Hi everyone,
I'm new to the website but have been reading the forum regularly. I was hoping to gain some insight and/or advice from some members.

I am about to turn 24 this Saturday and am struggling with splurging for my birthday or not. I will be going out to dinner with my boyfriend on Friday and also plan on having a family dinner on Saturday. I have been doing great in terms of consistent weight loss but I have a hard time just splurging a little. It's either an all or nothing scenario for the weekend or at least for the day when I splurge.

What do you think? Anyone else have the all or nothing feeling and just splurge for the weekend and get back on track Monday?

Any advice/support is appreciated!! Thanks in advance!

I think you should totally enjoy your birthday!
But don't eat (or drink) until you make yourself sick. Have a bite (or two) of anything and everything, just know when to stop.
Good luck and happy early birthday!

I was about six weeks into my diet when I turned 27. I made a major diet change (from a liter of Soda and A & W for breakfast every day) to paleo dieting, so I planned my birthday as a reward, but I set boundaries:

Small sizes/portions of everything
Healthy breakfast and dinner
only water to drink and any alcoholic drinks would be pressed.

You have to be okay with knowing it might set you back a little, that's the biggest thing

I splurge every weekend and 1-2 weekdays too. I think you shouldn't spend your birthday worrying about your diet, but you also shouldn't spend it eating stuff that makes you feel bad and don't WANT, you know?

Where upstate are you??

Thanks for the advice! It's hard to not let it become a slippery slope and just say screw it completely for the weekend. Balance is probably my biggest issue.

And Krampus, I'm from Rochester! Glad you're representing Troy, I have some friends from that area!

Not knowing when to stop is the issue!

I just turned 25, and we went out to dinner as well. I just started weight watchers, so having the plan to fall back on helps a lot. When we were at the restaurant, I had half my meal packaged up right away and made sure to make a mental note of what I was consuming so I could record it later. I had two alcoholic drinks and made sure I counted those too and I felt good about being able to say I had an awesome time and had a good birthday and still lost weight! Portions for me is everything, so maybe give that a try

The all or nothing attitude is tricky, but think of this - are you willing to never splurge on your birthday again? Life happens when you're dieting and a day or two won't destroy your plans. Don't binge like crazy, but maybe plan to eat something extra. It's your birthday, do what you want and enjoy yourself!

I splurge quite regularly, it's what happens after/in between that's really important.

Hmm. I understand where you're coming from. Maybe just choose one meal to splurge on. For example, have a good breakfast and lunch, then splurge at the dinner w/ your bf? I'm not really an "all or nothing" type of person, so I guess I don't have the same dilemma as you :/

Still even if you decide to not worry about it - it's only one weekend! It won't ruin all the progress you've made if your splurge a bit!

Perhaps you can look at the menu of the restaurant you are going to and decide what you want to eat ahead of time. If I tell myself I'm allowed to splurge I'll go crazy. I will take advantage of it. But if I know exactly what I am going to eat it is much easier, even if it is off my diet plan.

Whatever happens have a Happy Birthday!

I splurged on my birthday. I had a little bit of everything! A tiny piece of cake (and I mean tiny), a tiny piece of steak, a tiny serving of pasta, a tiny ice cream cone too!

But you know what, it's your BIRTHDAY. A day of splurging on your special day won't hurt. Just make sure you stay OP afterwards.

Personally I love to splurge every once in a while. I love food and I love to enjoy myself, and if it's a special occasion then I'm all over that! It's not the best mentality to have I'm sure, but I like to have fun. Treat yo' self!

Thanks everyone for the insight! I think I'm going to splurge and just enjoy my birthday. It might be good to loosen the reins a little and then just use the inevitable small increase on the scale to motivate me next week!

Thanks again!