08/24/2026
Three lunch traps at the buffet, same holiday, same rules.
1. Burgers, specifically the bun. The patty is fine. It’s protein, it’ll keep you full. The bun is the bit that adds a few hundred calories and does almost nothing for you. Half the time it’s dry, sitting there getting warm since breakfast, and you’re eating it purely because it came with the burger. Take the patty, leave the bun, nobody’s watching.
2. Pizza. Again. Yes it’s back at lunch. That’s exactly the problem. If it’s on the counter at lunch and dinner and you have some at both, that’s two extra meals a day for a week. It’s not one decision, it’s fourteen.
3. Ice cream. Free ice cream at 2pm feels like a win. It’s also 300 or 400 calories that leave you hungry twenty minutes later. Also I’m lactose intolerant, so for me the real cost isn’t the calories, it’s the fact that I’d be spending the rest of the afternoon somewhere other than the pool. Worth it? Never has been. Do I still think about it every single time? Absolutely.
The theme across all three: they’re there because they’re cheap to serve, not because they’re what you actually came for.
Have the things you’ll remember. Skip the things you’re only eating because they’re in front of you.
Save this for your next trip. 📌