Healthy Easter: How to stay on-top of health and fitness goals during the chocolate season
Monday, March 26, 2018
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 grocery stores, family/friends 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 6tips to make the best of the holiday without compromising your fitness and health goals.
1. Exercise is the key
Sneak in a workout or plan some fun active time with the family and friends. You could kick of each with a morning run or walk, explore the national park with a hike or just get outdoors and head to the local oval (or even your backyard) to play some soccer, cricket or kick the footy around. You could even just plan some fun running games with the kids. Just get the heart rate up and the blood pumping, and rev up your metabolism in the process.
2. Manage your chocolate egg intake
Eating chocolate at Easter is, of course, a tradition for many. Trying to reduce the impact on your weight can be difficult. The key to doing this is to manage your portion sizes -try to eat small amounts of chocolate slowly. Remember 4 square of milk chocolate count as 1 indulgence.
Your waistline will also thank you if you can limit any chocolate egg indulgences to just Easter Sunday and the leftovers.
3. It's about quality, not quantity
Decide to pay more and purchase a smaller amount of artisan chocolate rather than the mass-produced variety. The better the quality of chocolate, the more you'll savor every mouthful. When you take time to enjoy the flavours and textures really, it slows down the rate at which you eat, meaning you eat less and consume far fewer calories.
4. Keep your alcohol in-take down to a minimum
It's a lot harder than you probably think. Go for drinks like dry white/red wine, vodka, rum, brandy and gin. The problem is what do you mix it with as sweet mixers are very high in calories. Try diet soda or tonic, light cranberry or orange juice, light lemonade, lemon or lime juice with your beverages.
Moderate the lousy eating & alcohol intake and maintain some form of exercise routine. By doing this, getting back to your regular fitness and eating habits wont be as difficult.
5. Share your sweets & eggs.
“If you have an abundance of chocolate, don't leave it lying around the house to tempt you,” says Australian Diabetes Council accredited practicing dietitian Mellissa Hay. “Share them around with friends, family or work colleagues.”
6. Try raw chocolate
Have you tried cacao? It's chocolate in its raw form and is packed with antioxidants, calcium, and potassium. “Cacao raises our serotonin levels, acting as an anti-depressant, reducing PMS systems and mildly improving mood,” says health coach Claire Obeid. “It can be used for cooking, adding to smoothies or sprinkling on muesli.” Try making these cacao and chia seed treats for a sweet, nutritious hit.