Plain Advice

For those of you who don’t know what Chuck-a-Rama is, let me tell you. It is an all you can eat buffet in the Midwest United States. Among their best items are their rolls (yum, to die for), and their bread pudding. They also have a variety of home cooked foods that change from day to day. Oh, and let’s not forget the salad bar.

I specifically use Chuck-a-Rama in the title of this post because I have found that I am getting traffic to this blog when people search the word “Chuck a Rama” on google (PlainAdvice.com used to consist of restaurant and other business reviews, if you are wondering why this is happening). So I wanted those people to find this page and feel that they really did get some information about what they were searching for!

For the rest of you, the title could really just read “All You Can Eat Buffets as a Weight Loss Tool”.

By the way, this is not a joke. I really truly am going to write about all you can eat buffets as a weight loss tool. Here goes.

Most people think of buffets as a place to go and get so stuffed that you have to unbutton your pants and roll out the door when you are done. I used to be one of those people. I would walk into a buffet, hungry, of course, and I wanted to make sure I got my money’s worth. Not only that… there were just so many things that looked good, I wanted to eat everything to my hearts desire. Needless to say, I was not thinking of “buffets as a weight loss tool” at that point in time.

Judging by a lot of the people you can observe eating at buffets, I am thinking that a majority have also not realized how they can help you in losing weight. I am not trying to be mean, but the next time you are in a buffet restaurant, look around. Some of the heaviest people I have seen tend to be there.

Well, on with my story. My husband is from a different ethnic background than myself. Due to this difference, in the early part of our relationship, we found that we often could not agree on what type of restaurants to go to. As time passed, we found that buffets provided a good place for us, because we would both be able to find something we like. To read more about my marriage and buffets, click here.

After a few years of dating and marriage, and eating at many buffets during that time, I needed to lose weight (hmm go figure :)) So I started doing Weight Watchers. However, just because I was trying to lose weight didn’t mean that my hubby and I no longer went to buffets. It meant that I changed the way I ate when I was there.

I found that out of most of the restaurant choices out there, buffets are probably the most diet friendly of them all (aside from Chinese Buffets, which I believe are pure evil… but delicious.)

At a buffet, you can get a nice big salad to start with. For obvious reasons, the salad is not too difficult to keep weight friendly. Limit the cheeses, nuts, croutons, and go light on the dressing. I personally always choose to eat the full fat ranch, but I put it in a little condiment cup and dip my fork in before each bite. I end up eating very little dressing that way, but I still get the flavor in each bite.

Next, I go take a look at the main dish selections. There are usually a plethora of high fat items that look delicious. Macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, fried chicken, etc. Depending on the day at Chuck-a- Rama, you can find lasagna, enchiladas, and scones. OK, so those foods are not weight friendly right?

The way I look at it, the buffet presents an opportunity to try a taste of several different items. This instead of stuffing yourself with a full serving (or more) of each and every one. Here are a couple things I keep in mind as I approach the bar to get my food.

• First of all, is this something I really want to eat? If it doesn’t look like something I would truly enjoy, I pass on it. Why waste calories on something you aren’t going to love?
• Second of all, I decide how much of the food would be enough to satisfy me. Usually, it is a bite or two. Really. I know that sounds strange, but it is true that the first few bites of something are usually the best anyway.
• Third, I tally the nutritional content in my head and weigh it against the calories I need to be eating at this meal. Does it fit? Can I afford to eat a bite of something that is going to cost me 5 points? (probably not, if my meal should consist of 10). I eliminate certain choices just because it is not worth it to me to have such a little bit of food for the points value. Again, that usually comes down to questioning if it is a food I really want to try.

When I go to a buffet, I normally try a few items that are normally “off limits” to me. This is the really wonderful thing about eating at one of these establishments as a dieter. It does wonders for me psychologically, because I feel that I get to indulge, without compromising my dieting goals. In a conventional restaurant, you can’t ask the waiter to bring you a bite of this and a bite of that. You have to choose one or two items and that is your meal. At home, I doubt many of us would cook more than one entree’, and then take a bite or two of each one. You can’t beat the variety at a buffet!

Besides indulging in a few bites of the normally forbidden at a buffet, the bulk of my meal usually consists of some healthy, low fat options that fill me up. Starting with a salad helps. For the main portion of my meal, I often have a piece of baked chicken breast, with the skin removed. Or fish. I love cooked vegetables, and often eat the ones that I don’t normally cook at home… but be careful! Sometimes the cooked veggies have a lot of added fat. Usually, this is something you can see if you look for it. Butter floating on top of the water where the corn is sitting is not a good sign.

For dessert, I revert to my earlier process of deciding what to eat. Dessert depends on my mood. At times I want to eat something that is rich and decadent. When this is the case, a bite or two is plenty. When I feel like having more quantity of dessert, the buffet almost always has sugar free jello and pudding. There is also fresh fruit to choose from. Again, this is a beautiful thing about a buffet… all the choices.

Another thought about buffets is this… it takes practice to approach an all you can eat restaurant with a healthy attitude. At least it has for me. The more I have gone to eat at these places, the more able I am to keep my wits about me when I see all that food. Currently, I not only go to buffets with my husband on occasion, but I also go regularly with a Weight Watcher friend of mine. When we tell somebody we are going to weigh in and then going to Chuck-a-Rama, people look at us strangely, as if we are undoing all the weight loss efforts. Not true. We have so much practice going to buffets that it is no longer dangerous to our weight loss goals.

So there you go. Buffets really are a dieters best friend when it comes to eating out. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment!

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This entry was posted on Saturday, July 21st, 2007 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Weight Loss and Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.