8 Easy Ways to Avoid Overeating this CNY!

Chinese New Year is just around the corner and what is CNY without the sheer abundance of food? Bak Kwa, Pineapple Tarts, Love Letters, Prawn Rolls are some of my favourite indulgences, just to name a few ;) This year, however, is not the best time for me to be feasting without thinking mostly because of my upcoming wedding shoot (more about that next time). And so, I decided to put together some tips for myself to avoid putting on too much festive weight. Hope this will help you too!

8 Easy Ways to Avoid Overeating this Chinese New Year

1) Avoid 'Saving Your Stomach' for Meals

You know how, as Singaporeans, we LOVE to 'save our stomachs' for a buffet, or a really amazing meal that is coming your way? It can be so tempting to “save up” our hunger to have the most of our favourite food. However, when we skip meals and become ravenous for the next, we are likely to eat anything and everything at sight, leading to a feeling of being out of control. Instead, eat in accordance with your hunger throughout the day. If you want to ensure that you have a good appetite when you arrive at an event, try to eat enough to take the edge off your hunger before you leave home, without becoming too full.

2) Drink More Water

Drinking more water can help our stomachs feel fuller and minimize strong food cravings. Having a glass of water before eating can really help to minimize your intake during the meal! A great water-based concoction is hot water and lemon juice in the morning. This increases metabolic rates and help burn calories throughout the day too.

3) Watch Your Alcohol Intake

While it may be tempting to indulge in alcohol at this time, do your best to limit your alcoholic intake. Alcohol is notorious for making a person feel more hungry than they really are (tested & proven fact!). And you wouldn’t want to know how many calories a glass of wine can contain ;)

4) ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’

People tend to eat more when they can see the food. So it’s a great idea to store snacks in the cupboard or in non-clear containers, unlike those EVIL transparent containers with the red caps that almost ALL the CNY goodies are stored in! The sheer sight of snacks inside may prove to be too tempting for some people (like me). 

5) Avoid Eating Straight from Food Containers

Refrain from eating straight from a multi-serve packet or container like those we see on most coffee tables when we do visitations. The tendency to keep reaching for the food is reduced if we take a serving out onto a bowl or cup. Pouring out the amount of nuts or prawn rolls you intend to eat and stopping when the food in the dish is finished will really help with over-binging!

6) Avoid Deprivation

Depriving ourselves of our favourite foods completely can be counterproductive. The chances of losing your self-discipline and then suddenly caving into our cravings will definitely lead to binge eating. As cliché as it is, moderation is KEY!

7) Mingle More

Haha I like this one a lot - Hanging around our friends and family and engaging in conversation can prove to be an easy way from staying away from the dinner table or reaching out for a snack to occupy time! Don’t you agree that it’s because we’re too bored sometimes that we grab the nearest container of goodies and start snacking? Well, if you cannot find someone to engage in conversation with, playing games on your phone may help too ;)

8) Move away  

Once you’ve filled your plate with your share, apply discipline and simply WALK away.  It’s just too darn tempting (and easy) to mindlessly nibble on what’s next to you. So yes, try not choose a seat near the food, or avoid socializing right next to the buffet table. See point 7!

Yep, this is all I have! Please feel free to share if you have any tips too ;) In the meantime, to all my Chinese readers, have a blast celebrating the festivities with all your loved ones and may we seek to pass down this tradition to our future generations. Have a blessed & prosperous year of the Dragon! xx

*images from Google Images*