should I let myself CHEAT on my birthday? How to prevent bingeing?

There are three holidays each year that I usually use an excuse to throw diet caution to the wind, and they're my birthday, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. My birthday is coming up soon, and I'm wondering, is the fact that I'm looking forward to eating gluttonous awful foods looking at a bad excuse to cheat or is it okay? For my last birthday the plan was to eat what I wanted but not stuff myself, but I have problems with binging (which leads to guilt, which leads to more binging) and I ended up overdoing it anyways and feeling crappy about it on my birthday. The only way I can imagine not feeling guilty at all is if I give myself the excuse to stuff myself silly with awful high-calorie junk. Thoughts? Bad idea?

up to you if you want to let yourself cheat. You are the one who will have to deal with the consequences. On the other hand, it's your b'day. Can't you at some cake or something without overdoing it?

I think you should absolutely have a piece of cake for your birthday.  I would just keep telling myself one piece is enough and then eat as you normally would.  Take a walk to burn off excess cake calories if you think you need to.  If you have a friend/spouse that can help support you in making sure that you stop when you should try that.  Look at it as...hey I can do this, I have the power to stop and I have the will to lose more weight :).  One day isnt going to kill you and you deserve a treat on your bday. 

I think I have binge eating disorder, if I eat something I have to eat it all, usually because I feel so guilty about eating that one thing.

Do you workout? Runners can have a cheat day and not really notice it...maybe up your activity a few days before and after to help "balance" the calories...

And hey, it's your birthday...enjoy it!

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Eh, I try to work out but not very hard. Today I went for a walk-run, but it wasn't very long. I walk most days, but for not long at all. I could try doing some form of workout the days leading up to and after the Bday, I don't think it will erase much calories or guilt though.... I always hate my birthday, ahhh.

Absoultely have that cake!!!!

My b-day is next Monday and I fully plan to indulge with no guilt. I usually workout 5 days a week, so I plan to stick with that routine. I'll eat sensibly all week and will allow myself one day where I don't worry about calories. That said, I'm not planning on stuffing myself until I feel sick.....I'm just going to enjoy the day and treat myself to whatever it brings - cake, ice cream, wine etc. etc.

Life is full of celebrations and I need to learn how to embrace them without feeling guilty. What's the worst that could happen? I gain 2 lbs? If so, I'll just workout a little extra and be extra careful until the weight comes off.

Happy B-Day!

my birthday was back in july, i did a workout in the morning and did okay with the cake, but then kept going back to the leftovers on following days (wasn't counting cals yet)

My suggestion would be to work out as normal that day, eat healthy meals and then allow yourself one piece of cake and a serving of ice cream, since you have trouble with binging (i do too when it comes to sweets)

the main and most important thing i would suggest is if you have cake and ice cream at your house make sure your family and friends take the leftovers with them after the party then you won't pig out on them later that evening or the next day

Maybe you can splurge, but plan the splurge.

If you have specific foods that trigger binges, obviously stay away from those.

Could you possibly just plan a nice dinner out with friends, have a dessert there - and then you avoid having food at your house to binge on?

Has the cake already been bought/made?  Something I recommend is having cupcakes instead of cake.  Make just enough so that everyone can have one, and then there aren't any leftovers for you to keep picking at.  That's what I'm going to ask my mom to do on my b-day!

shanfood: Runners can have a cheat day and not really notice it...

what?! seriously? why doesn't anyone tell me this?! :P

Whatever you do on your birthday, make your birthday present to yourself doing it in a way you feel good about afterwards. It feels good to feel virtuous.  When I turned 50 my gift to myself was joining a gym and losing weight.

People are always afraid that dieting will make them feel deprived.  Turn that around. What are you currently deprived of by not being the weight you want to be? Are you deprived of health, mobility, feeling attractive, self esteem?  Get through your birthday cleanly... allow yourself to feel virtuous. Thats's the best gift to yourself.

It depends on whether you'll feel deprived if you stick to your non-holiday diet, or feel proud. And that answer is going to be different for each person.

revolution, yep their metabolism is high so they can burn more just sitting then a non-runner(athlete) can. So cheat days don't automatically go streight to their hips... *dreaming, someday I'll be there*

Here is a bit from a post from jenmcc on a thread in the fitness forum (treadmill burning fat thread).

Check out this article about Lance Armstrong, who has a superhuman Vo2 Max:

http://www.neverstoptrying.com/aerobics-cardi o/47709.php

Because he has an incredibly high Vo2 Max, his maintenance cals are over 6500 per day!! He can eat that much, and yet his body fat % is wayyyy low. That's because his body is an incredibly efficient, well-oiled, fat burning machine. This is what you ultimately want to aim for too (although Lance undoubtedly has good genetics on his side).

Sorry helpmeouthere, not trying to crash your birthday party thread

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haha yeah, sorry helpmeouthere.. the thing is I'm a runner and am EXTREMELY careful about what I eat. so maybe I can throw caution to the wind sometimes too, eh?

It's not really "cheating" is it?  I mean, you are counting up the calories of what you consume.  So, if you go up 500 more than usual, just try to hold back a little the next few days, or do a little more exercise to compensate.

July is my birthday month, too.  I had pie (no cake this year) and still lost 10 pounds since June 10 (about 6 weeks).

I got a big cup cake on my birthday, so there werent any leftovers or second helpings

Someone suggested eating with chopsticks to slow yourself down or eating with the other hand.

   Please, please, please have a piece of cake on your birthday!  Just don't take the cake home & eat a piece everyday for the next week.  :)

Happy birthday!

-Debbie

I feel since its only 3 time a year, eat what you want, but in small portions.... It sonly 3 days out of 365... YOU DESERVE IT!!! If you cant live, what fun is life?

I think you should enjoy the day!  People have given good advice about portion control - cupcakes instead of a big cake, sending leftovers home with people, etc.  Remember, even if you eat 3500 extra calories that day (that is, maintenance plus 3500 more! a lot of food!), you're looking at a one pound gain -which will be pretty easy to get rid of if you get back on track right away.