Can a mom eat a Mother's Day buffet and still lose weight?

I haven't been a fan of buffets most of my life and even less so when I'm trying to watch what I eat. So, when it was suggested we go to a Korean buffet for Mother's Day I decided to give it a try. Obviously, if you're going to pick a buffet to go to you want it to be a relatively healthy one. I mean, have you ever been to Captain George's Seafood Buffet in Virginia Beach? Well, don't let the word "seafood" confuse you. Every imaginable fried fish, tons of yummy fat-loaded desserts (heck, I could make a whole meal off the dessert bar!), lots of buttery and cheesy veggies...you get the point. So, going to a mostly healthy Korean food buffet wasn't near as bad.

When I arrived, I immediately headed to the salad bar section first. They had much more than yucky iceberg lettuce and your typical salad bar condiments. I filled about three fourths of my plate with salad. Then I got some additional veggies on the side. Of course, when you are at a Korean BBQ buffet you MUST eat some bulgogi (ie meat). So, I got my required 5-8 oz of meat, had a yummy salad, some extra veggies and a small dessert. Now, if you have ever eaten at a Korean restaurant you know their desserts aren't the same as American desserts. So, this two bite-sized piece of "cake" was a way for me to celebrate being a mother and still not go far off my weight loss journey.

Although I wasn't totally unhappy with my choices at the buffet there is always the thought in the back of my head wondering exactly how the food was prepared. There might be hidden calories in the food that could sabotage my weight loss. Thankfully that didn't seem to be the case this week but it's something I must continually try to observe as I go along this process. I don't eat out often but when I do I want to make the most healthy choices possible.


Here are the stats:
This week:
4.5 lb weight loss
0.5 inch in waist
0.01% body fat loss

Total since March 31st
21.5 lbs weight loss
0.5 inch from my chest
7 inches from my waist
4 inches from my hips
1.5 inch from my arm
1.5 inches from my thigh
3% of my total body fat
No significant lean body mass loss