Cheat day at the buffet

I love buffets! I start out by saving the lion's share of calories for that meal. Then I start the meal with a salad and drink water. Then one plate of whatever I want! And maybe a dessert but not usually. I might be a bit high the next day but I drink water and am back down in a day or two. There's no way that I can eat so much in one salad and one guesstimated plate that it wipes out weeks of work.

I eat whatever I want and as much as I want lol i do try to eyeball my plate sizes to stay under maintenance at the very least but I rarely ever log my 'cheat' days and generally I either end up with very little water weight or lose it within a couple of days along with staying on 'goal weight' track anyway... so it's likely not as big a deal as your mind is making it out to be.

I would suggest to be extremely picky about what you eat. Take only one piece or one small scoop of only the very best dishes. If you don't really care for the taste don't ever take another bite and only go back for seconds if it was the most amazing thing you've ever tasted. Drink water, eat slow, and don't ignore when you're full...

Also, if you know you'll be attending a buffet then eat very light meals up to and after it to compensate. Or, alternatively, increase your deficit the day (or days) before in preparation for going over on buffet day. This way you won't actually be over on your weekly caloric goal.

I find it much easier to eat a healthy, reasonable-calorie meal at a buffet than at most restaurants. There's usually lots of options for veggies, lean protein, and fruit at a buffet, and you can choose a smaller portion than a typical restaurant will serve. I walk the entire buffet before I make my choices, and pick out two or three more calorie-dense items to sample in one- or two-bite servings along with larger amounts of nutrient-dense foods. Sure, I eat more calories than I generally would at home, but it's a lot less than if I went out for a burger, fries, and a milkshake.

I have a buffet lunch next week paid for by my boss and im dreading it! All the food has rich creamy sauces and there isnt too many salad bits at the one i am going to... any help? Ideas? I am going to try and use a small plate and small potions but it seems like im nervous over nothing

runningalice wrote: »

I have a buffet lunch next week paid for by my boss and im dreading it! All the food has rich creamy sauces and there isnt too many salad bits at the one i am going to... any help? Ideas? I am going to try and use a small plate and small potions but it seems like im nervous over nothing

You know it's coming. Eat under goal around 100~ calories/ day, this will give you an extra 700-ish weekly deficit to absorb the extra calories at the buffet. Then go eat, drink water and enjoy! And don't derail the next day!

Hfeff wrote: »

So I went to Mohegan sun with the hubby. I have really been logging everything the past week. We went to the buffet and I didn't go crazy like I used to but I wasn't that great either. I actually tried to log as much as I could. Obviously I went over my calories intake. I'm a little upset but I can't go back. I'll have to go on the treadmill when the kids go to sleep. My question is aside from not going what do people do when they go to the buffet?

I avoid buffets because I overeat because I want to get my money's worth, and honestly old food sitting under a heat lamp just isn't that tasty.

runningalice wrote: »

I have a buffet lunch next week paid for by my boss and im dreading it! All the food has rich creamy sauces and there isnt too many salad bits at the one i am going to... any help? Ideas? I am going to try and use a small plate and small potions but it seems like im nervous over nothing

It's just one day, and just one meal. Enjoy it, log it, and move on.

The food is rarely really good at a buffet, so that makes it easy to stay away from them. I'd much rather have a smaller portion of something that is great. I admit I would be one who would want her money's worth too.

My daily intake M-F is right at 1200. My daily calorie deficit M-F is right at 1200. My weekend cheating allowance is 6000 calories. I can't even imagine eating that much. A dinner out at a restaurant with bread and desert is likely to be 2500 calories, and I don't want 3 of those on a weekend. We don't get to bank sodium though. I can be low for 6 days and high for 1 and add 4 lb of water.