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Casino Buffets and Your Diet

Common Sense DietHave you ever gone to one of the buffets offered by many of the casinos around the country? They are really great deals for the price and the food is usually excellent. The problem with buffets and your diet, well not really the casino buffet, it is more with the people who go to them, myself included, is that we all tend to over eat. It is human nature and of course we want to get our money’s worth , don’t we? Casino buffets and your diet really do not mix.

If you are on a diet and you go to one of these buffets with a group it can be very difficult to maintain your diet while everyone around you is filling up on the foods available at the buffet. Some of the larger buffets will have over 100 items on display for you to chose from and let’s face it , all of the food is excellent. The selection is so great that even if you only took one table spoon of each item, your plate would be over flowing by the time you got to the end.

Inexpensive Compared to Other Choices

Some buffets at some of the smaller casinos cost around $10.00, while the buffets at the larger casinos in Vegas can go as high as $25 per person. The food is all good, no, great and the selection is fantastic. The difference between a $10 and a $25 buffet will be a combination of  decor, presentation and at the higher end buffets, sometimes there will be more exotic foods. Either way you can fill up your plate very quickly and blow your diet plan without any trouble at all. Casino buffets and your diet really do not mix. So what is a person supposed to do when asked to go to one of these casino buffets?

Alternatives to Buffets and Your Diet

You could of course refuse to go to the buffet with the group or family, however for most people this is a non starter. Everyone wants to fit in and besides the family or group you are with want to enjoy the buffet as well as your company.

You already know that once you get in there, chances are you will probably over eat. Casino buffets and your diet just do not mix.  But there are a few things you can do to control your over eating at a buffet and minimize the damage to your diet plan.

Discipline is one thing. You need this every day of your life while on a diet, so it is no different here, just a little more difficult to stick to it. Before you walk in, you need to tell yourself that you need to be extra strong to avoid all of the temptations.

Next, avoid looking at the desert area. This is a major source of calories, so just do not look at it. If you cannot see it and don’t know what they are offering then you will not be tempted.

We all know that it takes a while for the stomach to tell us that it is full and that is why we often feel so uncomfortable. We have over eaten and did not stop when we knew that we would be full.

Eat Slowly

So, eat slowly. Enjoy every bite and let your stomach tell you when you are full. By eating slowly your stomach will have the time to realize that it is full and communicate to your brain that it does not need any more food.

Next, the casino buffets often provide small plates and very large plates. These large plates really do hold a lot of food, more than most people can eat at one sitting. When I am trying to control how much I eat, I grab one of the small plates and use this as a natural way to limit the amount of food I put on my plate. Combined with eating slowly and having to get up for another plate naturally limits the amount of food I eat.

Lastly watch what you drink. At a casino buffet, you can have just about anything you want to drink and as many drinks as you want. Some casinos will even offer free beer and wine with their meals. You can drink chocolate milk, soft drinks or coffee or juice and as much of it as you want. If you are trying to manage your diet, stick to water. It is better for your digestion  and there are no calories when you drink water.

Buffets and Your Diet – To summarize:

  • Avoid the desert area
  • Eat slowly
  • Use a small plate
  • Drink water with your meal
  • Enjoy your time with your family and friends

Casino buffets can be very tempting. However if you follow these few simple rules, you can still manage to stay within your diet plan and enjoy your time as well.

The buffets offered by the casinos have a full selection of salads and low calorie foods as well as all of the high calorie foods. Stick to the salads and low calorie foods while at the buffet. All of the food with the gravies and sauces, while they taste good, are high calorie and also are full of salt which is another health issue for many people.

Following these few simple rules and guidelines can help us all to maintain our diets and also avoid gaining weight while we are on vacation.

If you have other tips or ideas, please leave a comment on our blog.

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