Everyday Systems

Hi All,

Can't remember which forum member had posted information and discussed counting bites and how it has significantly helped them while on No S... Either way, I decided to give it a try about a week and a half ago, all the while still practicing No S. I can't believe it, but I am finally starting to see the scale move. Not sure if it's because I've been doing No S now for about 2 months and 3 weeks, or if counting bites is really helping, but I just wanted to share what a great compliment this has been paired with No S, especially in the areas of portion control (no more PILING of plates). When I first read the person's post about counting bites, I thought it was weird, maybe even a little silly...but while continuing to follow their (significant) results through their posts, I thought "what the hey-I'll give it a shot." So, I downloaded an app on my iPhone called Eat Slower Pro ($0.99), which both counts and times each bite I have per meal. It allows me to set a "buzzer" to go off every minute (or whatever timeframe one finds reasonable), then indicates that it's time for me to take a bite. The app states that an average day consists of 60 bites, and when I started, I was around 60-70 bites. Now that I'm really paying attention to eating my meals, I find that I have better digestion when I eat around 45-50 bites total per day. The app is pretty cool because it actually historically tracks and averages your bites per meal and bites per day. It also stops you and asks if you are full at the 75% and 90% bite "marker" of your average number of bites per meal- which really makes you pay attention to your satiety cues. I'll admit it took me a few days to start religiously using the app, but I find it's almost a fun little challenge now to see how little food (low number of bites) it actually takes to satisfy me during each meal. It's also cool to see if there are any connections between bites and having a stressful day vs a non-stressful day. Very interesting and just wanted to share with everyone. Has anyone else out there tried this? I'd love to hear about your experience.

I was thinking of trying this too. Do you also count sips like if you were drinking coffee or something or just count your meals on no s

@Helena-
I gather you count "swallows" of milky or sweet drinks, as if they were bites, but not black coffee or tea.

That was me!!! I am the bite-counter here on No S!!!!!!!!

That is sooo awesome that you tried it and you are seeing progress!


osoniye- you only count drinks that have calories in them.

The Eat SLower Pro App I use everyday to keep my bites on track and see my progress ect!!!!


http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/

In response to the questions about drinks...No, I don't actually count anything I drink. In fact, since I started No S, I haven't really worried at all about the calories in drinks. While I've never been a soda drinker, I LOVE hot beverages. I have a little sugar in my coffee every morning, a spoonful of honey in my tea once in a while, and even on rare occasions a Starbucks Latte without worry (always the small size). I guess I didn't want to over-think the drinks too much... just trying anything to obsess less. Anyway, counting bites only on food has been very helpful since I'm starting to see some results now. Again, I'm noticing a HUGE difference in my digestion too (i.e. less stomach issues, acid, more "regular", etc.).

Herbsgirl- thanks for clarifying that it was you, who counts bites. I haven't lowered my bites to the level you are at (I would be STARVING), but it has definitely helped. Congrats to you, however, on your success! I know you will reach your goal soon!!

My only worry with this is how big is a bite? I know you aren't suppose to stuff your cheeks, but I am afraid that I would start obsessing about bite sizes. maybe because I have an obsessive nature

herbsgirl, you lost a lot of weight in a short time, so it clearly does work

Thank you wirth7 and Joasia!
I am an Obsessive person too! I have OCD and tend to be a perfectionist in certain things!



A bite is a bite is a bite. I make commitments on Stickk.com. One of my comitments is to eat more normal sized bites on average. This helps keep me in check more...

Dr. Black says you always tend revert back to your normal sized bites even though you may try to cheat ect.



If you stuff your mouth, you will only be able to eat a few bites a day to lose weight!!

Its all about the baseline number of bites and how fast you want to lose, each person will be different. I started out with 80 bites and down to 16 bites averaged per day or so. IF I stuffed my mouth full, I would be down to 2-3 bites a day! A person who eats totally healthy, like only fruits and veggies and protien with no other stuff would be able to eat alot more bites to lose/maintain wieght


A bite is around 1 Tablespoon of food, give or take if you want a measurment. THat is about what my bites are on average


Read these quotes here to see what Dr. Black says about large bites/small bites

quote fromhttp://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2013 ... s-new.html

