With the Navratris, Dushehra and upcoming Diwali, we have festive season.
Whatever be the reason for your gloomy days, this festive season brings families together, eases out all tensions and fills the heart with contentment and delight. And.. and.. it fills your tummy with sweet delicacies too. 😛
This is what generally happens in the Diwali season- you gulp a Kaju Katli in your kitchen, by the time you reach your lobby, your mom comes up with a piece of Gulab Jamun and pushes it in your mouth saying “beta see kitne fresh hain”. And by the time you swipe those in through your tongue, your brother is seen with a box of chocolates saying “ye last chocolate bachi hai, kha le nahi to ye bhi nahi bachegi” 😛 The story does not end here. There are some more ‘ANDs’ to it. You have to engulf at least half a piece of sweet every time a guest comes over or when you are playing the same role at someone else’s house. All this pushes the weighing needle a little more on the right side, right?
When it comes to desserts, what do we do? Specially those of us who have a sweet tooth! I am guilty my Lord! I love sweets. When I was trying to lose weight, my biggest challenge was how to deal with my sugar pangs.
I was given few tips, which I still follow and I still eat sweets occasionally. Here, I would like to share with you the secret of eating sweets and eating them the right way!
• Don’t stock up on packaged juices/cold drinks for your guests:
You can opt to serve lemonade, buttermilk, lemon tea/iced tea or even coffee but not packaged juices or cold drinks. Ask for the same thing when you go to your friends’ or relatives’ house.
• Change your gifting options
Instead of giving sweet boxes, chocolate boxes and juice packs as gifts, why not give dry fruit boxes, fruit baskets, house hold items etc instead?
• Be selective
You may opt for a single sweet from the bulk of option available to you. Do not even think of tasting each and every one. You tasted all of them last year too, what big/happy change did it bring to you? But imagine if you achieve your dream body by avoiding these, you’ll be happy for life.
• Eat sweets as a small snack
I know, hard to achieve, delaying the sweet pangs right after lunch or dinner. I wait and consume the sweets as a small meal. I never mix it with lunch/dinner or right after breakfast. For example, I have my mid-day meal at 11 a.m and if I have carried some sweetmeats, I would have them then. I have it with full consciousness and I enjoy it more.
• Have homemade sweets
I love homemade halwa, unadulterated kheer :p yummy kulfis. Even at times, homemade wheat based brownies. I eat halwa, after a heavy workout. Homemade food will cause minimal harm if consumed at the right time and in right proportion.
• Eat sweets before sunset
I understand that it is a major issue for those who go to office, but why not carry it to office. You will enjoy it more in between heavy work load. I am not suggesting to carry halwa, kheer every day to office, but occasionally you got to reward yourself. Our digestion becomes weak by the night, thus I keep it simple by consuming sweets in the morning.
If you put these cravings on hold you will surely eat wrong and pile on those kilos you feared about. Thus, enjoy the festivals like others enjoy, just make the right choices and consume them at the right time and in right portions.
• Don’t fall for sugar free & fat free choices
If you like to opt for sugar free ice creams, you may not be doing any good. The brain is smart enough to catch hold of the trick and makes you crave for even more sugar. Instead, have a good full fat ice cream occasionally, when you are giving yourself a treat! Don’t fall for fat free sweets; they will be loaded with sugar.At the Gelato, the sorbet is not necessarily the best choice, you can choose the other yummy ice creams too. Enjoy your ice cream the way you like it and stay fit 🙂
A disclaimer for all the above is, don’t go overboard with the quantity and frequency. You stomach should automatically give you a signal that now is the time to stop!