HelloNurse, I had to laugh, I was definitely a "two plater" buffet customer. I'd have one plate of "healthy foods" like salads, fruit, and cold salads piled high ><, and then I'd go back for another big plate of the good stuff. Actually, I lied. There would always be a 3rd plate/bowl for dessert!
Issaknits, you have just reminded me of something from a very long time ago that I had almost forgotten about. My good friend post college-days was also my roommate. Much later in our friendship I came to the unfortunate realization that she had an eating disorder
binging/purging. But prior to that, I can remember whenever we would go grab a bit to eat, I would tease her about always picking the seat facing the kitchen door. I mean, every single time, she finagled a seat or asked me to switch so she could watch the food come out of the kitchen. She honestly didn't realize she was doing this until I pointed it out to her.
newleaf123, I think you are absolutely right. If the restaurants are even aware that first choices in the buffet line get scooped up more, then I would imagine their only motivation would be to put selections there that don't cost them much to put on the buffet, if you know what I mean - financial strategy (I'm not explaining this well, lol, but I hope you understand.) I'm wondering if institutional dining could benefit though, like school dining halls, etc.
Thoughtful remarks, and I also enjoyed reading what other people's strategies are when dealing with buffets. I have only been to one buffet since I have been dieting, and it was an Asian buffet. They did, however, have an area where they would custom cook your food, so I just picked a bunch of vegetables with garlic sauce, got a very minimal amount of rice, and some fruit. I estimated my calories to be about 600, but I'm not at all confident that was correct.