Strategies in buffets

ElliInJapan

I sometimes have business lunches at hotel buffets and it's always very difficult to both keep track of the food I eat and stick to my calorie budget for the day. Especially the second one, I have no idea how to do, it's so tempting to try a little bit of this and that and then when you add up it's always way too much.
This is e.g. today's lunch, for which I was very cautious what to pick, and even left hungry at the end, but the sum is about 1000 calories! I have to admit I indulged a bit in the huge variety of cakes they had, but each one was a tiny portion.



Perhaps a better strategy is to avoid dessert altogether and just pick salad and some meat.

Anyway, what are your strategies in such situations?

PS: One way to deal with it would be to say "it's one day, enjoy it and go on". That's absolutely reasonable as long as it doesn't happen often enough. When it's too often, the 2000-2500 calories one can easily get from such a meal undo all the deficit you created in the week. So I'm seeking for strategies in situations in which these types of meals occur often.

vismal

First off, and I hate to point this out, but you probably ate a lot more then you estimated. I look at a few entries and the portions must be extremely small to be accurate. A 1 ounce piece of roast beef is extremely small, maybe the size of a 50 cent piece. The 1 ounce portion of rice is extremely small too. Same goes for the cake. Even those small mini cakes are probably 2 ounces. Also, you have no idea how they are preparing things. Restaurants generally use a fair amount of oil/grease/butter to cook things with because it creates a much better taste at little cost to them so you entries might not be accurate for that reason as well.

If I had to eat at a buffet once a week I'd probably do a few things. First I'd focus on protein, preferably lean protein if available. Grilled/baked chicken or fish without sauces. I'd load up on salad and vegetable and I'd probably either skip desert entirely or have 1 desert item. In addition, after I tried to recreate the meal in MFP, I'll add 10% to the total calories as buffer since all the food entries will be best guesses. If you want more leeway to enjoy yourself, you can make this your only meal of the day and just focus on small snacks for the rest of the day. Another strategy would be to steal 300 calories from the day before and the day after giving you 600 extra to use at the buffet. Whatever you choose to do, just don't get into the "F it" mentality. Sometimes when you slip up on your plan just a little it's east to just call it a loss and go hog wild. In the past I have been guilty of letting one small piece of cake lead to an unplanned 3-5k calorie cheat meal. This is by FAR the worst thing you could do.

Camo_xxx

^ bingo

BWBTrish

We went to a buffet Sunday i didn't even bother counting.
Enjoyed it and move on the next day.
Did a quick add of 1500 calories and that's it.

Had some water fluctuation Monday and today it was gone.

ElliInJapan

@vismal, good points, and I am aware that most likely what I ate is more than that. I tried to be as accurate as possible when I logged this meal to see what is the minimum of calories it could have been. I usually up the quantities to give me a bit more room. Having said that, the beef was literally as big as a 50cent coin (this is Japan and portions are tiny, besides I did leave the place still hungry). The rice was one spoonful, and I also know from nutrition information in similarly sized (japanese) cakes that the quantity I ate was ~100 calories. So I don't think I'm too far off, although because of the long list, a few calories off for every item will add up, I understand that.
Anyway, the way I read the above list is that I ate "at least 1000 calories"

Stealing a few calories from day before and after sounds like a good idea, I will try that. And I'm very guilty of giving in and consider the day lost and then go overboard. I try to stop that way of thinking but I'm not always successful.

lemonlionheart

Some ideas:

1. Extra exercise and save some calories from the day or two in advance is an excellent idea.
2. What I would try to do is eat something beforehand that's high in nutrition so you're not starving when you go in. A protein bar or something? It's tempting to skip breakfast or something but I find it much harder to stay in control if I'm really hungry. Sometimes I'll even have a small meal beforehand then just get a salad or something once I'm out. It might be tempting to try to get your money's worth, but remember you'll regret it more if you spent $25 or whatever ruining your deficit for the day.
3. Limit yourself to one plate, and eat slowly. Fill it up with lots of salads and protein.
4. Get a big glass of water after your first plate and sip it slowly, wait till it's finished before you decide you need something else.
5. If you often go to the same places and know what they serve you can try to pre-log what you are going to have, might make it easier to stick to.
6. Again, if you visit buffets fairly often maybe you can just pick one dessert and tell yourself you can have one of the other ones next time?

