How To Avoid The Easter Egg Trap

We're not saying don't eat Easter eggs, just don't eat 50! Leading accredited practising dieticians Karen Inge shares her best tips for enjoying the Easter break without stacking un the kilos!

“Be warned however; to burn off the kilojoules in one 200g milk chocolate Easter egg, you may have to jog for 3 hours to prevent it from adding to your waist line!" says Karen.
“Try and gear your social activities around being more active and having fun. For example, an Easter egg hunt with the family or getting out in the park for a picnic will help burn off those extra treats consumed on Easter Sunday."

1. Size does matter
Buy small individually wrapped eggs instead of the biggest egg you can find! A 100g milk chocolate egg contains about 500 calories (2100 kJ), which can be up to a third of your daily intake if you are trying to lose weight. Unwrapping each egg will help you to eat less in one sitting.

2. Quality over quantity
Have a small piece of good quality chocolate instead of a large amount of basic chocolate. Choose dark chocolate over milk chocolate as it has a higher percentage of cocoa (70-85%), which will leave you satisfied with smaller portions. Plus, cocoa contains antioxidants which have been shown in research to have a positive impact on heart disease.

3. Easter is one day – celebrate THAT day only
Easter eggs and hot cross buns are for sale months in advance. Avoid turning Easter into a month long binge festival.

4. Only buy what you need
Don’t eat with your eyes.We often tend to buy more eggs and bunnies and end up with too many in the pantry at home. Write a list of people you need to buy eggs for and stick to it. Don’t include your own name on this list!

5. Give alternative gifts
Easter doesn’t have to be all about chocolate. Alternative gifts could include fresh fruits, nuts and painted eggs. Non-edible gifts such as books, toys and flowers are great gift ideas.

Karen is a member of the Jenny Craig Medical Advisory Board. For more information about Jenny visit www.jennycraig.com.au .

 

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