By Pooja Vig
Overeating is pretty much accepted as the norm this time of year. Chinese New Year cookies, buffets, office functions, parties, and huge family get-togethers seem to conspire against our usual healthy eating habits. Just as you start thinking about your new year’s health eating plan, February comes along with its many treats to de-rail the best of intentions. Here are some nutritional short-cuts to tackle some familiar situations:
Office Treats
Chinese New Year cookies are everywhere. When they are in the office pantry or on your desk it is just so easy to have just the one, then another. You know how that goes. Most of these treats are sugar. Even the savoury snacks are basically pure carbohydrate, which means that you are likely to succumb to them most easily in the afternoon, sometime between 3 and 5pm.
Tip: Make sure you have some protein at lunch so that your blood sugar levels don’t experience a significant dip in the late afternoon. Your body needs to eat a couple of hours after lunch so plan an alternative snack. A handful of spiced mixed nuts or apple chunks with some peanut butter work well. Take a fibre supplement such as psyllium fibre, mixed in water, 2-3 times a day. This achieves two things: First, it keeps you full you up and it also forms a gel in the stomach that absorbs extra fat and sugar from your food, and draws these out of the body.
The Party
Parties are meant to be enjoyed. But, no one enjoys the feeling that follows an evening of binging. Many people make the mistake of picking at their food during the day, and then overeating at night while at parties. However, this only sets you up for overeating. Instead of saving up for the party, continue to eat regular, light meals during the day.
Tip: Having psyllium mixed in water before heading for the party works like a treat. By the time you reach the party, you won’t feel as full and the fibre will work to remove extra fat and sugar from the food you eat.
Family Dinner
This is where it is perhaps the hardest to eat less. Family members love to encourage more food on the plate making it hard to say no.
Tip: Take charge of your plate. You don’t have to skimp on food, but you do need to be in charge of what does on your plate. Pile up on vegetables and have a good portion of protein. Limit or avoid carbohydrates such as white rice and noodles. Allow yourself a small portion of something you really enjoy as an indulgence.
Buffets
Buffets with incredible displays of fancy foods entice people to eat far more than they ordinarily would. The thought process is: this is a special treat, I’ve paid for this already, and to really make it worth my while, I must eat as much as possible, because that is where the value lies.
The solution: break this pattern by changing your idea of where value lies, and of how a special treat should leave you feeling. The value is not in the food alone, it is in the whole experience. Overeating is not necessary to derive the benefit. Ask yourself how you’d like to feel after a special treat: stuffed, heavy and uncomfortable with indigestion How can it be a treat when the outcome is so negative A treat should add to your sense of wellbeing, not detract from it.
Tip: Wait 20 minutes before getting up for another round so that your brain has time to register how hungry you really are.
Pooja Vig is a nutritional therapist, and trained microbiologist, with an independent practice at The Nutrition Clinic. For more information, visit:Â www.thenutritionclinic.com.sg
