I was at a conference recently and I had somewhat of an epiphany when it came to break time.

When I arrived at the conference there was a lovely set up of beverages and toast as it was early morning. I was early and knew nobody so I wandered over to the buffet area and got myself a glass of orange juice and sat down trying to strike up a conversation with other ‘loners’. I finished my glass of orange juice and I thought ‘yum juice’….. I don’t drink juice.

At morning tea time the masses formed a queue for  snacks, there was scones galore with cream and jam. I got myself a scone and another glass of juice. As I rushed to get it finished and back to my seat I thought, why did I have another glass of juice, why did I opt for the scone when there was a big bowl of fruit? Because others were doing it? Because it was there?

At lunch there was an array of wraps and salads, I chose the healthiest wrap I could find packed with salad and got myself a drink of water this time.

I sat quietly and took myself on a trip down memory lane the theme was buffets. I thought about myself and how I act in these buffet type situations.  Just as an example that day I had 2 glasses of juice and a scone. I never drink juice yet when I was put in a situation of many choices in endless amounts I opted for the sugary ‘treat’ option.  I thought about functions I had been too when you just go down the buffet style  line up and keep contributing to your plate even though your  plate is seriously overcrowded. Is it because you don’t know what’s at the end of the table you want to make sure you don’t miss out on anything?

I am even worse at buffet breakfast situations. I must confess something to you… I love breakfast and all things breakfast food, I am a breakfast food junkie. Years ago I would eat cereal any time of day I felt like, sometimes for dinner. When I am on holidays and am in a buffet breakfast situation I go a bit nutty.  I’m just filling up now so i’m right for the day, i’ll have a small lunch I tell myself. I overload on the cereal and drink juice, watch out if it’s a hot buffet breakfast and then it’s on with the bacon and egg toast sandwiches. Luckily the size of my stomach isn’t big enough for my eyes.

Why do I lose control? I guess I have a few thoughts about that.

1. It’s a novelty, I am presented with things I don’t usually have.

2. I sometimes get this ‘make the most of it’ attitude, I don’t want to miss out, and in some situations I even think ‘get what you paid for’ (which is a MAJOR problem in buffet situations, just because its $30 all you can eat doesn’t mean eat like an starved animal)

3. I don’t pay attention to the consequences of what I am eating, sometimes it is as if the calories don’t exist which is an extraordinarily stupid idea that goes through my head. I clearly don’t pay attention to exactly what I am eating.

The day of the conference I started to pay attention to what I was doing. I had the healthy wrap with salad because I didn’t bring my own lunch. I opted for water instead, and watched as people piled more and more food on their plate and wondered what their story was.

When it came to afternoon break I stayed in the conference room, I decided to take the temptation away. I didn’t NEED anything from that buffet I had some raw nuts in my bag and ate those, drank from my own water bottle which I try to bring everywhere and did some stretches at the back of the room.

At parties lately I have been trying to do something new. I don’t eat everything that everyone is. I am trying to politely say no to more things like bread rolls with dinner and pre dinner pastries and snacks, things that I would previously eat not thinking too much about.  I have found out that i am not missing out on anything and I usually feel better at the end of the night than others.

I can’t say I will never be tempted and go into ‘automatic buffet eater’ style again. But I think  the point that I made to myself at the conference is that I have got to actually THINK about what i’m doing and ask myself ‘would I normally eat this? Will this do anything positive for me?’

Be careful not to fall into the same traps. Remember you don’t have to eat it because it’s there, always be prepared and have a healthy snack as a backup and the most important thing – the calories count!

May our plates be filled sensibly and our stomachs remain flat and satisfied.