All you can eat buffets are a huge downfall for many dieters. All the delicious food they can ever eat is asembled for consumption right before their eyes. Buffets at restaurants and social functions can be a dieter’s downfall or they can be an occasion to celebrate success. Although they can be trying, buffets can be navigated successfully if you have a plan in place. If you attack the buffet with a well planned strategy you will walk away feeling victorious.

1. Get your food and go.
Don’t linger over a buffet. The more time you spend around large tables covered in food the more you will eat. Don’t be the person that stands around the table the whole time. Get your food, put it on the plate or in the to go box, and leave the area. Get out of its pull.

2. Choose a small plate.
A large plate at a buffet leads to more food consumed. By choosing a smaller plate you will automatically limit the amount of food you consume. You also have a much better chance of choosing proper portion sizes of foods.

3. Scan the buffet before loading up.
Check out what the buffet has to offer before you load up your plate. Most people start at one end and go down the line adding every single thing that might look good until they have a mountainous plate. If you take a minute to walk around first and check out the foods you can make a mental list of the best healthy foods on the table. That way you will be prepared and no what to skip when you go through the line.

4. Stay balanced.
The hardest part of eating a buffet is avoiding the tendency to choose only fattening foods. If you want to have dessert you should get it but skip appetizers or super sized main dishes. Try to remember what a healthy plate looks like and keep the balance between food groups. Remember that keeping a balance between healthy and fattening foods will make the meal less of a disaster.

Even if you follow these tips, a buffet might still be a struggle that is best avoided. If it is easier on your wallet and your mind to just skip situations with buffets, especially all you can eat buffets at restaurants. If you can’t avoid the buffets that are part of social gatherings try not to use them as an excuse to go crazy.