Birthday cake....

mom2pne

How do I not offend my kids if I don't have any? My twins turn 5 Wednesday and next week Tuesday my oldest turns 17. So is there anything I can say so my children, mainly my twins, won't get mad. TIA!

Syreeta6

Have a SMALL piece, or just ask them for a bite of theirs, I noticed kids like to feed their parents. (I'm not a parent yet so I could be wrong )
A couple bites won't hurt

britneybowen

In those cases I would have the piece of cake. It is their special day- so make it special with them! :happy:

audjrey

Sure! Tell a fib. Simply tell them the doctor said you can't have it. Most kids at that age listen to doctors and will respect the fact that you do. Tell them your doctor told you that when you get to a certain weight you'll be able to have a small piece of cake, but not until then. Not only will your kids understand, they'll start encouraging you to lose weight so you can have a piece next year!

Of course, if fibbing isn't a thing you feel comfortable doing, simply have a ultra-thin sliver and tell them it was enough to satisfy you.

You might even go so far as to tell them that cake isn't the most important part of their special day, they are! Give them big hugs and tell them you love them more than you love cake.

kristenheet

I would also have a piece, but make it a very small one! My birthday is coming up and I will definitely have a piece of cake that my mother in law makes!

mfiggs

Have a small piece or just have ice cream. I had to go to a birthday party at Chuck E Cheese with my daughter and so not to offend the family I ate an ice cream cup and I felt better because I ate something and also because it was way less calories and fat. If you choose to have the cake do an extra workout. That's just what I would do:)

beccafertig

Cake is a downward spiral for me. One piece will turn into two or three. You have to know your weaknesses. If you are able to have one piece of cake and let it be that, then I say eat it. If you don't think it's wise, just give them a heads up before the party. Tell the twins you won't be eating cake because you want to get healthy and be with them for many more birthdays. They're five, I think they'll understand!

birdieandkenadi05

Have a piece, it wont hurt. Its a special day and I think you cant deprive yourself or you will start hating the eating better, healthy living lifestyle!!

Enjoy...but in moderation :bigsmile:

michellemh1022

Congrats on your progress so far! I would just have a small piece to celebrate and make them happy. I like the suggestion of just letting them just feed you a couple bites.

beccafertig

One more thing to remember...cake doesn't make the birthday. We don't need to eat junk in order to celebrate a special occasion!!!

Sandikh

Life is about the celebrations...! This is a lifestyle change and you can't avoid cake for the rest of your life. Eat a small piece, skip the ice cream, and plan ahead for it. Walk an extra 20 minutes or else just cut your calories somewhere else in your day. Even if you go over by 200 calories - it's your babies birthdays. Enjoy yourself!

SSampley

I just had two birthdays in one month so I feel your pain, I just factored in the cake for my caloris I had very small slices just enough to get the taste and then worked it off on the treadmill! I do think though if cakes your weakness and it will lead you to stray that maybe just give them thier cake and dish out everyone elses and just not call attention to you not getting a piece, if they happen to ask tell them oh mommy just doesnt want cake but I am so happy your enjoying your piece you'd be surprised that is probably a good enough answer...and surely the 17 year old will understand. You can do it!!

karanmwk

I say go ahead and have a piece - nothing wrong with a splurge every now & then! For my next birthday, I'm going to try an angel food cake with strawberries & maybe a bit of fat free cool whip!

beccafertig

I just had two birthdays in one month so I feel your pain, I just factored in the cake for my caloris I had very small slices just enough to get the taste and then worked it off on the treadmill! I do think though if cakes your weakness and it will lead you to stray that maybe just give them thier cake and dish out everyone elses and just not call attention to you not getting a piece, if they happen to ask tell them oh mommy just doesnt want cake but I am so happy your enjoying your piece you'd be surprised that is probably a good enough answer...and surely the 17 year old will understand. You can do it!!

