6 tips for a healthier Easter break
By Louise Belle BHSc (Nut Med)
We often hear “my diet was going good until…” and in this case, Easter! Easter is a wonderful time to get together with your loved ones and to enjoy food that you might not usually have in your regular diet. However, you need to be careful not to completely blow out and undo the hard work you’ve put in. Consider these tips:
1. Portion control
Portion control – I’m sure you guessed this one! Whilst eating that whole bag of delicious Cadbury eggs in one sitting might seem like a good idea at the time, I assure you it’s not. Be selective about the treats you eat over Easter and try to space them out. You don’t need to eat all your chocolate over a period of a few days, you can stretch it out over weeks or months depending on how much you end up with. If your self-control isn’t that good, consider gifting some of your chocolate to friends and family.
2. Ingredient list
Not all chocolate is created equal and there are definitely healthier options available that will still satisfy your chocolate cravings. Dark chocolate that is 70% or more is higher in antioxidants and tends to have less sugar. You can read more information here about what to look for on labels when buying chocolate in our article “Easter chocolate – The healthier way”.
3. Bring a dish
No doubt you will be attending multiple family gatherings over the break and whilst you don’t have much control over the food your host makes, you can bring a healthy dish with you. Preparing your own healthy dish guarantees that you will have a healthy option to eat at the gathering. You can fill most of your plate with the healthier options and put smaller amounts of the indulgent food.
4. Prepare healthy treats
When surrounded by so much chocolate and baked goods it can be hard to fight the temptation to have “just one more”. If you prepare some healthy treats for Easter, you and your family can snack on those and leave the ‘naughty’ stuff as an occasional treat only. Our Synd-X and Superfood powders and our natural sweetener Nature Sweet are fantastic for making healthy low-carb desserts and snacks. Check out this free Guilt-Free Dessert ebook for healthy recipes!
5. Squeeze in some exercise
Whilst exercising over your Easter break might not sound like your idea of a holiday, it will definitely help to counteract the extra calories you’ll be consuming. Get into the habit of squeezing in a little exercise every day and you’ll feel so much better than you would have otherwise. Hight Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is particularly good for burning calories in a short space of time – there are plenty of 15–20-minute videos on YouTube. Everyone can squeeze 15 minutes of exercise into their day!
6. Don’t feel guilty
Beating yourself up about all the chocolate or hot cross buns you ate will not do you any good. If you binged a little over easter that’s ok! You can make healthier choices moving forward. There is no point feeling guilty, it’s not good for your mental health and there’s nothing you can do to change it. You can however eat healthier and do more exercise moving forward.
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