Easter Eggstravaganza: Surviving Easter on a diet

It's Easter time and as far as food is concerned, it's all about chocolate. You'll find it everywhere you look - on the TV, in the supermarkets, in magazines and newspapers and all over children's faces. It's enough to make anyone's good intentions, literally, melt away.

It doesn't have to be a tough time for dieting. Accept that it's Easter and that even the best behaved among us are going to indulge in a nibble or two, but know the facts.

Firstly, all Easter eggs are not created equal. The most important rule when buying one is to read the labels and think small. While the smaller versions are often marketed as children's' Easter eggs, like Cadbury?s Buttons for example, these can be the best options for you too. The small Buttons Easter egg was one of the lightest ones around at 105 grams. While you may feel a little deprived by only indulging in a teeny weeny egg, that mere 105 grams of chocolate heaven will still set you back a nice round 555 calories (11 Units).

For that you could eat eleven apples or seven and a half slices of bread (if you wanted to)! There?s also 32 grams of fat in that little egg, which means that over 50 per cent of the energy comes from fat. That's well over half your fat allowance for one day and, even worse, 17 of those fat grams are saturated!

On the other hand, there are the larger, more luxurious types of eggs usually marketed as gifts for women. For example, if you went for the large Cadbury's Roses egg, which was the heaviest one I could find at 349 grams, that will cost you a massive 1,846 calories (35 Units!).

As far as fat goes, you get an enormous 106 grams - around twice the daily fat allowance for someone who is trying to eat healthily. Sixty-two of those grams are saturated fat, which won't do your cholesterol level any favours. So be warned: These figures do not include the sweets hidden inside the egg.

For around the same amount of calories, you could eat a nice bowl of cereal with semi-skimmed milk and a banana for breakfast, a full Sunday lunch of roast spring lamb, roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy, and still have room for a slice of that deliciously wicked seasonal delight, Simnel cake plus an egg salad sandwich with low-fat mayo for tea. When you weigh it up, the large Easter egg somehow seems a little eggstravagant...

Calories and fat aside, the second important thing for anyone trying to stick to a diet over Easter is to know yourself. Are you the type of person who could break off a piece of Easter egg, enjoy the taste and happily move on, or are you the type of person who, once the egg is broken, is to feast on the velvety delights until the only evidence it ever existed is a scattering of tiny crumbs in silver paper?

If, like most of us, you fit into the latter category, be realistic about resisting Easter eggs. Have a nibble here and there but keep in mind the idea that a large Easter egg could amount to a whole day's intake of food. You wouldn't sit down to a second breakfast, second lunch, second dinner and dessert, would you?

You don't have to avoid chocolate altogether this Easter, heaven forbid. Life goes on, even when you are on a diet. Choose the smaller eggs and try not to eat it all on one day, or why not have a bar of chocolate instead? Your normal two-ounce (56 gram) bar of milk chocolate packs 296 calories and 27 grams of fat (six units).

Okay, so it's not ideal, but because it's usually divided into chunks or squares, it can be easier to have just a piece or two at a time. If it?s got to be an egg, a Cadbury?s Crème Egg is our champion for dieters at Easter with only 163 calories and 6 grams of fat (2½ Units).

Happy Easter!