Birthday...

Nicci3636

Full Member
Hey boys and girls :)

In a bit of a dilemma. It's my 22nd Bday on Friday....it's family tradition that we have a big meal to celebrate. Being Italian means ALL my family...well immediate, but that's still 19 of us. Also, Italian means carbs carbs and more carbs. If I don't go mental...one day off plan? Or...? :( xxxx
 
I think because it's your birthday and it's a family tradition and everyone will come together it would be quite hard for you to be involved with that but not eat anything and it wouldn't be very nice for you emotionally would it?

Hmmm.. It's my lil lads 5th birthday next Monday, and I'm having to think things through too :(
 
My family are also the type to celebrate anything of any significance with a large amount of food; and since parts of my family are from the Far East, that food isn't just carb-loaded, it's greasy as all hell.

My birthday and Christmas are coming up, and I expect to still be on TS for both of them (though if I lose enough weight before hand, I could probably get away with starting WS by Christmas). I thought about the benefits of briefly coming off 100% for both and realised that, for me, there are two options:

Option 1: Eat with the family, enjoy my birthday, have a great time. And I would... but... then I'd be putting myself though 2-5 days of hunger and misery while trying to get back into ketosis, I'd be feeling like a failure when I got bad numbers on the scale for the next two weeks from all the water that my body took back on board (even if the numbers were high because of a considered decision rather than a momentary loss of impulse control), and I'd be feeling guilty... because I know I wouldn't just keep to the low-carb, single portion option. Because if I decided to allow myself to come off for one night, I know I don't yet have the self-control to stop after reasonable amount - that's why I'm in this mess in the first place! And whilst I like to think it unlikely, there is always the chance, especially if I'm having other life stresses (eg. work, relationship, etc) at the same time as the stress of recovering from that one night with the family that I might just fall off the diet wagon completely. And then I really would hate myself.

Option 2: Take the opportunity to have an AAM week over the period that contains my birthday, and plan what I'm going to eat that night that's calorie controlled and carb-free while everyone else is having what my Nan and Mum have cooked. Yeah, it will sting a little that what's on their plate isn't on mine, but you know what's going to be great: the sense of self-satisfaction that results from the fact that I'm learning to eat appropriately in order to maintain my weight longterm (because there will be other birthdays, and Christmases, and so on and so forth, and I need to learn to not over-eat for them either), the compliments my family will (hopefully) give me on how good I'm looking and how great I'm doing, and the knowledge that when I climb onto the scales at the end of the week I'm not going to feel guilty, or a failure, or hate myself for "sabotaging" my dream of losing weight. Plus, I don't need to eat in order to validate a family social gathering; they're just as fun/irritating/loud/opinionated when I don't have food on my plate as they are when I do.

So I've decided to go with Option 2, and I've also decided to ask for clothes as pressies that are deliberately bought a size too small so that I can feel good continuing my diet in order to be able to wear them at Christmas.

Though I'm sure someone will still manage the faux pas of buying something either two sizes too small or too large.... Tch. Families. Who'd have em, eh?
 
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