The Birthday Cake Dilemma. Solved. To Eat It, or Not to Eat It.
Oregon Coast
Have you ever noticed how often you eat birthday cake? Even if you have a small family, you’re still guaranteed to have cake several times per year. Birthday cakes and other celebration treats are a tricky thing. They can derail even the best laid healthy eating plans.
Even though having cake a few times per year isn’t going to hurt you, it can be a challenging slippery slope. Sometimes one day of eating celebration food can turn into a month of cake and ice cream. And it’s not just birthday cakes. It’s wedding cakes, holiday celebrations, and family barbecues. When we add up all the social eating events where we can feel tempted, obligated, even coerced into eating junk, it’s a lot. It’s not about one piece of cake, but it’s about how we eat most of the time, or the overall pattern of eating that matters most.
It’s not about being perfect, but about being prepared.
Here are some ways to take control of repeated cake temptation and eating obligations.
Mental preparation. Set ground rules. Are you going to say no to cake at every birthday? Who’s cake will you eat? What kinds of cakes will you break your diet for? How much? How often? Will you eat leftover cake? Think it through now, so the decisions come naturally later. Making decisions ahead of time can make the situation totally manageable.
Come up with phrases that can help you navigate the pressure and temptation. Letting people know you’re gluten free ahead of time can take some pressure off, for example.
If people are pressuring you to eat cake, divert their attention to someone else by complimenting them and telling them how young they look. Ask someone if they’ve seen the latest movie or been to a concert.
Bring healthy snacks to the party, load up on those, and take a tiny piece of cake. Or no cake.
Don’t finish it. Have a few bites and leave the rest. This strategy doesn’t always work because the temptation can be a struggle. It’s also risky. Someone may comment and ask you if you didn’t like the cake, but it will work if people aren’t paying attention. See number 3.
For your birthday, request a fruit sweetened cake, like dates.
With some planning and a commitment to sticking with your plan, birthdays and celebrations can always be low stress, fun, and healthy.
