Everyday Systems

Hello! I just started No S last week. I'm still loving the concept, and it's not going badly, although I did 'eat like an idiot' this weekend. At least it was a good lesson for me.
I just had a question on portions. I know the rule is you're supposed to fit your meal onto one plate. That works well for me with dinner and lunch. I either fit everything onto one plate, or I 'virtual plate' (I think I read about this here), so I'll imagine say my slice of watermelon on my plate, put it in a separate dish, and then leave that spot empty on my plate (I don't like for my different foods to touch).
However, I'm still confused about breakfast. I'll normally eat 1 cup of high fiber cereal (such as Kashi) with half a cup of rice milk, one 8 oz. glass of orange juice, and either two strips of turkey bacon, or one slice of whole wheat double fiber toast with 1 T of Smart Balance light and sometimes 1 T of preserves. Is this okay? How do I know if it's too much food, if I don't fit it onto one plate?
Thank you!

Well you'd virtual plate the breakfast.

What i would do is put the bowl of cereal on a dinner plate and place the other items around it if you want to be really sure. Obviously don't do that with the orange juice. Caloric beverages are allowed as long as it's not a sweet.

Worry most about the no seconds, no sweets, and no snacks first. You want to build the habit. Next worry about portion sizes (like how much of what goes on the plate).

I'd been doing this for about a year before I realized there was such a thing as the virtual plate. Don't know how I missed it, but I did. What I did -- and still do -- is have one serving of anything being served. I almost never put all of it on one plate or imagine it that way. It works for me.

Thanks! That helps! I mainly asked, because one of the things I like about this plan is you don't have to worry about counting calories, but I wasn't sure how to control my portions if it wasn't on one plate.

Welcome!

The critical thing is to SEE everything you're eating in front of you all at once. That way you can't deceive yourself about how much you're eating, and you learn to eyeball excess.

I think insisting on a strict single physical plate can help with the visual impact -- so if you want that extra strictness, do what Jules suggests and put the plate and bowl on to of a large plate.

But if that seems like overkill, "virtual plating" a small plate and small bowl side by side should be fine also. And if you find that isn't sufficient, you can always fall back to the plates-on-plate strategy.

I just had a no-s "product" idea: a place mat with several concentric circles representing plate diameters (perhaps with a No-s symbol in the innermost). Fit your mini plates in the appropriate circle and you can virtual plate with a clear conscience and a minimum of clutter.

Reinhard

Also, you don't have to leave all the food on the plate once it's been there for purposes of measuring. Last night I plated my food so I could eyeball it, and then set my cherries aside on a napkin for "dessert." Maybe I'm 5, but I don't want my fruit touching my quesadilla. The key, though, is to actually eat what you are going to eat (and which you have measured on your plate) in one sitting. No saving your fruit for "later when I'm hungry." If you're too full to eat everything on your plate, that's data. Prepare a smaller plate next time.

I use a 9 inch plate for my meal and then a small dessert plate for the fruit. So far it has been working because I have found that the 9 inch plate is just enough food so I don't feel hungry later on and the fruit plate is part of the meal for me. Sometimes I find myself stopping before I finish the meal and realize I could eat a little less but I am sort of figuring out taking in too little food is not good either. Just a plateful seems about right.

If I've got things that don't go well together, I'll plate them (if possible) and then offload some of the food to a smaller plate. Virtual plating works fine too; for me at least, the key is not to fudge on the portions. I try to estimate conservatively if I need to guess.

Thanks. I think I'll definitely stick with the virtual plating then.
That seems to work well for me right now. Sometimes, I'll end up having 2-3 plates on my placemat or TV tray, but that's alright.
The one plate rule seems to be working pretty well. I've had a couple of dinners where I ended up being too full after eating everything on my plate, so that tells me I need to take a little less next time. It's been a good learning experience so far.

Welcome, I think that just using common sense will work when "plating" your meals.

Thanks! I agree.