large meals/buffets effect on you
Replies
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The quality of the buffet that matches the quality of a regular meal is at least twice more, so I really don’t get my money’s worth. I’d have to overeat to get my money’s worth and I don’t like doing that.1
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I'm also of the mindset that buffet food quality isn't great, and I'd rather get a single meal - but the exception to that are brunch buffets and Chinese/Asian cuisine buffets. I've had some really good ones, and I (very occasionally) will go all out.
As someone who has a tendency to overeat - unfortunately sometimes compulsively overeat or binge - I try really hard to pay attention to how I feel after a buffet (or a huge meal, or one that involves a lot of greasy bar/party foods). If I seriously overeat a few days in a row, old habits come back with amazing speed and I have a hard time reigning it in. But if I spend some time focusing right after I overeat on how my body feels, how my energy level is, and remembering that it actually kinda sucks feeling like I need to lay on the couch for the rest of the day to handle my large food intake, I can usually bounce back really quickly and put the good mental habits I built back to work.2 -
I'm also of the mindset that buffet food quality isn't great, and I'd rather get a single meal - but the exception to that are brunch buffets and Chinese/Asian cuisine buffets. I've had some really good ones, and I (very occasionally) will go all out.
As someone who has a tendency to overeat - unfortunately sometimes compulsively overeat or binge - I try really hard to pay attention to how I feel after a buffet (or a huge meal, or one that involves a lot of greasy bar/party foods). If I seriously overeat a few days in a row, old habits come back with amazing speed and I have a hard time reigning it in. But if I spend some time focusing right after I overeat on how my body feels, how my energy level is, and remembering that it actually kinda sucks feeling like I need to lay on the couch for the rest of the day to handle my large food intake, I can usually bounce back really quickly and put the good mental habits I built back to work.
valid point. This time around i went in knowing i didnt necessarily want to even go, I wasnt craving the foods but my mum who i havent seen in 10 years wanted to go with me so i was like okay how do i make this impact less damaging. I aswell compulsively overeat when given many options, Its why i tend to stick to the same few meals/snacks day in day out and if i want something special i buy it out in single portion.
I went in with the goal that it will be one meal. I wasnt going to let it effect me for multiple days. i was 100% commited to that the days coming up to it. I succeeded at that. And i went in knowing that in the past it sends my cravings crazy and i was determined to try and fight it the best i could.
I guess it was a case of been there done that. Have to go through it enough times and focus on your feelings around certain things to get the information you need on your own body and how it reacts to things so that you can acknowledge it and build a game plan. Thats actually a strong point to know for newbies. Those of us who succeed have still failed, We just took the fails to heart and kept them in mind to do a little better next time, We wouldnt have been able to do better next time without our "failures" -opportunities to learn-
This time around im taking away more information, My skin hates me right now i broke out badly. Each time i overeat or whatever i take away a little more information, And i wouldnt have gotten to the point of noticing my skin when i was still focusing on my panic about weight gain when i started, And then how my body felt a few times later, Finally to arrive at how my skin is reacting once i overcame all the other steps. I wonder what ill realize next.7 -
I had a 1 day road trip to a wedding, breakfast buffet at the hotel, buffet style reception, 1 day road trip back. Thought I was gonna lose it, but I reminded myself these were moments in time that didn't need to last all week.
I packed food for the road which I prelogged.
I exercised like crazy at the hotel gym and prelogged what I'd eat at for breakfast each day I was at the hotel, telling myself the food is not going away. Day 1 was pastries, Day 2 Belgian waffle bar. Yum!
At the reception, I took single servings of only what I wanted and finished out the night dancing. No last supper syndrome.
Soon as I got home I said it was back to real life. No cravings or anything.
Good job handling your buffet situation!2 -
Well AYCE Mongollie Grill, Fish and Chips, Chinese+Mongolie Grill, Sushi+Thai, Indian, and Sunday Brunch are my six "categories".
The good news is that I've moved from several times each and every week to the occasional time(s) each month. And I mostly do NOT miss the experience.
The bad news is that I still over-eat when I go out for them, especially at the ones that offer desserts. I have listed them in order of "damage" and the dessert availability and calories go up to match. Interestingly, with the exception of Indian, the price progression matches too! Maybe both better quality and more incentive to "get your money's worth"?!?!
But, the better news is that I both overeat for fewer calories than I used to and feel full for a much longer time than I used to.
