Special occasions. How do you handle?

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keithf1138
keithf1138 Posts: 63
in Health and Weight Loss
Curious how others handle this.

I try to get a really big workout in usually with extra Cardio and then eat light until and after the event.

For instance last week my son graduated from High School and we took him to Lawry's Prime Rib in Chicago. I didn't deny myself. Had a 12 ounce Prime Rib, sides and desert. So during the day before the dinner I had consumed just 600 calories and between MFP and FitBit had me at over 4000 calories burned during the day.
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Replies

  • AmykinsCatfood
    AmykinsCatfood Posts: 599 Member
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    That's what I do... eat light and then allow myself whatever I want within moderation. Works for me!
  • Mguilmot
    Mguilmot Posts: 232 Member
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    I eat. And I don't care. 6 more days in that week.
    I had our anniversary yesterday, 5 years. We had BBQ. I ate, I did not count or think too much about it.
    You have to enjoy special occasions, don't think too much about how much calories it is, as long as you're not eating 10.000 you'll be ok ;-)
  • juliegrey1
    juliegrey1 Posts: 202 Member
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    How many special occasions do you have?if you are like me its not alot,so I enjoy!:flowerforyou:
  • leebesstoad
    leebesstoad Posts: 1,186 Member
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    For me, I think the appropriate phrase is "don't sweat the small stuff". It's one day, one meal. In the grand scheme of things, over the course of time, can one meal really affect things THAT much? Go out, enjoy, live, celebrate. And don't sweat it.
  • LongIsland27itl
    LongIsland27itl Posts: 365 Member
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    Say I had to eat 700 calories over my daily allotment bc I went to the Cheesecake Factory and my gf was mad at me for making her look fat by not eating appetizers and stuff.

    I'd simply subtract 117 cals from my daily allotment for the next 6 days to make up for it (it sucks) but just over 100 cals isn't too much, it's a half serving of peanut butter or something
  • gogoyubarino
    gogoyubarino Posts: 104 Member
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    I eat small portions of the meal but don't bother with dessert as sugar is a really bad trigger for me when it comes to over-eating.
  • Tarantula920
    Tarantula920 Posts: 36 Member
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    I've just started with MFP but plan on allowing myself to "cheat" on ocation. I think it's healthy for the mind to indulge every now and then! Eat! Enjoy the meal! And if you can throw in some extra bit of exercise during the week, go for it! If not... Oh well...
  • iecreamheadaches
    iecreamheadaches Posts: 441 Member
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    I stuff my fat face with whatever i like then make sure I work a little bit harder at the gym during the week ;)

    I love food, and refuse to deny myself of the deliciousness that comes with family gatherings. Its just one day every now and then, wont kill ya. (:
  • Fitiny
    Fitiny Posts: 24 Member
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    @longisland27itl
    Never thought of that.
    Clever.
  • Alexandra289
    Alexandra289 Posts: 330 Member
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    If it's a one off I eat and don't care. However, I sometimes go through phases where I have a lot of social events (like now, I've just finished this year's exams and about to go abroad so a lot of celebrating and saying goodbye to people) so I just have to try and limit myself slightly - well, try to anyway! Also make sure I do exercise and eat healthily when I'm by myself.
  • dianeb613
    dianeb613 Posts: 121 Member
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    To be honest I just enjoy the occasion. Dance a lot and go back to my regular eating the next day. Odd, I have never experienced a weight gain in any of those weeks...LMAO Most times I lose.
  • ItsCasey
    ItsCasey Posts: 4,022 Member
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    I usually fast for about 24 hours prior to a "special occasion" meal. I don't do any extra workouts because it interferes with my training program.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    I just enjoy myself and don't worry about it. I don't change my workout or anything like that...I just carry on. It's a special occasion...it's not routine...it's an outlier. You don't get unhealthy or fat with one day and a special occasion...just like someone who eats vegetables once in awhile isn't all of a sudden healthy and fit because they ate broccoli on Monday.
  • LongIsland27itl
    LongIsland27itl Posts: 365 Member
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    But it will hinder your goal if you're trying to lose weight, so while trying to lose weight, there's nothing wrong with/fanatical about adjusting calories or workouts to make up for a speed bump, but if I was just trying to maintain weight, I probably wouldn't adjust anything and call it a refeed
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    I eat. And I don't care. 6 more days in that week.

    This. One "bad" day isn't going to undo all the other work you do, no more than one day of eating right would undo several days of overeating.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    Fortunately, I don't have so many special occasions that overdoing it will derail my weight loss. It's also easy for me to pass up a lot of the "feasting" choices: steak, BBQ, fried stuff, etc. I go heavy on vegetables and take very small portions of whatever protein is available if it's fried, or in a heavy sauce, or topped with cheese.

    My one weakness is cake frosting; if there's cake, brownies or cupcakes with a thick layer of frosting, I thoroughly enjoy a serving, then back away from the table.

    I've also found that at a lot of these occasions, I tend to walk around and talk with people and I don't actually overeat that much because I'm busy.

    ETA: I almost never miss a workout day. So far this year I think I've missed one (had a horrendous cold), if you can count 5-miles walking around airports on a few transatlantic travel days as workouts, too. Whether it's the hotel pool or gym, or just a run around the area, I manage to get exercise. I think that helps, too, because I haven't dropped the exercise routine AND stepped up my eating.
  • khall86790
    khall86790 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    I usually eat light for my other meals that day or if I know it's going to be a huge lunch, I will skip breakfast for example because I know I will more than make up for it.
    I also try to get a big burn on the day before/of/after.
  • Mich4871
    Mich4871 Posts: 143 Member
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    I just enjoy and don't sweat it. I MIGHT add in an extra work out during the week, or work out an extra 30 minutes, but normally I don't. We just spent the holiday weekend away at a destination wedding and I didn't think twice about what I was eating and drinking.
  • amandamurdaugh
    amandamurdaugh Posts: 138 Member
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    The worst is dessert for me. Every month there's some sort of "special occasion" going on in my family! Sometimes it's hard to fight temptation, sometimes it's not. If there's pizza & dessert, I'll eat the pizza & not the dessert because I know I lose control over sweets & not savory. It's easier for me if I've got a race coming up, or I'm training for something. Then I just know I can't have the sweets & I'm ok with that. For me, there is no occasion more special to me than a race. How I feel physically while running is more important to me than the sweet goodness of sugar.
  • AllonsYtotheTardis
    AllonsYtotheTardis Posts: 16,947 Member
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    I make time for my scheduled workout that day, and when I'm at the event I try to be mindful of how I'm eating - ie - I try to eat until I'm satisfied, not until I'm stuffed.

    Other than that, it's one day - I enjoy the food and the good company.

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