how do you say no to your own birthday cake?

tomorrow is my birthday. in the office where i work, for birthdays, my co wokers will usually bring in a cake to eat around 3pm to celebrate that person's birthday.  i am leaving for a beach vacation next week so the last thing i need is cake! but how can i politely decline without looking rude? would love to hear your suggestions on how to approach this situation. thanks!

You could take a piece home with you and say that you're going to save if for your after dinner dessert and then toss it when you get home.

Or, since you know it will happen and can plan for it, you can eat fewer calories today and enjoy a small piece tomorrow!

Hell no, I'm not passing up my own birthday cake!

I believe you should have a small piece. If you believe that piece you are given is big than cut it in half. In my nutirtion class we learned that if you deny yourself of goodies you will binge in the end. So have a small piece of chocolate here and there and never deny a small piece of cake on your birthday.

It's your birthday..it happens only once a year.  Why would you pass up on cake made to celebrate you?  It's not like you eat it every day all day in excessive amounts. 

Happy birthday!

I would say the politest thing to do (and the kindest to yourself and others) is to take a small slice of cake.

Then, if others pressure you to take more, you can say, "Oh, no -- I want to make sure there's enough to go around!"  If your company permits, you can also leave any leftover cake in the break room with a sign reading, "Feel free to grab a slice!" or something along those lines.  That way, anyone who missed the party has a chance at a treat.

If you're worried about the calories, eat a smaller lunch, or a smaller dinner, or take a 30-minute jog in the evening (or go dancing, but skip the drinks!).

However, don't worry too much -- one little slice of cake (which probably weighs in at 200-300 calories max) isn't going to pack on the weight -- let alone enough to impact your appearance at the beach.  After all, it takes 3,500 extra calories to add a pound of fat!  (Eating the whole cake, on the other hand, might be a bit different.)

Take a piece, sample it, say "thank you!" and then toss the rest when you get back to your desk. Or take a small piece and enjoy it because 250 cals of cake isn't going to ruin a beach body.

Happy Birthday tomorrow!  In my office (which is pretty small) we usually ask the birthday girl what SHE would like for her birthday, rather than just assuming a cake.  Maybe you could suggest an alternative treat or see if people want to go out to lunch instead.  You could also bring in fruit or other low calorie sweet option to supplement the cake.  Then just have the fruit or have fruit with a small piece of cake.  The calories should be pretty easy to compensate for from the rest of your day. 

i agree with everyone who said eat a little of it! being someone who has tried to get out of these things before (and have done so successfully a number of times) i am going to tell you that it is not worth it, and i almost ALWAYS ended up bingeing a few days later and then i would think, i should have just a little of the cake! moderation is defintiely the key. so much easier too.

Happy Birthday!!

Eat the damn cake... Eat it! And like it! =D

My bday is on Sunday.  I'm going to the beach and going to have ice cream, lasagna, wine and bday cake.  I will still be working out in the mornings while I'm there.

I'm looking at it as a necessary setback.   

I don't think anyone should deprive themselves of some enjoyment in celebrations.  However, if maybe gaining say 1/2 a lb or so will upset you for vacation then you need to decide which is more worth it to you.

It sounds to me like you have already decided that you aren't going to eat the cake, which is fine.  If you don't want it, don't eat it.

You could reply to your coworkers with a sincere "Thankyou" and then add that cake isn't something you want to eat right now or you are still full from lunch or tell them that you wouldn't enjoy it as much as they will.  

I also liked pavlovcat's idea of saying that you'll take a peice home with you (and actually take it) but throw it away or give it to a family member when you get home.

If it were me I'd just say to myself, this weekend I'm not going to go over maintenance and stick to that.

I'd have the cake and anything else I wanted just in small amounts so that I only ate up to maintenance each day until Monday. Not only would I have a great birthday which I'd enjoy with my co-workers, family and friends I'd still have had 4 days that week with my 500 deficit so statistically would loose over 0.5lbs and I'd have done my metabolism a world of good (occasionally eating maintenance cals is a good thing)!

First Happy Birthday!! 

My birthday is Sunday!!  We always have cake and ice cream on birthdays at home and I always have a small piece of cake and some ice cream.

I wish the people at my work place were thoughtful enough to buy me or anyone a cake!!  Have a small piece  of cake and enjoy it.  Your weight management is a lifestyle change not a diet.  Do you plan on giving up cake for the rest of your life?

Be Blessed!

So, uh, if you're not going to eat it, could you send some my way?...

here is the problem i hate to eat food i dont like to please other people....i dont really like chocolate so if someone brought me a choc cake i would most likely do the whole take it to my desk thing. but if it was some cake or treat i really liked i would go ahead and have a light lunch and a small piece.  It always hurts people feelings when you dont share with them something they planned special, but dont feel too bad if you need to stick to your goals.  I had the same thing happen to me but it was at a restraunt and it was akward as hell they ordered me a cake i did not like then acted like i should let myself go enjoy the cake,  ummm how could i tell them,  i dont like it.

you dont

thanks for the birthday wishes and advice. i walked in this morning and i saw my coworkers carrying bags of stuff..lol.. but yeah i figure i can't say no to the cake because that would be really rude so i guess i will suck it up and have a few bites.

and this makes me wonder.. which part of the cake is wose, the frosting/icing or the cake itself? hmm..

Why would you WANT to say no to your own birthday cake... just be glad that somebody cares about you enough to get you one! (cakeless for as long as I can remember...) If you want to cut the calories, scrape off the frosting and just eat the cake. Frosting is just icky fat and sugar anyway. And if you don't want to have a lot of calories, just have a small piece... nobody says you have to pig out on it.

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday!! It's your birthday you should get to enjoy some cake! Eat half a piece or take a piece and toss it out when no one is looking, but it's your birthday a small piece is deserved lol! I don't eat my own birthday cake because I don't like cake. I get birthday cookies instead because well I jsut don't like cake haha. Have your birthday cake, and eat it too! Lol