The Four Round Buffet Plan For Men Over 40
Three pieces of fried chicken put about 720 calories on your plate before you reach the rolls. Weddings and work lunches and family barbecues all set the same trap. This post walks the buffet in four rounds and prices the choices on each one.
At a buffet the food sits out the whole time and nobody tells you when to stop. Walk in with a plan built on four trips to the table and you can eat well and leave on target. Coach Brian runs four rounds in order. Scout first and then protein. Sides come third and dessert comes last.
The Trap Is The Table
Picture any spread you have stood in front of. Think of a family barbecue with everything laid out or a catered birthday with trays of Italian food. Picture the company lunch brought in for the meeting.
The setting changes and the trap stays the same. Food sits out in whatever amount you want for as long as you are there.
Nobody times you. Nobody checks whether you are still hungry or whether the meal should be over.
Coach Brian builds the first plate most men make. Three pieces of fried chicken, a roll with honey butter and a bowl of banana pudding. By his count that plate runs over 1,200 calories before anyone goes back for seconds.
Walk in with no plan and you can walk out with 2,000 calories or more.
Why Free Food Wins
Coach Brian admits he feels like a kid in a candy shop anytime food is free. He wants a little of this and some more of that.
Every spoonful at a buffet can run about 50 calories. Nobody takes one spoonful. You take a full ladle and sometimes two. Then you go back more than once.
At a friend's birthday party he ate more than ten street tacos. Street tacos run about 250 calories each before the toppings. He had a plate in his hand the whole night and people asked if he was still eating.
The question to carry through the whole event is simple. What am I going back for? Is the second trip worth it?
Round One Is The Scout Round
This comes straight from Coach Brian's Eating On-The-Go guide. Walk the whole spread before you take anything.
Leave the plate behind on this lap. Look at what is there and where it sits. Pick your favorites on purpose.
Skip this lap and you grab one thing after another. You reach the end of the line and see the dish you wanted most. Now it goes on top of a full plate.
Big buffet chains make this harder. Coach Brian checked Golden Corral's published nutrition list and counted more than 70 chicken items. Fried and baked and grilled and teriyaki and barbecue and rotisserie all sit on that list. A carving station sits next to them.
You could fill a whole first lap with chicken if you stop paying attention.
The scout round works at a wedding and a catered event and a client dinner. It works when someone orders every appetizer on the menu for the table.
Sit Away From The Food
Once you sit down, stay seated. Pick a spot away from the food table.
Distance matters. Sit close and you look at the food every time you glance up. The pull gets stronger the closer you are. Think of the table as the sun and yourself as a planet. Move your orbit out.
Water And Vegetables Go First
Coach Brian eats in the same order every time.
Water comes first. Get 15 to 25 ounces down before you eat. Better yet, drink 30 to 40 ounces in the hour before you arrive. You will feel full by the time the food is in front of you.
If you missed that window, drink the glass of water they serve before you touch the food.
Vegetables come next. Put three to five cups on the plate.
On an Alaska cruise this past August he filled his first plate with vegetables before anything else. Then he added protein and sat down. He ate all of it and then decided what came next.
Protein comes third at four to seven ounces. Then take small spoonfuls of the carbs you want.
Still hungry after that? Go back for one small serving of whatever sounds best. Know that each extra trip multiplies the calories.
Keep the bread and the fried food off that first plate.
Round Two Is The Protein Round
Now you walk up with a plan. At the carving station you may find ribeye next to prime rib.
Three ounces of ribeye runs about 170 calories with 23 grams of protein. The same three ounces of prime rib can run close to 300 calories with 18 grams of protein. That portion is about the size of a deck of cards.
Prime rib tastes good for a reason. That reason is fat.
Chicken breast is the protein king of the spread. A honey teriyaki chicken breast runs about 360 calories with 55 grams of protein for a typical serving.
Take grilled chicken over fried when you can. Pick the smaller serving over the larger one.
Buffet food hides calories. Butter and oil go on almost everything and they add up fast.
The Fried Chicken Math
Here is the trap almost every man falls into.
A piece of fried chicken runs about 240 calories. Three pieces put 720 calories on the plate from the chicken alone. You feel good about all that protein while the fat and breading stack up.
Two steps down the line you grab rolls. Each roll runs 100 to 200 calories depending on the butter.
Rotisserie chicken is the better swap. It can come in at about half the calories with 40 to 50 grams of protein. That is a big win from one decision.
Round Three Is The Side Round
Coach Brian keeps the plate simple with his Plate Blueprint. Half the plate is vegetables or salad. A quarter is protein. The last quarter is a starch you love.
Watch that starch quarter closely. The calories add up fast there.
It could be mashed potatoes. It could be sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top.
Green bean casserole sounds like a vegetable. Check what else is in it. The cream of mushroom soup base and the crunchy onion topping both add calories and change what that scoop is.
Grilled or steamed vegetables can still come with butter on them. Pay attention to the shine.
Mac and cheese deserves a warning too. On Golden Corral's published list the only macaroni item is the cold macaroni salad at about 280 calories for half a cup. Cheese and fat drive that number. A hot mac and cheese likely lands in the same range per cup.
Round Four Is The Dessert Round
The guide keeps dessert simple. Pick the one thing you want. See how little of it you can eat and still feel satisfied.
Take a spoonful or three of one or two things and pass on the rest. Split a dessert with someone.
