Valentine’s Day can sabotage anyone’s diet. Chocolates, baked goods, and candy fill our homes and offices, providing temptation everywhere. Preparing yourself mentally for Valentine’s Day will help you focus on your goals and not feel out of control. As any true chocolate lover knows, trying to pass completely on chocolate may only make you want it more. Instead, decide on the chocolate candy you absolutely must have and set a realistic portion controlled goal then throw the rest of it away! Setting simple portion control rules allows you to indulge for a special occasion, and save yourself from feeling deprived and binging.
Sharing is caring. Survey the contents of your chocolate box, picking out a select few for you to enjoy for the next couple of days. Graciously distribute the rest among your co-workers, family, and friends. You will still get to indulge and enjoy a Valentine’s Day treat, but sharing will get rid of the urge to finish off the box.
Use visual cues. It is so easy to eat a few pieces of chocolate, toss out the wrapper and lose track of how many you have consumed. If you keep the wrappers in a bowl in clear sight, it will remind you of how many treats you have eaten and hopefully inspire you to stop or at least exercise moderation.
Set up roadblocks. If you know that you’re likely to eat a whole box of Valentine’s Day chocolates, set up a barrier that will prevent you to do so. Place the chocolate box in the freezer, so that the chocolate has to thaw before you eat it, preventing mindless eating. Or hide the box on the highest shelf or in the back of the pantry-out of sight and out of mind. Another option is to take a couple chocolates out of the box and toss the rest, this way you will be sure to avoid over-indulging during this holiday.
Choose healthier options. Replace high calorie diet downfalls with similar tasting healthy alternatives. Instead of feeling guilty after having nutritionally void milk chocolate, limit yourself to only dark chocolate, which is rich in flavonoids, lower in sugar and still satisfies a sweet tooth.
Forgive yourself. If you do overindulge on Valentine’s Day don’t beat yourself up about it. Don’t punish yourself; just get back on track at your very next meal and focus on eating healthfully for the rest of the day. At the end of the day weight loss is determined by calories in vs. calories out. If you overindulged, clean up the rest of the day or hit the gym a little harder at your next sweat session to burn off those extra calories.
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