India is a country of varied communities and religions, with a wide variety of festivals. These are a time of celebrations and feasting with our family and friends. Diwali is the most enthralling time of the year, from boxes of decorations to be put up to making rangolis, from sumptuous meals to be cooked and eaten to attending parties and get – togethers. The festive season offers all flavours and with our house over flowing with sweets and namkeens.
Navigating the festive season is not so easy for anyone worried about their health, and especially if you are living with a chronic condition, be it obesity, hypertension or Type 2 Diabetes.
But worry not, with the festive season almost behind us, you can start taking small yet determined steps to go back to a healthy routine, even though it may seem boring at first after the chaotic energies of festivities.
Here are a few tips for Healthy Eating Post Festivities:
1. Stay hydrated
Water is necessary for proper functioning, regulates body temperature, promotes metabolism, flushes toxins- waste, helps in carrying the nutrients to where they are required. Since you must have consumed junk food, fried and oily namkeens, sweets, and alcohol your body must have been dehydrated. Consuming a good amount of water will prevent constipation. Water is also essential for kidney function, hence stay hydrated well
2. Stay away from processed foods
Instead of eating homemade meals, those who eat processed foods and canned foods can develop heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, raised cholesterol, cancer, and depression. Now that the festival is over try to limit the intake of processed foods for at least a month. Increase the number of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats in your diet such as those found in nuts, seeds, and omega supplements.
3. Avoid alcohol and sugar
After the festive season it would be wise to abstain from alcohol and sugar. The benefits of this healing process for the body include better sleep patterns, more energy, help with weight reduction, no hangovers, improved blood sugar levels, better skin health, and reduced chance of mental health related problems.
4. Have digestible food
After having all that processed food and fried food, give some rest to your digestive system by not eating foods that are hard to digest. Consume foods that are low on fat and high on protein like dal, vegetable khichdi, dhokla, upma soups, Dalia without milk. All these dishes are nutritious and digestible
5. Consume metabolism boosting drinks
There are so many metabolism boosting drinks that you can try such as green tea, ginger tea, acv, fennel tea, ajwain water, cinnamon drink for better gut (stomach) health.
6. Include probiotics and antioxidants
Include Probiotic rich foods such as kefir, kimchi yogurt, dhokla, dosa to your diet. As they contain good bacteria and are good for gut health.
7. Stick to your workout routine
With so many festivities, its so easy to lose track of your fitness goals. Once the festivities are over, instead of feeling discouraged or procrastinating you should get back to your exercise routine. Begin with mild exercises and work your way up to intense ones. Make sure you are consistent with your exercise routines. Some of the best yet easiest exercise routines are cycling and jogging. Later you can switch to intense ones like gym, pilates to get back in shape.
8. Rebalance your diet
Even if you did indulge in festive food, whether fried or sweet, don’t be too hard on yourself and fall into guilt trap. Take small steps again to get back to a healthy balanced diet. Set your meal timings again. Increase your intake of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates. Incase if there are leftover namkeens or sweets distribute it evenly amongst other relatives or family members so that you are not tempted to finish it off all by yourself.
9. Catch up on sleep
Missing out on sleep to catch up with friends and family and joining in on festivities sounds fun. But lack of sleep makes everything worse, it makes blood sugar levels difficult to manage, worsens blood pressure and makes you overeat. So now that the festive season is over, pause the web series and get the much needed sleep. Rest is important and will make all the difference to your body and mind.
10.Schedule a visit with your doctor and dietician
Start your post festival healthcare plan with a visit to a Dietician. Discuss your diet and lifestyle over the past few days and weeks and let them help you guide the next steps to be taken. This visit will be very beneficial as it will help you to understand your dietary habits and ways on how to improve them. Your doctor visit will help you with the measuring of vitals, and investigate on any lab tests like cholesterol, sugar, lipids if required.
