7 Tips to avoiding weight gain this Easter

Easter is almost upon us and as we all know, it is the season for CHOCOLATE! And it can be a great time to catch up with friends and family over a delicious meal while you enjoy a couple of public holidays. For many, the temptation can be great and we overindulge in the good food, alcohol and chockies over the long weekend break. But there are ways to reduce the impact on the waistline and maintain some control in terms of your consumption.

1. Quality not quantity. Don't bulk buy – go for a small amount of good quality chocolate rather than lots of poor-quality chocolate. Dark chocolate contains less sugar – just make sure you go for at least 70% or higher cocoa content – it’s higher in antioxidants, lower in fat and sugar as well as calories! It’s also richer in flavour which will help you feel more satisfied with a smaller amount.

2. Let’s be honest, most of us can’t say no to at least a little bit of chocolatey goodness at Easter. And that’s OK. Just make sure it is a little bit and you don’t lose track of how much you are consuming. Depriving yourself completely is not the answer as this can often lead to binge eating – so make your choice and savour it! A good tip is to pop it into the fridge which makes it harder and therefore you will eat it more slowly and you can enjoy it rather than inhaling it!

3. You know you are going to eat more, so counterbalance it with more movement. Get up from the table and take yourself for a walk. Take the kids, the dog, your guests with you and make it part of your social function – a walk and a chat away from the food will be invigorating and will remove the physical temptation to serve yourself up another helping or unwrap another chocolate egg.

4. Eat a nutritious breakfast. When you are a kid, part of the joy of Easter is being allowed to eat chocolate at dawn. As an adult however, you will be better able to avoid temptation if you start the day with a great breakfast. Add some protein in and you will be less likely to go looking for a chocolate snack to fill the void.

5. Alcohol may come into play over the Easter weekend as many of us partake in gatherings with family and or friends. For every alcoholic beverage you consume, drink a glass of water. As a high calorie drink, alcohol can completely undermine any weight management you are attempting so by adding in water to your consumption, you will reduce the number of empty calories you consume and improve the chances of avoiding a shocking hangover as you will be nicely hydrated. Win-win!!

6. Put down the cream eggs. Eggs filled with gooey stuff are far more detrimental in terms of calories than the plain chocolate ones. Filled eggs deliver bigger hits of sugar and fat into your system will blow out your daily intake numbers. They may taste good at the time but you will regret the decision to partake in these calorie dense bombs.

7. Be kind to yourself. Even if you do overindulge and eat one or ten too many on Easter Sunday, you simply start again on the Monday. Don’t fall into the trap of eating even more chocolate because you’re feeling awful about one day of poor choices. Get up on the Monday and start again with healthier choices and more movement. Remember, it’s not how many times you fall down, it’s how many times you get back up that counts!

Have a safe and Happy Easter everyone!