Coincidentally it’s my sister’s birthday today, the day when I’m supposed to post a new entry. (I’ve recently started to make it a point to update this blog on 3-day intervals.) Since The Restless Feet also covers the subject of food and anything related to it, I’d like to share five tips not to indulge yourself to the extreme at birthdays. Please take note that these tips are not confined to birthdays only; they are also applicable to other parties and during the holiday seasons.

Eat Regularly before the Party
Let’s face it. Most people, myself included, tend to skip our regular meals throughout the day before the party starts in the evening so that we could “save it for later”. Not a good idea. Why? Because when you eat a little portion of breakfast and not have anything for lunch to save some space in your tummy for that wonderful dinner, most of the time for the reason of consuming less to lose weight, the system in your body automatically goes into starvation mode. By the time you arrive at the birthday party, you get overly hungry and are inclined to indulge yourself with good-tasting foods to satisfy your hunger. And these feel-good foods are not always healthy.

Try not to skip meals throughout the day before the occasion, or your body will go into starvation mode.

Eat Fruits and Vegetables First
Treat the fruits and vegetables as your appetizer – and have lots of them. It’s a universally known fact that fruits and veggies contain high amounts of fiber, and that helps to make your stomach full faster and longer. A bowl of fresh garden salad or fruit cocktail is a better option before you immediately ‘attack’ the cheese fries. This may keep your desire to indulge in high-calorie foods at bay.

Have a bowl of fresh garden salad - and lots of it - first before you move on to other food.

Eat based on Your Healthy Plan
Before you go out and celebrate, do make a mental note to stick to your healthy plan and try to remind yourself of it throughout the party – since it’s way too easy to let go of your diet regime when you’re having fun. When eating out, try to opt for roasted or steamed or grilled chicken rather than the one fried-cooked. If it’s a hosted party, when trying not to offend your host or hostess can be quite a challenge, a little white lie can come in handy. You can say that the beef lasagne looks tempting, and it does (that’s not a lie), but you just attended a party and had gotten yourself stuffed. If the host or hostess insists you to have at least a little, then do just that. Have at least a little. After all, what’s the point of partying without committing a teenie weenie sin?

Steamed, roasted, grilled foods are much better than fried ones.

Eat using the Smallest Plate
A bit tricky this one, if the birthday or any other occasions is celebrated at a restaurant. However, if the party is organized at a house with a buffet spread on the table for guests to help themselves with, then look for the smallest plate you can find. Eating by the smallest plate available reduces high consumption of food. Your mind will think that you’ve eaten a plateful, and your body will thank you.

Can't find the smallest plate? Take a small portion, instead.

Eat Less, Mingle More
Read the daily newspaper. Check out what’s hot in fashion and what’s the latest gossip in entertainment. Practice small talks if you’re an introvert person. If you’re wondering what these suggestions have got to do with preventing you from overeating at parties, they do have an important role to play in helping you to mingle with other guests, mostly strangers, that you’ll be meeting and socializing with. Don’t isolate yourself, even though the only person you know is the birthday boy or girl. Engaging yourself in a conversation, be it casual or serious, may distract you from standing closer to the food table and getting the third helping of those scrumptious finger foods.

Mixing around helps to prevent you from reaching out for the tid-bits served on the table.