BUFFET DINING: WHY DO MOST PEOPLE (myself included!!!) OVEREAT AT PLACES THAT HAVE A BUFFET LINE?

Question

I really lose any self-control at a Chinese Buffet: I sample much more of everything than I should, to the point that I feel uncomfortable. Why do people do this? Do we think we need to
get our "money's worth", or is it that it all looks so good, and we just
cannot say no to another helping?

Answer 1

Depends on who you are, really, but we can generalize into two big groups:
1) Those who, like you say, wish to "get their money's worth" out of the meal. This tends to be a small component, depending on the buffet. Personally, when I spend a lot of money for a buffet, it just means that I pass over the potato salad and head right for the expensive stuff -- I know I can only eat so much before I simply explode, so I avoid cheap stuff placed there to fill me up before I can eat the better items on the line
2) Just can't stop. A lot of people (well, okay, a lot of Americans) have lost the ability to control portions over time because we're encouraged to Super-Size everything, from fast food to Humvees. At a typical restaurant, you order your appetizers, entree, drink and dessert, and while that's usually too much to eat already, that is still all you get unless you pay more. At a buffet, that restriction is gone -- you've already paid, and you're allowed to go get as much as you can eat. So we waddle up to the plate, our bellies protruding out over our belt lines and our sallow, sweaty foreheads pressed against the sneeze guard, and fill up another plate simply because WE CAN. Some people also have a psychological disconnect that simply assumes that because there is still more food to be eaten, we must not be done eating yet.

Best bet: avoid buffets like the plague.
Second best bet: set a limit of one plate of food, plus one plate of dessert if you must have sweets. Then fill up your plate with stuff you really WANT to eat, not just a little of everything just because it's there. Pick the good stuff -- it'll make the experience that much better because you're substituting quality for quantity.

Answer 2

It is the 'money's worth' which is tied into the psychological feeling that getting something for free or at a reduced price provides. The best way to explain this is with the corporate strategy of retail sales. Imagine there is a pair of shoes that in the shop for £100. The shoes are not really worth £100 pounds but more like £50 pounds. But if you put a big sign on it saying Reduced or Sale and put a 25% off price sticker then you will sell a lot more simply because it is cheaper, irrespective of what the actual worth is. Once we see that 'Sale' sign out materialism kicks in and we want it simply because it is cheaper. Another way of explaining it is to imagine if the food costs $50 or if it's free. The amount you can eat stays the same but if it is too expensive you will eat less so as to save money, likewise if the same food is free you will eat more simply because it is free and you do not need to worry about cost. The taste etc becomes almost irrelevant once price comes into the equation.

Answer 3

What we did is put numbers on the tables and announce that we would be going numerically. It does suck a bit for the people at the last table but there's not much we could do about that, someone has to go last. With that many people attending I hope you have at least two stations of food. If you do have two then you can either have two sets of table numbers running from 1 to 10 (for example) and announce that people on the left go to that station and people on the right go to the other. Or you can just have concurrent numbers and start from the beginning and the end until they meet in the middle. If you don't have a mic (although nine out of ten DJ's will have one) then either ask someone with a big voice to announce it. Or you can print the menue and add at the bottom how the buffet line will run and put that on the table. You can do this quite cheaply with a home printer. Good luck!

Answer 4

well part of it is that you paid for it so you want to eat as much as possible. and the other part is that its there... so why not? and you just keep refilling your plate a couple of times just keep eating. and really buffets are not a big deal. if you go maybe 1 times every 2 or 3 months and just indulge and overeat your little heart out..its perfectly fine. but if your hitting up the buffets every week... then youll turn into a fatty. its just because its there people will eat it. and it smells good and its just what you like.

note: a buffet is NOT your last meal.

Answer 5

You over eat because there is so much in front of you, and you don't think of proportions, or how much you took, because there isn't someone waiting on you, so you don't think of stopping. Instead, try this trick I learned. It takes 20 minutes to realize that you are full. So at the buffet, fill your plate with what you want. Eat slowly this time, wait for a little while, and if you still feel Hungary, take a little more, eat slowly, then wait until you are truly full.

Answer 6

I definitely think it is the mentality about getting your "money's worth." Honestly, the food at buffets is typically of lower-quality than I would normally eat, yet I still overindulge. I try to avoid buffets as a result.

Answer 7

You answered your own question when you said that you "sample" some of everything. For those of us that are adventerous when it comes to food, it's hard not to try a few bites of everything that looks good.

Then, when you find something that is exceptionally good, it's hard not to go back for a few more bites.

I'm sure there are a few cheapskates out there that are simply trying to "get their money's worth," but I think most of us who overeat at a buffet are just enjoying trying new things.

Answer 8

When it's free and tastes good it is hard not to. It is build in our genetics to eat as long as we have it. Who knows when the next meal will come along. Be sure that if you had buffet every day you would not do this.

Go ahead and dig in.. tomorrow you will have all day to digest..and if you keep intake of food down you don't have the problem of gaining weight.

If you really feel you should not, have a glass of water and wait 5 minutes. If you really are full (normally speaking) you will refrain from taking thirds. :)

Answer 9

I avoid buffets b/c I feel obligated to overeat. Like I"m not getting my money's worth if I don't go back for thirds or something.

Do what I do: Just order off the menu. And riase a stink if they try to get it off the buffet!

Answer 10

It's like people have to at least four times the amount they actually paid for. I once went to a buffet with my sister and her children. I filled up my plate, sat down and ate. When I was finished my sister looked at me and said I "have" to get another plate full. I said I was full, but might get some cookies for dessert. She told me she would be embarrassed to only eat one plate full at a buffet.