Mindful eating during the festive season: enjoy, don’t overeat

THE festive season is a time of joy, food, family, and celebrations. But it can also bring overeating, bloating, and guilt if we're not careful. The good news? You don’t have to avoid your favourite festive meals – just enjoy them more mindfully.

Mindful eating is a simple way to eat with awareness, helping you enjoy your food while still taking care of your health. One easy habit I recommend is eating in a side plate instead of a big dinner plate. This helps control portion sizes without making you feel like you're missing out.

A smaller plate tricks your brain into feeling satisfied even with a smaller amount of food. Eat your foods in the right order. To manage hunger and avoid overeating, try eating your food in this order:

- Start with a salad or cooked vegetables: this fills you up with fibre and water and primes the gut for good gut health.

- Next, eat your protein: it keeps you full for longer and helps with muscle repair.

- Finally, add your starches like rice, roti, or potatoes: this way, you eat less of them and they don’t affect your sugar levels as drastically.

Make protein your priority

This festive season, make protein the star of your meals. Protein helps you feel full, keeps your blood sugar stable, and supports your metabolism. It should be the base of most of your meals together with plant options. Indulge in savoury breakfasts this season (eggs on toast, curry and savoury rice from the night before). Your calorie count doesn’t have to be boring. 

Here are some excellent and tasty festive-friendly protein meals:

- Tandoori chicken: grilled, flavourful, and high in protein with fewer calories when cooked without too much oil. Can be basked in marinade (be careful of the salt content and high blood pressure).

- Paneer tikka (grilled cottage cheese: great for vegetarians and packed with protein. Try using hung curd and spices for a light marinade.

- Egg curry or boiled eggs masala: delicious, filling, and easy to portion control (excellent form of protein especially after a night of only carbs and sugar).

- Fish fry (shallow fried or air fried): fish is light, high in protein, and full of good fats (be aware of heartburn and reflux).

- Dal tadka or rajma (kidney beans): combine with less rice and more dal for better balance.

- Chana chaat: a protein-rich snack made from boiled chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, and lemon juice.

Tips to stay in control without missing out

- Try to eat in a side plate (not a large dinner plate). This limits your portion size while allowing you to eat a variety of things and keeps your calories at bay. It also satisfies the “eating with your eyes concept” and allows you to stay within your eating limits. An excellent, solid tip for this season.

- Eat slowly: chew well and enjoy every bite. This helps your stomach send signals to your brain that you're full.

- Stay hydrated: sometimes we think we are hungry, but we are just thirsty. Drink enough water during the day.

- Don’t skip meals: skipping meals to “save calories” for later can backfire and lead to overeating.

- Choose one dessert: enjoy your sweet treat, but try to keep it to a small portion.

- Have 1tbs of vinegar or apple cider vinegar with some lemon juice: in 30 to 50ml of water via a straw before you eat your first meal and last meal of the day or if you’re eating a meal high in starches/sugar. You can have it in a salad pre-meal too.

Festive eating does not have to mean unhealthy eating. With a few mindful choices, you can enjoy the food, stay healthy, and feel great through the season.

Laika Maharaj is a registered dietician. Follow her on Instagram: @laikathedietitian or email: [email protected]

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