Here here! My mantra has become "I don't need cake to celebrate". It sort of rhymes if you say it over and over again :-)

Syreeta6

Life is about the celebrations...! This is a lifestyle change and you can't avoid cake for the rest of your life. Eat a small piece, skip the ice cream, and plan ahead for it. Walk an extra 20 minutes or else just cut your calories somewhere else in your day. Even if you go over by 200 calories - it's your babies birthdays. Enjoy yourself!

I agree, it's unrealistic to cut cake out for the rest of your life. You have to learn how to deal with these types of situations. If you slip it, it's a lesson learned for when you enter the situation next time. Prepping ahead (with that extra workout as suggested) is more realistic to me and I like the suggestion.

HilarieXcore

Life is about the celebrations...! This is a lifestyle change and you can't avoid cake for the rest of your life. Eat a small piece, skip the ice cream, and plan ahead for it. Walk an extra 20 minutes or else just cut your calories somewhere else in your day. Even if you go over by 200 calories - it's your babies birthdays. Enjoy yourself!

I agree, you can't completely cut out things because that's how you fall off track.

Being barely 20 and having a 17 year old boyfriend (almost 18), I'm kinda offended that you have to ask what to say to your 17 year old. He is almost an adult and at that age should be talked to like one. If you really feel your kid will freak out if you don't eat cake (and I doubt it) then you have more than one issue at hand...

For the five year olds, a little slice won't hurt. I have a limit of 1200 and managed to eat cake on my birthday & eat it for a few days after (small family + store cake = lots of leftovers).

Either way, prep ahead. Count out everything you're going to eat the night BEFORE so you know if you have to have a work out or not.

DoReMiFaSoLaTiDo

How do I not offend my kids if I don't have any? My twins turn 5 Wednesday and next week Tuesday my oldest turns 17. So is there anything I can say so my children, mainly my twins, won't get mad. TIA!

my wedding anniversary was Saturday..... I gave up sweets & desserts for Lenten... we ALWAYS get a mini-wedding cake for dessert for our anniversary.... I toast with DH and put my piee in the freezer with a promise that if I make my April goals, I can have it on May 1st...

CAKE IS MY #1 WEAKNESS and DOWNFALL.... One piece will turn into the whole damn cake...


I say all of that to say, cut you a slice and let your kids see you with it... then wrap it up, put it in the freezer and have it later as a reward for some goal you've met...by that time, the rest of the cake will be ALL gone and nothing left to tempt you

knittnponder

We have four birthdays in a six week period of time AND I decorate cakes as a hobby so I've got a family full of cake snobs. Usually I'm all caked out by the time my birthday gets here at the end of the group (did I mention there is an anniversary cake in there too?) I usually have a very small piece because I do like it but if I really didn't want it my kids would respect that. One way I deal with all this cake is I have 6" cake pans that make a very small cake and gives us only two pieces each for our family of six. (This is a 4" tall cake so the pieces are tall but thin.)

This year for my son's birthday I made a flour less, gluten free, sugar free chocolate cake with sliced strawberries that was pretty good, low in carbs and much lower in calories than we usually have. I had promised him we'd go for ice cream if he didn't like it but the whole family loved it. The cake was made with canned black beans and instead of sugar I used erthritol (sp?) which is a sugar alcohol in granulated form that has less negative impact on the digestive system than Xylitiol but still tastes decent.

SueSee

I'm about to go to my Grandson's 5th birthday party in two weeks. We have to travel 10 hours to be there for his party. I'm not sure whether he'll notice, being a ball of fire, but I plan on having a tiny sliver of his cake. Then the family is going to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. He's been begging for a year to go there. I plan on having a piece of the pizza, too. I may or may not be able to work out at the hotel and work any of this off, but by golly, I'm going to celebrate my baby's 5th birthday!

brneydgrlie

Are you baking the cake? If so, there are ways to slightly improve the nutritional value. You could:

1) Replace 1/3 of the regular flour the recipe calls for with coconut flour (higher fiber, lower carb).
2) Replace the oil the recipe calls for with applesauce.
3) Replace part of the eggs the recipe calls for with egg whites.

