Control your portions – Enjoy the festivities

The festive cheer is in the air and with it brings a feeling of elation and stupor.  It is during such times when families and friends unite, people tend to ignore normal diets and tend to overeat.  But that’s not surprising – with the elaborate and scrumptious dishes prepared during festivals, it does get hard to resist. 

The other factor is that these mouth-watering goodies are around for a limited time only making people indulge excessively, lest they lose out. The result - overeating, weight gain and other health issues. 

Don’t get me wrong, as this is not an attempt to make you stay-off these tempting goodies completely.  Rather, it is an endeavour to help you continue eating these heart-warming delights by keeping in mind the portion size.

What is portion size or portion control? It’s not about carrying around a food list or measuring containers but rather using sensible and common visual prompts and techniques that will allow you to treat yourself without going overboard. 

• Try dividing your plate in to three portions – 

One part must certainly be for fruits or vegetables, one for carbohydrates and protein and one for your festive goodies.  This way you are eating right and yet able to satiate those celebratory pangs.

•    Use smaller plates and spoons –

Even if you desire a second helping, it will be smaller.  The fact is that if the plate is big, the normal tendency is to fill it up. Eat less and as slow as you can.

•     Healthy food before the festive food - 

If the temptation to indulge in the festive sinful dishes is too much to resist, eat something healthy before the festivities begin.  A crunchy salad, a fistful of nuts or a bowl of low fat yogurt will do the trick – they will fill you up partly leaving only some space in your tummy to eat just a small portion of the happy yet not so healthy dishes.

•  More dishes need clever choices –

Celebrations means that the number of dishes churned out will also be more.  Make clever choices – the more you see, the more you will desire to have it.  Fill your plate with a maximum of 2-3 foods only to satiate your craving and yet not eating everything just because it’s there.

•  Festivities don’t mean not being healthy – 

If you are the decision maker on who eats what in the home, wield your power to ensure that everyone eats right by buying healthier options and cooking smaller portions of high calorie foods.  Stock up on fruits, salads, nuts and other low fat snack options.  There is no reason not to maintain your health even during festivals.

• Tricks to eat less -

On many occasions people eat and serve themselves more because everyone else is doing it too.  That’s a silly reason – serve food on your plate and eat slowly.  Engage in lively conversations to keep your mind off the food.  Avoid sitting down to eat at such occasions – sitting relaxes you and keeps you focused on the food.  Instead walk around and engage with people instead of your food. 

•      Don’t gorge on the disrupters -

Although it may seem tough at first, try heading straight for the healthier options on the menu before gorging on the ‘disrupters’.   The portion-control strategy is about eating as much as you want of the foods good for you and leaving only just enough room to indulge in the festival temptations.  At home too, keep candies and cookies hidden, while keeping nuts, salad and vegetables in full view. People eat what they can see. 

Enjoy the festive season to the fullest by being mindful. Remember that there is no substitute for drinking enough water, eating right and skipping meals. You cannot save space to gorge on the goodies later. Portion-control is your secret weapon against the ‘ravages of those festive tempters’.