There’s always a rush to book into your favourite restaurant. However, when you get there you find that not only have the prices been hiked especially for Valentines Day, but also that there are two sittings and you either have to down your meal quickly and get out or eat late. Neither of which is very romantic, as all you really want to do is have a relaxing evening with the one you love. What’s more, often there’s a restrictive set menu, so you lose out on a number of fronts.

Then there’s chocolate. Every brand on earth seems to have come up with something special to give your Valentine – and once again the prices tend to be ‘special’ too. From organic Green & Blacks to Cadbury’s (or should we say Kraft’s), they are all at it.

The problem is that this is the time when many people have started the year with the good intentions of getting fitter and healthier. And this sudden focus on food could seriously derail all your hard work. So here are some tips to take the calories and the expense out of Valentines Day, so you can actually enjoy it in the way you were meant to.

As far as the restaurant rip off goes, if you are keen to eat out to celebrate your love for each other, go on another day – say 13 or 15 February. You’ll find it’s quieter, you have a greater menu choice and the price is right. Then have a romantic dinner in on Valentines Day itself. Also, if you are keen to control your weight, don’t let that keep you indoors. Simply go for healthier menu options and smaller portion sizes. Click here for more tips on eating out healthily.

As for gifts, try to steer your partner away from getting you chocolates. Why? Because they are packed with calories. Scoff a 250g box of Guylian Belgian Seashells, and you’re looking at 1,365 calories! Or the wonderful Hotel Chocolat Love Selection Box (see what they’ve done there) contains 30 chocs and 1,500 calories. Meanwhile, a Cadbury’s Milk Tray 400g box packs in nearly 2,000 calories – eek!

There are plenty more calorie-free presents around that are just as satisfying and won’t pile on the pounds. Rather than eating chocolates, you could be beautifying yourself with the Organic Pharmacy Party Girl gift box, for £65. Or enjoying a three-part massage that you’ve created yourself at the Tripletz website.

Plus you can still enjoy delicious Swiss chocolate on Valentines day guilt-free by getting your partner to slip in an Ador 30g, 175 calorie bar, which also includes natural pine nut oil to keep you fuller for longer.

Click here for more calorie-free Valentine gift ideas…

Click here For for Valentine gift ideas for men

Click here for some great value options

THE VALENTINES DAY CALORIE MASSACRE

Counting the calories of the big sellers…

Hotel Chocolat Love Selection Box
30 chocolates 1,500 calories

Green & Black’s Organic Luxury Assortment
200g 970 calories

Cadbury’s Roses Box
220g 660 calories

Milk Tray Chocolate Box
400g 1,940 calories

Nestle Dairy Box
100g 543 calories

Thornton’s Moments
250g 1,018 calories

Guylian Belgian Seashells
250g 1,365 calories

Black Magic Box
188g 863 calories

Cadbury’s Koko Truffles
200g 1,160 calories

Celebration’s Box
420g 2,184 calories

To be honest, we can’t see anything wrong with this. If you can’t let yourself go on this one day a year, when can you? To us the problem seems to be the Christmas Season, not the big day itself.

With decorations now adorning every high street, trees up in almost every shop and festive food on every super market shelf, it is perhaps not surprising that we start scoffing festive food like mince pies from the first of the month and keep going until Boxing Day.

Do this, and not surprisingly, you could end up half a stone heavier, giving a whole new meaning to ‘The Big Day’ on the 25th.

So if you’ve been making an effort during November to make sure you can fit into your little black dress for the upcoming parties (perhaps you’ve been following our own LBD Diet Plan), how can you enjoy yourself, but not put on weight?

Well, apart from our own Party Season Diet that you’ll find on our website later this week, I’ve come across another couple of blogs that offer some great tips too.

Carina Norris picks out some great healthy eating choices when eating out at http://tinyurl.com/y8drgyq

She says: “Whether it’s an office party or a celebration with friends, you don’t have to ditch your healthy eating plan every time you eat out. Instead, become a menu master and learn to pick out the healthiest choices.”

Carina looks at six favourite cuisines and advises on courses and drinks to show you how you can enjoy a good meal without breaking the calorie bank.

Meanwhile, Paula Gilbert, nutritionist at the Grayshott Spa in Amersham near London, also offers some great tips on “enjoying festive fare without piling on the pounds”. You’ll find her blog at http://tinyurl.com/yh6u84q

So you see, you can stay in shape over the party season and have fun! And it’ll really be worth it when you can still fit into your special outfit on Christmas morning.