Indulge - but sensibly - to stay fit this New Year

NEW DELHI - It’s the year-end with cocktail parties, sinful gastronomical delights and lots of alcohol on the cards for party hoppers. Linked with all that merry-making is the inevitable weight gain, but experts say smart eating choices are the way out.

“New Year is a season to indulge, but do it sensibly - don’t go berserk or binge. Have soups and don’t starve yourself,” said Mumbai-based clinical fitness specialist Namita Jain.

“The issue with people is ‘free’ booze and ‘free’ food, so they starve the entire day and hog at the evening parties. This is like abusing one’s own body. Our body has a certain clock that needs to be maintained. So starving during day time is a bad attitude as body clock goes haywire and metabolic rate slows down,” she said.

The risk of piling on a few kgs is lurking around many corners this season.

“Parties are about enjoying. To enjoy one needs to be just careful on what one eats or drinks,” Munira Jawadwala Kawad, nutrition head at Gold Gym, Mumbai, told IANS.

She suggests choosing from foods like salads, soups and grilled vegetables and stuff like barbequed chicken but staying away from carbohydrates such as breads, sweets or rice.

“Make sure to eat some healthy home food before stepping out. This controls the craving and help to make right choice while eating or drinking,” she said.

Apart from this, drinking water before hitting the bar helps.

“Alcohol dehydrates the body, so drink 10-12 glasses of water to flush out toxins from your body. Also, alcohol drinking should be preplanned to avoid overdoing it,” said Jain, adding that it is not enough to just control food and alcohol intake. One must exercise as well.

“The weather is lovely so, one should go for walks, use stairs, do indoor sports like squash or indoor swimming, there are various ways of doing it, one just has to take out time,” she said.

Noida-based senior fitness and yoga consultant Vineeta Gogia suggests yoga to control weight issues.

“Do ‘kapalbhati’ or the ’surya mudra’ at whenever you get time. These postures can be done easily and they aid in weight loss,” says Gogia.

“Avoid cold drinks after exercise, have more green teas and the biggest meal of the day should be the afternoon meal. Try smart eating when you already know in advance that you are going out.

“Avoid eating fried snacks with drinks, they are laden with calories. Also try to eat as much fibre as you can during day. Eat after every two hours and make sure you have five portions of fruits at regular intervals,” she said.

“You should know where to put a full stop. No one can teach you that,” she added.

So, where’s the party tonight!