Everyday Systems

I need to attend a business dinner on Tuesday evening.
The set menu consists of 5 courses.
I feel like I can comfortably skip dessert in favour of the cheese course, but I will feel self conscious and will attract curious comments and questions on our table of six if I refuse all other courses except the main course.

So, strategy advice please. I see my choices like this :

a) Make it an S day. Go and enjoy the dinner with no restrictions. The problem I see here is that it's NOT an S day is it? It's not a weekend, it's not my birthday, it's not a special celebration. If I let this one become an S day I'm in danger of allowing all business dinners to be such and as many of us know, it's a slippery slope.

b)It's an N day so go with that. Try to virtual plate as I go along, ie take a few bites of each course and skip dessert.

Any advice? What would you do?

As long as these dinners are infrequent occurrences, here's what I'd do: I'd make it an S event (the whole day isn't an S, just this one meal). I wouldn't try to virtual plate or skip a course. Concentrate on the main course, but don't ignore the other courses, just eat less of them. With dessert, for instance, I'd take three bites and be done with it.

If I were in control of what I was being served, at a restaurant, for instance, I wouldn't order that much food except on an S day. When I'm not in control, I eat some of everything being served. It doesn't happen often, so I don't worry about it.

I would go for an S-event too. That way you can be stress free (about the food at least!) throughout the evening, without needing to sacrifice the entire day.

Good luck!

Thanks Wosnes and Amy, I'll make it an S Event. I hadn't even thought of doing that. It doesn't happen this way too often, maybe once every 6 months or so. Usually at company dinners we're given a menu just like a restaurant so we can make our own choice about how many courses to eat and so on. But these 'set menu' dinners come around maybe twice a year.
Anyway, by making it an S Event I can go ahead and enjoy the dinner in the knowledge that I'm still on track.