Republic of Ireland
The Easter Bunny is coming and if you are on your LighterLife weight loss journey or hoping to manage your weight over Easter, the food temptation is all around us! Chocolate eggs, hot cross buns, Easter biscuits and many more sweet treats may be at arm’s reach and maybe the Easter Bunny seems hellbent on sabotaging your efforts! If you’re on a LighterLife programme, these tips will help you to resist the temptations that the Easter Bunny brings and allow you to continue on the road to reaching your weight loss goal.
1. Pause for thought
Whenever you’re just about to reach for that mini egg, pause. Stop and think about what is really going on. How are you feeling? Are you feeling angry, bored, or lonely? Is it because the kids are eating them that you want one? Other than eating, what could you do to manage this feeling and handle it better? Google how many calories are in that egg you are eyeing up and how many teaspoons of sugar it contains, that usually shocks you enough to give it a miss!
2. How do you feel?
Work out what it is you’re really craving? Is food a substitute for company, love, or a relationship? Is it to calm you down, to make you feel less anxious? Or is it because it’s the last piece of chocolate and you don’t want it to waste? Have you justified in your head eating the whole egg with the intention of “starting my diet next week”? .Understanding your feelings towards why you want to eat it in the first place will help you to resist the urge to eat.
3. Do something
Even the smallest action is a step in the right direction. When the Easter Bunny arrives, it’s now a time of longer days & warmer and guess what? the weather this weekend is supposed to hit 21 degrees in Ireland! Going for a walk can help dissipate any stress chemicals coursing through your body. If you’re feeling anxious, breathe deeply for a few minutes, listen to a favourite song or talk to a friend.
4. Watch your thinking
Often when you’re having a strong emotional reaction you’re thinking in a way that is exaggerated or unreal. You may say to yourself, ‘I can’t cope’, ‘I’m too tired to cook’ or ‘Just one won’t matter’. Challenge your thoughts by testing them out against reality. Often a strong reaction will lessen if you allow yourself to think things through in a rational way and calm down.
5: Remember the real rewards.
Losing weight takes focus and motivation, and we all want to hop on the scale and get our reward. So sometimes we lose sight of the real prize, and it’s not a particular number, it’s being healthier and happier in our own skin. If you do cave and pinch that piece of chocolate egg, don’t beat yourself up about it – we’re only human. However, thinking that you’ve now ruined your diet so you may as well devour the rest of the chocolate is a sign of self-sabotage, and will make you feel even worse! So instead, just carry on with your LighterLife journey as usual and treat it as a bump in the road.