Some measure was necessary to control the quanity of food intake, not necessarily the type of food intake, which is more controlled by the individuals lifelong eating habits. A simple convenient method was to measure actual intake, not by portion, but by bites, as people will always revert to their standard size bite, no matter how much they might attempt to take extra large or extra small bites at the beginning. Attempts to cheat are inevitable, but not lasting. The individual relapses quickly enough to his normal bite pattern The simple expendiency of counting bites is therefore an adequate measure of food intake. It remained only to relate this to the patients weight and to inform him immedietly of his progress--whether increase or decrease--in order to achieve a satisfactory method of weight control.[/b]

Bear in mind that an ounce of meat moderately fat has about as many calories--75 to 77-- as an ounce of bread. So you don't have to cut out all the foods you prefer. No Matter what you eat, if your chart shows no weight loss, you simply have to take fewer bites. Theoritically, you could live on potatoes alone and still lose weight as soon as you found the number of bites below the critical level that maintains your weight. No Matter what you eat, you will lose if you eat less of it. Small bites, large bites, Rich foods or lean foods-- all these choices become less critical.

Will you take bigger bites? Probably for a while, but eventually youll revert back to your natural bite size. You may even go the other way and take smaller bites, especially as you begin to see results and realize how easy losing weight has become. In the long run, bite size and swallows will average themselves out, and you can stop worrying about them.

My obsession with food and thinking about food is WAY LESS than it used to be when I used to eat with vanilla NO S, Intuitive Eating, ect. ( I do NO-S with Mods now...3 meals a day 7 days a week with bite counting in a 5 hour eating window and my S days are usually Sunday with more bites allowed) It is soooo much easier just to know my bite count for the day and not obsess so much about whether I should eat more, whether I should cheat, whether i should binge ect! It has made me feel almost like a normal eater in alot of ways. And counting bites is a fuss-free and easy way to portion your food without the hassle and pain of calorie counting! I can eat anything, as long as I stay within my bite count. And you would be surprised, sometimes your body craves foods that are good for you, I dont usually want more than 1 bite or so sweets at each meal.

My worry about this kind of thing would be--how relaxed can one be while eating with someone else while counting bites? I can imagine doing this when eating alone. But I mostly eat with others, mainly my family, and sometimes when I go out with friends. I suppose for me the whole point of NoS when it works well is exactly that, that you don't really think about it & just get on with your ordinary life, while counting bites feels as if--for me--it would be again letting food take over my life.

I am curious about it though so will be happy to hear how others have experienced it.

I guess its all how you look at it! Different poeple will feel differently I guess... I feel like it is a way for me to control my eating in a better pattern than just saying a Plate full of food(vanilla NO S) or saying count calories

I have an app on my iphone I use that vibrates I can place in my lap. It automaticly counts bites for me, I just have to glance down and it vibrates when I am supposed to take the next bite. It actually works pretty good.

When I am at a restaurant or my inlaws, I just place my iphone on the table beside my plate, and it vibrates (you can turn sound and vibration off if desired) and it shows how many bites I have eaten at that meal so far, how many bites for the day ect.... My inlaws know I count bites and its ok for me to use it in front of them. When we are eating our meal at church once a month, however I just quietly place it in my lap and it vibrates to each bite. I cab set it to how many seconds/minutes I want between bites.


It cost me all of 99 cents to buy this app and it was well worth it.
Its called Eat slower pro

I think we could all use some slowing down when we eat, I KNOW I can..so slowing down is great thing to learn.

I thought I read that it is estimated that most people end up averaging about 25 calories per bite. Of course, if you're eating all very dense foods, it would be higher.

Deleted my comment - not my place to put a damper on someone's success..

This counting bites reminds me to eat slower..

This system rocks! Since I saw it posted by herbsgirl I've used it successfully and found for me 30-40 bites a day I lose .1 to. 2 lb.

To avoid bite/gulp size confusion I take the biggest one possible.

I bought a counter, which I use.

My problems have been:

1. I forget to count bites in a meal

2. I'm distracted during a meal and miss bites

3. With the holidays my bite count runs amok

I welcome any suggested solutions to my problems.

bumping this up!

Seems a little bit heavy on "accounting".

Some people like that more than others.

An alternative for people who don't like accounting that much would be eating extra slow by chewing every bite till it is liquefied. For a short period of time 1-4 weeks you should count your chews while eating and try to exced the number you reached at the next bite.

By the time i reached an average of 100 chews per bite i couldn't swallow "unchewed" food anymore. My tongue always pushed the food back to chew it more. So counting became irrelevant and i stopped.