But, even if you don't do this, there is no reason to beat yourself up for having birthday cake with your children! Just make sure you eat healthy protein and fiber-rich foods for your other meals (especially breakfast), and have a smaller piece of cake than you usually would. And drink plenty of water. The good meal(s) before hand will help keep your blood sugar stable, so you don't have a spike leading to more cake (and a downward spiral of cravings)!

lajuice24

Well I am know I love cake but I would still have cake for my kids. I would maybe make sure you have fruit or another snack in place of the cake

SabrinaJL

Ok, I totally have to share the adorable birthday card my husband and daughter got me today because it's relevant to this topic. lol

raven1114

i say go a head and have a small piece. i went to a friend's daughter's birthday party saturday and had a small piece of cake and was still a bit below my daily total at the end of the day. yes i ate other foods as well i just watched what i ate through the day.

raven1114

Are you baking the cake? If so, there are ways to slightly improve the nutritional value. You could:

1) Replace 1/3 of the regular flour the recipe calls for with coconut flour (higher fiber, lower carb).
2) Replace the oil the recipe calls for with applesauce.
3) Replace part of the eggs the recipe calls for with egg whites.

But, even if you don't do this, there is no reason to beat yourself up for having birthday cake with your children! Just make sure you eat healthy protein and fiber-rich foods for your other meals (especially breakfast), and have a smaller piece of cake than you usually would. And drink plenty of water. The good meal(s) before hand will help keep your blood sugar stable, so you don't have a spike leading to more cake (and a downward spiral of cravings)!

i've used baby food in place of eggs in muffin mixes the same could probably be done with a cake. i usually use 1 4oz jar of baby food per box of muffin mix so 2-3 jars should be enough for a cake mix.

dawnna76

Life is about the celebrations...! This is a lifestyle change and you can't avoid cake for the rest of your life. Eat a small piece, skip the ice cream, and plan ahead for it. Walk an extra 20 minutes or else just cut your calories somewhere else in your day. Even if you go over by 200 calories - it's your babies birthdays. Enjoy yourself!

this! We have had a couple birthdays in our house the last month. Each time I celebrated and had a bite or two of cake and a spoonful of ice cream. A small piece wont sabatoge anything and having a sweet treat now and then is good for you. It makes you feel like you arent missing out on everything and will in the end prevent you from binging at a later date.

Enjoy and celebrate the day.

ngory07

Ok, I totally have to share the adorable birthday card my husband and daughter got me today because it's relevant to this topic. lol

Too cute!!!!!

SusieB01

You should eat it and learn how to count the calories. I know the feeling you're having. I 'had to go to' a birthday celebration this week. Sometimes one of the reasons I don't want to do things is because I don't know how to handle them. Don't feel guilty because you're human. Just be strong and don't let it get out of hand. Evidently quite a few people who are using this site have the same kind of 'problem' because there are several kinds of cake on here. Learn to handle cake and then you can look forward to your children's birthdays again. Unless cake is really a problem for you, and you can't stop eating it, I think you should go ahead and have it.

ladybg81

Cakes are my weakness as well. I always have the best intentions to only have a "small" piece but then that turns in to sneaking and getting another and another. Cake and I are best left totally seperated.

hroderick

Enjoy a piece and the party. You deserve it too. Then, when throwing away the wrapping and cardboard and ribbon leftovers, throw away the rest of the cake too!. I find that very empowering to prove my ability to toss it. It will be better for your family's health too.

StabR80

Well I doubt you will offend your children by not eating cake...I have 5 year old twins as well and they could care less if I eat cake, as long as they are eating it thats all that matters to them Do I personally turn dow cake? um no, had 2 pieces this weekend LOL. Your !7 year old is also old enough to understand why you may chose not to indulge.

mom2pne

Ok, I totally have to share the adorable birthday card my husband and daughter got me today because it's relevant to this topic. lol

That is so sweet! Pun intended. lol