I definitely feel that there should also be a differentiation between "I am not eating my next meal because I am genuinely still feeling full from the yet to be digested 2 food platters plus 3 dessert plates I ate earlier today" vs the notion that I am "paying penance for my transgression", or I need to "catch up with my deficit", or 'make up for", or "limit" the damage.
Pretty much everything other than truthfully still feeling full from what was consumed runs a serious risk of rebound over-eating.
Now why am I sticking this in here? Mainly to say that the occasional higher calorie meal will not doom anyone to not meeting their goals, particularly when it happens within the context of maintenance or slow weight loss.
Looking back over the past 111 days (Jan 1 to April 21), I see 7 occasions where I was 1000+ calories above my monthly average. This has not stopped me from "reigning in" 1.6lbs of trending weight worth of upward fluctuation that happened in November and December.
I haven't checked in detail but ~5 correspond to AYCE, ~2 didn't. And there are another ~4 AYCE days where I may have been above my average calories for the day, but I wasn't 1000+ Cal above. Since I average a bit over 2800 Cal a day I can fit a "burst to the gills" Mongollie Grill (with appropriate (oil free)sauce and controlled rice/noodle selection) without going (that far)over. The rest of the AYCE stuff... not as much
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JaydedMiss wrote: »Thanks for posting your observations. I appreciate this thread. Kudos on the shift in your outlook! I basically agree with this:IME buffets normally have meh food and loud environments.
Buffets are just not my thing. The food itself usually isn’t special. It’s often a quantity over quality thing. I really appreciate presentation, how food is plated, which you don’t get at a buffet. Plus, they make me a little anxious because I won’t get “my money’s worth.” It’s never going to be “a good deal” for me. All that notwithstanding, I can get a satisfactory meal at a buffet, and it does not make me ravenous for days. It can be hard to log, though.
More difficult for me is the day after a night of heavy drinking. I’m much hungrier than normal.justjara123 wrote: »Buffets make me feel awful the next day. Even if I just try a little bit of all the food, I end up getting too full and not really enjoying anything. I don’t think I ever get my money’s worth and I spend the next day sluggish and lacking an appetite for any sort f food. I skip buffets in favor of regular restos with food I like.
Im going to touch on this point you guys brought up : moneys worth
I have the exact same mindset but i realize something that makes that mindset dumb, Yet i still have it.
Theres 2 buffets i like in london the other ones a few dollars cheaper but lets use the mandarin for my example
Buffet prices:
Lunch
Monday – Friday $18.99
Saturday, Sunday & HolidaysΔ
$22.99
Dinner
Monday – Thursday $26.99
Friday – Sunday & HolidaysΔ $28.99
Lunch monday-friday is under 20$. I mean honestly a good meal from a restaurant where you just get one late and maybe like a small dessert will easily come up to 20$. Even mcdonalds or something can easily hit 20$ for a meal and like a sundae or something (atleast close enough for this point)
So with those numbers, Its really not hard at all to "get my moneys worth" So i have no clue why even when i know this my brain still tells me i need to stuff myself with everything simply because its a buffet, And i want to get my moneys worth lol. A single plate stacked would get me more then my moneys worth, With a small plate of dessert and a bowl of icecream.
The other ones a sushi place its like 16$ for lunch and all other sushi places i can find a small sushi platter is between 15-35$ so it makes entire sense to go to the buffet, And since it has 168 menu items and literally like so much different kinds of foods it financially actually makes sense to go there lol even for the more expensive dinner to get my sushi fix
side note just because its my thread and i feel liek saying it, I was 126 lbs before i went thurs, Went up to 132 lbs.....and now its monday and im down to 122.4 lol. all time lows past 2 days
If you're in Londonn why are the prices in dollars?1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »Thanks for posting your observations. I appreciate this thread. Kudos on the shift in your outlook! I basically agree with this:IME buffets normally have meh food and loud environments.
Buffets are just not my thing. The food itself usually isn’t special. It’s often a quantity over quality thing. I really appreciate presentation, how food is plated, which you don’t get at a buffet. Plus, they make me a little anxious because I won’t get “my money’s worth.” It’s never going to be “a good deal” for me. All that notwithstanding, I can get a satisfactory meal at a buffet, and it does not make me ravenous for days. It can be hard to log, though.
More difficult for me is the day after a night of heavy drinking. I’m much hungrier than normal.justjara123 wrote: »Buffets make me feel awful the next day. Even if I just try a little bit of all the food, I end up getting too full and not really enjoying anything. I don’t think I ever get my money’s worth and I spend the next day sluggish and lacking an appetite for any sort f food. I skip buffets in favor of regular restos with food I like.
