For those working hard on their fitness, weight loss and general health goals, Easter is a hard time of year. Surrounded by aisles of chocolate in the groceries, family/friend who purchase chocolate for you or eat it constantly in front of you. So, to make the Easter holiday easier for you, we have compiled 7 tips to make the best of the holiday without compromising your fitness and health goals.
1. Stock up on fruit and veg!
Chocolate is never more tempting than when there is no fresh fruit and vegetables in the fridge. Watermelon, grapes, bananas, apples, oranges, mandarins, there are plenty of delicious fruits in season for you to purchase! Cut up the watermelon as soon as you buy it, storing it in containers in the fridge makes it super easy to snack on when craving sweetness. Maintain your veggie intake over Easter, keep your food light and fresh.
2. Chocolate only at dessert time
This is hard but will be so beneficial over the Easter holiday. Restricting chocolate eating to dessert time should drastically reduce the amount of chocolate you eat and will prevent mindless chocolate snacking. However, make sure you put the chocolate in a bowl/plate, leave the rest in the kitchen. Do not bring a whole bag of chocolate to the couch, this will result in binging or ‘chocolate feasting’, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid.
3. The darker the chocolate, the better
It is commonly said amongst the health industry if you are going to have chocolate, dark is the way to go! This is because dark chocolate has significantly less sugar and carbs than milk/white chocolate, as well as more cocoa (the original chocolate plant).
4. Maintain your regular exercise
With all this talk of chocolate, with your household potentially eating chocolate left right and centre, get out of the house and get that heart rate up! Exercising is a great way to reduce your cravings for chocolate. It will also help maintain your fitness goals over the public holiday. Make use of your friends and family having time off. Organise a game of backyard cricket or any team sport, go to the beach, enjoy being outdoors! Easter weekend normally blesses us with beautiful weather, so make use of it!
5. Good Friday means seafood
An Easter tradition is to abstain from red meat on Good Friday. Whether this is a tradition you follow or not, it is a great opportunity to have some fresh fish for dinner. Fish is a great source of Omega 3 fatty acids, rich in protein and low in calories. Pair your fish with a fresh salad or some grilled veggies and you have a very healthy Good Friday meal.
6. Do not bulk buy
The sales are tempting, the aisles upon aisles of chocolate are tempting. However, do not bulk buy chocolate (unless you are seriously giving most of it away). Instead, (if you are not a parent and have no kids to buy for) purchase one or two high-quality chocolate treats to enjoy over Easter. NOT MULTIPLE BAGS WORTH. We capitalise this, as it is important. If you buy yourself multiple bags of chocolate, you will eat multiple bags of chocolate, which is not good for anyone. Let alone those of us on the path to a healthier lifestyle.
7. Watch what you drink
Easter holiday normally means entertaining or being entertained. When having guests over, it is nice to have a couple drink alternatives. When considering what to buy make sure you have some cold water and soda water options too. If you go to someone else’s house over Easter, opt for water to drink. There is enough sugar associated with this holiday without adding soft drink to the list. Regarding alcohol, try to limit it (as usual) because calories can build up very quickly when consuming alcohol. Also, don’t forget to keep your water intake up!
8. Don’t forget normal eggs
Whilst everyone gets a bit hyped up about the chocolate eggs, don’t forget the value of tradition eggs (chicken laid eggs). Eggs are a great source of protein and are an effective great way to start your day. There are plenty of delicious omelette recipes out there on the internet, if you enjoy eggs, you should work an omelette breakfast into your Easter holiday. Also, for the parents, older siblings, babysitters, aunts and uncles out there, decorating eggs is a super fun activity to do with kids. As well as egg and spoon races (don’t forget to boil the eggs!), which get everyone out of the house and running around.
We haven’t banned chocolate, nor should you be ashamed to eat some this Easter. However, if you can control how much you eat, maintain your intake of fresh fruit/veg, without forgetting to exercise, you’ll have a very balanced Easter holiday. Good luck and Happy Easter!