Work out the best way to enjoy a treat
ENJOY A GUILT-FREE EASTER WITH A LITTLE EGGS-ERCISE! SAYS FITNESS EXPERT RUTH LYNCH
EASTER is a wonderful time to be with friends and family – a long weekend of festivities. Like Christmas however, it can also be a bit of a challenge to the waistline, especially when the kids (and big kids) want to eat chocolate for breakfast, lunch and dinner! And that’s on top of sitting down to eat the traditional Easter Sunday roast.
Of course, it’s fine to indulge every now and then. But if the thought of too many tempting treats is sending you into a panic, don’t worry. Injecting a little activity into the Easter break can be a great way to grab a bit of me time, have fun with the family and burn off some of those extra calories.
And if you’re not sure what activity to choose, this might help. We’ve put together a handy guide to show you how long it will take you to burn off some typical Easter eats. One Lindt Lindor truffle (approx. 12g) – 80 calories IF you manage to stick to only one chocolate this Easter you’ll work through the calories in no time. Eighty calories equates to 15 minutes of moderate activity (adults should do 150 minutes a week and children should do 60 minutes a day).
If you’re at home, why not dance around the living room with the kids for 15 minutes, or take a half hour Easter Sunday stroll? Kinder Surprise Egg (20g) – 110 calories USING a skipping rope for 12 minutes will cancel out your Kinder egg, however unless you’re a pro athlete skipping for that long might be a challenge – and can be pretty boring too. Twenty minutes of circuit training in the gym or half an hour of yoga will be an easier and more interesting way to use those calories up. Cadbury’s Creme Egg – 180 calories THE question here isn’t ‘how do you eat yours,’ but more, ‘how do you burn off yours?’ They may be small, but they pack a lot of calories so you’re looking at 25 minutes of badminton or a half hour HIIT class. One hot cross bun and butter – 214 calories MUCH more indulgent than your standard piece of toast and therefore requires more movement – a half hour spin class or 30 minutes on the rowing machine should do the trick. Slice of simnel cake – 350 calories THIS delicious cake is chock full of sweet dried fruit, delicious marzipan and… calories! However, jumping in the pool for a vigorous 30 minutes will help burn off this quintessential Easter eat, as will a 20 minute fast-paced kettlebell class. Cadbury’s Mini Eggs (100g bag) – 490 calories MINI eggs are tiny, tasty little treats and on their own they’re pretty inconspicuous calorie wise – but hands up who can just stop at one? It’s quite easy to go through at least a bag over Easter weekend – and if you do you’ll need to get active!
One hour of Zumba or other high-intensity dancing class should do the trick. If you don’t fancy hitting the gym, why not have a dance contest at home with the kids? Lindt milk chocolate bunny (100g) – 550 calories WHO thought a little bunny could be so naughty? Don’t worry, eating one of these is the perfect excuse to get out and about with the kids. An hour of fast paced tennis, football or rugby will do the trick. Smarties Easter Egg (122g) – 680 calories ONE the kids are likely to get and easy to eat all at once, but not so easy to shift. If you want to account for the calories in this one all at once, you’ll need to run for a whole hour. If that seems a little boring, why not garden vigorously for an hour and 45 minutes, hike for an hour and a half or do an hour of kick boxing? Roast lamb and all the trimmings – 850 calories WOMEN are advised to consume around 2,000 calories a day, and men 2,500, so if you have a small breakfast and dinner, then this will sit well within your daily limit.
However, if you’ve eaten all your chocolate eggs for breakfast and had a slap-up roast too, then you’ll need to do a two-hour aerobics class, go for a three-hour bike ride with the kids or take your excess calories out on a punching bag for two hours. Green and Black’s Organic Dark Easter Egg (165g) – 946 calories DARK chocolate is often seen as the healthier choice, usually containing fewer calories, sugar and fat than milk or white chocolate. However, this treat comes at nearly half a woman’s daily recommended intake. An hour and a half of continuous rock climbing will burn off this egg, as will three hours of skateboarding or an hour and a quarter playing squash. Dairy Milk Easter Egg (331g) – 1,758 calories IT’S not hard to eat a whole Easter egg in one go, but many of us don’t realise how many calories are contained within the shell. To make up for eating this egg you’d need to walk for about eight hours or do four hours of weightlifting. Hotel Chocolat Extra Thick Patisserie Egg (405g) – 2,292 calories THIS is one monster egg, so you’ll need to do a monster amount of work to work this one off – the average runner burns 2,500 calories when running a marathon, so that’s 26.2 miles of continuous running you’ll need to do! BUT what’s the best activity you can do this Easter? No contest. Just enjoy time with friends and family and have a little fun (with a little of what you fancy!).
Ruth Lynch is Head of Health, Fitness & Communities at Life Leisure sports trust, lifeleisure.net