Let's discuss "Vertical stacking"

mricem · Post by **mricem** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 4:54 pm

So what do u consider stacking, for instance, is a sandwich vertically stacked? How about toast?

That's all I can think of right now

~reneew · Post by **~reneew** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 5:15 pm

Reinhard says "...one physical plate, and I think for beginners especially it's good to stick with this, even if it means a fairly overloaded plate. If the amount of food on your one plate is a little bestial and disgusting, that's part of the educational process."

I imagine that if I were surrounded by people who knew I was on a "diet" and if I think it would pass "inspection" as not too overloaded, it's fine. I've told my kids to police me if they want and if I start to feel guilty as to how stacked it is, I know it probably is. That being said... a sandwich being "normal" high, like maybe a Perkins sandwich, would be normal. A 4-bread-slicer with an inch and a half of meat might be a bit ify.
I tend to load up my plate shamelessly, so I have switched over to a smaller "lunch" size corelle plate. It is 8 1/2 inches. I have plates ranging from 13" to tiny teacup plates. I switched over to 8 1/2 so I don't have to worry about it. My family of 6 didn't even complain. I occasionally break out the bigger ones if I want to stay "legal". I do this every Friday night for pizza since it's so flat. I kinda try to not overlap.

NoSnacker · Post by **NoSnacker** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 6:25 pm

I to have switched to 8 1/2 inch corelle sandwich plates..makes one feel like you are eating a lot. I did happen to switch even before No S.

I agree with reneew.

I think moderation in the stacking, like 2 pieces of toast verses 5 or 6 just cause they stack nicely

In the beginning I went to the large dinner plate for like one meal and my husband said wow some way to lose weight..of course I filled to the rim. So went back to the smaller plate with my next meal.

I think stacking is where the plate might look like a tiny mountain

milliem · Post by **milliem** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 9:12 pm

I use 8-ish inch plates and tend to go for 'one layer' of food - sandwiches count as one layer! I'd be ok with stacking 2 pieces of toast on top of each other - spread out they would still fit on a regular plate.

At times I use pasta bowls (they are wide, shallow bowls) which are slightly smaller than plates, and occasionally I will balance a piece of garlic bread or two on the bowl... it fits so I allow it, but I know if I tried to balance too many extras on there it would be noticeable!! It can also be tempting to pile up the food as it doesn't seem as much in bowl form, but through trial and error I can dole myself out a decent portion these days.

I occasionally stretch the plates for pizza, the rims of my plates go out to 10 inches which is the size of a medium pizza here

If I starting stacking pizza slices on top of each other I think that would be a problem

r.jean · Post by **r.jean** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:07 pm

I use large dinner plates to allow for salads and vegetables that take a lot of room, but I do not always fill my plates. I rarely stack.

losingforgood · Post by **losingforgood** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:36 pm

I don't stack when I fill my plate. But I also don't always use one plate. Sometimes I have salad, a sandwich and fruit, or other foods that I don't want mixing with eachother, and I have smaller cup sized bowls and equally small plates. But I don't overfill any of them. Basically, whatever I take with me to the table, is my meal. once I'm done with that, I'm done. I'm getting better at making sure I have something from all or most of the food groups within that one meal. The more balanced each meal is, the less I crave snacks and sweets later and the more satisfied I feel.

Blithe Morning · Post by **Blithe Morning** » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:42 pm

I don't stack but occasionally will push the food out to the rim of the 10 inch plate. Otherwise, it's about 9" of round space which is plenty.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Sat Mar 24, 2012 2:32 am

A normal sandwich, with a few slices of meat, maybe one of cheese, with lettuce, tomato, condiments, etc., is not stacking. I would say any stack similar to a sandwich is acceptable.

At some point, ( a few months in) you are required to be honest with yourself over whether other foods stacked as high as a sandwich on a hoagie bun is too much food. Or even the whole hoagie. You true hunger needs to be the measure at some point. I would be very uncomfortable later if I ate a whole sandwich at most restaurants, or the same volume of any dense food.

I 9 or 10-inch plates at dinner, sometimes putting some foods, like yogurt, in little or medium bowls on the plate next to foods that don't need to be contained.

Remember, you cannot fool your body about how much you're eating. The plate is a way to have a consistent backdrop, in my opinion, but it must be used in harmony with the effect the food that plate has on your satiety. And you don't need to eat it all just because it's on your plate.