Buffet calories

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mikehextall
mikehextall Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
its easy to work out what calories you take in when you prepare the food yourself but when you have a buffet with cocktail sausages and crisps all mixed together aswell as different sorts of sandwiches all with mayonnaise in how on earth can yo tell how many calories your taken in??????

Replies

  • ShannonWinger
    ShannonWinger Posts: 309 Member
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    I never know what to do either. Any time I eat buffet style (which isn't very often) I just don't log that day. Make a note in your diary and try to start fresh the next day. We ate Chinese buffett the other night and I felt horrid afterwards. Ate way too much. It sure was good going down though.
  • KaleighL
    KaleighL Posts: 159
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    Usually I just log in the ingredients separetly. If I don't know what is exactly in the food, I just portion what I eat. That way I can enjoy the food but not feel guilty afterwards.
  • mikehextall
    mikehextall Posts: 14
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    Yeah it was really nice but I am the same it feels terrible cos I've no idea what I've eaten in terms of calories
  • _CowgirlUp_
    _CowgirlUp_ Posts: 585 Member
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    There's really no way you can know how many calories are in what you eat at a buffet, especially if its food you don't normally eat. I have tried to eat out at places where I can get nutritional information online or on my My Fitness Pal app on my phone. If I had to eat somewhere that didn't offer the information I would just not log for that day and do some extra work-out. I've heard that some places add sugar to so many foods that you wouldn't suspect...for instance...Outback Steakhouse adds sugar to their steamed vegetables! A friend of mine knew someone that worked there. I always get steamed veggies because they're good and good for me, but had no idea there was sugar (and butter) added to them.
  • magenta4c
    magenta4c Posts: 53 Member
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    buffets are usually a bad idea anyways, as they make you overeat.

    i recently went to an indian buffet and since there is no way of telling how much they oil they use, make sure to listen very closely to your hunger. i just added 1000 quick calories for 1 plate and some desert... just to be sure.

    don't be rushed, wait until everything has arrived the stomach before you decide to take a second course... you might be full already and don't need the second run.
    (after a few weeks of watching your calories, you should feel the grease more prominent anyways)\

    don't eat more than you would at home. protion wise... one piece of meat of the size of your palm.

    with buffets and restaurants its always the "today or never" effect... wich makes us eat the full plate, even if we are full... in a restaurant have them wrap the leftovers, at a buffet, don't just eat because of the opportunity. tell yourself, you can always come back if you feel like it again. the only catch is that they are usually not worth it for just one course. that's why buffet concept is bad for dieting.


    HTH
  • lukimakamai
    lukimakamai Posts: 498 Member
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    I don't do this often either because once you are at a buffet you feel you "need to get you moneys worth." You could add each item individually which takes awhile but is the most accurate, or if you have a general idea of what each items calories were, estimate how many calories you had total at the buffet and add it as a lump calorie sum to your diary. The second option will not have the nutritional values, but keep you accountable for the calories you ate.
  • jptmemphis
    jptmemphis Posts: 53 Member
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    I've got bad news for you..... You can't do buffets. We are all overweight for a reason - we have bad habits. The first thing that we have to do is identify the bad habits and change them. Habit #1 has got to be train yourself to plan your meals and stick to the plan. Buffets do not fit into that equation. It might be a good value (pound for pound) and easy to do, but isn't that what we are trying to avoid.

    Do yourself a favor and decide that you can't afford the buffet.
  • amyindm
    amyindm Posts: 93 Member
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    Just my 2 cents but part of life is things that fall outside of our comfort zone or healthy zone and learning how to deal with them is part of staying healthy - avoiding a wedding buffet, for example, isn't always an option. But trying to navigate it and still feel good about our choices seems like a way to be able to live this way for life. I like to eat just a bite or two of yummy things if I'm out... it helps me not binge. But figuring out how much I ate exactly is tricky so like some other posters I try to estimate as best as I can. If my log is a little inaccurate for the day I can't fix that but if 99% of the time I'm logging everything I eat and I made reasonable choices for that event I'm cool with it. If I had to eat out all the time it would be a nightmare though. :\
  • mikehextall
    mikehextall Posts: 14
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    Just my 2 cents but part of life is things that fall outside of our comfort zone or healthy zone and learning how to deal with them is part of staying healthy - avoiding a wedding buffet, for example, isn't always an option. But trying to navigate it and still feel good about our choices seems like a way to be able to live this way for life. I like to eat just a bite or two of yummy things if I'm out... it helps me not binge. But figuring out how much I ate exactly is tricky so like some other posters I try to estimate as best as I can. If my log is a little inaccurate for the day I can't fix that but if 99% of the time I'm logging everything I eat and I made reasonable choices for that event I'm cool with it. If I had to eat out all the time it would be a nightmare though. :\

