Just got back from a family dinner at a well-known Chinese buffet place in our area. They have a larger selection than any buffet I've ever seen and the quality is fairly high for buffet fare.

I intended to eat substantially more than I usually do at dinner, but not as much as I actually ate: about 4,000 calories, by my best estimate. I've been maintaining for 4 months now, so this represents about 6 times more than I normally have for supper.

What surprised me is that I felt very little discomfort at all, beyond a little distension in my stomach. It was so EASY to eat that much, even after 10 months of weight loss and 4 months of maintenance. (I've always had an iron stomach and have no food sensitivities.)

So right now I have mixed feelings: on the one hand I don't regret overeating as I fully intended to do it. On the other hand I think I would have felt better about myself if I had found a happy medium between fully controlled and out-of-control eating.

I know the key is to get right back in the saddle tomorrow morning, which I fully intend to do. I guess I'm still trying to figure out the best approach (for ME) to dinners out and especially buffets. Just wondering aloud here...

Freelance

Chinese food has a lot of sodium, so just don't freak out when you see the scale next.

You're human! Things like that happen sometimes, and there's no reason to beat yourself up about it. What I've heard about buffets is to look at the entire selection before you decide what you want to eat and then get small portions on a small sized plate. Dunno how well that works. Especially when it's Chinese food, which is so yummy! Maybe next time you go, if there's a next time, you'll remember how you're feeling now and go easier on it. That's all you can really do is learn from you slip ups. Congratulations on your maintenance!

I avoid buffets. The food usually isn't great quality and I feel like there is a pressure to over eat, especially with what some places charge... My friends and I like to order different things and sample off of each others plates. We get the same variety with more control!

You can't avoid things you love for the rest of your life. That's not living in my mind. The goal is moderation. Who cares if ONE DAY you went to a buffet with family, had an awesome time and ate the food you loved. We can not deny ourselves these things for the rest of our lives. As you said, the key is just to move on and continue on eating healthy.

There is a seafood buffet down the road from my house that I LOVE (unlimited shrimp, crab legs and lobster tails). I go there about once every 4 months. On those occasions, I will eat until my little heart is content. Sure, I might gain .5 a pound on my scale the next morning (or more), but I dont fuss over it because I was happy at the buffet, I got to eat the food I love. But the difference between the old me and the new me is that I wont do it several times a week, and I wont eat ridiculously amounts of unhealthy food. Some people love TV, some love snowboarding and some love food. It's all great and part of life, we just need to learn to moderate it.

Yup. Scale was up 3 pounds today. The good news is that I did get back on track today. It's now 9:30 p.m. and my "food factory" is closed for the night.

Freelance

If you can get back on track I think you're winning. Everyone indulges once in a while and feels a little guilt, but I think the mark of a healthy relationship with food = being able to control yourself most of the time and let loose on special occasions.

Totally agree with Krampus! As long as you can get back on your wagon next day and this remains a once-a-year spree, it's totally "legal"!

Don't be so down on yourself! The fact that you ate that and are not off the wagon is a great sign that you're conquering your urges to binge. I can understand the guilt of overeating, but guilt is for the past and continuing to try is for the future. Also, think of it this way: yeah, you way overate. But you also (given that it was Chinese food) probably just vitamin-bombed your body. Chinese food is full of veggies like broccoli, peppers, carrots and mushrooms, and also spices that contain minerals a lot of us don't get normally. For example, five spice powder is used a lot:

Benefits:
Very high in calcium
Very high in dietary fiber
High in iron

You probably also got a lot of fiber. (I won't go into it, but a lot of those 3lb you saw will probably disappear...er....in the end.)

Are you going to do some extra exercise the next few days? I highly recommend doing that. Drink a TON of water, and exercise to the point where you sweat a lot. You'll lose that salt and water-weight that way.

I can't do planned overeating, drives me nuts no matter how long or how i have been dieting, but congrats to those who can!
edit-
For me, during special occasions (I am going to double bdays and there was a bday thing at work) I just don't eat it. I just kinda sit there and chat with everyone cause I like being around everyone, but I don't care about the food. I do know that it probably singles me out, but I'd rather that than go back to eating sweets.
It sounds extreme, but it tortures me MORE when I eat that stuff, no matter how special it is. Even on days where I can resist overeating, I am thinking about the food I had yesterday. I guess that this goes against most diet advice, which says to let go a little on the holidays to stay sane, but to stay sane for me, I have to just go cold turkey.