March 2002. Raleigh, NC. By looking at me, most people assume I count every calorie, and have given up the best-tasting foods on the planet. The truth be told, I am a choco-holic and eat the lovely tantilizer most every day in some healthy form!

However, last Valentine's Day I went to the Cardinal Club's Valentine's Day Dinner with Michael. I knew I would be going, and I knew the best-tasting (and worst for good health) chocolate dishes would be present, and I WANTED THEM! So, I decided 2 weeks prior to be very good (I never count calories, but follow a whole-food proper portions diet), and made up my mind to eat perfectly. Over that 2 week period, my body fat fell, which I could have expected, but rather than go into a "starvation mode" where my body quit losing fat in order to preserve itself, I had my fill of chocolate on Valentine's Day.

As a professional fitness coach, I always worry that someone who knows me and knows what I do will catch me in the act, so Michael and I made sure we were the first ones in the desert room so that we could pick a dark corner, have our fill and escape before being caught. But, sure enough, as I was downing a heaping piece of heavenly chocolate cake (I couldn't have possibly fit more on the fork), Denise Bennett of Coaching Visions, LLC, caught me in the act! She exclaimed something like, "Well, Ms. Angela DOES eat chocolate" and rather than miss my golden moment, I just smiled at her with chocolate dripping down my chin and a glazed look in my eyes.

Do you know what happened over the course of the next 2 days? My body fat dropped again. If you are trying to lose fat, it is actually a good thing to jump off of the wagon every now and then, because it shocks your body back into high gear (you leave the preservation/starvation mode). This doesn't mean you can eat cake every day, but once in a while is a good thing!