How to navigate pot luck

I have a challenge with potlucks also. I have a lot of events so writing it off as a special day isn't the best for me. I do try and bring something I really like that is lower calorie so there is something I want. I often bring veggies and hummus, a wild rice salad, watermelon or something along those lines.

Yes, drink water and eat before you go.

One tip I have, besides all the good advice already given, is to take small tasters of the foods that interest you. Something may look good, but be disappointing - it would be a waste of calories if you put a larger amount on your plate and you felt the need to finish it, despite not enjoying it. So take small tasters and then go back for the foods that were the tastiest.
(This is for those of us who feel the need to finish our plate, to avoid offending others for example)

We just had one Sat night. Sat was burgers and brats and salads, chips, etc. Will power helps. I wanted all the garbage in my belly. Sat. I just had a burger patty, yes it had cheese, but added toppings (lettuce, tomato, onion), no bun and no condiments. I did have some pasta salad, luckily it was made with light mayo. I didn't get too much, kept away from the chips and other unhealthy stuff. I did have a cookie as I was light on calories. Stayed away from the sugar drinks, I did have 1 can of beer, but the rest of the time it was water. But I say get your protein and fill up on lots of green salad, veggies, and fruit, watch the salad dressing, even so-called healthy-looking dressings are deceptive and contain lots of calories. Also don't let it deter you, the way I always look at it is, you are changing the way you eat. It doesn't have to happen all at once, and if you have a meal or two that doesn't comply with super healthy then it isn't going to set you back. Don't go overboard when you do have that unhealthy meal, keep it in check. I try to limit my unhealthy meal to once a week if I can. If you know you are having an unhealthy meal that day, then watch your before or after calories, compensate.

I'm a bad influence again, but it's one data point/one thought process.

I've given up on full self-control at potlucks. I tried several strategies - lots of good strategies above, that work well for other people - and wasn't terribly effective. I have bad FOMO when it comes to food that's actually sitting there on the table for the taking.

Finally I decided that since potlucks are fairly rare in my life (once a month, maybe, tops - on average?), I wasn't going to worry about it. I do usually make something yummy/healthy/filling myself to take, try to eat a little lighter otherwise that day, try not to go totally nuts, but eat pretty freely at the potluck.

It really doesn't make that much difference, in the overall trajectory of my bodyweight, as long as its's rare. Yeah, there's a water-weight scale jump that would be super-stressful for some people, but doesn't bother me.

To me, it isn't worth stressing over. Others' mileage will vary, I guarantee.

This is one of those things that it just kind of depends. For myself, things like this would be occasional and not regular occurrences so in the big picture wouldn't have any material impact on my health, nutrition, fitness, or weight management objectives. What I'm doing most of the time is what is important. Nobody got fat because they overindulged at a holiday or birthday or other eating occasion...people get fat when what you do on occasions become everyday events.

But really, this is going to be a trial and error thing and really depend on your own circumstances. Pre-COVID we used to have more social gatherings at our house with pool party BBQs and whatnot so I had to have different strategies. Our gatherings were usually mid afternoon since they revolved around pool time and summer sun...so food was basically a late lunch/early dinner kind of thing. Generally appetizers and snacky stuff early in the afternoon with the main stuff being late afternoon. I usually skipped breakfast or had something very small for breakfast and the party was my primary and sometimes only meal of the day with maybe some desert later in the evening

I focus on a few great things and watch my portion size.

I pick the one or two things I really want to eat and put that on my plate, making that the centerpiece. I take a reasonable portion but don't worry much about the calories. If it's really caloric I might make it a small portion. But something special I don't normally eat. Then I make sure I have other things like salad I can keep eating without worrying about. I make sure not to drink my calories - bubbly water, tea, coffee - so I can leave room for dessert.

4th of July is coming up. I plan to think about it before I eat it. I will only eat a reasonable portion of high calorie foodsand skip desert (perhaps a bite of hubbies). I try to avoid added sugar and do well until someone hands me a plate before I can say no.

I missed this thread when it was under discussion in June. Great advice here. Since the approaching holiday season is filled with buffets and pot lucks, I'll add it depends a bit on what works for you. A small taste of everything will leave me *feeling* unsatisfied even if it added up to 1000 calories. I am just not good at the "small plate" dining trend, especially when people are *sharing* portions that are small to begin with. It never *feels* like a whole meal to me. It also depends on how carefully I'm counting (more careful in a cut, more casual when maintaining.) If counting carefully, my strategy would repeat a couple of the ideas that have been mentioned already.

Make something you like a lot, that you think others will like, that fits in your calorie budget, and that you can reasonably eyeball onto your plate. Fill your plate with a generous serving of that. Then try small bits of 2 other things that don't look too complicated to estimate. If you really like one or both, go for seconds. If not, then leaving a little on your plate doesn't seem rude or wasteful. And I just wouldn't look at the dessert table. I'm a dessert lover, but often things look better than they taste at events. And accurately estimating super calorie dense foods is too hard.

Most important, have fun! Enjoy the celebratory spirit and the camaraderie.

I can’t eat at potlucks or buffets (medical). My family & friends know that & as someone above said, no one even cares. I either eat before or bring my own.

Recently, I broke this rule at a family gathering. I still can’t believe that I’d been so quarantined that I only realized afterwards. I ate a ton.

I definitely am returning to not eating at social gatherings or bringing my own. We need to know ourselves!