so my birthday is tomorrow (yay!) and i know that food is going to be really difficult to deal with. usually my friends are supportive but they are currently freaking out about my wanting to stay on track despite the fact that it is my birthday. they keep saying that one day won't kill me but i'm petrified that it will. my weight is finally going down again (167.8 this morning, double yay!!), and i don't want to jeopardize it by stuffing myself with cake and alcohol and other things.

it has gotten to the point where politeness doesn't work anymore. one girl is making me and someone else (and the entire dorm) cheesecake, which i would love to turn down, but because she bought the ingredients and is spending a lot of time on it, i know i will have to eat some. and my mom is getting my friend to buy me cupcakes tomorrow, no matter how much i protest they won't take no for an answer and insist on buying them. then there is the junk food for the party (which i said i didn't want them to buy), the copious amounts of alcohol they plan on drinking, and all of these other things that i'm worried will put me majorly off plan and send me right back to the 170s. or even if i just nibble, that i won't be able to stop, i don't know if i trust myself yet.

i want to have fun, but i don't want to blow everything. i know i could make it a maintenance day, but i'm nervous as to what that will do. i've already decided to stay away from the scale until tuesday. so, any advice for what to do??

(sorry that this turned out really longg)

Here's the thing..... first of all congrats on losing almost 30 lbs! That's a FANTASTIC birthday present to yourself.

HAVE FUN and ENJOY your birthday... and just get back on plan the next day. You can splurge a little. It's no fun if you keep yourself from enjoying yourself ALL of the time.

Hey hope you have a wonderful birthday!!
I agree that you should enjoy your birthday, it's one day that you should really make the most of. But you shouldn't feel that you need to eat just because the food is there. Eat what you want, don't deprive yourself but you don't need to eat the whole batch of cakes lol.
On my birthday my friends threw me a surprise party, made 2 choc fudge cakes, one of their mums made me 2 strawberry pavlovas (With full fat cream), loads of other food - my brother got me a batch of hummingbird cupcakes... trust me there was so much to eat that I couldn't even dream about eating it all lol
You'll have so much fun that you won't have to worry about food... lol and even if you slip up babe, get back on plan the next day - maybe you'll have to put a lil extra work in after but come on now it's your birthday!

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Happy early Birthday

I agree, you should enjoy it so long as you feel comfortable. Everyone has certain days where they don't worry too much about counting calories and stuff.

Maybe you could tell them you want something specific for your bday so they can concentrate on that instead of having a party with food? Like say "oh I really want to go here for my bday" and pick a place that fits with your diet and if they want to bring a cake it's just one cake (or some cupcakes). When my friends would do that I would just ask AT the restaurant who wants cake lol. Everyone was welcome to it!

Or heck- maybe say you want to go hiking or camping lol.

effie--I had ONE "frienemy" that kept trying to bring crap over when I first began. After her ongoing attempts and many protests (me standing my ground 100%) she stopped. And so it went for one full year.

THEN--my birthday came 'round this past October. She brought over a homemade flan! HUGE! I told her thank you but that my hubby had already purchased a huge cake and to please enjoy it herself. She refused again and again and quickly left. Let me tell you. I GOT A HUGE PLEASURE from waiting for her to walk out. I went straight to my garbage disposal and blended away!

Happy Birthday girl! I understand how you feel, my birthday is in two weeks and I'm already nervous about it. My family will buy all kinds of junk no matter what I say about it. Having one day with a few treats won't hurt you in the long run though. Now if I can only follow my own advice hehe.

Btw, you say in your post you don't know if you can trust yourself yet.

Well, then I wouldn't do it. No cheesecake or cupcake is worth it. Sorry, it's just not!

If you think you can have ONE slice of cake and be done, then go for it.

I agree with enjoying yourself, but you should enjoy yourself the way you want to. The way your friends and family are going on makes it look like the party is really for them instead of you. And honestly, it probably is: they're not planning to "drink copious amounts of alcohol" for your benefit

I would go to the party, graciously accept their treats, take small bites and rave about how wonderful the cheesecake/cupcakes/whatever are, then divert their attention by socializing in ways that don't involve food. If you don't mention your diet, they won't think you're deliberately holding back. Don't think of it as "depriving yourself even though it's your birthday" the way your friends are treating it--think about it as "a birthday is just like any other day of the year; it's not some magical day in which I can destroy my body with no consequences."

Thank you guys so much, your input was really helpful! I am planning on keeping up with healthy eating during the day, with enough wiggle room in my calories to have a cupcake or piece of cheesecake, depending on what I want tonight. There isn't any real reason to blow everything because I'm older, but if for some reason, I eat more than I planned, I'll live. And I can just move on and deal with it.

Happy early birthday! I agree that you should indulge a bit and have a little fun. Eat a little cheesecake and a cupcake. Maybe even split them with someone else so you only end up eating half. If you want to snack on a healthier alternative at the party, maybe bring a veggie/fruit tray or low cal/fat snack for people to much on. The only thing I would caution on is drinking alcohol because it lowers inhibitions and you may find yourself indulging more than you would have originally planned for. Then the next day walk 10 minutes more, or stay on the elliptical an extra 5 minutes. Eat an extra salad or a few more veggies and healthier foods the next day. If you do decide to do it, I would say to go in with a small note to yourself with what you will allow yourself to have, pre-plan. Then stop after you eat what you've allotted.. But if you don't trust yourself, then don't do it. Bring a cup with fruit in it or a healthy snack and munch on that. And remember:

Don't trade something you want most for something you want in the moment.

Good luck!

Happy birthday!!! Sounds like you've got a great plan, the key is just to compromise...

Awww, thank ya'll again, you are so sweet