Easter is upon us and the easter egg is a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth. Unfortunately, for our waist lines Easter can be about having an excuse to consume large quantities of chocolate. As if there was not already enough pressure with supermarkets half filled with highly processed high sugar food. At this time of year there is even more of it with brightly coloured packaging luring us in. So what is it about chocolate? I have little self control myself when it comes to this tasty stuff. If I buy a family pack of minstrels or a large dairy milk telling myself I will just have a little bit I can be confident that I will eat it all and that certainly wont be going on MyFitnessPal!
Chocolate addiction
As Micheal Mosley refers to in his 800 book, the reason chocolate is so addictive along with other naughty food like ice cream, french fries, pizza, biscuits, buttered pop corn and cheese burgers, it is their mixture of carbs to fat. These foods are made up of roughly 1g fat and 2g carbs. In the UK and many other western countries we absolutely love this combo and unfortunately it is killing us and leads to Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes…. Yes I know you know this already right? However, coming away from our preference for these foods is so hard!! It can be as hard as abstaining from alcohol or drugs with huge psychological cravings. Chocolate eating is almost encouraged in lots of areas of our life, therefore making it harder.
What is your favourite chocolate?
So, my go to chocolate is normally a Snickers bar however I also have a bit of a love of Galaxy bars. I have actually treated myself to a Galaxy easter egg and I could eat this over 2 sittings or probably 1 but feel pretty disgusted with myself afterwards! Some light reading below shows the nutritional information of my easter egg.
My easter egg is 308g and this makes the total calories 1626. Blimey, that is a lot for a hollow egg! If I was to also eat the galaxy bars that go with the egg (also quite likely!) that would be an additional 229 calories per bar! The recommended daily calories for an average female is 2000 according to NHS guidelines. If I eat the contents of this pretty box (which as I said is highly likely), I have consumed more than the recommended daily calories and would probably eat it all in front of the TV without even noticing.
Looking at the nutritional value of my galaxy egg it, in conclusion, it actually doesn’t contain too much that is good for me.
Energy | 2207kJ |
Energy | 528kcal |
Fat | 29.0g |
of which saturates | 17.3g |
Carbohydrate | 58.9g |
of which sugars | 58.3g |
Protein | 7.1g |
Salt | 0.31g |
I am now having second thoughts about eating the egg now! TBH I am happy to read labels for all the other foods I eat like lean meat, vegetables etc. However, happy to avoid looking at the labels of my naughty treats! This probably explains the lack of progress on the weight loss front! (poor nutrition)
How much exercise do I need to do to burn my easter egg?
Looking at how many calories I need to burn according to The Independent it looks like I need to do quite a lot of hard work to burn off my easter egg! Fitness activities that I enjoy are things like running, swimming, cycling, walking and FitAgain bootcamps. Here is a breakdown of exercises I like to do:
A slow walk | 255 calories/hour
Slow, easy cycling | 364 calories/hour
Light or moderate lap swimming | 528 calories/hour
FitAgain class or bootcamp 664 calories/hour
Just to burn off my easter egg I need to go to 2.5 bootcamps or swim for 3.07 hours which for me is equivalent of 305 lengths or cycle around 30 miles or walk from Rousdon to Bridport and back again! Well this blog has helped me as I have decided I am not going to eat the easter egg! Anybody want my Galaxy easter egg????
What have I learnt from my easter egg?
In conclusion I have realised that I like chocolate therefore it is something I don’t really want to give up (although that would be better for my health). Making healthier lifestyle choices regarding nutrition is what I should do (this is some advice for myself and it might help you). I need to:
be accountable for what I eat and use my fitness pal to accurately record what I eat and stop lying to myself
read food labels
not eat the whole easter egg
weigh my naughty treats
practice what I teach of mindful eating as this really does work to help savour food
listen to my body, similarly, not eat when I am not hungry
Try out the alternative easter bunny treats;
10 burpees making bunny ears as you jump up
Down on all 4’s being a bunny with knees an inch above the ground making bunny hops to left and right keeping knees down low
Put some easter bunny ears on and go for a 5 km run
Have a wonderful 4 day weekend and I salute you for every healthy choice you make in this world of temptation!
