Target Body Training Blog

On the sixth day of fitness my trainer said to me.....Choose Wisely! The buffet battle plan!

Survey the buffet

Have a look at the buffet without a plate first and see what you really want before piling your plate up with everything.

Go for colour

Fill up on the colourful foods (and by this I don’t mean M&M’s), pile your first plate up with colourful raw vegetables first and come back for your second plate when you’ve eaten this!

Choose a couple of high fat treats

The buffet always has numerous plates of spring rolls, scotch eggs, profiteroles, onion bhajis and chips, all high in fat. Choose a couple that you will really enjoy and stick to it.

Small portion size

By keeping the portions small, you can eat a number of flavours without overeating. Try to think about your normal meal size as buffets and BBQs are easy places to eat more than you normally would due to a constant flow of food.

Eat 3 plates of food max. and eat slowly

Remember to eat your food slowly. Food takes time to get to your stomach and for you to realise you are full.  By allowing the food to reach your tummy you’ll probably stop sooner than someone who is eating super fast, and subsequently you'll consume less calories. Limiting your number of plates to 3 means you’re less likely to have much more food than a normal meal – just make sure these plates aren’t massively overflowing!

Watch the drinks

Sugary drinks and alcohol can often be where the calories are hiding. Limit yourselves to couple of drinks and fill up on water in between courses.

Sweet tooth tricks

If you’re like me and have a sweet tooth and you would love to have a taste of a number of puddings on offer, then split puddings with friends and have a taster of each rather than a whole serving!

The most important thing at a buffet is to choose wisely – what is worth a taste and what probably looks more inviting than it actually is! Try to follow at least some of these tips and you’ll be victorious in your buffet battle!