The eating habit itself stayed. I eat a lot less and be "filled" more. And that habit carryed over to the S-days as well. I'm a fast-food junkie. I love burgers, pizzas etc.
But by eating that way you can't stuff yourself with fast-food. 2-3 slices of pizza and i'm done ( in contrast to the XL pizza i ate whole before).

So the way it worked: 1-4 weeks counting (it was a challenge to chew every bite a little bit more) after that only counting my meals per day...

It seems that counting chews would be more accounting than counting bites

But you don't count chewing forever. It sounds like bite counters are encouraged to keep up the habit indefinitely. As germanherman implied, you get used to feeling that your food is much like liquid before swallowing and the way you used to eat feels like you would be swallowing chunks of food without really getting to savor them! I don't need to count anymore to know when I've chewed enough.

I never actually counted how many times I chewed, but a health educator said years ago, "Chew your juice and drink your food." He meant to make sure any food in your mouth had a good chance to mix with saliva, which is the beginning stage of digestion. That made a big impression on me and I've been a slow eater since, though not when I binged! All bets were off then.(Binging on sweets was my worst habit. Besides, I rarely binged on foods that take much chewing.) If I had had the discipline to apply the tactic, things might be different.

I'm very curious about this counting bites system. Does it not go against the idea of the No S Diet? Where you have an eating method that is extremely simple -just 3 plates a day.

Isn't counting bites similar to counting calories, you start with a base and then shave it down? I'm just trying to reconcile what I've read about No S and now the bite counting.

Also, if you eat just as many bites to satisfy you, is it enough to sustain you to the next meal? I eat a full plate now (even if it's a little too much for me) because I'm worried I'll get hungry between meals and be tempted to snack.

I'm only few weeks into No S and haven't lost much weight, so I'm open to learning anything new and studying it further. Many thanks in advance!

weebly wrote:I'm very curious about this counting bites system.
Does it not go against the idea of the No S Diet?
Where you have an eating method that is extremely simple -just 3 plates a day.

Isn't counting bites similar to counting calories,
you start with a base and then shave it down?
I'm just trying to reconcile what I've read about No S
and now the bite counting.

I'm only few weeks into No S and haven't lost much weight,
so I'm open to learning anything new and studying it further.
Many thanks in advance!

No S has a basic diet plan, which was created and used by Reinhard.
We often refer to it as "vanilla" No S.
However, Reinhard understands, accepts, and agrees
that many people need to make personal modifications to his basic plan.

Personally, before I came to No S, I was successfully tracking all of my food intake in a computer program
that provided me with calorie information, and I continued that practice.
So, I've always "counted calories" while using No S.

Several people have added "counting bites" to their basic No S program.
There are also many other modifications, and all of them can be successfully added to the basic No S Diet.
For example:
Some people work to avoid processed food.
Some people try to eat only "real" food.
Some people have "S" events, rather than "S" days.
Some people eat specific portions of different foods
Some people eat on smaller plates
Some people eat only two meals, some people add a small 4th meal.
Some people eat low-carb.

The concept is simple
If the basic "vanilla" No S works well for you individually, then stick to it.
If not, then modify it until it does.

Many old-timers recommend that new people stick with the basic "vanilla" No S
for 6 months to a year before making modifications.
I, personally, think that many of us can tell when a diet isn't working within the first month or two ...
and... rather than let the weight pile on, ... like due to excessive bingeing on "S" days...
it helps some of us to make some "S" day changes as soon as we realize the basic plan just isn't working for us.

Weebly, I understand what you said about going against the idea of the NoS diet. If you mean the idea is to have it all become unconscious habit then yes, you are right, this won't happen with bite counting. You can't unconsciously count. Just doesn't work. (on that note, I always wonder what it does to the enjoyment of the food. Surely when you're having dinner with friends and enjoy the evening it is very hard to keep count?) It's not NoS but it's as valid a combination to NoS as the Atkins Diet, low-carb, calorie counting, Weight Watchers etc. and if people like to diet for the rest of their days then good for them, as I believe that doing it within the NoS structure will still have considerable health benefits, however, you'll never be able to just do it unconsciously. I'll respond on your thread about your own weight loss.

