What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the words “Valentine’s Day?”

Is it the thought of giving or receiving roses?

Is it your sweetheart, or lack thereof?

Or is it chocolate or other candy?

if what comes to mind for you first is chocolate or other candy, what are the thoughts you have about it?

Are you feeling cravings? Are you worried that you won’t be able to stop eating it? Or is it just a neutral passing thought, because you know that you can have a little bit without having to have all of it at once?

If you don’t have a sweetheart at Valentine’s Day, how do you feel about that? Does that make you want to run to food for comfort?

If there’s anything about this holiday that makes you feel unsafe with regard to your feelings about food, you are not alone.

Valentine’s Day is a holiday that has a lot of “stuff” built up around it.

And by stuff, I mean, sales hype and expectations.

For many decades, women have been taught to expect to receive chocolate, or rather candy, roses, and or jewelry from their partners at Valentine’s Day.

If we don’t have a partner, or if the partner we have fails to deliver the goods we have been conditioned by society to expect, this can cause a lot of unpleasant emotions that cause many of us to run to food for comfort.

And if said partner does bring us the traditional box of chocolate, we may eat the whole thing at once, or we fear that if we  have one piece, we won’t be able to stop. Maybe we even sneak them, and eat them secretly in shame.

Sometimes it seems like you just can’t win, doesn’t it?

Either nobody brings you the candy you want, or they bring it, and it freaks you out, either because you eat it, or because you don’t!

So, what do you do?

Well, first of all, if you don’t have a partner and you want one,  you can still decide what you want and make it happen for yourself.  Buy yourself flowers, or treat yourself to something fun. And not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day.  It doesn’t have to be big or expensive.

If you do have a partner, maybe you can let them know in advance what you would like.  If receiving chocolate or candy hearts is going to be hard for you to resist, ask for something else instead. Flowers? A massage? Whatever you want!  Trust me, they will be grateful for the guidance on what you want, so they don’t have to guess!

And if you’re not comfortable asking for what you want, you owe it to yourself to learn how. I’d be happy to help you with this.

Lastly, if the idea of receiving chocolate freaks you out, or if it thrills you, but you can’t stop eating it, and either of these possible situations bothers you, please know that you can change that.

If you are dealing with cravings, emotional eating, or self sabotage, you do not have to live with them.  You can clear them more easily than you think.

If you’d like to know, more, I’d be happy to chat with you. Click here to drop me a line or write to me at [email protected].

To receive the blog and content like this right to your inbox, click here:

Write to me at [email protected] to let me know what you'd like help with, or book a call:

Stress/overwhelm/work-life/relationship issues: endselfsabotagenow.com

Weight loss or emotional eating:  releaseemotionaleating.com

Stress-Free Professionals and Entrepreneurs Facebook Group:

Release Emotional Eating and Self-Sabotage Facebook Group: