is it ok to go to all you can eat places?

lurker011
lurker011 Posts: 16 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
i am trying to lose about 50 pounds,but as i mentioned before,i take certain medications that cause weight gain. Red Lobster has all you can eat shrimp and i ate alot. i had 2 orders of the shrimp linguini,2 orders of shrimp scampi,2 orders of parmesan shrimp scampi and one order of coconut shrimp. i also had a cesar salad and 2 bisquits. i did drink water,but the total sodium content of my meal was over 6,000mg. i want to ask,how many times per week/month can i give myself this cheat day?? thanks.

Replies

  • chadya07
    chadya07 Posts: 627 Member
    its up to you. if i have a cheat anything its not really a cheat, just a thing. i sometimes go over by a few hundred cals, no more than once every couple weeks.

    i used to frequent all you can eat places and it is one of the few things i dont allow myself anymore. i tried a couple times but while i always start with a healthy plate i just cant keep myself on track...

    i dont deny myself anything except deep fried things and all you can eat buffets.

    if you are planning already how you can get around the rules, you may want to rethink your outlook. having a day where you go off is one thing, trying to figure out how i can make them happen more often sounds more like... reservations to me. it seems planning how you can start new habits would be more productive.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    well you can do the math yourself.

    if the calories from your "cheat" day negate all of your deficits from the other 6 days of the week then you'd either be eating at maintenance (staying the same weight) or eating over maintenance (gaining weight).
  • Kellryn
    Kellryn Posts: 139 Member
    I can't really answer your question, but I wouldn't have too many days like that. I went to the Red Lobster Endless Shrimp the other day and my meal was just over 1000 calories, and I ate about HALF what you did...

    One thing you can do, if you know about large meals in advance, is too eat light the rest of the day. Even though my meal was over 1000 calories that day, it still fit my calorie goal, since I ate light at breakfast and lunch before that.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    ... Did you calculate all of the calories in that meal? That matters to weight loss. Calories. Not the sodium, per se.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
    Weight loss only requires a deficit to your TDEE.

    If daily goals are too strict for you, try using weekly calorie/macro targets. If your overeat one day you can still stay on track if you adjust your calorie/macro goals on other days to compensate.

    How often you can eat large meals such as the one you describe will be determined by your compliance with your calorie/macro targets
  • hearthwood
    hearthwood Posts: 794 Member
    Well, I really don't know how to answer that. You don't mention what you're calorie goal is each day, nor how many calories you ate a Red Lobster, but just judging what you did eat, it sounds to me like you really over did it.

    I think most people when they mention a cheat day, they're referring to eating 1 to 2 hundred extra calories over goal, because "they cheated and had an ice cream or piece of cake", and aren't referring to a smorgasbord of all you can eat.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    The key to losing is a calorie deficit.

    Did you measure or do you know how many calories that equates to?
    Cheat days are fine as long as you realise you end up having to balance the calorie books elsewhere. For instance you might be doing a 100 calorie a day save elsewhere or doing extra exercise every day, which adds up.
    Shrimp by itself is very low calorie, but id be more conerned with the other ingredients.

    You dont need anyones permission to eat what you like, but if you wnat to lose weight then you have to take responsibility for what you eat and make sure you burn more. This is why its important to track food and it sounds like you dont know how much you ate in Kcal. Either losing the weight is more important or it is not. Dont panic but make sure you know how cheat days fit into your overall plan of eating less than you burn.

    For the salt do some research and make your own mind up.
  • lurker011
    lurker011 Posts: 16 Member
    i just looked it up,my total calorie intake was 3220. thankfully i only drank water and had no dessert. i have been eating anywhere from 1000-1800 calories per day since the beginning of 2014. the problem is that a certain medication causes me to be very hungry. i have a wristwatch that shows how many calories that i have burned and i burned 3121 today according to my watch. i also walked 4 miles today according to the watch but most of that was pacing back and forth,which is another side effect of the medication. your replies were good,i feel like i can cheat once a week like this but due to the meds that i am taking,my metabolism is slowing and i have not been losing even though i usually burn 2500-3000 calories a day and eat 1000-1800.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    How do you know unless you weighed it. Watched and MFP are only estimates which require accurate data.
    No idea about your med you just have to deal with it or go back to your Dr.

