heading out to eat in probably the worst place possible

aliensheep0

Its my cousin's birthday, and my aunt and my parents planned to go to goldern corral buffet this evening.
Obviously, this does not go well with my "trying not to overindulge" plan.
What kind of food should I look for and which ones should I completely avoid?
my caloric intake left for today is 1800 after my workout today, but i'm trying to keep at least 500 less calories than what i need to take in.

HealthyChanges2010

Its my cousin's birthday, and my aunt and my parents planned to go to goldern corral buffet this evening.
Obviously, this does not go well with my "trying not to overindulge" plan.
What kind of food should I look for and which ones should I completely avoid?
my caloric intake left for today is 1800 after my workout today, but i'm trying to keep at least 500 less calories than what i need to take in.

Haven't been to a buffet in like forever but from what I recall they have tons of raw veggies, fresh fruit, fish, broiled steak, salad fixin's, caution on the dressings. When I decide to go with dressing away from home I don't pour it on the salad but have it on a seperate plate/bowl and use the tines of my fork and simple dip them and then eat a bite of salad that way. You get the flavor a bit but not go crazy on the fat and cals of the dressing.

Think ahead, plan ahead and don't get caught up in the mixed salads, such as macoroni, potato salads etc. Lots of GOOD things on a Salad bar, just be careful and think of what you'd chose at home to eat and you'll probably be pretty safe.

Portion carefully and you can even ask them to cut the steak in half or actually a 1/4 for a healthy portion, they never seemed to mind that sort of thing when I'd gone with family or friends in the past.

Buffets gross me out now. Well I won't go into to much detail but it's always sorta given me a sense of a feeding trough mentality. Ppl pay and they want to 'get their moneys worth'.

Keep cool, remember this is a lifestyle change and you want to keep your choices healthy so when tomorrow comes you won't carry over any carb cravings if you over do it tonight or have any reason to feel guilty for choices you make tonight.

Most of all take time to enjoy time with your family

Becca♥

badloki13

Good Luck. I would just say NO in that situation, but I feel your pain. If I were to go to a Chinese buffet, it would be over. Golden Corral I could say no to. No problem. Anyway, like I said, good luck.

dford5

- Green salad with romaine and/or spinach. Watch out for high fat/calorie cream based dressing. If possible, make your own with olive oil and vinegar. No cheese, bacon bits, ham/turkey meat or croutons
- Baked chicken breast (no skin)
- Steamed broccoli (no cheese sauce )
- Green beans
- Corn (as your starch)
- I'd probably splurge for dessert but get something sensible and add a small bowl of fruit.

Good luck!

HealthyChanges2010

Might Check the web as they probably have a website you can browse before heading out so you have some clue as to the menu and what your choices would be.

Water no pop, no bread, enjoy some of the salad toppings you might not have so readily at home, fresh peas, red onions, garbanzo beans etc.:drinker:
All the best::flowerforyou:

dgirish33

Maybe try to stick to eating mostly natural type foods and leans meats (if available) and avoid the processed foods.

HealthyChanges2010

- Green salad with romaine and/or spinach. Watch out for high fat/calorie cream based dressing. If possible, make your own with olive oil and vinegar. No cheese, bacon bits, ham/turkey meat or croutons
- Baked chicken breast (no skin)
- Steamed broccoli (no cheese sauce )
- Green beans
- Corn (as your starch)
- I'd probably splurge for dessert but get something sensible and add a small bowl of fruit.

Good luck!

Great ideas!

KalB

Ok I happen to love Golden Corral but thankfully we dont have one close. Mind you I live in Vegas and buffets are on what seems to be every corner. Thankfully we try to avoid them.

I would say eat small portions. Eat very slowly, talk to your cus and enjoy being with the family. Drink lots of water. And enjoy the birthday. If you end up eating to much then you can work out more tommorow and get back on track. You cant let what you eat or dont eat control your life. So try to eat smart and forgive yourself if you dont. I for one know I cant say no to the rolls there.lol

sheltieroger

Before loading your plate, I would walk around it and see what they have (from beginning to dessert) so you can get an idea of what you would like to eat, rather than piling your plate sky high. Also, if they have two sizes of plate, grab a smaller one, especially for the higher calorie stuff

imagymrat

Have a big a** salad(greens, tomato, cucumber, carrots) before you eat anything avoiding the dressing, use lemon if there'sno low cal option. Have soup, broth based only, then go through the buffet line ONCE! :laugh: avoiding, battered, deep fried and heavy cream sauces....my plate would look kinda like this...roast beef/chicken, potatoe, veggies, small dinner roll and ONE item that would be a no-no..like onion rings, or a piece of deep fried something, keep it sensible, if you can accomplish this, trust me, you can do anything, buffets are tough, don't let the junk foods do you in!!!

rnroadrunner

everyone has great suggestions especially gymrat. I have one concern about your goals. Why do you want to get a bmi of 20? you appear to be the body structure that would respond to weight training. I wish you would focus on percentage body fat instead. bmi-caluculator.net has some great calculators to see where you%bf is now and what is considered healthy. Good luck on the Buffet and have agreat time with family.

waymethb

Whenever I go to a buffet I try and have a salad first...fresh veggies and such with little dressing...then I go and have a little meat, veggies and such...that way I fill up mostly on salad and don't want to much more!

Georg

You'll do fine if you want to!
You've had some good advice here. Just stick to it!
Stay away from gravy, fried foods, gobs of dressing,butter, canned sugary fruit & desserts.
Talk a lot.
Drink a lot of water.
You can do it!
:bigsmile:

sblim

My belated advice would be to eat at home just prior but try to fill up on healthy food and then just eat a simple salad or something.

PaleoIsPossible

I LOVE going to Golden Corral! Although it's a buffet, they have a lot of healthier options. At least at the one here there's always broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, etc. that I can fill my plate with. And there's things like baked fish. Just keep an eye out for the healthier options, and try to stay away from all of the fried things they have, along with the all you can eat soft-serve!

Good luck!