Holi is just two days away and the season of mouth-watering gujia, malpua, thandai, and other sumptuous and delicious sweets are here too. Festivals in India bring happiness and give one an opportunity to spend quality time with friends. With Holi just around the corner, gaining weight is a certainty – however, it is difficult to resist the sumptuous treats that are laid out for everyone to enjoy during this time. Soon after, the festive season, many people try to shed the holiday weight that they had put on. To kickstart your month of April on a fitter and healthier note, you may want to get back to clean eating.
Here we have laid down tips to avoid the festival food hangover:
- Don’t feel compelled to eat everything: Festival food comes in all types of flavours and hues and you will want to eat a little of everything. Don’t give in to that temptation! Filling up your plate with mounds of ghee-laden sweets and deep-fried savories is a sure way of adding inches to your waistline. Instead, practice discretion and eat just a select few items — the host won’t mind.
- Just one serving, please! Walking back to the table for a second (and third servings) may add to your daily steps but will do nothing for your health. Restrict yourself to just one small serving of the festive snacks, if you want to avoid gaining weight.
- Reduce other calories: Have an evening of revelry planned with friends and family? Make sure you’re not eating much during the day. You can also try Intermittent Fasting on the day of the social gathering. What that means is that you restrict yourself to low-calorie foods or zero-calorie beverages during the day and reserve the bulk of your day’s caloric intake for the evening. But what happens if you do fall off the wagon and stuff yourself silly during the festival? Well, it’s not the end of the world. Just go right back to your diet the next day. Don’t let a bad day of eating turn into a bad week or month. You’ve only hit a small bump in your fitness journey, shake it off and start anew! Remember, you only fail if you don’t get up again.
- Drink warm water: Warm water helps in detoxifying your body, it is also good for your throat and helps in boosting metabolism. You can add freshly squeezed lemon juice to the warm water in the morning, it helps in flushing out toxins from your system.
- Don’t go overboard with Alcohol: Festival means binging on alcohol. Post the festivals, give your system a break from alcohol as it leads to weight gain, and we tend to eat food that is high on calories.
- Eat Before 7 pm: If you wish to shed that holiday weight, then it’s important to eat earlier in the day.
(With inputs from IANS)