Do you eat at the 'All You Can Eat' buffets?

Well, if you answer YES, I'm sure you eat differently there than you used to - or I at least hope you do.

I still enjoy eating at the buffet - though my own theory has changed - it used to be 'Get My Monies Worth' - now it is 'Get Variety & Flavor in one small plate'. Yes, it can be done - What is my strategy....

When I arrive, I order hot tea and a glass of water for myself and wait for it to arrive. In the meantime, I look around me (while my companions are already off and filling their plates) and make sure that my frame of mind is ready to control ME and my eating.

I'll take a good drink of the water and a few sips of the hot tea (often interchangeably - hot/cold/hot/cold does a lot to defer hunger). By then all my table companions have returned with plates heaped with food (they way I used to eat? eeekkk).

Then I rise and tour the isles of food trays - really looking and deciding what looks good and what I want to eat. Yes, even checking out the dessert bar, is there really anything there that I cannot live without (rarely). Soup, love soup, is it hot? hate cold soup; salad, really love them, but prefer romaine that doesn't have the preservation chems on it, so I'll eat that at home.

By the time I actually pick up a plate, some of my table companions are already starting to fill a second plate (geez, did I used to eat like that?). Now honestly, I don't pick the healthy foods that I can make at home (steamed vegies, etc), I do choose savory and saucy - mussels covered in cheese sauce, fried chicken in peanut sauce, buttered or coconut prawns, ..... But I take a very very small small portion of each - and I do pick healthy things that I rarely make at home, like whole green beans (why won't mine taste that good) and baked salmon or roasted chicken, .... but again, in very very small small portions.

When I return to the table, my plate is not heaped and although there is a variety of food, up to ten items, I can still see the plate underneath. But before I eat, I again drink some water and sip on my hot tea.

I picked foods that looked good, but now that they are at nose level... I smell, do they smell as good as they look? I taste, do they taste as good as they look and smell? If the answer is no, I do not swallow, but politely cough them into a napkin and move on to another item on my plate.

Most importantly, I have learned to eat slowly and enjoy the foods in my mouth. Where are my table companions - usually after plate 3, desserts, or even ready to go home. I don't care...this is my body and my journey and I want to get my monies worth! Yes, it takes me several minutes to eat and if I want (which I rarely do) to get a second plate, it often only has two or three very very small small portions on it.

Granted, I don't get to eat buffet often, but something I have really noticed.... my table companions are starting to follow my example, they are slowing down their own quantities of food and actually eating less and hopefully enjoying more.

Control your environment, enjoy your choices, and have a positive influence on your friends!