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Comment by jasoneckert | Hacker News Reader

I stopped going to all-you-can-eat buffets years ago for the simple reason that you don't stop eating when you're full - you stop eating when you hate yourself.

If the number of all-you-can-eat buffets drops, it's likely because society is starting to advocate healthier lifestyles in my opinion.

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I think the price point also matters. There's a vegan buffet 10 minutes from my house that gets a lot of visitors. I'll go there when I want to eat food but I don't necessarily have something specific in mind. I just serve myself a reasonable amount (less than a full plate) and once I'm done eating I'll go. I notice that a lot of other people do the same. They have free tea and water, so it's a quick process. The price point is probably 1.5x what you could get a satisfying lunch for from street vendors, but it's a nice environment and still cheap (about $1.37 usd, located in the capital of Vietnam).

It must be a combination of customs and the price point though. If they had a $5 buffet in the US I bet a lot of people would gorge out there, and I feel like if I went to a $50 buffet I'd also try to maximize the value of the food that I'd intake.

Hell, I struggle with even normal restaurants. I like going out, my wife and I can afford it, but I feel like I'm going out for the freshly, crispy yummy food.. and yet, I always end up taking half of it home because they hand me a massive plate.

I'm thinking next time we go out we'll try and get the same thing and split a plate. .. and then tip as if we ordered 2 plates because I feel guilty to the server. Hah.

Can recommend, it works well. We use that strategy a lot, and pass the savings to the server.

The portion sizes at many restaurants is just ridiculous and results in a massive waste of food and an unhealthier population.

Reduce the portions, reduce the cost, reduce the waste, reduce negative health consequences.

> I'm thinking next time we go out we'll try and get the same thing and split a plate. .. and then tip as if we ordered 2 plates because I feel guilty to the server. Hah.

The server isn't the one making the food so no reason to feel guilty, splitting an entree is normal, but if you really want to help out the restaurant (assuming you do this often and at the same place) order more drinks from the bar or preferably a bottle of wine for the table.

That does more for the entire staff, than just the server who quite frankly earns way more than they provide to the operation.

Haha, that's the strategy my wife and I use. If we know we want separate plates we'll just not eat earlier and/or bring a box home. Some of the portion sizes are literally more than a day's worth of food.

> you don't stop eating when you're full - you stop eating when you hate yourself...

>>If the number of all-you-can-eat buffets drops, it's likely because society is starting to advocate healthier lifestyles in my opinion.

The last one I went to gave me a stark realization of what was taking place, I got there with 45 mins left as I was in the same shopping center going hard on upper body workouts at the gym in order to build an appetite and decided an afterwork out steam was a good idea. They were slow paced with anything but my drinks as I was sitting at the bar--which were really reasonable, $1 tea, $4 generic sake! So I ordered several of each.

My apps (veg and shrimp tempura) were most of my meal, it wasn't until the last 8 mins left for Lunch order that they dropped off another paper menu thing, but I saw the people left in the restaurant and they didn't look healthy at all. Most were obese and possibly diabetic, they had tons of sugary drinks all around them alcoholic and non alike.

I just ate like 10 pieces of nigiri (like 1/6 of the sushi I normally could put down at most ala-carte places if I'm really hungry) because I realized that this behaviour of excess is not sustainable let alone satisfying--I left oddly satiated after my tamago-yaki, regardless of the amount I ate.

Because as you said, most of the time you go to these places you eat until you have a sense of loathing about what you've done to yourself.

For the same reason there's certain foods that I almost never allow myself to buy at the grocery store (like Pirate's Booty) -- I will eat it until it's gone and then feel bad.

I probably go to an all-you-can-eat buffet once every couple years, and that's enough. Interestingly I'm not including Indian buffets or hotel breakfast buffets in that count; those don't trigger the same "you must eat everything in sight" urges for whatever reason.

I’ve started going more, but mostly to Brazilian steakhouses. You will stop eating steak exactly when you are satiated. I actually lose weight if I go a few days in a row.

Brazilian here. I overeat at steakhouses just like anywhere else, and never heard the distinction before. Maybe it's just you?

Do you avoid the cheesy biscuits?

Pão de queijo, definitely not.

I mean hopefully most people think of going to a buffet as a "once or twice a year" thing and not something you do on a regular basis e.g. Bacchanal at Caesar's Palace in Vegas or a higher quality All You Can Eat Sushi place.

I'm okay with going all out on the good stuff at either.

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