My Birthday

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HailDawgs
HailDawgs Posts: 30 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey MFPals,

I hope you are all having an awesome day; we are almost to the weekend!

So, recently, I realized it was time to become a healthy person. I cut out all junk / fried foods and started walking/jogging/running every single night. I feel a lot better.

With my new diet and exercise comes a desire to stay healthy and become fit, of course. But, I have a dilemma.

My 21st birthday is in about 15 days. I want to have a good time, and eat a nice meal at one of my favorite restaurants and have a few glasses, but I do not want to crack or feel guilty because of it.

Do you have any advice how on what I should do? I would rather spend my birthday enjoying it than focusing on every aspect of diet/exercise. Then again, I do not want to gain a few pounds in one day from eating some good food and drinking a few glasses (wine, beer, I do not know, yet - never tried alcohol before)!

Thank you in advance, everyone!

Replies

  • extacymoon
    extacymoon Posts: 141 Member
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    Let yourself enjoy the day. You only turn 21 once. Try not to go overboard though. Go into the day with a positive attitude but know that you may have a little more work to do the following days. You can still have fun and not over indulge. Hope you have a good birthday!
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    You shouldn't feel guilty eating foods you like and having some drinks. You don't have to sacrifice this stuff to be healthy and fit, it's all about moderation. Enjoy your day, and remember that if you gain a few pounds, it's likely just temporary water weight from alcohol and increased sodium.
  • HailDawgs
    HailDawgs Posts: 30 Member
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    extacymoon wrote: »
    Let yourself enjoy the day. You only turn 21 once. Try not to go overboard though. Go into the day with a positive attitude but know that you may have a little more work to do the following days. You can still have fun and not over indulge. Hope you have a good birthday!
    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    You shouldn't feel guilty eating foods you like and having some drinks. You don't have to sacrifice this stuff to be healthy and fit, it's all about moderation. Enjoy your day, and remember that if you gain a few pounds, it's likely just temporary water weight from alcohol and increased sodium.

    Thank you, ExtacyMoon and I_Will_End_You (I hope not)! Great advice that I will follow. :smiley:

  • amgreenwell
    amgreenwell Posts: 1,268 Member
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    Enjoy yourself!! it is one day! you deserve to let lose, eat something decadent and have a few drinks. you'll be right back on the wagon the next day!
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
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    I was pointed to this site on another thread. For drinks, it's quite helpful. And since this is your 21st, I have a feeling it will be relevant: http://getdrunknotfat.com

    Everything in moderation. I would say enjoy whatever you order, but just don't get to the point where you're consuming indiscriminately. Remember that most alcholic drinks are going to carry hidden calories, so order your food according to how much you'd like to imbibe.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    I had my birthday recently and I thought about what I wanted the most. I didn't care about alcohol. I definitely wanted cake and food I enjoyed though. I chose a lighter dinner that I knew I liked to accommodate the cake but I also decided it would be okay to eat up to my maintenance calories that day. I looked at my calorie intake for the whole week as well. I didn't gain weight that week.

    I would decide what you want the most on your birthday and just not worry too much about it.
    1. You could try to stick to your calorie goal. Maybe eat lighter breakfast and lunch. You could exercise earlier in the day. You could choose a lighter meal off the menu for dinner and have more alcohol. You could choose to have just 1 glass of something alcoholic and have more food.
    2. You could plan to eat/drink at your maintenance level for you that day. You could still plan and log your day but maybe choose a higher calorie dinner or more alcohol. You could still do some exercise earlier in the day. Look at your weekly calorie intake instead of just your daily intake.
    3. You could not log anything that day, not exercise, eat and drink whatever you feel like and just get back to normal the next day and it would be fine. You know that you might retain water and might not weigh yourself the next day or two if that will freak you out to see the scale number temporarily go up. If you get back to normal then one day of going over your calories really won't affect your progress long term.

    Enjoy your birthday whatever you do!
  • HailDawgs
    HailDawgs Posts: 30 Member
    edited June 2015
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    The advice is superb, everyone! Thank you. I will definitely adhere to it and enjoy my birthday! :)
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
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    Lounmoun wrote: »
    3. You could not log anything that day, not exercise, eat and drink whatever you feel like and just get back to normal the next day and it would be fine. You know that you might retain water and might not weigh yourself the next day or two if that will freak you out to see the scale number temporarily go up. If you get back to normal then one day of going over your calories really won't affect your progress long term.

    Enjoy your birthday whatever you do!

    That's what I do. Every once in awhile, I just need a day where I do whatever I want. Eat a delicious dinner, go out and get hammered, and stop at Taco Bell at 3AM on the way home. And none of that fresco menu crap, either. As long as you don't make a habit of it, it's not going to hurt.
  • 115Everest
    115Everest Posts: 31 Member
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    You could always wait a week to weigh yourself after if you can stand it. Then you won't see the fluctuation from the one day. Have a wonderful birthday!!!
  • HailDawgs
    HailDawgs Posts: 30 Member
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    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    Lounmoun wrote: »
    3. You could not log anything that day, not exercise, eat and drink whatever you feel like and just get back to normal the next day and it would be fine. You know that you might retain water and might not weigh yourself the next day or two if that will freak you out to see the scale number temporarily go up. If you get back to normal then one day of going over your calories really won't affect your progress long term.

    Enjoy your birthday whatever you do!

    That's what I do. Every once in awhile, I just need a day where I do whatever I want. Eat a delicious dinner, go out and get hammered, and stop at Taco Bell at 3AM on the way home. And none of that fresco menu crap, either. As long as you don't make a habit of it, it's not going to hurt.
    LOL! I do not think I will get hammered (I want to remember my birthday), but that is definitely a care-free type of evening! :D
    115Everest wrote: »
    You could always wait a week to weigh yourself after if you can stand it. Then you won't see the fluctuation from the one day. Have a wonderful birthday!!!

    True. I actually do not weigh myself as it can become discouraging, so I am not worried about that. I just will work hard after my birthday :)

    I will definitely enjoy it :)



  • kellyjellybellyjelly
    kellyjellybellyjelly Posts: 9,480 Member
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    I_Will_End_You wrote: »
    You shouldn't feel guilty eating foods you like and having some drinks. You don't have to sacrifice this stuff to be healthy and fit, it's all about moderation. Enjoy your day, and remember that if you gain a few pounds, it's likely just temporary water weight from alcohol and increased sodium.

    This.
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,641 Member
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    Personally, I think you should just go with it. Don't stuff yourself to bursting or anything, but if you eat at a deficit the rest of the time, you'll get caught up on whatever progress you might have missed just by continuing to eat at a deficit. It's mentally challenging to let go for a day, but my advice is to just do it up. Have an awesome birthday and don't regret a thing (unless your drinking causes you to perform some regrettable act).
  • HailDawgs
    HailDawgs Posts: 30 Member
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    PaulaWallaDingDong wrote: »
    Personally, I think you should just go with it. Don't stuff yourself to bursting or anything, but if you eat at a deficit the rest of the time, you'll get caught up on whatever progress you might have missed just by continuing to eat at a deficit. It's mentally challenging to let go for a day, but my advice is to just do it up. Have an awesome birthday and don't regret a thing (unless your drinking causes you to perform some regrettable act).

    Hahaha, very true! That will not happen ;)



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