BrightAngel wrote: and... rather than let the weight pile on, ... like due to excessive bingeing on "S" days...
it helps some of us to make some "S" day changes as soon as we realize the basic plan just isn't working for us. [/color]

Hi BrightAngel. If you mean modifying S days within one or two months then I respectfully disagree with this for people who are overweight or moderately obese. I understand all you said about people who are super obese or even further into the obesity rate, however for people who are overweight or moderately obese I think this is not true. From personal experience I can tell you that it took a year for me to have S days die down and I couldn't be happier that I stuck it out. Looking at the boards I am not the only one who did this and Reinhard himself recommends it on his podcast S days gone wild to leave it be for a while. I was a binge eater and the bingeing is nearly extinct now. If I have about 5 bingeing episodes a year I can live with that happily and without any guilt about them. I used to have them near-daily and NoS has been the only plan that ever allowed me to stop bingeing, albeit only after one year. I do not have a history of dieting but my bingeing was emotionally stuffing myself.

Patience is the one thing that people who modify prematurely don't seem to have. In my experience having some over the top S days might slow or even stop the weight loss at first but at least you learn healthy habits and then you will certainly lose weight and find peace with food. If you keep modifying you'll never get there and it is just unnecessary for people who are not very obese unless they are very small, in which case smaller plates will do the trick.

Sorry for having hijacked this thread to go on about S days.

I have posted a blog today, here is part of it in an answer to bite counting becoming an unconscience effort

Everyone is different and what works for some poeple may not work for others....

http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2014 ... ek-12.html

Someone mentioned on the No S forums how that bite counting couldnt become unconscience effort. In my experience, Anything can become an unconscience effort when it becomes a Habit!!!

My friend over at http://diethobby.com/blog.php has counted calorie and recorded them, day in and day out for years. She has made it a habit in her life and she has had wonderful success Maintaining her weight Long term by doing this!

Using my Eat Slower Pro App has made it easier to become a natural habit, I don't have to put forth alot of effort to count my bites! The app does it Automatically for me. When I am away from home, I can simply place my phone on my lap and it automatically vibrates and counts my bites, spacing each bite around a minute apart so I can still eat delicious foods and enjoy them, all the while eating slowly....

By doing the same thing, day in and day out, it has become a habit for me.... It is not always perfect, but it has become a habit in my life now.

Even people who have followed Vanilla No S for years sometimes get off track for a week or a few days. Judith Beck says, dieting and Maintaining your weight follows the following sequence: It is easy for a while and then you go through a period where it may be a bit harder, then it gets easy.... This pattern continues over and over and over again!!!

So Do What Works For YOU! That is what will make you successful in the long term!!!

Yay for Habits, for they are powerful things!

I personally found it took away from the enjoyment of the meal to time my chews,

But for those that do this, I do want to mention there is a free app that is good for that... They have a free one for Android AND Apple

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... .chewtimer

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chew-ti ... 92414?mt=8[/quote]

herbsgirl wrote:So Do What Works For YOU!
That is what will make you successful in the long term!!!

Yay for Habits, for they are powerful things!

So Very True !

Hi Herbsgirl,

I understand how like the Pavlovian dog your bites can become unconscious if something vibrates. You can become conditioned to take a bite unconsciously whenever you feel something vibrating. That would work.

Counting, however, can't be unconscious as this is not how our brain works It requires some kind of focus, otherwise you would lose count. (Ever tried counting when you were in a stressful situation with a lot of external influences that surprise you? - you'd lose count - or maybe that's just me as I lose count easily but I'm sure if the stress is enough everyone would and a habit can be performed so unconsciously that you never even know you have done it - like locking my car or house, I often can't remember doing it but when I check I always find that I did no matter the external stress. Or S days when I forget to have the Ss because I did N days habit).

It can, however be a habit, yes. You are right: counting bites at every meal can be a habit (a conscious habit).

And I agree with you wholeheartedly with whatever floats people's boats, which is why I said:

if people like to diet for the rest of their days then good for them

Bright Angel for example said that for her dieting is her hobby and that sounds like a fun thing that works for her.

Sorry, I've edited this twice now to make the quote appear and to make sure I get the tone right.

Thank you to all the contributors to this post for taking the time to respectfully respond and discuss the 'bite mod' with each other to enable us to learn so much more about another mod that is successfully being used with No S.

I have really enjoyed learning more about the different ways of counting bites and or chews.

The brilliance of No S - that it blends so well with any life style and chosen mod. Thank you so much once again to Reinhard for sharing and changing so many of our lives.

