Diwali 2022: Want To Shed Some Festive Kilos? Here Are 12 Easy Weight Loss Hacks

From snacking right to eating out wisely, here is your ultimate guide to post-festivals weight loss.

Diwali 2022: Tips for festive weight loss.

Santhosh Varghese

Diwali festivities almost always leave behind a load on us.

The incremental evidence in our waist size, weight, and guilt become rather obvious once the festivities are over.

So making complemental adjustments to our eating and exercise habits to shave calories for our desired weight loss is almost imperative post Diwali - if you wish not to be saddled with excess weight and multiple toxins.

Below are 12 simple weight loss hacks that really work.

Choose the ones that work for you. Or do them all by rotation for atleast a week or two.  

Trust me your body won’t even notice the loss!

1. Cut 100 Calories (Or Multiples of It) Everyday

Tip #1: Cut calories

The good news is that minus 100 calories = one dietary change – yes, that’s all it takes.

After all, what’s 100 calories - just a pat of butter (15 gm believe me).

It really does boil down to a few nibbles less of the burger or forgoing a couple of cookies or 2000 extra walking steps every day.

2. The Salad Trick

Tip #2: Begin meals with salad.

Start your meal with a salad always. Research is clear on this - when we begin our meal with a salad, we eat fewer calories as compared to when we don't eat a salad.

Cut back the salad dressing (use 1 1/2 tablespoons of dressing or less per one and a half cup salad). Just coat your salad; it’ll taste best if dressed, not drowned in dressing.

Also when eating out, ask for the salad dressing on the side rather than on your salad, then dip your fork into it before stabbing your greens.

This little manoeuvre could help cut loads of calories.

3. Check Portions

Tip #3: Eat small portions of food.

Bigger portions are always a big culprit.

Do check the portion sizes of all the foods that you are eating, or better still take a smaller bowl to eat and eat slowly.

This one step alone can make or break your weigh loss efforts.

4. Snack Right

Tip #4: Munch on fruits instead of wafers.

Choose your snacks carefully.

A hard-boiled egg (about 75 calories) will be anytime more filling than a biscuit and a half (about the same number of calories).

Some 100 calorie snacking options-

• Apple (medium): 75-95 kcal

• Orange: 45-60 kcal

• Banana: 90-100 kcal

• 20 carrot sticks (100 gm): 40 kcal

• 2tbsp of hummus: 50 kcal

• 10 cherry tomatoes: 30 kcal

• Buttered (very little; about 3 gm) brown toast: 100 kcal

• Cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk: 10-15 kcal

• Mug of coffee with semi-skimmed milk: 20 kcal

• 100 gm cottage cheese: 86 Kcal

• 1 cup low fat milk: 100 kcal

• 1 small pot (100 gm) of low-fat yoghurt and strawberries (100 gm): 100 kcal

Want To Be Stricter?

Print out a list of these really low calorie munchies – about 25 calories each – on your fridge, and grab them whenever you want to simply munch something-

• 1 large carrot

• 1 tomato

• 1 plum

• 1 stalk broccoli

• 1/2 cup spinach (cooked)

• 2 whole cucumbers

• 1 cup cauliflower

• 2 large olives

Note: all calories are indicative and may vary

5. Limit Alcohol and Coffee

Tip #5: Cut down on alcohol and coffee.

If you drink alcohol, limit your daily consumption to one drink for women and two drinks for men as recommended by experts.

The fancy concoctions that are now the javas of choice for many people can contain as many calories as an entire lunch. So watch your coffee calories.

6. Stick To Green Tea

Tip #6: Green tea can help.

A can of soda contains approx 150 calories. Three of these a days make up an extra 450 calories.

Add juice and sugary lattes to your diet, and you practically need a calculator to tally your liquid calories – and what’s worse is that these don’t fill you up too.

That’s because your body doesn’t register calories from liquids the same way it does those from solid foods, so you won’t get those 'stop eating' signals.

So stick to water and green tea and get your calories from more filling and satisfying food.

7. Eat Out Wise

Tip #7: Be mindful when you eat out.

When you eat out, try these tactics -

• Order the smallest size of fries or split them with a friend

• Enjoy steamed rice rather than fried rice

• Have water instead or if at all, a diet drink

• Have clear soup instead of noodle soup or thick soup

8. Skip The Buffet

Tip #8: Order from the a-la carte menu

When eating out, give the buffet a skip, and order from the a-la carte menu.

Settle for boiled, grilled, steamed, poached, roasted and lightly sautéed dishes and steer clear of phrases like fried or crispy, au gratin, creamed, scalloped, cream and cheese sauces, breaded or battered, hollandaise and gravy.

9. Switch To Chutneys and Avoid Pickle

Tip #9: Mango and Mint chutneys are healthier than pickles.

Trim the fat, not the flavour from the food. To prevent the food from tasting too squeaky-clean, learn how to offset the absence of fat smartly.

One method to do so is eating chutneys instead of pickles- mango, tomato, mint (pudina), tamarind (imli), coriander (dhania).

These are healthier and fat-free.

If you must have pickle, try this:

1. Cut the vegetable or fruit into pieces and place in a tall jar.

2. Fill up the jar with vinegar and water in a 50:50 proportion.

3. Add salt and spices (red chilies, green chillies, pickling spices, mustard seeds).

4. Screw lid shut, shake well and store for a month.

5. It tastes just fine even minus the fat or sugar.

10. Bake Your 'Fries'

Tip #10: Switch to baking instead of frying. 

Instead of frying potatoes in oil or, worse, buying frozen or ready-made fried potatoes or chips, bake your own the healthy way.

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F (215°C).

2. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

3. Arrange the sliced potatoes or wedges on it and spray once more.

4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, then bake for 45 minutes or until brown and crisp.

5. Don’t forget to turn the slices once while baking.

11. Switch Spreads

#11: Hung Curd is a better alternative to mayo

A tablespoon of mayo has 100 calories, whereas an equivalent amount of hung curd would give one-fourth of that number.

So make the right choice for spreads and always choose hung curd over mayo.

12. Marination Is A Must

Tip #12: Alway marinate meats

Always marinate chicken and other meats – they’ll cook quicker, taste better, be tender, and would require less cooking fat.

And finally, a bonus tip is - stop eating by 7 p.m. or two to three hours before bedtime.

Giving your body a "mini fast and cleanse" and not stuffing yourself at night allows your digestive juices to burn excess waste material, thereby promoting weight loss and digestion.

(Kavita is a nutritionist, weight management consultant, and health writer based in Delhi. She is the author of Don’t Diet! 50 Habits of Thin People (Jaico), Ultimate Grandmother Hacks: 50 Kickass Traditional Habits for a Fitter You (Rupa), and Fix it With Foods.)