Surviving Easter

The frantic nature of 2010 thus far has meant that Easter has well and truly crept up on us. Many of us do relatively well with our diet and exercise regime each year until about this time, when we collapse in a heap over the Easter long week and indulge in far too much chocolate, far too many show bags and forget the need to increase activity during holiday periods rather than ditch it completely.

So this year, rather than use the holiday weekend as an excuse to let your regular routines fall by the way side, use the time to exercise as much as you can and prepare for the next couple of months. Sure it is fine to indulge in a little chocolate but if you consider that just 1 large Easter bun with butter contains up to ¼ of your daily energy requirement, and just a small packet of chocolate eggs, almost half, moderation and movement is the key to preventing weight gain over the Easter break. A couple of others tips to get you through the holiday weekend without an extra kilo or two;

Enjoy an Easter Bun on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday only (and not the ones with chocolate chips!)
Eat as much chocolate as you like on Easter Sunday then throw or give the leftovers away
Purchase, at most just 1 Easter food show bag

Food and airline travel - a disgrace

It has been a busy week and you are rushing to catch a flight to Melbourne. You have not had time to grab breakfast, but know that since you have booked Qantas, they will feed you on the plane. So, after loading and unloading your lap top, lining up for 20 minutes to check in and been chosen for the security scan you have just made the flight. A few minutes into the hour long flight the hostess brings you a snack – a cookie that contains 1200kJ and 20g of fat – thanks Qantas. Lucky you notice that they also have apples, and the hostess agrees you can have one, even though she appears slightly shocked someone is asking for one at all.

So much of our ability to eat well comes down to the foods we have available to us on a daily basis. Foods available on flights, in hotels, at sporting matches and other public events have a massive impact on the nutrition of the nation. It is time that large organizations including our airlines accept their corporate responsibility to have healthy food choices available for their customers. No one is making you eat the apple, but you should be offered it and no one needs a cookie that contains ¼ of your daily kilojoules and half of your daily fat intake.