    You will know whether its working over a period of time if you lose weight or you do not. If I was losing weight then I'd be a bit mindful of binging out on over 3000 calories beccause thats nearly 1lb a weekor 1h of gym work five times. A gugh price to pay for one meal.

    If it works for you then it works, but be mindful of what most people say in addition to the calorie deficit.

    It's about a sustainable change of lifestyle.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    I did part companies with the all you can eat Chinese buffet. Doing the portion control thing just seems like a slap in the face compared to how much you pay lol. Chinese buffet unfortunately to me is a place to go nuts and stuff yourself silly for a little over ten bucks. Maybe I'll stop by and mostly grab baked chicken and fried rice and try to portion it over a week

    I agree with most of the other responses by the way. Can't tell you if you're "allowed" to eat anywhere. You'll have to run the numbers for yourself. I will say restaurant calories can be very hard to estimate, and even when the info is posted on a website the chef isn't necessarily being very precise with the measurements so there'll be a significant amount of error built into your logging. But you still want to live your life and not feel deprived. If you feel you have to or want to do the all you can eat, just be mindful of the numbers and go from there
  • lurker011
    lurker011 Posts: 16 Member
    holy crap,yesterday i weighed at 225 lbs and this morning i weighed at 229 lbs. i know that 3,200 calories does not equal 4 pounds.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,862 Member
    Water retention from the massive amounts of sodium you consumed. Give it a couple days, it will go away.
  • fleshyflower
    fleshyflower Posts: 7
    only if u are willing to stick to your diet ;P you gota ctonrol yourself n its pretty hard to when you have all you can eat around u
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    .
  • asdowe13
    asdowe13 Posts: 1,951 Member
    i just looked it up,my total calorie intake was 3220. thankfully i only drank water and had no dessert. i have been eating anywhere from 1000-1800 calories per day since the beginning of 2014. the problem is that a certain medication causes me to be very hungry. i have a wristwatch that shows how many calories that i have burned and i burned 3121 today according to my watch. i also walked 4 miles today according to the watch but most of that was pacing back and forth,which is another side effect of the medication. your replies were good,i feel like i can cheat once a week like this but due to the meds that i am taking,my metabolism is slowing and i have not been losing even though i usually burn 2500-3000 calories a day and eat 1000-1800.


    What is this magical medication?

    Unicorn Semen
  • Mikkimeow
    Mikkimeow Posts: 1,282 Member
    i just looked it up,my total calorie intake was 3220. thankfully i only drank water and had no dessert. i have been eating anywhere from 1000-1800 calories per day since the beginning of 2014. the problem is that a certain medication causes me to be very hungry. i have a wristwatch that shows how many calories that i have burned and i burned 3121 today according to my watch. i also walked 4 miles today according to the watch but most of that was pacing back and forth,which is another side effect of the medication. your replies were good,i feel like i can cheat once a week like this but due to the meds that i am taking,my metabolism is slowing and i have not been losing even though i usually burn 2500-3000 calories a day and eat 1000-1800.


    What is this magical medication?

    Unicorn Semen

    Nope, they discontinued it last year because of rashes that consisted of glitter and bullsh*t.
  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    I, like most men, tend to take all you can eat buffets as a personal challenge, so they've gotten pushed to the side for the most part. i think i've been to one since i started and that was because i was in a large group of guys who we're all feining all you can eat chinese
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    i am trying to lose about 50 pounds,but as i mentioned before,i take certain medications that cause weight gain. Red Lobster has all you can eat shrimp and i ate alot. i had 2 orders of the shrimp linguini,2 orders of shrimp scampi,2 orders of parmesan shrimp scampi and one order of coconut shrimp. i also had a cesar salad and 2 bisquits. i did drink water,but the total sodium content of my meal was over 6,000mg. i want to ask,how many times per week/month can i give myself this cheat day?? thanks.