    i totally agree, when its your grandads birthday and your mother in law has prepared the buffett i cant sit their and say im sorry i cant eat this, instead as you suggest it has to be managed this is the reason i started this topic in order to better manage it in the future.
  • mikehextall
    mikehextall Posts: 14
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    Just my 2 cents but part of life is things that fall outside of our comfort zone or healthy zone and learning how to deal with them is part of staying healthy - avoiding a wedding buffet, for example, isn't always an option. But trying to navigate it and still feel good about our choices seems like a way to be able to live this way for life. I like to eat just a bite or two of yummy things if I'm out... it helps me not binge. But figuring out how much I ate exactly is tricky so like some other posters I try to estimate as best as I can. If my log is a little inaccurate for the day I can't fix that but if 99% of the time I'm logging everything I eat and I made reasonable choices for that event I'm cool with it. If I had to eat out all the time it would be a nightmare though. :\

    i totally agree, when its your grandads birthday and your mother in law has prepared the buffett i cant sit their and say im sorry i cant eat this, instead as you suggest it has to be managed this is the reason i started this topic in order to better manage it in the future.
  • amyindm
    amyindm Posts: 93 Member
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    You really should feel like you can say "I can't eat this" though! Family mean well but they're often major food pushers. If you think it's going to be an event where things are going to be full of unhealthy offerings one trick is to eat some healthy, filling things before. That way you can have a few courtesy bites but not be ravenous and end up eating things you'll regret. I still feel like nothing should ever be off limits (because in my experience when I start doing that it sets me up for failure and bad stuff!) but you should feel like you can choose what you want and don't want to eat. Tell Grandma the cake looks delicious and you'll try just a bite. It still doesn't always work but people will get used to it (hopefully!)
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
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    You really should feel like you can say "I can't eat this" though! Family mean well but they're often major food pushers. If you think it's going to be an event where things are going to be full of unhealthy offerings one trick is to eat some healthy, filling things before. That way you can have a few courtesy bites but not be ravenous and end up eating things you'll regret. I still feel like nothing should ever be off limits (because in my experience when I start doing that it sets me up for failure and bad stuff!) but you should feel like you can choose what you want and don't want to eat. Tell Grandma the cake looks delicious and you'll try just a bite. It still doesn't always work but people will get used to it (hopefully!)
  • atsteele
    atsteele Posts: 1,358 Member
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    You really should feel like you can say "I can't eat this" though! Family mean well but they're often major food pushers. If you think it's going to be an event where things are going to be full of unhealthy offerings one trick is to eat some healthy, filling things before. That way you can have a few courtesy bites but not be ravenous and end up eating things you'll regret. I still feel like nothing should ever be off limits (because in my experience when I start doing that it sets me up for failure and bad stuff!) but you should feel like you can choose what you want and don't want to eat. Tell Grandma the cake looks delicious and you'll try just a bite. It still doesn't always work but people will get used to it (hopefully!)

    So true!!!
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
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    Take two (take one didn't work):

    I have a few strategies I use at buffets:

    1) limit myself to one plate. At Chinese buffets, I also let myself have a bowl of clear soup as a starter.
    2) try to eat foods I recognize; eyeball portion sizes, and look them up on MFP.
    3) drink lots of water.
    4) If I need a second or third plate, try to stick to vegetables and fruits.

    There are a lot of things on MFP. I was at a party with a buffet on Friday, and someone had brought seafood paella. I put "seafood paella" into MFP, and sure enough, somebody has put in nutrition information on seafood paella. It might not have been 100% accurate, but it gave me something to shoot for that fell in between "throw your hands in the air and just eat whatever, because it's all useless anyway" and "Eat nothing, it's just too dangerous!"

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