Birthday meal?

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lillypad4495
lillypad4495 Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all I need some advice. I've lost 21lb since the beginning of April and I'm thrilled with my progress. However tomorrow is my little sisters 18th birthday and we're off out for a meal - a meal full of carbs, cakes and fatty foods. I'm not a fan of eating out, I've always preferred packed lunches and cooking at home. I contacted the restaurant and asked for a copy of their menu and there really isn't anything on there I'd consider to be low fat/low calorie. Will it hurt my weight loss if I have a cheat day? I'm worried I'll fall off the wagon and gain weight, which my self confidence really doesn't need.

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  • Mouse_Potato
    Mouse_Potato Posts: 1,503 Member
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    Not if it's just one day/meal. My birthday was a few weeks ago. I was a complete glutton. Then I got back on track. No regrets. :)
  • kissedbythesunshine
    kissedbythesunshine Posts: 416 Member
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    Only you know if having a cheat day will cause you to fall of the wagon. I say go out with your family and enjoy your sister birthday. That doesn't mean eating everything not nailed down but there's nothing wrong with going over your calories for a day. I went out with my husband last night and had some drinks for example. I didn't worry about the calories in my drinks yet I was sure to only have 2. Congrats on your weight loss thus far!
  • cjcg7980
    cjcg7980 Posts: 3 Member
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    Just eat a reasonable meal and if you go over a little its no big deal diet is a marathon not a sprint go right back to what you were doing and youll be fine. Enjoy your sisters bday
  • katie22mfp
    katie22mfp Posts: 386 Member
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    Just remember portion control stop eating when you are full. One meal won't harm your progress!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 32,848 Member
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    The occasional over-calorie-goal day won't prevent you reaching your goal. At worst, it will cause a tiny delay. Remember, you have to eat roughly 3500 calories more than your maintenance calories to gain a pound. If you eat more than goal but less than maintenance, you gain zero, but your ultimate goal is delayed a little - a fraction of that one day.

    While losing 60+ pounds last year (most of it April through December) there were a number of days when I ate well over my weight-loss calorie goal, and even well over my maintenance calories. These were generally special occasions, averaging no more than once a month, but there were times when I ate a couple of thousand calories over maintenance (my birthday, for example). Then I would just get back on my regular healthy track afterward. There would be a few days of higher weights on the scale because of water weight, and by the time that was gone, my routine deficit had typically wiped out any partial-pound weight gain as well. Might've delayed reaching my goal weight by 3-4 days, tops - no biggie even if I did this once a month. (If I did it once a week, that might be a bigger problem.)

    I don't think of any of this as "cheating". I figure I've been learning how to eat in a healthy way forever. Real life includes celebratory food. I want to enjoy it. It's a pleasure, not a problem.

    Enjoy your sister's birthday meal, then just go right back immediately to your healthy routine. You'll be fine.

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