One plate rule question

[palomayombe]

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[CatholicCajun]

Hello there. I am not sure about how to answer your question, there are those on this board who will probably do a much better job that I can. I eat on salad plates. I bought a few of them at Wal-Mart they run 1.00-1.25 each. Hope this helps. God BLess.

[kccc]

I don't think it's "shame" as much as realizing just how much they're eating. It's hard to escape when it's all gathered onto a single plate. One thing about No-S is that it makes excess evident.

Also, that realization is something that happens over time... at first, you NEED large portions to reassure you that you'll make it though to the next meal. Over time, as confidence grows, portions naturally get more reasonable.

While it's possible that someone might not be able to "see" the excess, it's unlikely, given time. And I wouldn't even address it as a potential problem until at least a month in...

Plus, someone with that degree of "portion distortion" is probably eating a LOT more in snacks - just eliminating them ought to help with the big picture.

[Beckycan]

For me, much as I'd like to think I could start eating three salad plates a day and not have Sweet Snacks or Seconds, that's just not realistic. The old habits are too ingrained. So I'm using regular dinner plates until I break the snack and sweet habits. I may not lose any weight at first, but I think for long-term success I have to deal with those bad habits first.

When I get 21 solid days of NoS habit, then I will try having smaller servings and/or switching to smaller plates. I'm torn between wanting to quickly lose weight, and wanting to build lifetime habits. The quick weight loss I've had before with other diets. I want this to be for keeps.

[NoelFigart]

1. What if the dieter suffers from portion distortion?

2. What if the dieter is shameless?

3. Is the soulution to go for smaller plates, such as dessert plates, coffee cup saucers, etc.?

There's only so much portion distortion you can have with a single plate! I say this as someone who did follow a weightlifter routine of eating five times a day and measuring every damn thing I put in my mouth. Since I have a REALLY good idea of the calorie content of food, I can tell you it's really hard to overeat over a long period with the three plate limit. You have to consciously try to do it.

As far as being shameless? Well, either you want to change your eating habits or you don't. Some people don't and I'm hardly gonna throw stones about it, myself. I don't make life choices everyone around me approves of all the time, either! I've commented that you could fill a dinner plate with bacon and call it a meal. The thing is, you will find that you won't if you're looking to change habits. No-S is probably the best way of eating you can choose if you're into control of yourself. If you want outside accountability, or an authority figure, it's probably not going to be as effective.

Really, really no kidding, honest, starting with a month of regular dinner plates has a serious subconscious effect. I'll load up my lunch plate, and I mean full. I naturally find myself eating a somewhat smaller dinner because of it. Not as in "Oh no, I overate!" but, "Okay, this is about as much food as I need for the rest of the day."

We've been conditioned that we have to follow all these complex eating rules and we really don't. You can trust yourself to be a grown up and it'll work out just fine.

[DianeA2Z]

When I get 21 solid days of NoS habit, then I will try having smaller servings and/or switching to smaller plates. I'm torn between wanting to quickly lose weight, and wanting to build lifetime habits. The quick weight loss I've had before with other diets. I want this to be for keeps.

Thank you, Becky. You just reminded me to be less harsh on myself for not exercising every single day. Right now, I'm working on forming the NoS habit. I'm making progress on the exercise for sure, but now if I don't do any more than my usual daily stuff I won't beat myself up.

I found a really cool thing on the Prevention magazine site...you can actually put in the city where you live and pull up walking maps for your area. Here's the link: http://www.prevention.com/mywalkingmaps/

Wanted to share this with you all.

Diane

[NoelFigart]

Diane, you're very smart to take one habit at a time!

Back around December I noticed my drinking was getting away from me, and I imposed the Glass Ceiling on myself. I wanted to work on the other habits, but I decided this one was URGENT and decided that if I made that one solid, I was all good until I decided to work on the next habit. (I also said if I couldn't get a month of greens, I'd have to check in to rehab. Talk about motivation!)

I'd intended to work on No S next and wound up working on exercise instead. Still, one habit at a time has been really useful for me. My Glass Ceiling and exercising are carrying over fine, I don't even think about them. So I'm free to concentrate HARD on No S.

[cornelia]

My solution for the overflowing plate is this. At first I was worried that I would get hungry at work in the afternoon and give in to the office habit of grazing all afternoon. So I filled a regular plate. Soon I realized that just by knowing the rules, I was not tempted to graze. Having conquered that demon, I also told myself that I had another meal 5-6 hours after that noon meal, so no need to panic about wasting away. I started using an 8.25" paper plate at noon and use good sense when I fill it. We are all smart enough to know how to eat healthy and low calorie without half trying. Salad is lower in calories than french fries, etc. Then at the evening meal, I can eat whatever I want, as long as I follow the rules. You can only get so much on a regular plate if you are absolutely honest about filling it. No fair stacking. Hey, maybe we need to add another S. No snacks, no sweets, no seconds, no stacks.

[CrazyCatLady]

But....but....sometimes I NEED to stack! LOL! If we have pizza, I might need to stack to get two slices! So long as I don't stack and get 6 slices, right?!?

Even a salad can get stacked pretty high....squeezing in a few more peppers or cucumbers....

As for the original question about portion distortion...I would try standard No S, on three dinner plates. I think that you will learn portions by visualizing the plates. It might take time, but trust yourself to get it.

Before I started No S back in January, I never felt hungry, and really never felt full either. I felt stuffed sometimes, but never felt "oh, I'm full, time to stop eating." Now, I often feel hungry. Healthy appetite hungry, not horrible hungry. I feel full or satisfied after meals. I rarely feel stuffed, but when I do I interpret is as an uncomfortable thing, and it helps me to learn not to overdo next time.

I think that even if the portions are distorted, and you have no real idea of what a healthy portion is, by sticking to meals without snacks, sweets, or seconds, your body will teach you what a good portion is.

After you have succeeded in being on habit for 21 days, if you still feel that you cannot identify a healthy portion, you could always try a small tweak!

Best of luck with No S-ing, Palomayombe!

[BrightAngel]

But....but....sometimes I NEED to stack! LOL! If we have pizza, I might need to stack to get two slices! So long as I don't stack and get 6 slices, right?!?

Even a salad can get stacked pretty high....squeezing in a few more peppers or cucumbers....

My take on stacking is that I can only do it with with foods that normally get stacked,
and then as only as high as is normal.
Normal meaning: normal actions of naturally thin people.

So, while I see a stack of veggies inside a salad as okay;
a stack of 2 or 3 pancakes as okay;
a stack of two pieces of toast as okay;
a stack of 4 to 6 crackers as okay;
one sandwich (a stack of meat, cheese and veggies between bread) as okay;

I see stacking pizza, or meat, or cheese, etc.;
or stacking bread etc. on top of my other food
as Not Okay.

[patticake]

No stacking is really funny that made me smile-thanks Patti