How to handle "All you could eat"

It looks like Monday was a tease.  I woke up on Tuesday with the full intention of walking again, but it was only 24 degrees outside.  Normally this wouldn't bother me.  I would just bundle up and walk, but with the warm weather, a lot of the snow melted and there were puddles all over the sidewalks.  Puddles that in 24 degrees froze up.  I had to weigh my options:  walk and chance breaking my neck so I couldn't walk again, or bite the bullet and take the day off.  I took the day off.

Not only did I take the day off, but my boyfriend and I went out to eat at our favorite buffet place.  No walk and all you could eat...diet deadly combination.

If you plan things right, it can be done without doing too much damage to your healthy eating plan.  The place we go to has sushi.  There is only one kind of sushi that I like.  It's a thin slice of tuna on top of rice.  Tuna is low fat, so it works.  The white rice isn't as healthy as brown rice, but if you don't overdo, you'll be fine.

When it comes to a buffet, there are good choice and bad choices.  After my 6 pieces of sushi, I go by a "two piece rule".  I'll have two pieces of anything I want (within reason).  The sushi fills me up, so I can stay within my diet guidelines.  Two pieces of salmon, two pieces of sausage, two fried dumplings (I have to be at least a little bad), two small pieces of pot roast with about 1/4 cup of mashed potatoes.  Then I go for the shrimp (easy peel with cocktail sauce) and crab legs (no butter).  If I still feel the need for something, I'll have fruit.  Then there's dessert.  This place has a soft serve ice cream station.  I don't take a big bowl;  I use one of the small bowls that hold maybe 1/4 cup.  So my dessert is 1/4 cup of chocolate ice cream with chopped peanuts and a little bit of chocolate sauce.  Not too bad at all, considering.

When going to a buffet, make an eating plan.  All you can eat doesn't mean "Eat until you puke".  Use common sense when it comes to choosing what to eat and take a little of each thing.  There's no need to fill your plate every time you go up to get more.  Eat slowly.  Remember, it takes time for your brain to pick up on the fact that your stomach is full.

Stick with the items that aren't fried.  There are usually baked seafood choices as well as crab legs and shrimp cocktail.  Some place even have a raw bar where you can get oysters and clams (you can't go wrong with that).  Along with the "bad" desserts, there is also fresh fruit.  So, you could pretty much stick with your eating plan so you don't feel guilty.