How To Eat Healthy During Festive Season

As the festive season in India has kickstarted, everyone has slipped into the celebration mode. But, for our country, festive season directly translates into a 24X7 supply of sweets, snacks and other delicious temptations that can make even the hard hitters deter from their weight loss goals. Even people who work hard to maintain their weight throughout the year end up putting on some extra pounds by the end of the festivities. So, you can only imagine how much an average person will gain during these temptation overload times.

So, is there any way to keep a track of your diet, health, weight and fitness through these months of celebration and until the time of new year? Or you will also fall under the category that says, “I usually gain some extra pounds during this season, which are difficult to lose later.”

It’s difficult to avoid all those sweets and snacks when everybody else is gorging on them, but trying and actually inculcating some expert backed strategies in your day to day life during this period can help you a lot in avoiding extra calories during the festive season.

Here are a handful of tips and tricks to eating healthy during festive season:

Never Skip Your Breakfast

Several studies have shown the importance of breakfast, your first meal int he morning. It has also been proved that people who skip breakfast tend to eat more poorly throughout the day and are also less active. Make your breakfast a protein and fibre rich affair as they both help in regularizing blood sugar that keeps your going throughout the day.

Exercise Is Important 

No, you are not supposed to sweat for hours in the gym, but including at least some form of cardio is necessary special during the festive season. Never let the laziness and frolic festive atmosphere lower your motivation level for exercising. Keep yourself motivated to exercise daily, it will not only cut those extra calories but will also help you bust stress. Include moderate exercising in your daily routine can help in offsetting your increased calories.

Don’t Skip Your Meals

Skipping your lunch to compensate on the tempting laddoo you had during your mid-morning snacks is the terrible thing to do with your health. Eating regular meals helps in keeping your blood sugar levels stable and also prevents unwanted cravings. However, you can make your lunch light by replacing roti and sabzi with clear soup or salad without dressing.

Munch On Healthy Snacks Before Party

Heading out for a party? How about munching on light snacks before you head out for a scrumptious buffet? A quick salad or fruit of your choice (without any dressing) will curb your appetite and will also make you eat less at the party. Once you reach the party, make sure you survey the buffet carefully. Thinking of taking a bite of everything will only make you overeat. Chose what you want to eat carefully and then stick to it.

Maintain Distance From Sugary Foods

OK, we agree it’s difficult, but certainly not impossible. That bowl full of kesari kheer or your favorite kaju katli are only going to increase sugar content in your body. Take small bites or share your meal with someone. Don’t deprive yourself of festive flavors just take care of the portion size you take. Once you will learn the art of portion control you will understand that small helping of your favorite food is more satisfying than overdoing it.

Compensate Whenever You Can

You know that today is a free day, as in you don’t have to go for any party neither people coming to your place. Make it an excuse to eat healthily and to do that stockpile your fridge with large portions of fruits and veggies. Cucumber sticks, oranges, apples, carrots, a mixed salad, your favorite fruit chaat or even whole fruit of your choice. Make sure you eat at least 3 meals of this kind in a week during this time.

Mind Your Beverages

Tea, coffee, cold drinks, juices are common during the festive season as all of us tend to offer these to our guests. A lot of people also arrange for alcoholic beverages during their festive celebrations. These beverages are loaded with calories and sugar, which can make your weighing scale tip a point higher. Even your fruit juice and alcohol can be really fattening if overdone. Control the amount of beverages and alcohol you consume over  these months.

Practice Healthy Cooking

Making your dish appetizing is surely your sole criteria during the festive season, but this time, consider making it healthy as well. To begin with, replace your regular vegetable oil with olive oil or other healthy cooking oils. Replace your white rice with brown rice pulao, add jaggery in your kheer instead of sugar or even dates and anjeer for natural flavors, keep fruit salad for dessert instead of ras malai and replace your welcome drink with honey sweetened lemonade instead of colas. These small changes can make a lot of impact on your diet which you will notice over the time.

Let’s face the truth, you cannot avoid all the delicious sweet coming altogether. Also, this season is not the right time to set weight loss goals for yourself. You will definitely be offering mouth watering laddoos, gulab jamuns, rabri, etc. every day, which you cannot refuse. So, instead of losing make weight management your goal for the festive season as that’s the only feasible mission you can aim for right now.