Everyday Systems

So does this mean for example - that I can't have chicken, rice and a veggie on one plate and a little side salad on another plate? It needs to all be one plate?

I think this is a common-sense thing, rather than a rigorous-rule thing. If I'm having soup and salad for lunch, f'rinstance, then technically, it's a plate and a bowl. However, it's a reasonable meal. Bottom line, if I lay my whole meal out and it looks like a piggy feast, then it's too much. If it looks like a meal for a normal human, then I don't fuss about how many plates it's on.

I agree with the common sense approach: I tend to interpret the one plate a little more broadly, as meaning that I set out a certain amount of food, and don't take any more than that. It follows the spirit of "no seconds", but I don't mind if the food is spread out over two little plates and a bowl, if that's how it happens to work out. For me, the point is that I can see how much I'm eating and I don't just keep going absent-mindedly.

Having said that, a lot of people find significant value in being more literal about the single plate rule. This seems to be the kind of thing that people need to determine for themselves, by trying out various approaches and seeing if it works for them.

I would leave a little space on the main plate for the plated salad. If you can't make room for the salad, then maybe something needs to go.

I almost always have my salad on another plate. I had been doing this for about a year before I realized that there was a one plate "rule." I just keep it to one serving of whatever is being served.

This rule made me discover that I don't like my food to touch on a plate. Because of this, I keep my salad separately. I've had to work on sticking everything I plan to eat on my plate. It is a good visual exercise & several times in the past month I've not eaten all I had initially thought I would need.

Essentially I have a category of food opposite the sweets category: "heathy food". This is food that I give myself a small pat on the back for eating, and is formally exempt from all NoS restrictions. If anything it's easier to sight-read than "sweets". Eg. salads, raw veggies, veggie smoothies, green tea.

Just to give you a general idea: a 10-inch plate holds about 3 cups of food volume without stacking too much.

My lunches are smaller than that because I do lunch in a cute little Japanese box that holds about 2 cups of food. I'm okay with that as I feel satisfied and am fine until dinner.

But when I'm having soup, I generally put the bowl on a dinner plate. Anything I can put on the empty space on the plate is fine. That's generally a small piece of bread and a small serving of green salad. Certainly that's a fine, balanced meal!

Otherwise, if it fits on the plate and doesn't look appallingly piled on, I feel like it's all good. I do feel a very gentle pressure for about half the plate to be veggies and fruit, but I'm not completely retentive about it.