Good luck!

Morgaen73

I just spend 5 days on a cruise and failed miserably

Revonue

Is there any way you can pack food for yourself ahead of time? Bring a cooler packed with a few sandwiches wrapped in aluminum foil, maybe? Or focus on eating a big salad and some chicken, while avoiding dressing (not because it's bad, but if it's unlabeled it's impossible to tell the calorie content)?

imabeevampire

Glad i saw this. Friends are taking me to an all you can eat chinese buffet in the summer. Im super excited but very scared about calories!

notnikkisixx

imabeevampire wrote: »

Glad i saw this. Friends are taking me to an all you can eat chinese buffet in the summer. Im super excited but very scared about calories!

With a chinese buffet you can easily plan to eat at least 2000 calories since everything will be cooked in lots of oil. My best advice is to pick the more veggie-heavy dishes and if you want to try everything, don't load up one plate instead take lots of little trips so it takes longer to eat and gives you more time to feel full.

JustinAnimal

Overestimate the calories you eat, stay away from beef and rice, go for more fish, chicken and lean proteins, and no dessert.

cerad2

My buffet plan:

1. Skip the vegetables. It's a buffet for crying out load. Why waste valuable stomach volume on rabbit food?
2. Skip the deserts. I usually find the deserts to be pretty bad anyways. The cookies are always stale.
3. Skip the carbs. Makes you feel like you are doing something healthy.
4. Eat protein, protein and more protein. All kinds of chicken, pork, sausages, shrimp, sushi (exception to the no carb rule). It's truly heaven and with luck you might not feel hungry as you walk out.

Of course it's possible that this plan might have something to do with my obesity.

vismal

To the several people worrying about a singe trip to a buffet or a buffet while on vacation, that's a totally different scenario. As stated by the OP, they must go to the buffet on a regular basis. If it's going to be a special occasion kind of thing that you don't do all the time, just have a free day, eat what you want, and get right back to things the next day. You can have a handful of free days a year if you are consistent the rest of the time. I probably have 15-20 a year. All major holidays, vacation, weddings, birthdays, and a few just because days usually set around seeing friends. That might seem like a lot, but its really only 4-5% of the entire year. One day will not destroy your diet if you are doing things right. In the situation described by the OP however, this day must be repeated weekly. This is when you really need a sound strategy.

TimothyFish

On one hand, buffets can be great, because you can pick the low calorie stuff and leave the rest. But another approach is to give yourself a number you won't go over and pick foods based on rough estimates that keep you below that number.

animatorswearbras

My strategy would be to basically pad out my plate with shed loads of fresh salad (or steamed veg) and some light dressing, then choose just a couple of small portions of things that don't seem too bad, like lean grilled meats and tomato based dishes. Avoid food in creamy, visibly oily or thick sugary sauces, avoid anything fried or in pastry or anything swimming in mayo or cheese. Also yeah avoid the dessert cart, and if you can't, try to just have some fruit (I see you had pineapple and kiwi) with maybe a tablespoon of custard or icecream.

Mostly I wouldn't worry too much if it was a special occasion I'd just make it up the rest of the week or exercise more (or just be like tomorrows another day and shrug it off), but if you have to do this regularly as part of your job then maybe find out whats on the buffet make a plan of what you can fit in your macros and stick to it. (also eat slower you'll feel fuller)

looking at your diary next time you're at that place avoid the dimsum, quiche, fried rice and cakes and just have a bit more salad and grilled meat.

