Hello,

I started trying the weight loss curriculum earlier this month. I’m getting quite good now at respecting my protocol and, because we’re under lockdown and eat all meals at home, I haven’t really had much occasion to need to plan exceptions to my protocol. One of my challenges with weight loss has just been simply eating too much food (overloading my plate or reaching for seconds), which have stalled my weight loss attempts in the past.

I’d like to plan an exception to my plan for Thanksgiving next week. However, I’m not really sure what a good exception plan should look like. Is it “eat like you normally would (a large plate with 2nd helpings) and accept the consequences in terms of weight gain”? Or is a good exception plan more like “eat reduced amounts of everything that is served”?

My guess is that you might say the decision is up to me. Here’s the thing: if I knew that I would only gain 1 pound, I’d do the first. I’d make a different choice if I knew I would gain more than that as a result. Can you help me understand what a good exception plan should look like so that I can make the best decision here?