Easter is over and even if you still have the bunny's paws left to eat, have some mercy on the bunny... and your waistline!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a moderate amount of the "occasional foods" that each occasion delivers. When the occasion is over though, and particularly if you're watching your weight, it's time to resume everyday eating.
Here in Australia there's a danger of slipping into poor eating habits from Easter straight through to Anzac Day.
It's a great excuse — especially if you're observing school holidays too. - What's the point trying to lose weight when there's more celebrating left to do in a couple of weeks time?
It's the attitude of anyone who doesn't see their "diet" as an everyday way of eating — all the time for the rest of your life.
It's the "stop eating well, start eating well" approach that leads to extreme behaviour, guilt and bad habits — the difference between having no birthday cake, enjoying a small piece of birthday cake and eating a piece of cake and the rest of it as well; the difference between denying yourself any Easter eggs, enjoying a couple of little ones, and eating every egg that comes within your grasp.
There will always be holidays, birthdays and other reasons to celebrate and it's perfectly legitimate to do so.
With regular exercise, healthy everyday eating and a
moderate approach to occasional treats, we can enjoy the fruits (or foods) of every occasion without the guilt.
So stop eating the eggs and buns, resume everyday eating practice and when Anzac day comes you can happily enjoy an Anzac cookie with your coffee.
Did you know?
There are more calories in a hot cross bun than in a 100g chocolate egg, and that's before you've added the butter! So while they may still be on sale and at a bargain price it's best to exercise some restraint.
And...
speaking of exercise, there's no better way to pull yourself out of post celebration blues than by taking yourself out to physically move — especially at this time of year.
Autumn is a lovely season — the weather is cooler but the mornings are bright. A brisk walk for around an hour will burn off the total energy value of a whole hot cross bun, an opportunity indeed to undo some of the damage from the Easter weekend.
Related video: Is saturated fat good for you?