ElliInJapan

Lots of useful advice! I agree with going for more lean protein and salad, and this is what I try to do. The thing is that usually there isn't any grilled lean meat at these buffets, most dishes are variations of noodles with meat or fish, meat in cream sauce, fried stuff etc etc. So I skipped all that completely, as well as the bread counter. I did give in a bit in the dessert counter but within a variety of 20-30 desserts, I felt I was still rather careful. I like the idea of one dessert each time, maybe with fruits, I'll do that next time.
Another thing that I hadn't thought of was to also have some soup, that will fill me up with less calories.

Also, just to clarify the situation, I'm going there for work on a semi regular basis. Maybe not every week, but on average 2-3 times per month (and actually this week I have 2 such meals). It's for whenever we have guests at work, we take them at lunch break to a buffet to pamper them and chat work in a more relaxed environment. So I have to eat as well, I can't be all picky with my food or eat just salad and no dessert when I encourage them to eat as much as they like.

So I don't think I can avoid going over on these days, but perhaps I can stick to a lower calorie goal on all other days.

Another thing I realized after I made the OP is that there is an interesting mental issue going on. In the beginning, I have all the motivation to stick to low calorie choices and opt eg for salad. And then I walk around the counters and I'm like "not this, it's fried, not that it's in cream sauce" etc etc. I keep rejecting lots of choices and as time goes by, my discipline falters. By the time we're at dessert, I think "oh, at least let me have a bit of cake!" It's funny. But perhaps a goal at one dessert at a time can work.

sssgilber

Of course you can just put salad on your plate yet encourage your guests to enjoy themselves. Few people will notice your selections, fewer will comment, more than a few may be glad to follow your example.

One nice thing about this being a semi-regular event is you can space out your indulgences. One time have salad and some good bread, the next time salad and a taste of something fried, next time salad and dessert.

My old mindset at buffets was to finish 3 plates full, plus dessert, and get my money's worth. Now I pick and choose and eat only what tastes good. If something isn't delicious at the first bite, I push it aside. I try to remember that my money is buying quality, not quantity.

What if next time you start at the dessert station while your motivation is high, pick something healthy or tiny, then move to the entrees and salad?

BWBTrish

vismal wrote: »

To the several people worrying about a singe trip to a buffet or a buffet while on vacation, that's a totally different scenario. As stated by the OP, they must go to the buffet on a regular basis. If it's going to be a special occasion kind of thing that you don't do all the time, just have a free day, eat what you want, and get right back to things the next day. You can have a handful of free days a year if you are consistent the rest of the time. I probably have 15-20 a year. All major holidays, vacation, weddings, birthdays, and a few just because days usually set around seeing friends. That might seem like a lot, but its really only 4-5% of the entire year. One day will not destroy your diet if you are doing things right. In the situation described by the OP however, this day must be repeated weekly. This is when you really need a sound strategy.

yes i saw this later. Sorry for that.
I go sometimes.

But what i did was i loaded up on salad and veggies
and i took some of the roast and some of the turkey. I stayed away from dessert.
The Brussel sprouts were really good so i took a second serving of those.

Normally i would go for the Chinese/Thai food. But i stayed away from those.
Too much salt for me

so no real good advice except for what you probably already knew.

TimothyFish

I've never been bothered by someone eating less or healthier than me at a buffet. I figure they know where the food is, they can eat it if they like. Besides that, your guests may be considering how to avoid overeating also.

Zedeff

The answer to this seems easy to me for your scenario OP.

For most of us, a buffet is a treat, an indulgence. The main attraction is the variety and quantity of food we can get, so we are compelled to try a bit of everything and end up over eating. You may be conditioned to think this way, but in your case a buffet is NOT an indulgence, it is just "lunch."

Ask yourself this: if lunch were being held at a regular restaurant and not a buffet, would you have posted this question, or would you have simply ordered something that you know is responsible? I suspect the latter.

In the future, don't treat the buffet as a buffet, treat it as a cafeteria - it's a restaurant without a waiter. Go up, inspect the line, pick one protein and one or two sides, and eat that as a meal. You don't need chicken AND shrimp AND beef; you don't need soft-serve ice cream AND pudding AND cake. Fill your plate with a single meal-sized selection, and call it a day.