The festive season comes with its share of indulgence, food being first on that list. You wouldn't want to put off all those social lunch and dinner invitations. At the same time you might be worried about the extra weight you are going to gain.
So how do you tackle this problem? One way you can reduce that flab is, not to gain it at all. Sushila Sharangdhar, dietician says, "It is always tough to lose a few extra pounds. What happens is that you will just be stuck in this cycle where you are losing and gaining weight."
Water to the rescue
You have been invited by this aunt of yours who is the world's best cook and you are worried that your taste buds will get the better of you? According to Sushila, make sure you drink a glass or two of water so that you feel slightly full before your actual meal.
At the same time, don't go over the top and drink too much water. If you eat too much after that, chances are you will throw up. If your idea of having liquids is restricted to cola and mocktails, think again. These are packed with calories.
Soups and salads
Another thing you can do is eat sprouts and vegetables before you go. In that way, you will not be too hungry and you will also be satisfied that you have had your share of fibre.
Balancing act
You may have heard that having fruits and vegetables in your diet would balance your weight even if you are having junk and sweets. Unfortunately that is not the case, because the fat will be stored in your body anyway.
Starve yourself
Think starving yourself before you go to a party will help you not gain all that extra weight?
Wrong. What actually happens is that by the time you reach the party, you are so hungry that you will unconsciously go overboard with the food.
"Instead of starving yourself, balance your meal if you have an elaborate meal planned ahead. For example, instead of having two chappatis you can have one. If you know you are going for a family gathering, don't have any sweets at home prior to the party," says Sushila.
A thing to note
Remember how the Mausiji and Auntieji told you that you have not truly eaten until you have that feeling of complete fullness in your stomach? Sushila remarks that this is a misconception. If you feel too full, you are overburdening your stomach. Make sure you eat till you are just satisfied.
Smart trick
According to Sushila, here's smart trick to use when you go to a function and do not want to hurt your host's sentiment. In every food menu, there is always some low-calorie item. Just serve yourself more of that and opt for smaller portions of fatty food. And eat slowly, the key is to have your plate full all the time so that you will not be forced to take more by generous Indian hosts.
Exercise
A vacation may put you in a lazy mood and you may not want to exercise. Chances are if you are at a relative's place, it won't be possible for you to go to a gym either. Leena Mogre, fitness expert, has a solution for it. During your vacation stick to something you like doing, like walking or swimming. You can also do the surya namaskar or other floor exercises that can be done anywhere.
During vacations, you gorged on all that delicious food. Now that you have come back from your vacation, you realise you do not fit into your favourite skirt any more, what do you do?
No extreme diet
As much as you are tempted to go for an extreme diet and shed those pounds once and for all, remember that you will keep on swinging between weight loss and weight gain. What should you do? To Diet or Not to Diet?
What you can do
Go back to having a balanced diet where you get all your daily nutrients. Make sure you keep a gap of three and a half hours between your meals. Apart from that, chewing properly also helps.
Remember, while green tea can help you lose weight, it is not a permanent solution for weight loss.
Extreme craving
It would be hard for you to go on a balanced diet after eating all that food during your vacations. According to Sushila, however, there are ways your food can be substituted. You can incorporate these in your daily diet:
- Instead of having fried fish have steamed fish.
- While making patties, half of the patty should be made by rice powder and the other half with vegetables. Also boil them instead of frying.
- To replace pizza, take whole wheat bread, add a layer of tomato chutney, vegetables and mashed paneer as a substitute for cheese.
While exercising
You may want feel like over-exercising to lose those extra pounds. Leena says, "On an average you should lose around one and half kilos a week and not more than that.What you can do is watch your diet while exercising to lose that additional weight."
What if you have never exercised at all?
According to Leena, you have to make a habit of exercising to lose weight. Never abruptly stop exercising once you have reached your target weight. It should be included in your lifestyle. After all, you need to exercise to maintain your target weight as well.
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