, and acceptable component of the everyday meal and is not something it would be fair to restrict to S days. And yet it often involves an extra plate.
But with a modicum of attention you can pull it off without much trouble. Here's how: (1) If the soup is hearty, have a hunk of bread with it and call it a meal. (2) Or use a smaller dinner plate to compensate for the soup if it is only part of the meal (this is a form of virtual plating). I've done both, but I usually do the first. I eat plenty of soup.