THE 5 EASTER DIET RULES

1 ENJOY A PROTEIN-PACKED BREAKFAST Loading up with protein at breakfast will help to control your appetite and calorie intake throughout the rest of the day. Also, keeping your calories to around 300 at breakfast will help to free up some extra ones for your chocolate budget later in the day.

2 TREAT CHOCOLATE AS A DESSERT, NOT A SNACK To ensure you stick to your weight-loss goals on this plan, you need to limit your eating times to the normal set meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which means no in-between snacking.

This will help you to save around 300 calories per day, which you can then use to enjoy those post-dinner chocolate treats, guilt-free.

3 AIM FOR LIGHTER LUNCHES In an attempt to keep your overall calorie intake under control to make space for your chocolate quota, ideally you need to make at least two of your meals lighter – for example, a healthy lunch could be a big salad with lean protein. Again, the protein will help to keep you fuller for longer.

4 GET MOVING You should have a bit more time over the Easter break, so there is no excuse not to be more active. Schedule in at least one walk each day over the holidays or monitor your total daily steps with the goal of reaching at least 10,000-12,000 per day.

This number of steps is roughly equal to 100 minutes of fairly brisk walking and will mean you’re burning an extra 400-600 calories.

5 CONTROL YOUR CHOCOLATE PORTION SIZE Just one 100g chocolate bunny can contain as many as 600 calories, which is double the 300-calorie daily chocolate quota allowed in this diet. So the key is to be aware of the number of calories in your favourite Easter eggs and treats (check the label and see our chart right), and to keep your portions controlled accordingly.