What a beautiful day!  It has been a very wet winter here in southern California, so the unseasonal heat wave brought smiles to many faces, including mine.  It couldn’t have come at a better time since today is Valentine’s Day.  I hope everyone had a pleasant time with their special someone.  Today is also the beginning of the Lunar Year, which is celebrated by many Asian cultures including mine … the first time that Chinese New Year and Valentine’s has fallen on the same day since 1953.   I missed the annual Tet Parade in Little Saigon on Saturday as I was working, but there is still a lot of festivities to enjoy in the coming days.  I am not overly religious but I do practice the Catholic faith and am preparing for Ash Wednesday, which means no meat on Fridays until Easter Sunday.  Obviously this was a major obstacle when I was competing as I found it very difficult to refrain from eating chicken breasts … eating egg-whites and tuna fish all day was never a fun or easy thing to do.  I recall becoming so desperate about my diet that I actually called a Catholic priest to see if I could be excused from the abstinence.  I told him that it was a health hazard for me to not eat every 3 hours … that didn’t go over very well … LOL.

I trained only one client today and spent the rest of my day kicking back.  Laura, Austin, and I met up with my sister in the evening for dinner to celebrate both Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year.  I find it very odd to call it “Chinese” since I am not Chinese at all.  I feel more compelled to call it Asian New Year … LOL.  The restaurant that we ate at was literally littered with bits and pieces of red paper, which is most likely the aftermath of a traditional dragon dance involving thousands of firecrackers.  It is considered good luck to give children money for New Year so Austin is a very happy camper … LOL.

If you celebrated today with lots of good food, consider the following supplements to help ward off the unwanted pounds that await.  Cinnamon extract is great for sugar control and will prevent your body from taking in excessive amounts of carbs.  L-Carnitine is also great to utilize right before ingesting fatty foods … it helps the body metabolize fat more efficiently.  Many people think it is only good to take before cardio or training, but it obviously can be taken throughout the day.  I hope these few tips help you in the coming days.  Until next time … live life to the fullest and don’t forget to love and smile frequently.