HOW DO YOU CALCULATE A BUFFET? (E.G. GOLDEN CORRAL)

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Replies

  • StarkLark
    StarkLark Posts: 476 Member
    JUST went there yesterday. i typed in golden corral and chose the things i ate on there, of course i am done after one trip and dessert so...:drinker:
    So wait, you used the MFP database to look up and log your food?? If only the OP knew about this wonderful site and app! :tongue:

    /Ok I'm getting way too snarky, sorry weightlossguy01. Back to work for me.
  • JSheehy1965
    JSheehy1965 Posts: 404
    http://www.goldencorral.com/menu/
    Click on hot buffet/cold buffet - whatever...and it will give you the nutritional value.

    Best thing is not to go though! :D
  • LadyBuell
    LadyBuell Posts: 164
    Instead of going to their website, you can go to the food database on MFP and search for Golden Corral. There are a bunch of foods listed. You can see what they have, take note of what you eat when you go, and then log it through the database.

    Except there might be multiple listings for a single item with a vastly varying range of calorie counts. This is one of the things I find frustrating. I'd rather have the information directly from the source so that when I go to the database I know that I am choosing the right item.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I have never really over eat at Golden Corral just based on I'm a bit picky about my food. Don't like food over cooked and picked thru but children. I would also choose the wrong foods just because I like fried chicken and fried shrimp. But I quit going back for seconds loooooooong before I started this diet. And I try not to over fill my plate. But the rolls, yeah they are a weakness :( I haven't been since last August. Now a chinese buffet that's def. an issue..Deep fried breaded coconut shrimp..OMG I used to go once a week just to get that stuff, Haven't been since before January. How's that for being good.
  • MMKE4ever
    MMKE4ever Posts: 115 Member
    I went to Golden Corral just yesterday. I made sure I remembered everything I ate and how much. I also ate my salad and healthy stuff first so I wouldn't eat too much crappy food. You just have to limit yourself and if you go over a little, go for a walk after. That's what I do and it works for me. :happy:
  • MissesJai
    MissesJai Posts: 48
    I keep track of what I eat and log it best I can. On April 9th I went to Golden Corral and it looks like it set me back about 2390.
    ugh......my strategy is to load up on the fresh veggies, not the prepared salads, and tons of water. If I eat anything after that, it's usually chicken and more veggies. Sometimes I slip. I'm human - it happens.
  • AndiJoy812
    AndiJoy812 Posts: 236
    We have a huge family (5 kids) and go to buffet-type places at times because it is cheaper for our family to eat out. (CiCi's, Ryan's, and there is a kick butt homestyle buffet with country cookin that is sooooo good).

    I do fine there when we eat out. I load up on salad and raw veggies and use 2 tbsp of dressing like I would here at home, and then choose the turkey/baked chicken, green beans and then skip dessert (or thin crust veggie pizza at CiCi's). Just because you go doesn't mean you are forced into over-eating! Practice portion control and make good choices! If you have been on this site for any length of time, you should have a good idea of what is good food vs "bad" food.

    If you don't trust yourself yet - don't go. But how else are you going to practice what you have learned? You can't eat in a bubble all of the time!
  • halcionne
    halcionne Posts: 10 Member
    I had Golden Corral for lunch a couple of hours ago! It was a spur of the moment thing, but I really tried to be good. I had a salad plate with unlimited veggies, 3 chicken strips, oil & vinegar dressing, a deviled egg (my weakness, but I kept it to just one!). Moving on, I had Mexican rice, baked sweet potato with one tablespoon of sour cream (another weakness), New Orleans-style baked fish (I wasn't very excited about it -- I was just trying to be good -- but it was actually pretty tasty), turnip greens & black-eyed peas. Chocolate fudge and a s'more thing made out of vanilla wafers with a quick dunk under the chocolate fountain and I called it a day! My family's buffet mentality is 'eat til you're ready to pop -- that's the only way to get your money's worth!' but you have to let that go and remember your portion control. In the end my lunch amounted to one salad plate, one hot food plate, and a tiny (for the old me) dessert. I feel like I beat the dragon! And, yes, I feel like I got my ten buck's worth, too!

    BTW, skip the soda and have ice water. It's refreshing!
  • I make sure to log all of the food that I eat at buffets. My husband LOVES buffets and it gives me a chance to eat foods he doesn't like, so we go a few times a month. I drink water and try to take drinks often to slow my eating. Last time I went, I spent about 1200 calories, but I knew I was going so I made sure to work out before we left the house! Stay away from fried stuff and I look for items that I can figure out the ingredients of, no "mystery meatloaf" for me! Don't stop going to buffets because you're on a diet. Once you're off of your diet you'll go back and won't know how to eat well there.
  • rchambers2072
    rchambers2072 Posts: 227 Member
    My family calls it Golden Trough. I try to avoid it.

    Having said that, my daughter is in a hospital and we had her out for a day this week and guess where she chose to go? Yep, Golden Trough. I just wanted to bury my head under the darn chocolate fountain by the end. Ended up just writing the day off.
  • DrJackson6
    DrJackson6 Posts: 156 Member
    I would not go. Just far too many temptations. Don't do it!
  • seamonkey789
    seamonkey789 Posts: 233
    I don't log it and don't feel bad about it. The only buffet we really go to any more is the $9 sushi buffet and it is AWESOME
  • Blessedmommy_2x
    Blessedmommy_2x Posts: 419 Member
    What works for me is stick to 5 or less items... basically so that you can remember EXACTLY the amounts and the items you ate. Some of them ARE in the database, so you CAN look them up.
  • jjjohnson31
    jjjohnson31 Posts: 108 Member
    Isn’t Golden Corral the place (according to the TV commercial) with the chocolate wonderfall?

    I am very interested to learn from those who have been there, does this thing become a total mess with people putting stuff in it all day long? Seems more like the chocolate bacterialfall.
  • ElizabethRoad
    ElizabethRoad Posts: 5,138 Member
    Wouldn't it depend on what items and how much you ate? What a silly question.

    Log the individual foods you are eating. It isn't magically different just because it was on a buffet table before you put it in your mouth.
  • Cupcakehippiemommy
    Cupcakehippiemommy Posts: 457 Member
    I rarely go to buffets but IF I do I start with a huge salad then LOAD up on steamed veggies and 4-6 oz of roasted chicken and have a small cup of ice cream or a plate fruit. I log everything individually and have never eaten more than 800 cals worth of food at a buffett.Hope that helps :)
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    Sorry, didn't read all the replies but there's this thing called self-control. If you go to the buffet you nobody forces you to go back for seconds, thirds etc etc
  • Focus on lean protein, like chicken without the skin, and fish, and a serving size (3-4 oz) no bigger than your palm. Then stick with steamed vegetables (the ones not covered in cheese) & sprinkle with some fresh lemon.

    You have a lot of people supporting you here, you can do it! ;)
  • tappae
    tappae Posts: 568 Member
    Deep fried sweet potatoes!
  • No matter how much will-power you have when you walk through the door, if the aroma of food is a trigger for you, I'd stay away from any type of buffet!! Your resolve (at least mine) tends to melt and the plate gets filled.

    I love Chinese buffets and tend to stick with rice, veggies (hard to come by without sauces or lots of butter), and chicken, followed by fresh fruit. Even, then I'm sure it's WAAAAYYY more than my total DAILY allowance!

    They should all be required to put signs in the window that state, "EAT AT YOUR OWN RISK" ....LOL :laugh: