Diwali is one of the most important festivals in our country. It transcends religious boundaries and makes for a stupendous three day extravaganza, including Bhai Dooj.

It’s like an amalgamation of Thanksgiving and New Year’s Eve. It also happens to be a time for binge eating. Your diet plan goes for a toss and all you want to have is mithai, more mithai and so much more mithai. All your get together and parties revolve around food.

When Diwali is over and you want to get back to healthy eating, you must follow a post Diwali detox plan. By detox, we mean to give you a break from fried and calorie-stricken food, be active and get some pampering for yourself.

Ideal diet plan post Diwali

The best plan would be to get back to your routine where you’d set meal times and follow a proper workout regimen. Remember not to fall for any detox trap.

That’s just when you starve and try to drop a muscle. It would do more harm than good. Detoxification, here, means flushing out the bad from the body. Prepare a concoction of ginger, lemon juice, black elaichi, jeera and gulp it down empty stomach.

Here is how you do it: Soak ginger, jeera and black elaichi overnight in a glass of water. Boil it the next morning and add lime juice to it.

Diet tips to follow post Diwali:

Less portion, frequent meals: Control on the portion size and instead of having three meals a day, you can have four-five.

Reduce sugar intake: Lessen your sugar consumption as much as you can. Look for alternatives like having chaach (buttermilk) in place of sweet lassi. Have fruits. Natural sugar found in fruits is also good.

Have fresh food: The more you eat fresh, the faster the body detoxifies. Include fresh green salads in your diet.

Don’t starve: The festival is over but your life isn’t. Don’t starve yourself just because you had a lot to eat these past few days. Crash diets are a complete no. Eat everything but watch the portions.

Be active: Start with your cardio again, move around as much as you can. Over to you! Following a detox plan post all the celebrations should never be a way to punish you. You just have to follow your old diet arrangement and fitness routine. Keep an eye out for your health and fitness and enjoy to the fullest. Eat responsibly.

(The writer is the founder and chief dietician, Nmami Life)