Im going to touch on this point you guys brought up : moneys worth
I have the exact same mindset but i realize something that makes that mindset dumb, Yet i still have it.
Theres 2 buffets i like in london the other ones a few dollars cheaper but lets use the mandarin for my example
Buffet prices:
Lunch
Monday – Friday $18.99
Saturday, Sunday & HolidaysΔ
$22.99
Dinner
Monday – Thursday $26.99
Friday – Sunday & HolidaysΔ $28.99
Lunch monday-friday is under 20$. I mean honestly a good meal from a restaurant where you just get one late and maybe like a small dessert will easily come up to 20$. Even mcdonalds or something can easily hit 20$ for a meal and like a sundae or something (atleast close enough for this point)
So with those numbers, Its really not hard at all to "get my moneys worth" So i have no clue why even when i know this my brain still tells me i need to stuff myself with everything simply because its a buffet, And i want to get my moneys worth lol. A single plate stacked would get me more then my moneys worth, With a small plate of dessert and a bowl of icecream.
The other ones a sushi place its like 16$ for lunch and all other sushi places i can find a small sushi platter is between 15-35$ so it makes entire sense to go to the buffet, And since it has 168 menu items and literally like so much different kinds of foods it financially actually makes sense to go there lol even for the more expensive dinner to get my sushi fix
side note just because its my thread and i feel liek saying it, I was 126 lbs before i went thurs, Went up to 132 lbs.....and now its monday and im down to 122.4 lol. all time lows past 2 days
If you're in Londonn why are the prices in dollars?
theres multiple londons in the world2 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »Thanks for posting your observations. I appreciate this thread. Kudos on the shift in your outlook! I basically agree with this:IME buffets normally have meh food and loud environments.
Buffets are just not my thing. The food itself usually isn’t special. It’s often a quantity over quality thing. I really appreciate presentation, how food is plated, which you don’t get at a buffet. Plus, they make me a little anxious because I won’t get “my money’s worth.” It’s never going to be “a good deal” for me. All that notwithstanding, I can get a satisfactory meal at a buffet, and it does not make me ravenous for days. It can be hard to log, though.
More difficult for me is the day after a night of heavy drinking. I’m much hungrier than normal.justjara123 wrote: »Buffets make me feel awful the next day. Even if I just try a little bit of all the food, I end up getting too full and not really enjoying anything. I don’t think I ever get my money’s worth and I spend the next day sluggish and lacking an appetite for any sort f food. I skip buffets in favor of regular restos with food I like.
Im going to touch on this point you guys brought up : moneys worth
I have the exact same mindset but i realize something that makes that mindset dumb, Yet i still have it.
Theres 2 buffets i like in london the other ones a few dollars cheaper but lets use the mandarin for my example
Buffet prices:
Lunch
Monday – Friday $18.99
Saturday, Sunday & HolidaysΔ
$22.99
Dinner
Monday – Thursday $26.99
Friday – Sunday & HolidaysΔ $28.99
Lunch monday-friday is under 20$. I mean honestly a good meal from a restaurant where you just get one late and maybe like a small dessert will easily come up to 20$. Even mcdonalds or something can easily hit 20$ for a meal and like a sundae or something (atleast close enough for this point)
So with those numbers, Its really not hard at all to "get my moneys worth" So i have no clue why even when i know this my brain still tells me i need to stuff myself with everything simply because its a buffet, And i want to get my moneys worth lol. A single plate stacked would get me more then my moneys worth, With a small plate of dessert and a bowl of icecream.
The other ones a sushi place its like 16$ for lunch and all other sushi places i can find a small sushi platter is between 15-35$ so it makes entire sense to go to the buffet, And since it has 168 menu items and literally like so much different kinds of foods it financially actually makes sense to go there lol even for the more expensive dinner to get my sushi fix
side note just because its my thread and i feel liek saying it, I was 126 lbs before i went thurs, Went up to 132 lbs.....and now its monday and im down to 122.4 lol. all time lows past 2 days
If you're in Londonn why are the prices in dollars?
theres multiple londons in the world
Good point. Ontario?1 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »lynn_glenmont wrote: »JaydedMiss wrote: »Thanks for posting your observations. I appreciate this thread. Kudos on the shift in your outlook! I basically agree with this:IME buffets normally have meh food and loud environments.
Buffets are just not my thing. The food itself usually isn’t special. It’s often a quantity over quality thing. I really appreciate presentation, how food is plated, which you don’t get at a buffet. Plus, they make me a little anxious because I won’t get “my money’s worth.” It’s never going to be “a good deal” for me. All that notwithstanding, I can get a satisfactory meal at a buffet, and it does not make me ravenous for days. It can be hard to log, though.
