Sitting At a Buffet: How to Ensure You're Not Staring at Temptation

Guest post by Dan Seitz


Buffets are the enemy of any diet. Full of fatty foods, and sometimes with only a few healthy or low-
calorie options, you can find yourself undoing months of work in one night. But it doesn't have to be
that way, not with the help of science.


A study conducted by two Cornell economists found some behaviors that show why you bust your
belly at the buffet table...and how to avoid it.


− Don't sit in front of the buffet: put your back to it or sit with it at your side. When it faces
you, it's easier to see what's available...and easier to tell yourself one (or one more) serving of
beef stroganoff won't hurt.
− Use a smaller plate; larger plates will look empty when you properly serve yourself,
convincing you that just maybe you haven't had enough food.
− Before serving yourself, look over the entire buffet and see what's available, instead of
going for the first option you see. Not only will this help you plan your meal, it'll also allow
your stomach to get caught up with your hunger, so you'll know how much is hunger and how
much is just an interest in how that alfredo sauce tastes.
− Put a napkin on your lap. It may sound odd, but it'll keep you from automatically getting up
and going back to the buffet; you'll have time to think about what you want and whether you
really need a second serving.
− Chew your food thoroughly. As any dieter knows, a big part of the problem is that you can
serve yourself faster than your stomach can tell you you've had enough. Chewing slowly and
thoroughly will make sure it's got time to gauge how much you've had.


Beyond that, there are strategies you can use to avoid the buffet in the first place:


− If you're with family or friends and they suggest a buffet restaurant, see if you can talk them
into going to a sit-down restaurant with more options...and less temptation.
− If it's a sit-down restaurant with a buffet, order from the menu instead of getting the buffet.
That way, everyone's happy and you won't be faced with unhealthy choices.
− If it's a social occasion where a buffet is the only option, use the strategies above and focus on
the socializing. After all, you're there to talk with people: the food is just a courtesy.
− For potlucks and other buffet-like situations, bring a big batch of your favorite healthy
option. Not only will it ensure there's something for you to eat, the rest of the group will be
grateful for a little variety.


Buffets are a part of life, but there's no reason you can't go to one. All it takes is a little control...and
being mindful of where you sit.


Dan Seitz is a freelance writer who has posted previously about self-improvement through lifestyle changes, as well as making sure your home is kept up via techniques such as gutter cleaning.

How Living Consciously Can Affect Your Health (and Your Waistline!)~Guest Post~

How Living Consciously Can Affect Your Health (and Your Waistline!)

By: Liberty Kontranowski

It’s so easy to wake up and say, “Today, I’m going to start being healthy.” We’ve all done it. All of us. Your intentions are good, yes, but when you say this, do you really mean it? Do you have a plan in place? Do you have a goal of what “healthy” means to you? Do you have support systems at-the-ready in case you fail or have a setback? If not, it’s time to start living consciously. Without this process, keeping your vision clear and your path plotted will be harder than it needs to be – and the journey will seem more chaotic than joyful.


So what does it mean to “live consciously”? Living consciously simply means doing things with careful thought to how they may affect other areas of your existence – and, in this instance, achieving better health, weight loss or whatever your goal is.

Proactive thinking is a major component of living consciously. This means taking the time to envision where you want you to be (ideal weight, physical endurance, stopping all medications, etc), then doing things, whether big or small, to set yourself on the path to getting there. If you don’t know what your specific goal is, start there. Think about where (location-wise) you want to be while working toward this goal, what you will do to reach it, who you want to be doing it with and how you will feel while doing it. Think about these things in the short-term (the next few weeks) all the way through the long term (when you’ve reached your goal and beyond). Don’t forget to take a little extra time to envision how you’ll feel after you’ve met your goal – what a great feeling that will be!

Conscious living can also mean filtering the people you choose to let in your life. If you are attempting to become a more positive, optimistic person in your quest for a healthy lifestyle, then perhaps it’s time to move on from the nay-sayer friends you’ve kept in touch with out of obligation. Or the people who simply tell you the things you want to hear because they don’t really believe you’ll achieve your personal success. Surrounding yourself with other positive, successful people is a sure way to fire up your own sense of cheerfulness; in this way you are reinforcing good behaviors and subsequently letting go of negative ones.

Finding groups of like-minded people are a great way to gain support, hold each other accountable for small and large goals, and celebrate victories of all sizes. Online friendships can be just as powerful as face-to-face friendships, and can even be more encouraging. Imagine how much fun it will be to celebrate a 20-point drop in your blood pressure with 300 of your closest online friends. Good stuff, right?
While there are many different facets to living consciously, taking the time to envision what you want out of your health, from the smallest nuance to the biggest wish, will help clarify your thoughts. From there, you can choose behaviors and thought processes to guide yourself through your transition from work-in-progress to extraordinary. With a commitment to conscious living and purposeful decision-making, you can have the life you were destined to live.

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Liberty Kontranowski is a valued writer and blogger on the eDrugstore.MD writing team, with hundreds of health articles published online and in print. eDrugstore.MD, a US located online medications facilitator prescribes lifestyle medications.