    As long as that's all you eat for the week you should be fine going weekly.
  • MelsAuntie
    MelsAuntie Posts: 2,833 Member
    Of course it's "okay"... I go to our local (excellent) Chinese buffet for the peanut butter chicken whenever I'm on that end of town. Just make ONE pass, don't keep going back and reloading your plate!
  • DerekVTX
    DerekVTX Posts: 287 Member
    I find your question kind of annoying! First of all you have the tools to know how many calories you ate, you have the tools to count your calories, you can obviously do the math and see that this kind of eating can destroy 4 or 5 days worth of eating within your goals. You wanna know how often you can cheat like this........you obviously do not want to lose weight and follow the program so the answer is you may as well go every day.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    It's up to you!

    It's not cheating; it's overeating. You can do it as often as you like. You're the one who pays the consequences.

    Except for Souplantation, I try to avoid buffets. :)
  • lovemybooks01
    lovemybooks01 Posts: 3 Member
    I have been to a couple of all you can eat between having my bypass and starting with mfp, if you do want to continue using these places may I make a couple of suggestions that might help you - 1 eat a protein snack/drink about 20 mins before you leave as protein normally makes you feel full up, 2 drink a big glass or 2 of water, again this usually makes me feel full. 3 when you arrive have either soup or more water. 4 for main course have a big plate of salad (no dressing or on side) and have plain shrimp or chicken, something like that. Having said this, it is your life and if you want to have a blowout now and again, then go for it - before I had my bypass, I was told the idea is not to stop you eating all your favourite foods for the rest of your life, just learn to have them in moderation.
    I was at a carvery restaurant on sunday for a birthday and had a side plate with some prawns, salad and feta (about half the plate empty) Main was gammon, cauliflower cheese, carrots and cabbage (again plate wasn't full up and certainly wasn't piled up like a mountain!) and had a small slice of New York cheesecake with a spoon of fruit salad, thoroughly enjoyed it and don't feel guilty about having any of it as it's certainly not usual for me to have a meal like this! I have been told go for either the 80/20 diet, have 1 day of eating what I want per week or each week have 1 favourite breakfast, 1 favourite lunch and 1 favourite dinner to spread out any excess rather than all in one day - I try for 80/20 and don't beat myself up if I slip now and again. I don't know what your medications are, but fully sympathise - I have NEVER felt full up in my life, I had a blood test for the chemical/hormone that makes you feel full and it was almost a negligible reading for that hormone and sadly has never got better - I used to be able to have a big dinner, dessert and would still feel hungry - the only thing that helps me even now is remembering after the bypass my tummy is the size of an orange when it's at full stretch. Good luck with your continued weight loss xx
  • bellaa_x0
    bellaa_x0 Posts: 1,062 Member
    I find your question kind of annoying! First of all you have the tools to know how many calories you ate, you have the tools to count your calories, you can obviously do the math and see that this kind of eating can destroy 4 or 5 days worth of eating within your goals. You wanna know how often you can cheat like this........you obviously do not want to lose weight and follow the program so the answer is you may as well go every day.

    agreed :huh: :grumble:
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    To me it doesn't sound like you are ready to handle an "all you can eat" or "endless shrimp" situation.

    Maybe down the road a bit, you will be able to handle it a little bit better.

    Of course this is just my opinion.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    The first step is logging everything, which I see you've done, and that's a great step... awareness of what you're eating.


    However, looking back at your post history, I would sincerely advise you to talk to your doctor about this. You are on a very serious combination of medications. No one here is aptly prepared to advise you regarding weight loss as a stand alone issue. Given the anti-psychotic and other medications you're on, I would advise you to discuss a diet and exercise plan with your doctors and whether or not this is an appropriate time in your treatment to focus on diet.


    Best of luck.

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