It made me wonder if, when people are trying to lose weight, they still splurge on their birthday and have cake and ice cream (no judgment from me if you do! :)), or do you get creative and try to do something a little healthier? Something with fewer calories? Just eat less of it?
If we were actually on the Biggest Loser there would no doubt be a temptation this week if nearly 30% of the contestants had a birthday all in one week. :) Since I can't surround you all with chocolate cake and ice cream until the smell nearly puts you into a coma, I'd just like to know how you all deal with these types of temptations in real life.
Yesterday we celebrated my son's 2nd birthday, and everyone had chocolate cupcakes and ice cream. For me, if I have a little bit of sugary stuff, I usually lose all control and eat way too much! So it just works better for ME to avoid it altogether. Maybe I'm the only one?
Last week, my parents moved to Utah, and we had a big celebration. There was cake and ice cream (we were also celebrating birthdays -- June's big for birthdays!). I knew I didn't enjoy watching people eat cake and ice cream while I had nothing, so I saved up a few extra calories during the day and brought stuff to make this Pineapple, Banana, and Coconut smoothie. It was sweet, tasty, and refreshing, and I didn't feel deprived at all.
Here's something else I've tried that will probably sound really weird to you guys, but it has worked for me a couple of times: if ever I'm around chocolate or something that I used to eat a lot of and it's tempting me...I remember in my head exactly what it tastes like (I've had enough of it to have total recall for the rest of my life, I think), and just remembering it for a minute totally helps. I kind of feel like I had some. I then also remember how I feel after I've eaten a bag of Halloween candy all by myself (I have a little bit of an addiction to chocolate) -- the depression and self-loathing I feel afterwards, and then the temptation is gone.
Has anyone come up with good alternatives they want to share? What works for you?
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| This "cake" looks pretty tasty to me! Just found this on Google Images, but I would love to try it. |
Well, my husband and boys got creative and made me a salsa cake (yep, an entire cup of salsa added to the batter, think spice cake with an extra kick), which I could imagine being a little healthier. That was until it was topped with cream cheese frosting! Aaron's birthday is 10 days before mine so this is our second time celebrating a birthday since this competition started. Aaron's birthday cake was angel food cake layered with some ice cream. Basically we've chosen the "just eat less of it" option. We freeze what's left over to get it out of sight and (mostly) out of mind. I've been freezing other things too, like muffins and cookies that I've made as an activity with the kids.
ReplyDeleteI think your mental trick of remembering how it tastes is a good one, especially about remembering how it feels afterward. Good to think beforehand about whether it's really worth eating. For my own birthday, I found myself thinking of eating in terms of giving the gift of health to myself. It really does feel better to eat better and savor what I have.
Your plan to have a smoothie alternative is good too. So much of family life and social things involve food that it is easy to just go along with whatever is being served. I'm going to keep this in mind in August when we go to a couple of family reunions.
Oh, and that fruit cake does look great!
p.s. Happy birthday, Christian! It is fun to remember who has a birthday on the same day. As a kid I thought my birthday was cool since it was almost exactly six months from the other big-present-event of Christmas! Funny that now I have a child with a Christmas Eve birthday :)
Also...
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to Mary and to Tiffany!
Happy birthday everyone! We just celebrated my daughter's birthday last Saturday. I chose the "eat less" option amd saved some calories. However, last Thursday, my VT's took us out for ice cream for our monthly visit. I agreed to go, but knew I couldn't have ice cream, as that is one of my downfalls. So, I carefully meadured my calories and then opted for an all-fruit smoothie. It was so good and lasted WAY longer thsn their ice cream!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the birthday wishes, Jenn! I overate yesterday, well really the whole weekend :(, but we did find a sugar-free peach pie for dessert. I am back in the saddle today and competitive enough to try really hard this week!
ReplyDeleteJenny -- yes, I've always thought I had the perfect birthday, but everyone else thinks I'm silly. I'm glad someone understands!
I'm not very good at doing the "just eat a little" method. It works on occasion, but usually I'll end up splurging more and more and it's a slippery slope from there. If I'm really craving something sweet and there are lots of sweets around, I'll pop a piece of gum in my mouth and chew away. Extra's "Apple Pie" flavored gum is TO DIE FOR and totally solves my cravings. But, I'm definitely not perfect at this yet, so I love hearing all of your ideas!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Jenny and Mary!(a little late) I gave into temptation this week I'm sorry to say, but with 2 birthdays in the family, friends visiting from out of town and a rs activity that was a chocolate appreciation night, I could have done a lot worse. When I knew that I would be facing something yummy, I either told myself ahead of time that I didn't want it, or if I knew I would give in I tried to save some calories for the splurge by eating less throughout the day. It worked okay. I will be fully back on track for next week.
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