I was also inspired by Herbsgirl and researched bite counting. I ended up doing the 5 bite diet, the strictest (and simplest) of all bite counting diets. I started on 1/22/14 at 159.5 lbs and kept at it for 13 weeks (with 4 or 5 red days in there) and lost 37.5 pounds bringing me down to 122. I went off the rails for 10 days, Vegas Baby! But I will use bite counting to lose the 10 or so I gained on my trip. Honestly, I have been home for 2 days and jumping back on the diet has been a little tough but I feel I am ready to get this gained weight off before it gets too comfortable!

If you are curious, the 5 bite diet allows 5 bites for lunch and dinner. It's basically the diet they recommend for bypass patients, without surgery. It's drastic and controversial and not very No S-ish but I feel my time with No S (almost a year of vanilla) has made me successful because I learned 1. Not to snack and 2. I will not die if I wait for mealtime. I plan on sticking with No S forever as my maintenance plan but I just needed a jumpstart to get to my goal weight.

Herbsgirl, I can't thank you enough for your inspiration! I am finally confident I can be the weight I want to be forever!!

Dhack wrote:I was also inspired by Herbsgirl and researched bite counting. I ended up doing the 5 bite diet, the strictest (and simplest) of all bite counting diets. I started on 1/22/14 at 159.5 lbs and kept at it for 13 weeks (with 4 or 5 red days in there) and lost 37.5 pounds bringing me down to 122. I went off the rails for 10 days, Vegas Baby! But I will use bite counting to lose the 10 or so I gained on my trip. Honestly, I have been home for 2 days and jumping back on the diet has been a little tough but I feel I am ready to get this gained weight off before it gets too comfortable!

If you are curious, the 5 bite diet allows 5 bites for lunch and dinner. It's basically the diet they recommend for bypass patients, without surgery. It's drastic and controversial and not very No S-ish but I feel my time with No S (almost a year of vanilla) has made me successful because I learned 1. Not to snack and 2. I will not die if I wait for mealtime. I plan on sticking with No S forever as my maintenance plan but I just needed a jumpstart to get to my goal weight.

Herbsgirl, I can't thank you enough for your inspiration! I am finally confident I can be the weight I want to be forever!!

Your welcome Dhack and Congrats on your success losing weight!

Dhack - I'm glad you found something that seems to be working, but as you point out, the "5 Bite Diet" (by Dr. Alwin Lewis) is not in the spirit of No-S, which offers a simple system for eating in moderation. The 5 bite diet, which recommends 10 bites total each day (5 bites at each of two meals) seems to offer a highly restrictive method of starvation. Ten bites can't be more than 500-600 calories, and in fact Dr. Lewis tells people to eyeball two Snickers bars as a guide for the total amt of food that should be consumed daily. As I'm sure you know, VLCDs (very low calorie diets) can be extremely dangerous in the long term. I feel that they should only be done in certain circumstances and under strict medical supervision. Are you being closely followed by your physician....?

mackinac19 wrote:...(very low calorie diets) can be extremely dangerous in the long term.
I feel that they should only be done in certain circumstances...
the "5 Bite Diet" ... is not in the spirit of No-S,
which offers a simple system for eating in moderation.

Let's not Put Down the eating choices of others,
even by negatively addressing choices we might feel are "inferior"
in terms of one's "concern" for their health.
Anyone is welcome to modify and/or combine the No S diet and ANY other diet.

I believe it is imporant to support everyone here on the No S forum,
no matter what modifications they may choose to make to the basic plan.
I am free to take what I like about No S, and leave the rest,
as is every other person who posts here.
One of the things I admire most about Reinhard and his No S book,
is his acceptance of the differences of others.

The outstanding pricipal of No S is the concept of HABIT.
It can be very SIMPLE, or become very COMPLICATED
depending on how the principal is applied.

First, although 3 meals is the norm, the No S requirement is for a SPECIFID NUMBER of meals,
people can have 2 or 4 meals if they choose to do so.

Next, Reinhard hoped that MODERATION would become a natual Side-Effect of the No S diet,
as a RESULT of No S HABITs, but moderation isn't ACTUALLY part of the plan.
People can EXACTLY follow Vanilla No S in greed or deprivation.
Greed -- overfilling their 3 plates with rich, dense foods during weekdays,
and bingeing on many thousands of calories every weekend ...
Deprivation -- using small plates with tiny amounts of low-calorie foods -
on every day of the week, including weekends.

