Don’t deprive yourself, just get back on track

While otherwise you may be a mindful eater, the festive season may have brought out the indulgent foodie in you. Don’t be too hard on yourself, suggests Anupama Menon

Most people think that they need to go on a detox after festivals. What one must realise is that our body has the capacity to increase and reduce our appetite very quickly. So, while otherwise you may be a mindful eater, the festive season may have brought out the indulgent foodie in you.
You might have eaten through the season but are now feeling guilty about that extra belly, which doesn’t look as great as the food you ate. Don’t be too hard on yourself. You will slowly get back on track and be your fit self again.

Your appetite might be temporarily high but by opting for a food pattern that is typically low calorie with just vegetables and fruits, you may be setting yourself up for failure.

There are chances that by the end of the day you may break down and end up gorging on leftover sweets or excess food at dinner. Reduce your portions from the week before — have three meals and two snacks a day. Stick to food timings which may have been way off in the earlier weeks.

Fix your sleep pattern. During the holiday season, you might not have slept well. Go back to your seven hours of sleep. Retire to bed half an hour earlier, if possible, as you might have a sleep debt.

Your exercise might have got sidelined, so try hard to get back to it. You might get tempted to double the time of workout, but 45 minutes to an hour a day is enough. Increasing one’s exercise will only increase your appetite and this will act like a boomerang.

Get back to drinking your vegetable juice, lemon water or apple cider vinegar, or any other health concoctions that you might have left behind in these days. Water might be an important drink you may have ignored.

Give away all the remaining sweets and calorie-rich food stocked away in your kitchen. You will not eat what you don’t see.

After two weeks have gone by and you are on track, you could speak to your nutritionist/health practitioner to help you with a simple liver detox using spices like cinnamon, ginger powder, haldi, pepper, green vegetable juice, amla shots and a concoction of lemon and olive oil at night. This will help in easing constipation and will help your system.

(The author is nutritionist & food coach)