Ditch the Diet #3

Welcome to my third instalment of Ditch the Diet, I thought I would base this instalment around Easter. If you haven’t read any of my blog posts on this subject before you might want to start with part one and part two, about why I started this series and what it means to me.

The whole ethos of ditching the diet is eating in a balanced way. Ditching the diet, doesn’t mean abandoning healthy eating at all, in fact it’s all about health and balance. Which is not so easy when the holidays approach, as holidays are often around celebration and of course eating. Everywhere I look at the moment my social media and inbox is full of food. Cakes, chocolate, hot cross buns, cakes inside chocolate, eggs, roast dinners, chocolate and alcohol. Well, you get the picture.

So how do you manage enjoying the holidays, but not going crazy and drowning yourself in 4 Easter eggs, followed by a hot cross bun and a glass of Baileys? You make a plan.

Just because you are trying to eat in a balanced way doesn’t mean you can’t have treats. I for one do not want to put on several pounds over Easter which I have been known to do before, so I need to remember that treats are treats. So here are some tips to keep it balanced. I hope that they help you enjoy Easter.

• Keep breakfast normal, the whole day doesn’t have to be a blow out.
• Manage your portion sizes, when you’re full stop.
• Depending where you are and if at all possible serve yourself, rather than eating a portion someone else chooses for you.
• Agree what your treat will be and stick to it. Are you going to have desert, are you going to have chocolate? Stick to one, you can save the other for another day.
• If you have desert, remember less is more and you really don’t need that second helping.
• If you’re full after a big lunch, you don’t have tea in the evening, you can just stop and go to bed without feeling over full and feeling the better for it in the morning.
• Most importantly, enjoy yourself, it’s a holiday and it should be enjoyed, but an enjoyment doesn’t have to mean a blow out.

Happy Easter! x