More difficult for me is the day after a night of heavy drinking. I’m much hungrier than normal.justjara123 wrote: »Buffets make me feel awful the next day. Even if I just try a little bit of all the food, I end up getting too full and not really enjoying anything. I don’t think I ever get my money’s worth and I spend the next day sluggish and lacking an appetite for any sort f food. I skip buffets in favor of regular restos with food I like.
Im going to touch on this point you guys brought up : moneys worth
I have the exact same mindset but i realize something that makes that mindset dumb, Yet i still have it.
Theres 2 buffets i like in london the other ones a few dollars cheaper but lets use the mandarin for my example
Buffet prices:
Lunch
Monday – Friday $18.99
Saturday, Sunday & HolidaysΔ
$22.99
Dinner
Monday – Thursday $26.99
Friday – Sunday & HolidaysΔ $28.99
Lunch monday-friday is under 20$. I mean honestly a good meal from a restaurant where you just get one late and maybe like a small dessert will easily come up to 20$. Even mcdonalds or something can easily hit 20$ for a meal and like a sundae or something (atleast close enough for this point)
So with those numbers, Its really not hard at all to "get my moneys worth" So i have no clue why even when i know this my brain still tells me i need to stuff myself with everything simply because its a buffet, And i want to get my moneys worth lol. A single plate stacked would get me more then my moneys worth, With a small plate of dessert and a bowl of icecream.
The other ones a sushi place its like 16$ for lunch and all other sushi places i can find a small sushi platter is between 15-35$ so it makes entire sense to go to the buffet, And since it has 168 menu items and literally like so much different kinds of foods it financially actually makes sense to go there lol even for the more expensive dinner to get my sushi fix
side note just because its my thread and i feel liek saying it, I was 126 lbs before i went thurs, Went up to 132 lbs.....and now its monday and im down to 122.4 lol. all time lows past 2 days
If you're in Londonn why are the prices in dollars?
theres multiple londons in the world
Good point. Ontario?
yup2 -
I don't often eat at buffets unless I'm travelling. Once in a long while when I'm home I'll go to a Chinese buffet, because if I order carry out from a regular Chinese restaurant, I'm going to want to order differemt dishes, and the portions are so large that even if I spread the food out over several days, i'll be exceeding my calories every day. I can be happy with a smaller amount at a buffet, just to taste the things I want.
Whrn I'm travelling, I'll sometimes go to a buffet when I'm desperate for some vegetables -- the vegetable sides at most regular restaurants seem like garnishes when you want to fill half your plate with veggies, and the choices are generally pretty limited. You can usually find some kind of unsauced lean protein at a buffet, too. So I go to buffets when I'm travelling if I'm tired of restaurant meals and want to put together something more like what I would eat at home.3 -
I don't visit them anymore. Lpl1
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That's an interesting observation. My most recent over-calorie day was April 7, for a family gathering and I expected to get substantially over. The following day, April 8, was not normal, as I was quick to yield to random thoughts of consuming food. It being a Sunday I had the time and opportunity to use my cardio machines long enough to burn off the extra calories and finished that day green. These 2 weeks on target have been the longest stretch I've managed in several months, and it hasn't been difficult.
Mrs. and I don't do buffets, so that's not a recurring problem for me.0 -
I haven't been to a buffet in forever. I don't think I could do it because to get my money's worth, I have to stuff myself and I hate that feeling. We went to my mom's for my wife's birthday and had a feast and I ate way too much and was just uncomfortable the rest of the evening and had a hard time sleeping. I felt normal the next day though.0
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Im so glad i posted, Its been very interesting hearing peoples views on buffets/large meals and how they have changed/been dealt with over time. Its interesting to me to hear from those i know are in the pro if it fits your calories/IIFYM camp seem to have a much easier time with buffets. That aswell is a good lesson to newbies and long termers alike, Its proof in my eyes that allowing yourself foods you want leads to generally better self control/craving control long term. Not that this was unknown, But as someone who cant moderate so i have to restrict 95% of the time its a good reminder.
As someone both in the eat what i want in my calories but also struggle with binge eating its been a kind of eye opening experience having this change. Nothing has really changed, But im more knowledgable on the topic
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i have OCD issues, and buffets violate EVERY SINGLE ONE of my food rules.
you wont ever catch me in one, and I refused even on a cruise to eat at it. i ate in the dining rooms/restaurants.
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