Birthdays?

Options
katie1318
katie1318 Posts: 59 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey guys! I was wondering what your thoughts on birthdays were?
Mine is coming up in a couple weeks and I can't decide if I should just treat myself and go crazy with a delicious dinner and sinful cake, or try to be moderate with a delicious (but "clean) dinner and only one slice of cake (if not a healthier dessert alternative).
Any thoughts/ideas/opinions?
Thanks!
P.S. Moderation is difficult for me when surrounded by temptation (i.e. decadent chocolate bday cake)

Replies

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    Options
    If you're deficit is not too aggressive, you can shave off an extra 100 calories every day for that week and bank a few extra for your birthday. You could eat light during the day and go all in for dinner and dessert. It's really up to you and whether you want to stay in a deficit for the week, or how large of a deficit for the week is important to you.

    This weekend was my birthday and I ate chicken liver wrapped in pancetta, braised rabbit with polenta, chips and queso, a bagel with turkey bacon cream cheese, slutty brownies, whiskey, wine...

    I'm also starting a bulk though lol
  • emmalene1984
    emmalene1984 Posts: 137 Member
    Options
    It's up to you, but I'm thinking that the reason you wrote this post is because you want to enjoy the food without feeling guilty. In which case I say go for it! It's your birthday, have fun, relax, enjoy yourself. It's only ONE DAY! however, if you will feel happier by not indulging then don't. Only you know what will make yourself happiest. On my birthdays I always eat and drink whatever I want, it's my day. This worked for me consistently a few years ago when I was loosing weight every week. So my birthday week maybe I wouldn't lose anything, but it's only 1 week, then I would lose more the next anyway.

    Good luck and enjoy your birthday :smiley:
  • tulips_and_tea
    tulips_and_tea Posts: 5,715 Member
    Options
    I agree with @emmalene1984 as far as how will YOU feel about it afterwards? Personally, over eating is uncomfortable to me and not worth it. Enjoying high calorie, decadent foods in a decent portion is NOT over eating, nor is it "bad". I think the key is looking at it long-term: how do you want to handle birthdays and holidays once you reach your goal weight?

    Removing the idea that food is a reward or a treat is important to long-term maintenance. Celebrations will always revolve around food, but that certainly isn't the highlight of the occasion. The company and the reason for the celebration should be the main focus. Food is just a bonus.

    You don't have to give up certain food completely, but who is making your birthday cake? Maybe you can request a small version or something else you'd enjoy but not stress over?
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
    Options
    I increase to maintenance and have a piece of cake or pie along with a nice dinner.
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    Options
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    I agree with @emmalene1984 as far as how will YOU feel about it afterwards? Personally, over eating is uncomfortable to me and not worth it. Enjoying high calorie, decadent foods in a decent portion is NOT over eating, nor is it "bad". I think the key is looking at it long-term: how do you want to handle birthdays and holidays once you reach your goal weight?

    Removing the idea that food is a reward or a treat is important to long-term maintenance. Celebrations will always revolve around food, but that certainly isn't the highlight of the occasion. The company and the reason for the celebration should be the main focus. Food is just a bonus.

    You don't have to give up certain food completely, but who is making your birthday cake? Maybe you can request a small version or something else you'd enjoy but not stress over?

    Food is a treat for me and will always be a treat. I just eat less as a whole so I can enjoy some higher calorie days. For me a lot of things have always been about food, I love food, and let's face it, there's just no way it's ever going to change, so trying to change myself instead of figuring out a way to deal with it is just not going to help me.

    OP, I personally don't want cake. Because cakes are big and don't typically come in single servings, and I know what's going to happen if I have a whole cake in the fridge. So I get a single serving cake/pastry from a local bakery instead, and usually I have a nice meal too (it doesn't have to be crazy calories though, but by now I'm usually not overly tempted by food that is fried or comes with heavy sauces anyway).
  • finnsgma
    finnsgma Posts: 55 Member
    Options
    My birthday is today and I am sticking to the usual plan. I feel like since for me this is a lifestyle change, I don;t need to use tonight as an excuse to go crazy. I will likely go out to eat this weekend at some point and will see what that brings. Nothing wrong with celebrating if you choose to, but also nothing wrong with not. No one at work even knew it was my birthday (I am new) so I didn't have to face well-meaning co-workers who baked me a cake, etc. That would have been a lot harder.
  • katie1318
    katie1318 Posts: 59 Member
    Options
    BZAH10 wrote: »
    I think the key is looking at it long-term: how do you want to handle birthdays and holidays once you reach your weight?

    I like this idea. Sustainability is really important to me, so I should celebrate my bday in a way I want to celebrate it for the rest of my life. I also agree with what others have said about this being a lifestyle change. As part of my change and the way I think I want to celebrate my bday for now on, I think I'll have one of my favorite "clean"/healthy dinners that the whole family enjoys (they are coming over to celebrate) and indulge in some dessert afterward. If there are leftovers, I can just give it to the fam!

    Thanks for the input, everyone! Further suggestions are always welcome :)

  • iamchoosinglife
    iamchoosinglife Posts: 6 Member
    Options
    My birthday was Friday and I was happy to have my traditional birthday cake. If I had stopped at one piece on my birthday it would've been fine because I didn't eat as much as I usually do the rest of the day, but I didn't quite get rid of all of it and the next day had some leftovers. And the next day. Luckily it's all gone now but I probably would've done that a little differently and not had any leftovers. I don't want to live my life without birthday cake, but I definitely didn't need four pieces :-)
  • stubby2tails
    stubby2tails Posts: 3 Member
    Options
    Hi there, my birthday is the 16th and I
    can tell you that Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels. Think of something else as a gift, besides food.

Categories