Don't Get Fat - Surviving Easter!

It's always ok to treat yourself, especially at Easter. But it doesn't mean your healthy lifestyle has to go out the window.

So here is my plan to get through Easter, and if you're serious about a healthy lifestyle, try writing down your own plan with something that will work for you.

Allow yourself a treat, but don't go overboard. A plan is a great way to think ahead and set up some rules for yourself.

Here's my Easter plan:

1. Don't buy chocolate.

It doesn't mean I wont eat chocolate, chocolate always has a way of finding me! But I will not be buying the small packet of eggs that are conveniently placed by the supermarket counter, or a Lindt rabbit, or anything else that I'd usually be buying.
I will be buying my kids an Easter themed toy instead of large chocolate bunnies or the Humpty egg with Smarties, so there is no extra chocolate around the house that I may have to conveniently eat on their behalf.

If I get given chocolate, that's a bonus, and I will eat some!


2. Restrict Hot Cross Bun intake.

Hot Cross Buns have been on shelves for over 2 months. I did a great job of avoiding them the first few weeks as it wasn't Eastery enough, but I did buy a packet last week. I only had one and my family ate the rest, but they involve a lot of calories and if you do it right, a lot of butter!

So I will only buy one packet of buns over Easter, and that will be Easter morning. I will only have one and I will use low fat margarine.


3. Don't pig out at Dinner.

Most years, our family gets together to have a special dinner for Easter. So when we do, I will eat a little bit of everything but I will be conscious of what I eat.
Also, when there are bread and dips or salami and cheese out on the table before dinner, I will steer clear and wait for the real food.

If I'm cooking I will be looking up 'low calorie Easter meals' on google and find a recipe that tastes good but has less calories than the usual Easter feast.


4. Get out and about.

For most people Easter is at least a 4 day break. I'm going to make the most of it. I'll be getting out with my family, going down to the beach or park or somewhere that I can be out in the fresh air (no matter the weather) and I'll be keeping busy.


4. Easter is over after Monday.

I will be more lax on Easter weekend when it comes to my eating, but it will end Monday night!
Come Tuesday I will be back in my usual schedule of keeping an eye on my calories. I will even step up the exercise to work off any extra eating I do over Easter.  No super cheap clearance chocolate for me!

For a bit more motivation, look up how many calories are in the chocolate you are eating. Did you know 3 Cadbury solid dairy milk eggs (Yes, the super small ones with no filling) equal 100 calories??



It's sounds pretty simple to write a plan, but its a hell of a lot harder to stick to it. If it helps, physically write it out, then show someone, or talk to someone about it, so it feels more concrete.
You can even share it below!

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The Clean Plate Club

As children we were taught to finish every piece of food on our plate.  It's such a common notion that most of us have instilled it in our own children.

It's a bizarre concept if you take a step back.... did we get to choose our own serving as a child?  No, so how could our parents possibly know how hungry we were?

The idea came about in the First World War, when food was scarce and people were poor.  The government created the Clean Plate Club, a campaign to make sure everyone ate enough food, especially the men, so they were fit and healthy for the army.

This common practice has now contributed to obesity around the world.  It's not our fault right? We were told to eat all of our food every day, apparently it was going to save the starving kids in Africa...  I'm still not sure how that one works.

Now, many of us believe we've finished eating dinner when our plate is clean, not when we feel full.

How do we change this mindset? It's not easy, but you can do it.

I tried hypnosis to lose weight a few years ago, and one of the things that stuck with me was when the hypnotist said to me, 'it either goes to waste, or it becomes waste.'

Now it might be an unpleasant thought, but follow me through this.
The food you don't eat,  goes in the bin as waste and the food you do eat, ends up being flushed down the toilet as waste.

Does it really make you feel better to have finished it, just for the sake of it not going to 'waste'? You'll end up flushing it down the toilet anyway... You can't mail the food to the children in Africa.

So as an exercise from now on, leave a small piece of food on your plate, and break the mentality.

It could just be one spoonful or 5, but give yourself the ability to stop eating on your terms. Not when your plate tells you to.

Scrape it into the bin, feed it to the pets, or slide it onto your partner's plate.

The more you do this the more you will be aware of your hunger and the amount that you eat.

Let me know how you go!

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