Woman Fed Up After Repeatedly Changing Birthday Plans For One Friend’s Diet

There’s an unwritten rule that when it’s someone’s birthday, they get dibs on how and where to celebrate. If you’re lucky enough to be invited, you’re expected to go with the flow (within reason) or politely opt out. But it seems a certain someone missed that memo…

A woman says she’s considering canceling her birthday dinner all because of one entitled friend who keeps shoving her food preferences and dietary restrictions down everyone else’s throat. Said friend has a long list of things she doesn’t eat and a very short list of stuff she does. Basically, her go-to is burgers and fries or steak and potatoes. The birthday girl wants something a little more exciting this year, but her friend is having none of it.

It’s not every day she gets to have Indian or Mexican food, so that’s what she wants for her birthday dinner this year

Image credits: freepik / freepik (not the actual photo)

But one entitled friend is insisting, yet again, that they do burgers and chips and expects everyone to agree

Image credits: Monika Grabkowska / unsplash (not the actual photo)

The woman decided to have a heart-to-heart with her friend and shared the outcome

Image credits: NagiNaoe101

She later explained why her friend can’t eat certain foods

It’s tough to host a dinner party nowadays without at least one of your guests having a dietary restriction

Image credits: monkeybusiness / envato (not the actual photo)

More than 4 in 10 Americans have some sort of dietary restriction or follow a particular nutrition rule(s). That’s according to findings from Statista’s Global Consumer Survey. The poll found that low- or no-carb intake is the most widespread nutritional regimen, while 10% of respondents said they eat and drink lactose-free. 9% stay away from gluten, 5% are fully vegetarian, and 3% are strictly vegan.

Most Americans say they’re making an effort to eat healthy. Often because they or someone in their household must monitor or restrict their intake of a nutritional component like gluten or sugar, according to a new Harris Poll.

But having a dietary restriction, especially if it’s due to health or medical reasons, can sometimes make it tough to attend parties or eat out with friends.

“A good coping technique we’ve found is eating prior to events if possible, and always keep a few sweet and salty ‘safe’ items in the van for unexpected situations,” says Michelle Riffer, a Type 1 diabetic who follows a low-carb diet and has kids with celiac disease.

“We don’t want our family’s social interactions and connections to suffer because of food restrictions that already occupy so much of our time,” adds the mom. “It’s a lifelong reality; we do our best to make it the least stressful situation possible.”

Riffer says it also helps to make it easier for friends and family to keep track of any dietary restrictions and/or food allergies you have.

“Everyone has that the loved one that is hosting an event who wants to cater to every guest needs,” she explains. “One hassle-free way to help the hosts is to connect through an app with an allergy listing feature. This way you can update your allergy list anytime and your connected loved ones can reference this list when preparing their party menu.”

Meanwhile, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, along with the Agriculture Department, recently released new dietary guidelines, but not everyone is impressed.

Americans are being advised to eat more protein, full-fat dairy, fiber-rich whole grains, and fruit and vegetables, while avoiding sugars and highly processed foods, including pre-packaged snacks such as chips, cookies and candy. It’s also been suggested that they have three servings of full-fat dairy products a day.

The guidelines previously leaned towards low-fat or fat-free dairy in order to cut down on saturated fat consumption. While the current ones recommend cooking with olive oil, they suggest beef tallow as an alternate option – something that is actually high in saturated fat.

The American Heart Association has welcomed many of the recommendations, e.g., eating more vegetables, fruit and whole grains, but it’s concerned about some.

“We are concerned that recommendations regarding salt seasoning and red meat consumption could inadvertently lead consumers to exceed recommended limits for sodium and saturated fats, which are primary drivers of cardiovascular disease,” the organization said in a statement.

A former New York University nutrition professor has also criticized the new dietary guidelines.

“Except for the excellent advice to reduce intake of highly processed foods, which were not particularly prevalent back then, these guidelines take us back to the diets of the 1950s, when everyone was eating lots of meat and dairy and not worrying much about vegetables, and heart disease was rampant,” said Marion Nestle.

Many people felt the woman’s pain but didn’t think she should cancel her plans

Netizens came forward to share their own similar stories

A few called out both the woman and the friend for their immature behavior

“Grow up”: some felt the birthday girl should do some introspection

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