How do you handle special occasions?

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katoriyukai
katoriyukai Posts: 15
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a birthday coming up and my mom's throwing me a party. She's making all my favorite *and bad for me* foods. Other than just portion control, what do you guys do under such circumstances? I'm going to load up on my favorite veggies, but do you have any other good options? I allow myself splurges, but I don't want to use all my daily allowances on one meal. I know so far that she'll be making lasagna, bread, green beans, salad *thankfully*, and there is probably going to be a dessert. Any pointers?

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  • jbruced
    jbruced Posts: 210 Member
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    Small amount of the lasagna, green beans and salad. Skip the bread and enjoy a reasonable amount of cake or dessert.
  • elisa123gal
    elisa123gal Posts: 4,306 Member
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    could she make you a small casserole of your favorite lasagna made with eggplant instead of noodles? or could she use half the amount of sheets of pasta and alternate with eggplant? If she did that..it would cut the calories considerably and the new recipe would be a great birthday gift. Eat that with lots of her green beans...skip the bread and eat a small piece of your cake.
  • katoriyukai
    katoriyukai Posts: 15
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    I've never had eggplant before, but I'm willing to try it. I actually have some friends that are bringing their version of lasagna. They are vegetarians and use zucchini instead of pasta, so I'll probably eat that for the majority of my "lasagna" portion along with a small piece of my mother's. I don't like cake, which my mom knows, so I probably don't have to worry about it being cake. Typically for dessert for me she makes something with fruit, a lightly sweet dessert such as tiramisu, which is a fave of mine as it's lightly sweet and has the bitter of coffee thrown in, but is still bad for me, or a pie. I'm not sure what to expect. I love green beans and I've really been enjoying salad recently, so I'll probably mostly stick to those. I'm mostly worried about not hurting her feelings when I don't get a huge plate full of her lasagna as that used to be my habit.
  • Casstevens133
    Casstevens133 Posts: 142 Member
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    What a shame you don't complete your diary - that would really help you! Me? I'd enjoy my birthday and love my mum all the more for making such an effort then get back on track. Not knowing how you normally eat makes it hard to help but, assuming you do good, one day isn't going to break the bank and would make your lovely mum feel great! PS happy birthday!!
  • Casstevens133
    Casstevens133 Posts: 142 Member
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    Alternatively ... Talk to her ! xx
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
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    I just try to eat in moderation and maybe exercise a bit extra to offset it. I'm in this exact same boat, actually, as it's my birthday tomorrow. My strategy was to switch over to maintenance calories for several days so that I can indulge in the foods I love without feeling guilty about it. And I think my body could use a change of pace, anyway. I'm going to eat cake and drink booze and enjoy myself, because that's as much part of life as getting fit is. The two aren't mutually exclusive, and I know I'll be able to work off any gains I do happen to make pretty quickly, as long as I don't use some minor indulging as an excuse to fall completely off the wagon.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    What a shame you don't complete your diary - that would really help you! Me? I'd enjoy my birthday and love my mum all the more for making such an effort then get back on track. Not knowing how you normally eat makes it hard to help but, assuming you do good, one day isn't going to break the bank and would make your lovely mum feel great! PS happy birthday!!

    This. One day "off" for a very special occasion (and Happy Upcoming Birthday To You!!) won't kill your progress, won't move you backward, won't screw you for life. It's one day. One meal, really. Assuming you're eating at a deficit, there's practically no way you can eat back all the week's deficit PLUS the 3500 MORE calorieson top of that that it takes for a pound of fat to materialize, all in one meal. Even if you eat the bread and the tiramisu. Enjoy yourself. Don't panic. It'll be ok.
  • lilacinfinity
    lilacinfinity Posts: 283 Member
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    I'd be thankful that she put the time and effort into something that she thinks is going to make me happy, enjoy the damn meal, and move on.
  • ShmareParks
    ShmareParks Posts: 88 Member
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    To be honest, I have one day every single week that I blow my calories completely. I'm talking eating double or triple what I'm supposed to. I have lost 31 pounds so far in 6 months, which I think is a good pace, and am still losing steadily, so this total cheat day doesn't seem to hurt my progress. I'd say your birthday is a day to cheat.

