Yes, it’s that time of year again, when the supermarket aisles are groaning with an indecent amount of overpriced chocolate.
As well as an enormous variety of eggs, there are chocolate bunnies, chocolate kiwis and fancy packs of eggs and treats. Why do we feel the need to stuff ourselves with loads of chocolate? In your face marketing has a lot to answer for.
Not only that, but hot x buns have been in store since January and a couple of weeks ago I saw where Countdown had sold hundreds of thousands of them between January and March, weeks before Easter was even close.
I recently posted photos on my Facebook page showing bags of sugar illustrating how much sugar is in a 190g block of milk chocolate (112g of that 190g block, or just under 60% is sugar) as well as photos of the amount of sugar contained in the higher cocoa Lindt blocks. There is a huge difference.
Last week I was given (not by a client!) a lovely Cadburys egg ‘with treats inside’. The weight stated is 420g. Guess how much sugar that egg + treats contains? Sixty teaspoons! It also contains 2100 calories and the nutrition panel states that it contains 16.3 serves. Really? Do you know anyone who would share their egg with 15.3 other people?
My suggestion is to choose quality over quantity, go for better quality and less of the Easter treats if you do decide to indulge.
Also, be aware that if you have gotten to a good place with your sugar cravings, you really don’t want to risk blowing your good work by eating a high sugar chocolate egg or bunny just because it is Easter.
School Holidays
With Easter and the school holidays coming up, as well as Anzac Day falling on a Tuesday this year, quite a few people are taking an extended break. With a break from work often comes a break in routine and many people find weekends and holidays a challenge when it comes to staying on track with their food.
The best thing you can do is plan ahead.
- Know what the best choices are if you are going to be eating out.
- Have the right snacks on hand so you aren’t tempted to grab treats.
- If you have a café type coffee, then recognise that is a snack.
If you are going to be home over lunchtimes, but often find that you can’t be bothered making the right kind of lunch when it gets to lunchtime and that you end up standing in front of the fridge or pantry grabbing bits and pieces, how about making your lunch at breakfast time and leaving it in the fridge? It works really well and it’s such a bonus to have your lunch sorted when you are ready to eat.
Have you lost your mojo when it comes to weight loss?
About this time of year many people who started off the beginning of the year with a hiss and a roar with eating healthy and living a more active lifestyle start to fall by the wayside. They started with a real desire to make changes so they could reach goals they set for themselves. Many were most likely expecting some kind of quick fix, very often yet another in the long line of ‘diets’ they had already tried and discarded.
Sadly, too many people focus on what they perceive they have to give up, or change in their life, instead of what they stand to gain. Yes, you might have to drink less alcohol and make changes to your nutrition, but I can’t tell you how many clients have told me that absolutely nothing they could eat compares to how great it feels to fit back into their clothes, to have more energy and to feel better about themselves.
Nutrition for Life is just that. Learning what to eat, how much to eat and what the options are so that you can reach your goals and reap the rewards long term.
If you’ve crashed off the wagon and want to give it another go, please get in touch, never feel bad about coming back and working with me again. Weight loss and then maintenance is always a work in progress. Some days you get it right and some days you don’t, just move on and remember, you start each day with a clean slate.
