One of my good friends is having her birthday dinner at a local pizza place. I'm going, and we're all just going to order two or three pizzas and share them, so we can't all order our own meals. I had a salad for lunch with a hard boiled egg white on top of it to save some calories for tonight.

I know pizza is....well, ragingly unhealthy. But, I'm going to allow myself this splurge in moderation. I'm planning on eating another salad before I go to the dinner and drink a big glass of water so I am not super hungry. I'll probably have one or two pieces, and just order a water or unsweetened ice tea with dinner.

Any other suggestions? This will be a challenge...I LOVE pizza, haha.

Thin crust veggie?

Have a good time! :-) Pizza is great. Enjoy the splurge.

I second the Thin crust. Enjoy your party!!!

eat something and Filling before you go, have 1 slice and enjoy the party!

salad, salad, salad...water water water...thin crust!!!!!

ditto, ditto, ditto

ooh and no meat, light cheese (cheese-less if possible) and loads of veggies.

First of all congrats on letting yourself splurge once in a while!!! And I agree with everybody, lots of water, and possibly eat some fruit or something to fill you up a little so that you don't want to eat too much there. Have fun!!!

You could probably order a side salad there, and pay for it speartely, so while everyone else is eating pizza you can enjoy your salad and 1 peice of pizza?

You'll be fine! If you eat too much just work out for a little longer tomorrow! Have fun! =)

I never let others dictate what I eat so even if I was going to a communal type meal, I'd buy my own meal. I've had pizza 'parties' where I had my own veggie pizza no cheese and others would even eat it as well.

I think learning how to do this (and training your friends that sometimes you will do this) is an important maintenance skill. The first time I went out with friends and just didn't eat I was terrified because I didn't want to have to justify myself and I didn't want to get cajoled into eating. Turns out, it's no big deal as long as you 1) don't complain about it in any way, shape, or form (not even "man, that looks great!" when they start eating theirs), 2) don't explain--it invites discussion, and 3) don't ask. If you ask "is it ok if I just order my veggie pizza on the side?", people think you want to be jollied into splurging. Just say something like "I'll be ordering my own little pizza on the side" or "I will just be having coffee", and if they push it, say "I need to be a little careful what I eat right now". This isn't a lie, but it isn't judgmental ("It's unhealthy" or "I'm hoping to lose weight" seem to suggest they are being fat slobs), and it vaguely implies some sort of gastro-intestinal problem that they won't want to ask more questions about.

This isn't to say you shouldn't eat pizza tonight--if it's in your plan and you want to, go for it. But I get irritable if all my "cheats" end up being things I didn't really want or need, things I ate out of social convention. This makes me crave the things I really want all the more.

Shmead, I absolutely love your advice!!!!! It's true, I have a friend who's thin and gorgeous, but she actually tries to maintain her figure (in other words, she's not blessed with a really fast metabolism or anything) so when we all go out, she often eats something super healthy or hardly anything at all. She doesn't make a deal out of it, doesn't ask, doesn't tell, etc. Sometimes we might say something like, "Well SOMEONE'S eating healthy hahaha" and she smiles and shrugs it off and changes the subject. I guess I never even thought about it until you brought it up, that's how good she is. =)

If you love love love pizza, I'm all for having a controlled treat. And your approach is good - eat salad before you go, drink lots of water (or unsweetened iced tea - that's my favorite!!!). Have fun!

Well, I'm back.

It was definitely a splurge, but nothing life ending. I had two pieces of pizza and a water. Definitely NOT thin crust or cheese free, lol. And my weigh in is on Friday, yea, I may be facing the consequences of it, lol.

But ya know what? I feel good about it. I enjoyed the pizza lots, but I enjoyed it in a healthy way, I think. It was a treat for myself. Not one that I feel guilty over, but at the same time, I respected it as a treat. Megan 5 months ago would have eaten 4 pieces and a refill of soda and thought nothing of it. I had my two pieces, I enjoyed then and was satisfied, but I realize that this was a once in a blue moon thing. Just because I had pizza tonight doesn't mean I want to give into every craving.

Anyways, I might be whistling a different tune after my weigh in, but hey, can't win 'em all.

Good job Megan!

Good for you I am a firm believer in giving in and having an occasional treat. In my opinion, people are more likely to stick with their plan when they allow themselves some lenience and rewards. Remember that you have to eat an additional 3500 calories to gain a pound. I know pizza is bad but you would have to eat quite a lot to actually sabotage your progress and gain anything. I am glad you enjoyed yourself and did it in moderation. BTW, I would have also eaten those four pieces easily, with bread sticks and dip a couple months ago LOL It makes me ill to think how bad that was. We are learning to make better choices and that's something to be proud of

You could always plot some of the grease off the top of the pizza with a paper napkin, I read it could save a couple hundred calories!

that's dedication... I think for so many of us it's getting over what others will think or being the people pleaser eating something we shouldn't just to make others around us happy.