Cookies run 100 to 200 calories each. Jell-O is one of the safest picks at any buffet unless it carries a lot of added sugar.
Banana pudding is the one to watch. At Golden Corral a serving runs about 240 calories with only 2 grams of protein. It tastes good in the moment and does nothing for your goal.
The Conference Box Lunch
Buffet rules apply to box lunches too. At one conference Coach Brian found three box lunch options. There was a falafel chicken box and a roast beef sandwich. Each box came with a cookie and an apple and a bag of chips.
He grabbed two boxes because there were leftovers. Then he moved the meat from both sandwiches onto one sandwich. The cookies and chips stayed in the box and he ate both apples.
Conference cookies are not worth the calories anyway. Nobody's mom baked them.
Keep The Protein Lean
Go for the lower fat proteins every time. On some buffet items 20 to 40 percent of the calories come from fat.
One chain's list shows sirloin at 3 ounces for about 130 calories with 14 grams of protein. Its website lists an 8 ounce cut at about 340 calories with 38 grams.
Coach Brian used the same move in Episode 162 on Mexican food and Episode 163 on Italian. When the size in front of you is not the size on the list, scale the numbers up or down.
Party Drink Math
These numbers come straight from the guide.
A five ounce glass of wine runs about 120 calories. Beer runs 100 to 200. A light beer like Michelob Ultra sits around 100 and an IPA can reach 300.
Mixed drinks run 200 to 500. A margarita can hit 500 calories alone.
Eggnog punch runs 200 to 400 depending on the cup. Most of that is sugar.
If you want a drink, pick a lower calorie option like tequila and soda water. Champagne and prosecco also work. Count every drink toward your calories for the day.
Eat Before You Drink
Put food in your stomach before the first drink. Drink a full glass of water between alcoholic drinks.
Alcohol at the start of the meal lowers your judgment. Your plan goes out the door with it.
Keep Every Trip Small
This is Coach Brian's own rule for a party. Keep everything you eat at the event under a thousand calories.
Use small plates. Even if you go up four times, put 200 to 300 calories on each plate. Sit down between trips.
You still get to enjoy the buffet and take part in the meal. You skip the extra thousand calories that come with it.
One Big Meal Can Work
Coach Brian teaches three meals a day. A big event is the exception.
On a day with a large meal you can eat once or twice and make it work. On Christmas he goes all in on dinner and has a protein shake earlier in the day. He calls it a one-off day and moves on.
Why You Are There
Next time you stand in front of a buffet, ask yourself why you came.
You came for the people and the celebration. You came for the conversation. Two or three thousand calories was never the reason.
You can go to the party and have fun. Walk in with a plan and walk out without thousands of extra calories.
A man who keeps eating more than he burns at events like these raises his risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. The people at that party want him around for a long time.
Action Steps
- Drink 30 to 40 ounces of water in the hour before you arrive.
- Walk the whole spread once before you pick up a plate.
- Sit away from the food table.
- Fill the first plate with vegetables and lean protein.
- Take rotisserie or grilled chicken over fried.
- Count rolls at 100 to 200 calories each.
- Pick one dessert and eat a few spoonfuls.
- Eat before you drink and count every drink.
- Keep each trip to 200 to 300 calories.
- Send questions to [email protected].
More From Driven For Health
- Listen to Episode 167 on the Driven For Health podcast.
- Episode 166 covers what to order at Indian restaurants.
- Episode 145 opened the what-to-order series with Chipotle.
Get The Guide
Coach Brian built a guide for eating away from your own kitchen. It has a plan for buffets and catered food and weddings. It also covers restaurants and fast food and fine dining.
Grab the Eating On-The-Go Guide at go.brianparana.com/eatingonthego.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What should you eat first at a buffet to lose weight?
Drink 15 to 25 ounces of water first and then fill your plate with three to five cups of vegetables. Add four to seven ounces of lean protein next. Take small spoonfuls of the carbs you want after that.
How many calories are in a typical buffet plate?
A first plate of three pieces of fried chicken with a roll and banana pudding runs over 1,200 calories by Coach Brian's count. Walk in with no plan and you can leave with 2,000 calories or more.
What is the best protein to pick at a buffet?
Chicken breast is the best protein on most buffet lines. A honey teriyaki chicken breast runs about 360 calories with 55 grams of protein. Rotisserie chicken can come in at about half the calories of fried chicken with 40 to 50 grams of protein.
Is ribeye or prime rib better for fat loss?
Ribeye is the leaner pick. Three ounces of ribeye runs about 170 calories with 23 grams of protein. Three ounces of prime rib can run close to 300 calories with 18 grams.
How many calories are in fried chicken at a buffet?
A piece of fried chicken runs about 240 calories at the chain used for reference in this episode. Three pieces put about 720 calories on your plate before you add a side.
What is the lowest calorie dessert at a buffet?
Jell-O is one of the safest picks unless it carries a lot of added sugar. Cookies run 100 to 200 calories each. Banana pudding runs about 240 calories with only 2 grams of protein at the chain used for reference in this episode.
How do you stay on track with drinks at a party?
Eat before you drink and have a full glass of water between drinks. A five ounce glass of wine runs about 120 calories and mixed drinks run 200 to 500. Count every drink toward your calories for the day.
What is the Call To Rise program?
The Call To Rise is a 100-day fat loss challenge built around strength training, personalized nutrition and real accountability. Most men lose 20 plus pounds and rebuild the confidence that comes with it.