Moderation, Greed, Deprivation
All of these methods are choices that can conform to the No S Diet.
Let's live and let live here.
Some people follow Vanilla No S... and that is fine.
Other people use some of the No S principles combined with other diets,
and that is ALSO fine.

Thank you BrightAngel for your openminded and thoughtful response! I have seen your blog post about the Five Bite Diet and I think I recall you had a weight loss surgery so I know you are very well educated in a variety of methods of weight control.

As far as my health is concerned I have never felt better! The reality is that "a body needs 1200 calories a day" is a myth. If you have fat on your body and you want to burn it you need to eat less so your body can utilize the fat stores first. As for the other myth "quick fat loss rebounds FAST." Yes, I gained on my 10 day vacation but almost all of that is gone already. Also, I have to add I originally lost 10 or so pounds over 6 or 7 months of No S only to gain it all back at the holidays. So "slow weight loss" isn't magic either.

I appreciate your concern but as, BrightAngel so eloquently put it, "...live and let live..."

Thank you BrightAngel for your wise post!


Dhack- I belive that fast weight loss can actually be a good thing! Just knowing that we are IN control of our weight with the bite counting really works!

Yes, Herbsgirl!! You build confidence with that control! It's a race to lose the weight but we all know maintenance is the REAL challenge. Confidence is key to maintenance, the way I see it.

Hello again everyone,

I certainly want to embrace differences, but that doesn't ameliorate my concern that eating 500-600 calories each day can be detrimental to one's health in the long term.

Also, I realize that No S can be done with mods (as is true of any diet). However when those mods become highly restrictive and/or complicated, that is not representative of the simple and moderate eating habits championed by No S.

But that's okay. We are all free to eat exactly as we choose....

mackinac19 wrote: We are all free to eat exactly as we choose.

It's great to be part of an accepting, supportive, non-judgmental forum.
Thanks to everyone for keeping it that way.

BrightAngel wrote:

mackinac19 wrote: We are all free to eat exactly as we choose.

It's great to be part of an accepting, supportive, non-judgmental forum.
Thanks to everyone for keeping it that way.

And it is even greater that Reinhard does not censor our comments.

Jethro said,
"And it is even greater that Reinhard does not censor our comments. "

It's true... we are really this nice!

BrightAngel, thank you for a very thought-provoking post about greed/deprivation/moderation approach to No S.

Newbie here--- Howdy, everybody!

HerbG and BrightA, I've read both of your blogs and you two have been a huge inspiration.

I'm trying out the 5-Bite Diet right now and have experienced success. Mother's Day weekend hindered my resolve a little.

My biggest challenge of all is foregoing the snacking. I didn't realize how much I snacked until I stopped snacking, cold turkey.

I initially lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks on the 5-Bite Diet, and regained 5 pounds from not adhering to the No S and the 5-bite over Mother's Day weekend. I'm back on track now.

The first day is my toughest but it seems to get easier with each passing day.

I like the overall congenial environment of this discussion board.

Thanks to Herbsgirl, I, too, am a bite-counter.

I don't snack and my S days are not wild.

Sorry, Reinhard, but my "overfilled" 7-inch plates that were keeping me in the overweight category always look pitifully skimpy to my SuperSized eyeballs...

"Just eat smaller portions" is too vague and I came unglued trying to figure out my body's definition of "reasonable". I've counted calories before and obsessed over servings, so counting bites sounds to me like a novel approach. I like the idea that Dr. Black's article describing it was published in 1977.

I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and my bites are smaller than average, so my initial count was 135 bites/day. Now at 70 bites/day I am steadily losing around a pound a week. I don't count chews, but I only take a bite every 30 seconds and savor it thoroughly.

I hope that eventually my eyes will adjust to proper portions, but until then I would rather count than remain overweight.

elegantportions wrote:
"Just eat smaller portions" is too vague and I came unglued trying to figure out my body's definition of "reasonable". .

I agree that "one plate" is too vague. No sugar and no snacks are real, measurable criteria. "No seconds" is not, it is open to any interpretation. Size of plate, what it is that you put in it, etc.

Counting bites is not my cup of tea either, but I've started a "hunger diary" (on a scale, how hungry you are before a meal and how satiated after it), which is slowly teaching me the right balance.