Tips for Dealing w a Buffet...?

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edasler1
edasler1 Posts: 3
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone.

Have been lurking for a while reading and trying to eat well and stay within my calorie range and it is working ... Five pounds down so far. Yippee!

Tonight I'm facing my first big challenge, an all you can eat buffet. Does any one have any tips so I can still eat and be social without going over maintenance, I have eaten lightly all day to give myself some more wriggle room with my cals but starting to feel apprehensive!

Thanks

E

P.s. Feel free to add me I am new here and have no friends :-(
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Replies

  • 4aces61
    4aces61 Posts: 292 Member
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    Eat sensibly and have self control or, don't go.
  • ClarkWierda
    ClarkWierda Posts: 49 Member
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    1. Use the smallest plate they have.
    2. Have a nice salad, but go easy on the dressing.
    3. Try to eat slowly.
    4. Don't sweat it. It's only one meal on one day.
  • white_rushin
    white_rushin Posts: 43
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    It's good you gave yourself some wiggle room to indulge a bit. Buffets are fun…. so have fun.

    Take a plate of what looks good to you for the night. Ex: slice of pizza, some soup, some greens, and maybe a little soft serve ice cream.

    If you're still tempted, try more veggies or soup since both can be light on calories. Unless it's creamy soup.

    Enjoy the night!
  • Solar07
    Solar07 Posts: 83 Member
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    I'm going to have the same situation tomorrow for Mother's Day. Here is my game plan:

    1. Drink water before, during, and after meal.
    2. Fill my plate with over half veggies and fruit.
    3. Make sure the veggies are as "clean" as possible - avoiding oil and butter.
    4. No bread.
    5. Allow myself one dessert, depending on size might have to cut in half.

    Plus I plan on walking in the morning and afternoon to help burn off extra calories.

    I hope you were successful today and all through your journey.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
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    I usually just get a bite or two of each thing I want to try. More protein and vegetables than anything. If anything jumps out at me as extra yum I may go back for a little bit more of it.
  • Forty6and2
    Forty6and2 Posts: 2,492 Member
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    Just remember: it's more scared of you than you are of it.
  • edasler1
    edasler1 Posts: 3
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    Thank you all so much for your replies. I have popped some of them on a note in my purse so I can re-read them if the goodies are calling me too loudly :)

    Not going isn't an option today, it is already Mother's Day down here in NZ so have to be a good daughter in law.
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
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    One plate. I get half a serving spoon of each thing I want to taste. I drink lots of water with my meal, but I do that anyway, so that's not really a special thing. Eat slowly, once the food on my one plate is gone, I'm done eating.

    But most importantly, have fun. These social events are important in your relationships with other people, so have fun building those relationships.
  • InevitableButterfly
    InevitableButterfly Posts: 340 Member
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    Don't be this dude 21fc57d0c217a573231326bfbdcf52450994d349842d0fd28ceae12babef4799.jpg
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
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    Don't be this dude 21fc57d0c217a573231326bfbdcf52450994d349842d0fd28ceae12babef4799.jpg

    I love that! So true.
  • edasler1
    edasler1 Posts: 3
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    That used to be me... Probably how I got here :laugh:
  • collingmommy
    collingmommy Posts: 456 Member
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    We are taking my mom to her fave Chinese restaurant Sunday, luckily I weigh in in the morning a few hours before we are going. Then I don't look at the scale again till next Sunday. Lol.. I'll have time to burn it all back off! Lol
  • ilenewilliams
    ilenewilliams Posts: 48 Member
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    what I do is start with a salad full of veggies and either lemon or vinegar for dressing, so that my first plate is very low calorie. (for some reason I think I need to go back a few times so one plate won't work) My second trip I use the little tiny bit of what looks really good, maybe two or three bites of each thing and make sure nothing touches lol (less on the plate that way). No bread though. then I eat that. Sometimes I don't want dessert after that but if I do then I'll go have one dessert. The salad makes it so I am not starving when I get to the actual hot food, and the one dessert keeps me from going crazy. Good luck and enjoy!
  • scottkjar
    scottkjar Posts: 346 Member
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    I usually try a whole lot of little amounts of stuff I do not normally eat. I figure they probably have nutrients that I don't normally get, so even if I go over on my calories on one meal, I think I probably make up for it nutritionally.

    Also remember it takes 3500 excess calories to gain one pound, so unless you really gorge yourself, you probably won't do any serious harm to your weight at one meal.
  • mike_ny
    mike_ny Posts: 351 Member
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    The best way to use your willpower and remain in control is to go in with a plan that's easy to follow:

    Pick the healthier options, put half of what you would normally put on your plate, and only go up,twice. That way you're not drawing any attention to yourself but it limits the damage to where you can make it up calorie-wise over the next couple days.

    It's still an "all you can eat" buffet because that's "all you can eat".
  • PunkyRachel
    PunkyRachel Posts: 1,959 Member
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    Choose healthier food options, and take 1 spoon of everything. Oh and no going back for seconds!
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
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    My strategy is to look over everything first to see what is available, then decide what I really want to eat and go back and get those things. You don't want to be in a position of having something on your plate, then something even better is at the end of the line.
  • serindipte
    serindipte Posts: 1,557 Member
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    I start with soup before I have anything else, then I do at least half veggie and the rest protein. I limit fried foods and avoid obvious carbs, rice, noodles, bread with the exception of one small dessert piece and fruit.

    On the other hand, one high day, even if you go over by 1000 calories is not going to hurt your progress at all. I usually have my largest drops within a couple of days of having a higher than usual day.
  • beesareyellow
    beesareyellow Posts: 335 Member
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    Just because it's all you can eat, doesn't mean you have to eat it all :laugh:
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    I very rarely go to a buffet, but I didn't really care for them even pre-MFP. However, when I go I just try to plan strategically.

    For example I went to a buffet with my extended family, I grabbed the large plate and filled it up 1/2 with a raw veggie salad and like 2 TBSP of pasta salad, then got one medium-sized piece of fried catfish because it looked the best tasting to me of all my options there. I didn't "allow" myself to get a second dinner plate, that was my decision from the get go. I then got a dessert plate with one small piece of chocolate cake (the kind that's like a petit fours size, much smaller than a typical brownie or slice of cake) and a couple huge wedges of honeydew melon. I came in at a pretty normal calorie count for dinner and very satisfied. I attracted no unwanted attention from my fellow diners...they could clearly see I was eating catfish and chocolate cake!

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