Easter weekend is a great time of year to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family. Unfortunately, more often than not, most of us tend to OVERINDULGE and end up paying the price for this when we hit the scales next week! As a trainer, it’s not uncommon for me to see a 1, 2 or even 3kg weight gain over this VERY short holiday period. Yikes! So to help you avoid this weight gain trap I’ve put together my top 7 tips to avoid weight gain this Easter weekend.
- GET RID OF THE EXCESS – Just because you are given a ton of Easter eggs and bunnies as gifts, doesn’t mean you have to eat them all! Give them away. Or, if you’ve got no one to give them to, BIN THEM! It only takes one moment of strength to throw the lot in the bin. Leaving them on the kitchen bench or in the fridge will no doubt lead to them getting eaten sooner or later….
- GO FOR LOWER CALORIE OPTIONS – Not all Easter eggs and bunnies are created equal. Some have WAY more calories than others. A small little Lindt bunny (100g) has around 500 calories, a Cadbury Crème Egg (39g) has 180 calories and a Red Tulip Easter bunny (200g) has almost 1000 calories! Go for the small little mini eggs – they’re only 33 calories, so you can still have 2 or 3 and stay under 100 calories.
- ASK FOR NON-FOOD-BASED EASTER GIFTS – Tell friends and family not to give you any chocolate this Easter. If they insist on giving you something, tell them you’d much prefer a small non-food gift.
- JUST HAVE ONE – Depriving yourself completely can often lead to binge eating. So allow yourself to have just one. One chocolate egg. One hot cross bun. One whatever else you would normally of had many of. Put your chocolate in the fridge, that way it will become harder and hence you’ll eat it slower and enjoy it….rather than inhale it!
- HAVE HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE – If you’re having people over your place, or are brining something to a family gathering, make sure there are healthier options available. Try strawberries or bananas dipped in chocolate or other homemade healthy sweets instead.
- COUNTER BALANCE YOUR CALORIES – We have to be realistic here and face facts. It’s pretty certain that we are going to eat a few things we shouldn’t and clock up a few extra calories. This is perfectly fine to do from time to time…..AS LONG AS WE COUNTER BALANCE THIS BY DOING SOME EXTRA EXERCISE OF A PROPORTIONAL AMOUNT.
- AFTER EASTER DAY CLEAR THE HOUSE OF EASTER TREATS – This is best done at the end of the day on Easter Day….when your chocolate cravings will most likely have been satisfied.
So the key take-home lessons are; allow yourself a small window of flexibility from your healthy eating plan, don’t over indulge, counter balance any extra calorie input with extra calorie output and take proactive steps to avoid having to battle temptation.