As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Saturday, June 15, 2013

I'm an Anti-Buffet kind of Gal... Saturday, June 15

I think I pretty much ate my weight in veggies at the buffet restaurant where we ate out at and the guaranteed massive selection of veggie being the only reason why I'd ever eat at a buffet.

The THREE reasons why I hate buffet restaurants:

1. Dirty.
I’m very quick to associate little kids with dirt, as in dirty. I think it's so strange and quite disgusting how the plates always seem to be at mini-Korean sticky-hand level in Korea. I watched today as a mother totally ignored her child fondling the plates and then Snickers go and reach for one. There was that slow motion “noooooooooo!!!” as I jumped up and reached out for him. I am that person who goes to a buffet and either asks the waitress to bring her a plate or picks up the massive stack and takes one from the bottom.

Moreover, that and the fact the food is so exposed and open to everyone leaning over it, breathing over it and touch it grosses me out. Koreans don’t cover their mouth when they sneeze, I think it’s just a Western thing, so I always wonder if there are any sneezers dining there while I eat.

2. No means of control.
There's no real means of controlling yourself, I mean you could take plate after plate of food if you wanted to and would never really know how much food you ate. Customers at buffets usually overeat because of this fact. Whereas in most regular restaurants, where you get your own plate, you’re limited with how much you can eat based on how much the cook serves you. Also, the fact that buffets are overly pricey means I always feel somewhat obligated to eat a lot so that I get my money’s worth. 

3. Sensory overload.
I usually try to stick to the veggies and meat at a buffet but you know you just have to look at the other tables, see all that the buffet has to offer. Of course me and my wondering eyes means I end up taking a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and next thing you know it I’m needing another plate. Food I had no intention or even knowledge of ends up being the main part of my meal. 


My Five ways to avoid the "Buffet Trap":

1. Start with the salad/fruit counter and fill my plate up.
2. Make sure my plate has a healthy lean protein.
3. Drink one large cup of water before each plate of food I go to eat.
4. Use chopsticks (sounds silly but it definitely helps with not shoveling your food into your mouth and aids in digestion because the slower you eat the faster you feel full).
5. Limit myself to X number of plates and X number of “no-no foods”.

No comments: