Cheating on Valentine’s Day?
Valentine’s Day is fast approaching! Traditionally, we give each other gifts that are loaded with toxins, sugar, chemicals, and lots of other crap. No better way to say “I Love You” than with toxic waste, huh?
OK, OK, I am kidding! Sort of. It’s usually a loving hand that extends the foods that do the most damage to our bodies. Our grandmothers and their cakes, Mom and her ‘home cooking’, and our spouses with those nasty waxy chocolates in the lame heart-shaped boxes. I never could stand those things even many years back when I had no qualms about eating something like that.
There are many ideas to have a healthier Valentine’s Day. But for goodness’ sake, the worst thing you can do is stress over it! If you enjoy sweets, have a treat. If you enjoy wine, indulge in a beautiful wine that perfectly pairs with your dinner. If you are craving Italian food, go to an Italian restaurant and get the real thing!
My point is, total deprivation is not the answer. In fact, if you constantly diet without a break, your body will not only get used to it, it will think it is starving and actually lose the optimal levels of hormones like leptin & gherlin that help regulate weight & bodyfat.
So, how can you CHEAT on Valentine’s Day and actually lose weight from it? First of all, eat ‘clean’ all week & for the other meals leading up to your Valentine’s celebration. Focus on fresh vegetables, lean meats (if you eat meat), fresh fruits, nuts & seeds. But keep the fat content low. Don’t eat any refined carbs or sugars. Avoid breads, pastas, etc.
Then, when you indulge in your Valentine’s Day treats, you will actually be sending a signal to your body’s hormones that you are not starving and that plenty of food is coming in after all. The hormone levels will adjust upward, your metabolism will rev up, and in many cases you will lose a pound or two a few days later, after the water retention from all the sugar & carbs wears off.
Many bodybuilders use this principle with great success. We call it a FEED meal–replenishing glycogen stores, resetting hormones, shocking the system, revving up the metabolism, and just plain keeping ourselves sane by having one chance per week to get rid of cravings!
The key is, this ONLY works if you eat VERY clean the rest of the week! Focus on having only one Feed meal per week. Not a Feed Day or a Feed weekend, or a cheat in the middle of the week! That will destroy all your other efforts!
If you know you can have whatever you REALLY want at one meal on Saturday, for example, you will be much more likely to easily resist the doughnuts that your ‘thoughtful’ coworker shoves in your face, or the leftover Valentine’s candy your kids bring home from school. It’s a Godsend for me—by knowing I have a Feed meal coming, I make it through the rest of the week’s strict diet easily. No way I will break down on Thursday, knowing that on Saturday I can have whatever I want! But boy, do I plan for that meal! I carefully listen to my body & what my cravings are telling me it needs. That way, when I eat my Feed meal, I am completely satisfied & ready to go back on the diet again. I always feel like ‘why did I do that to myself?’ afterwards, but that only helps me enjoy how great I feel on the healthy foods!
Coming up, tips to ‘health-erize’ your Valentine’s Day. After all, if you’re not feeling all sick & yucky from eating toxins & chemicals, & not feeling fat & self-conscious, you will be more likely to MUCH more thoroughly enjoy the other Valentine’s –ummmm, errrrr—activities! 
For personalized nutrition and training programs built especially for you, no matter where you live, contact me at
DefiantHealth@gmail.com or 803-665-2144.
I can train you in person if you live in the Columbia, SC area, or
online anywhere in the world! You need a plan, and motivation to work that plan! Fight For Your Health—I’ll be in your corner!
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