How to Avoid Weight Gain This Deepavali: 8 Simple Tips
The Deepavali invitations are rolling in and your weekends are filling up with open houses. You can enjoy every one of them and still avoid weight gain. It just takes a little planning.
One festival usually adds only a little weight, but that weight tends to stay, as we explain in why festive weight gain adds up. So the goal this season is simple: maintain, don't diet. These eight habits help you avoid weight gain without missing out on the fun.
8 ways to avoid weight gain this Deepavali
1. Don't arrive hungry
Skipping lunch "to save space" usually backfires, because you end up eating faster and more. Singapore's health board advises against going to a party on an empty stomach. Have an apple, a handful of kacang or a cup of plain yoghurt before you leave.
2. Use the half-plate rule
Fill half your plate with vegetables, a quarter with protein such as tandoori chicken or fish, and a quarter with rice or thosai. It's the same idea as the Ministry of Health's Pinggan Sihat plate, and it leaves less room for the heaviest dishes.
3. Pick your treats on purpose
Every table has murukku, laddu, kuih and cookies. Look at everything first, then choose two or three you really love and eat them slowly. Tasting "just one of each" is how a light snack turns into a full meal.
4. Watch what's in your cup
Syrup bandung, soft drinks and teh tarik are often far sweeter than they taste. Check your favourites in the Malaysian Food Composition Database, and switch to plain water, soda water with lime or teh o kosong when you can. Fewer sweet drinks is one of the easiest ways to avoid weight gain.
5. Eat slowly and stop at comfortably full
Your body needs time to register that you're full. Put your spoon down between bites, chat between mouthfuls, and pause before going back for seconds. Most of the time, you'll find you don't need that second plate.
6. Say "no thanks" with a smile
Hosts love to top up your plate. A warm "it's so good, but I'm really full" works, or leave a little food on your plate so they don't refill it. You can always ask to take a small portion home.
7. Keep moving between visits
Park a bit further away, help clear the table, or walk between neighbours' houses. Light activity after a big meal is an easy way to avoid weight gain when you're visiting several homes in one day.
8. Protect your sleep
Late nights come with the season, but poor sleep can affect your hunger hormones and push you to eat more the next day. On your non-visiting days, get back to your usual bedtime.
Overdid it? How to avoid weight gain after a big day
One heavy open house doesn't undo your progress. Go back to normal meals the next day instead of skipping meals to "make up for it", which only leaves you hungrier.
Drink plenty of water, go easy on salt, and get a walk in. Weigh yourself once a week through the season so you can avoid weight gain creeping up unnoticed.
Trying hard to avoid weight gain, but the scale won't budge?
Many of our customers tell us they follow tips like these over the festive season, yet still feel heavier and bloated afterwards. That's when some add extra support alongside their routine.
HISHIN XLite Plus is Malaysia's only slimming product with an MAL registration number, registered with the Ministry of Health's NPRA. You can look up the MAL number yourself. It's a two-bottle, day-and-night system of 100% plant-based capsules:
- XLite Day (Garcinia Cambogia Plus), taken before a meal, with Garxlim® garcinia from India and Svetol® green coffee bean extract from France, two ingredients studied for appetite control and weight management
- XLite Night (Corn Silk Plus), taken before bed, with corn silk and misai kucing (Java tea), herbs traditionally used to help the body flush out excess water
Take two Day capsules before breakfast or lunch, and two Night capsules before bed, with plain water. There's nothing to mix or brew, and it's suitable for vegetarians. MAL numbers: Day MAL26056058TC, Night MAL26046011TC.
XLite Plus works together with the habits above, not instead of them, and never as a replacement for meals or any medication your doctor prescribes.
The bottom line
You can enjoy Deepavali and still avoid weight gain by planning ahead, picking your treats on purpose and staying active between visits. Try two tips from this list at your next open house. Happy Deepavali!
Individual results vary. XLite Plus is a health supplement, not a medicine, and supports weight management as part of a balanced diet and active lifestyle. Not recommended for anyone under 18, or during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Please consult your doctor if you have a medical condition or take medication.