    However, this only works if I am under control the rest of the time. One way to do this is to always log everything. It's very important for my success that I log everything every day, right down to the one French fry my friend offers me or the 1/2 teaspoon of mustard on my sandwhich -- even on cheat days -- so I can learn where most of the calories come from and so that I'm not cheating on the other 6 days. This way, I am still in control. And it gives the added bonus of showing me the "good" side of cheat days - which is that I don't normally get enough protein and iron and B12, and then my cheat days sort of fill in the nutrition gaps even though they go overboard on calories and sugar.

    That being said, going home for Christmas and eating my parents' cooking 3 meals a day, I simply had to accept that the best I could do for those two weeks was maintain, because eating to lose weight would DEFINITELY hurt their feelings, as they don't get to see me that often and they wanted to make all my favourite desserts and meals ... and their feelings are more important to me than my weight loss plan. However, I didn't just give up altogether - I went on daily walks and had tiny portions. (That way, I could have "seconds" to make them feel I was enjoying myself, but the actual seconds only added up to one portion - haha.)
  • katoriyukai
    katoriyukai Posts: 15
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    Thanks for the tips guys! The only times I don't log everything *down to the pepper I eat as you can see in some cases* is during the weekends when I'm in a real rush due to work, social outings, and everything else. I tend to be in such a rush, that i do forget to write down everything. *shrugs* I do know that I'm not eating crazy things and the only I go over on weekends when I do log is sodium. I feel better about enjoying myself.
  • deanadimples
    deanadimples Posts: 419 Member
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    It's irrational to expect to have 100% on the path days every day, every year....events come up.

    My take is I enjoy them. I take part the in the celebrations, I just don't party it up like the Romans. I enjoy to an extent and then move on the next day.

    One day or one event will not ruin your all your work. It's a daily life of celebrations that do the real damage.
  • SinomenJen
    SinomenJen Posts: 262 Member
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    I would eat and thank my mom!
  • smilingirisheyes
    smilingirisheyes Posts: 149 Member
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    I say go in and make the best choices you can with the food, and then get on with the business of enjoying your party!
  • spamantha57
    spamantha57 Posts: 674 Member
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    "Birthdays, BBQs, & Vegas" - What I say are my exceptions & I'm free to consume things I normally wouldn't do. Like eat a lot of meat or hot dogs cuz I'm normally vegetarian haha
  • kjoy_
    kjoy_ Posts: 316 Member
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    can you ask her to make some small changes to your favorite foods, since it is, after all, for you? ask her to use 90/10 lean beef, skim 2% cheese, low-fat ricotta, wheat bread. whenever i make changes to my recipes for the healthier, no one notices a change in the taste. it's all about enjoying what you want, but making small compromises
  • alabamamommy
    alabamamommy Posts: 26
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    Double your workout the day before or the day of. That will give you some extra calories to work with. I hardly ever cheat, I am only about 6 weeks in and am SCARED that if I do I will fall off track more easily. I was told that 1-2 days of ignoring my diet can undo all I have done. But I'm still very new at it. One meal should be fine. Be careful!
  • Doctorpurple
    Doctorpurple Posts: 507 Member
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    Its ok to eat during special occasions as long as you make up for on another day. I think you have some great ideas which includes loading up on the veggies. Try to eat properly before the occasion as well. Don't start the celebration hungry. Make sure you eat throughout the day. It will be easier to pass temptations when you are not "super hungry".
  • Katetw
    Katetw Posts: 188 Member
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    I have a birthday coming up and my mom's throwing me a party. She's making all my favorite *and bad for me* foods. Other than just portion control, what do you guys do under such circumstances? I'm going to load up on my favorite veggies, but do you have any other good options? I allow myself splurges, but I don't want to use all my daily allowances on one meal. I know so far that she'll be making lasagna, bread, green beans, salad *thankfully*, and there is probably going to be a dessert. Any pointers?

    here is what I would do:
    1) talk to your mom! Be honest with her. thank her and tell her you are excited to have some of your favorite foods but because you are leading a healthier lifestyle, you are trying to control portion size etc. that way she is prepared and knows you are not overeating because you dislike the food.

    2) eat in moderation--once you're full, don't go back for more.

    3) ENJOY YOUR BIRTHDAY!! Eat what you want! If you want some more lasagna and you're still hungry--eat it! Don't deprive yourself, your birthday is only once a year.

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