1. No Seconds - I don't habitually have seconds anyway, so this isn't a problem, but the 'all on one plate' thing is bothering me... this is because I don't always want all my food on one plate! Maybe I want a salad, and a roll, and an apple... is the principle that it should just fit on one plate, or is it that it has to be on one plate? I feel that no seconds is just the opposite of; you went and got your meal, and it was lovely and now you're greedily fantasising about having another bit even though you're full...
2. No sweets - I have seen that obvious desserts are out, and also out and out sweets (candies). This makes sense. But is it about the sugariness of these, or is it about the psychology of having a dessert? So after a meal, I might sometimes have a raw chocolate/fruit bar (just fruit, nuts and raw cocoa squidged together) - I eat it at the same time as my lunch - is this dessert?? Is this different to eating a piece of fruit after a meal - eg the same lunch with fruit salad to finish is ok but this isn't? The net calories would be the same, because the rest of the lunch might be less if I was having that...
3. Coffee - is a latte between meals considered a snack? I mean, it may have 150 cals or something, so it isn't nothing... if a couple of glasses of wine are ok, is this the same thing in terms of drinks with calories? (I don't drink so this isn't an issue for me).
The last thing I want is to try and game the system here...
I read that if you have to think about it too hard (if the answer isn't an immediate, resounding no?) it's probably ok - but I am a veteran of all kinds of restrictive diets, am a mistress of self-deception and I am a bit of an obsessive, anxiety prone over-analyser (can you tell?!) so I am not always able to trust my instinct!
I see that 3 weeks of vanilla is a good way to start - but I am terrified of making it too restrictive and not being able to stick to it... Any other advice in sticking to it in the first weeks would be appreciated too
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
thank you so much!!