“I got this beautifully decorated box of a dozen pista barfees. They looked so amazing that I simply had to taste them. So I tried one, and before I knew it, I’d polished off eight of them! What do I do now?” She expected me to come up with some supersmart and superquick remedy for this mindless behaviour, but honestly, I didn’t have one! As somebody wise already advised, ‘Don’t cry over spilt milk’.
So the answer is: don’t waste time in self-loathing; move on to eating nutritious, easy-on-the-stomach meals. And yes, work on getting restful sleep so that the stomach feels well rested and not toxic or acidic. Getting peaceful sleep and regularising your bedtime should be a greater priority than counting calories post-Diwali. Nothing allows your stomach and metabolism to recharge like sleeping does.
Also, don’t recycle your Diwali dinner leftovers or ‘saved for later’ sweets. Focus on dal-chawal, roti-sabzi and simple home-cooked meals to allow the stomach to overcome the Diwali dhamaka. Work out at least twice a week.
Diwali is a celebration of light or wisdom over the darkness of ignorance. Celebrating Diwali in its true essence would mean eating with wisdom and not ignorance. Getting into some faddish ‘detox’ to rid yourself of the guilt of overeating only intensifies the darkness and takes you away from the intuitive wisdom of your stomach to eat right. Tune in, light that lamp of wisdom and eat mindfully to celebrate a lighter body.
Hope you all had a bright Diwali!
(Nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar’s latest book is called Women and the Weight Loss Tamasha)
