Surviving the buffet ??

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I have a party to attend, and it's being held at a chinese buffet restaurant. (Probably one of my biggest weaknesses!). Besides the obvious like drinking TONS of water and working out, does anyone have survival tips they can share for making it out of there without consuming 45,239,345 calories and a lot of regret? :laugh:

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  • taso42_DELETED
    taso42_DELETED Posts: 3,394 Member
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    Tough one. Eating out is difficult enough. A buffet is even worse! Maybe you can limit yourself to one round, no refills. Maybe even eat before if you have to :)
  • MelissaL582
    MelissaL582 Posts: 1,422 Member
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    Chinese is my weakness too. I'm trying to think of items that might be healthy. Maybe check to see if you can find anything with tofu in it.
  • metson
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    My uber weakness as well! I would try to stay away from anything breaded and/or deep fried. Fried rice is a killer too. Opt for the veggie & meat combos. Also try a soup in the beginning which will fill you up faster, but does have a ton of salt. I feel like nothing is "healthy" there, but avoiding some items will make it not as bad:) Good luck!
  • Jacquelyn913
    Jacquelyn913 Posts: 300 Member
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    Does it have a hibachi grill? If so I would do that, some fresh veggies and meat grilled up right in front of you! Just be careful of what sauce you pick. They can be very high in sodium.
  • MissTee25
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    if you can try and work out before you go burn atleast 500 calories to give you some leeway..eat small portions of whatever you put on your plate..
  • kioga86
    kioga86 Posts: 126 Member
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    Check for steamed vegetables, as they tend to be done with less salt and usually without sauces.
    White rice and some steamed veggies would be good, if you can manage that.
    If you have to have some sort of meat, look for something without a lot of sauce, they're sodium and fat death traps, generally speaking.
  • BacktoSam
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    Even though it is probably high in sodium, maybe try to fill up on some egg drop or miso soup first and then go or just a small plate of food.
  • krissy_pooo
    krissy_pooo Posts: 111 Member
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    ok I'm going to play the devil's advocate here lol... last night I ate at a chinese buffet. I'm going to say that was my HUGE cheat day for the next... long... while. I made sure I went to the gym first and worked out harder than usual, and today I worked out extra hard as well.... I'm the type to get my money's worth when I'm paying so much for it! Now that might not be the best attitude when you're trying to lose weight, but we all know there's nothing wrong with a few slip ups here and there. So good luck! and if you want that chicken ball, I say eat it! and have a salad too! :)
  • wolfchild59
    wolfchild59 Posts: 2,608 Member
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    Check for steamed vegetables, as they tend to be done with less salt and usually without sauces.
    White rice and some steamed veggies would be good, if you can manage that.
    If you have to have some sort of meat, look for something without a lot of sauce, they're sodium and fat death traps, generally speaking.

    This is almost exactly what I as going to say. though, I'd even skip the rice. Veggies and sauceless meats/seafood are your best bet. If you have to do rice, get brown instead of white. If they don't have anything sauceless out, ask for it, they'll probably do it. My hubby and I got both of our families in the tradition of chinese dinners at an awesome little place we'd found a long while back. So, sadly, they still like to head there for cheap and filling family nights out. But I always just order dishes without the sauce and they have no problem bringing me my own thing. I love the steamed snow peas and shrimp! Though, the first time I did it it was difficult to explain through the language barrier what I was asking, when the waitress finally understood she said "Ohhh! No flavor!" lol
  • isislc
    isislc Posts: 140 Member
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    I had this problem last week. Try to get a workout in before going. Then stick to steamed, grilled or raw items. In my case, I had grilled chicken without the soy sauce, peel n eat shrimp, crawfish and crab legs. Picked the broccoli out of the beef n broccoli and had some steamed dumplings (dumplings are still a little high in calories though) and vegetables. If you start with a soup, the miso or egg drop are good options. Stick to a soup that is a broth base and nothing thicker. Hope this helps.
  • samara_334
    samara_334 Posts: 22 Member
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    ok I'm going to play the devil's advocate here lol... last night I ate at a chinese buffet. I'm going to say that was my HUGE cheat day for the next... long... while. I made sure I went to the gym first and worked out harder than usual, and today I worked out extra hard as well.... I'm the type to get my money's worth when I'm paying so much for it! Now that might not be the best attitude when you're trying to lose weight, but we all know there's nothing wrong with a few slip ups here and there. So good luck! and if you want that chicken ball, I say eat it! and have a salad too! :)

    I agree with this. i found that i lose wieght faster when i give myself a cheat day. just one day were i dont count calories or worry about what i am eating. I usually end up eating really well but giving myself one meal where i can eat what i want. i do this once a week and it makes th dieting process easier. but if there is alot of stuff u like then get really small portions so u can get all u want but hae it only be one plate of food. at places like that u really dont even know how many calories are in the stuff anyway so why stress over it.
  • dwarfer22
    dwarfer22 Posts: 358 Member
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    Stirfry veggies, no gravy. Tiny bit of rice, no noodles, egg rolls etc. You know what to look for, just try to make the best choices you can. If you really must sample, make it a small portion. Good luck.