How to indulge this Diwali (and not get fat)
This is possibly the toughest time of the year - October to December - for those who are trying to watch what they eat. For most of us in India, festivities begin with Dussehra and end only after ushering in the new year.
So basically, most of us are looking at (potential) good 90 days of revelry -enough to way-lay even the best of health "plans". So what should we do? Should we simply stop celebrating?
Well, according to me, celebrating festivals is essential to keeping traditions alive - and eating "special" foods are part of that tradition. After all, what's holi without a gujia, and unless you eat kheer and kaju barfi, no Diwali seems complete.
I seriously believe, and science supports me on this, that everyone needs to indulge every now and then, and that's where I think "traditionally" the festivals fitted in.
These are the carefully/consciously planned customary "indulging" days, planned so that one can indulge the right way (sometimes, not always). Anyways, science too has proven that indulging smartly actually helps keep the hormones and weight stable, the taste buds and mind sorted and also keep cravings away.
That’s why I have over the years (yes, nutritionists love to eat too) developed my own foolproof (well they work for me) ways to enjoy the festivities with least damage and nil guilt.
Here are my rules, you could follow them too.
First, I don't deny myself anything. But instead of saying no to any food, I say no to big portions. So I eat that laddoo. But always stop after a couple.
The views of a study published just last month in the New England Journal of Medicine resonate with me completely.
Three researchers after studying 3,000 people across the US, Germany and Japan for over a year reported that the weight people put on at the start of Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas and of course around the New Year usually took them a good five months to shake off.
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They found that all waistlines tended to grow in the 10 or so days leading up to holidays, and weights peaked around the New Year in the US and Germany and early May around the Golden Week holiday in Japan (in India, I presume our weight’s peak by the end of December).
And shaking off this weight took people months into the new year. The researchers suggested that instead of a New Year resolution to lose weight, it is better to make an October resolution to gain less in the first place.
Ditto my thoughts: It’s easier to avoid holiday pounds, than to try and lose them after they pile on.
Another simple step that always works is: step on the scale once a week to check your weight, and to know what’s happening with you (weight-wise). So that you can keep taking corrective measures along the way.
Hiding the scale and checking your weight only after the end of the festival season, like a lot of people do, is a bad idea, as by then the collective weight gain of these months might not just shock you but discourage you completely, as it may seem impossible to shake off.
I also consciously increase my exercise time a bit. I know it is difficult to take out time between so many party invitations, but it needs to be done. So an extra 10-minute stroll after dinner, opting for stairs instead of the lift a few times a day at work, a consciously scheduled badminton or tennis game during the weekends - can go a long way in helping avoid weight gain in the first place.
And who knows, maybe also let you have that extra serving of kheer at that office Diwali party.