How To Have A Healthy Easter

There are certain events which happen every year that challenge your dedication to fitness. Easter is definitely one of those events.

After all, how many other times of the year are you inundated with chocolate? (Not complaining though!)

Fortunately, it IS possible to prevent weight gain and still enjoy the treats of the season. All you need to do is adopt a healthy approach to your chocolate eating!

These are my tips on how to have a healthy Easter.

Choose One At A Time

It doesn’t matter how many chocolate eggs or boxes of chocolate you’ve been given. You just need to set yourself a limit.

Eat chocolate just once a day and limit the amount of chocolate you have. Between 30 and 60g is seen to be a reasonable portion.

Go Dark Chocolate

Research has shown that dark chocolate, particularly anything over 70% cocoa, can actually be good for your heart (yay!).

In addition, there are actually a number of studies that show moderate dark chocolate consumption can actually aid weight loss due to antioxidant flavonoids!

Just remember, moderation is the key.

Keep Up With Your Exercise

It can be easy to miss a workout or two; especially when everyone is together celebrating and indulging in foods which are usually off the menu.

But try to make time for a quick workout. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy! Perhaps you could get up a bit earlier to go for a walk before breakfast. Or you could get one of your family members to do this 15 minute HIIT workout with you! There’s always time for a workout.

BONUS TIP

Exercising in the morning can improve your food choices throughout the day.

Substitution

Instead of eating the same amount of food as you normally would PLUS the chocolate, try cutting out a bit of food to make room for the chocolate. Usually this wouldn’t be ideal – but it’s Easter after all!

It can be difficult to fully balance out your sugary treats, but it is possible to allow some calories for them. A few ideas could be reducing the size of your lunch or skipping your morning latte.

Portion Control Matters

Just because it’s Easter, doesn’t mean your usual portion control should go out of the window! I know this can be hard when family feasts come into the picture, but try to not to eat so much that you are completely full.

In fact, because you are having treats alongside your usual food it is a good idea to reduce your portion size slightly. This can help to reduce your calorific consumption overall and allow you to enjoy the chocolate.

Keep It Fun

Take the emphasis off food for you and your family. This will make it easier to distract yourself from eating chocolate. Spend time paintig eggs and walking the dogs or playing games with the family.

This will prevent you from even thinking about all the Easter treats!

You can even do some exercise together, helping your weight loss goal.

Keep It At Easter

Easter products are in the shops for WEEKS before Easter actually arrives. This means that you will be tempted week after week; particularly when you complete your regular shopping trip.

Try to keep the Easter eggs for Easter. Buying them weeks before will encourage you to eat them.

Don’t Over Do It!

It can be so easy to overeat chocolate on this festive weekend! So try to choose the smaller eggs. This will make it easier for you to control your consumption and your calorie intake.

Eat Your Vegetables First

Fill up on the good stuff first. This has a few benefits.

1. You will eat lots of great nutrients (which you wouldn’t get if you were just eating junk food); and
2. You’ll create less room in your stomach for the chocolate treats. It might not always work (I can still eat chocolate when full…). But it might help to decrease your chocolate consumption.

Summing It Up

Try not to view Easter as an excuse for an all-out chocolate binge session.

The best idea is to stick to your usual diet and exercise regime and add a bit of chocolate in moderation. Try to choose dark chocolate and go for the smaller Easter eggs (easy portion control!). And don’t forget to fill up on your fruits and veggies too.

If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to avoid the dreaded holiday weight gain xx