How can you not gain weight over the festival seasons?  Is it really okay to not set any limits during these festivals? There is no particular magical mantra to avoid weight gain. It is an everyday process but it’s not too much of work like it sounds either. It actually boils down to inculcating a few basic good habits and remembering some tips.

Festivals are all about celebrations, get-together and parties. But mostly, it is about all the delicious food waiting to be devoured; in other words: fat, sugar and toxins ready to get into your body.
Dr. Kabita Maharjan is a Nutrition Specialist at Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. According to her, the mentality of body cleansing after the said “cheat-days” is wrong on uncountable levels. Setting sky as your limit may sound cool for a lot of things, but eating habit is not one of them. It will have you fall on the ground and drag you way down.

Drink water like a fish 
Download one of those “Drink Water” reminder apps or take up the habit of carrying a water bottle. Carry a trendy water bottle to your work, gym or school -- basically everywhere.  Water is just fine but try filling it with cucumber slices, mint leaves and fresh lemon juice or your favorite fruits rich in antioxidants that aid in free radical reduction in the body. If not for the sake of drinking water, this fancy little effort of carrying a water bottle will at least make you drink it for the sake of following a trend.

Carb me not 
Cutting carbs does not mean consuming zero carb. Only cut off the amount of carb in your normal diet. Try eating one less momo off that plate, less rice and more veggies, more water and less sugary drinks.

Balance your meals 
Dr. Kabita stresses that the concept of “Balanced diet” should be fed to individuals since early age. However, it is not too late to embrace this concept. If you are not a very big fan of vegies and only like to eat meat and rice, eat some fresh fruits and vegetables after the meal in order to balance it out. If it’s a no-meat day at home, have some dal or pulses or beans. Whatever the situation may be, always remember to balance your meals with Protein, Carbs, Fat, Vitamins and Minerals.

Improvise fasting 
Festivals like Dashain demand all of us, bound by religion, cultures and traditions, to fast for pujas and other rituals. Then we tend to dive into food immediately after the long stretched fasting session. It may not be possible to change years of traditions and rituals just for the sake of maintaining the diet. As impossible it may sound, it isn’t that difficult to avoid eating in empty stomach either. Don’t let your stomach stay empty for too long. Keep it filled with water as soon as it feels empty. Yes, it is that simple!

Detoxify 
Detoxification refers to cleansing of the blood, by removing impurities from the blood in the liver, where toxins are processed for elimination. The body also eliminates toxins through the kidneys, intestines, lungs, lymphatic system, and skin. However, when these systems are compromised, impurities aren't properly filtered and the body is adversely affected.
Consumption of alcohol, tobacco smoke, a poor diet, and exposure to pollutants can produce excessive amount of free radicals and cause oxidative stress. Consuming a diet rich in antioxidants can help your body fight oxidative stress caused by excess free radicals and other toxins.Vitamin A, C and E rich food, berries, fruits, nuts, cocoa, vegetables, spices, and green tea have some of the highest amounts of antioxidants.

A detox-diet from time to time is a great idea but if it feels like too much work then slide these anti-oxidant rich foods into your diet from time 
to time.