Eat well this festive season

The season of indulgence has now begun, with a range of festivals making it difficult to stick to a healthy food routine d1em slowly and g radually Try to use smaller plates and avoid second helpings.

Give away the extras goodies

The festival season i s here agai11 with Ganesh Chaturchi co Bhai Duj, and just like in lndia, they can never be complete without special foods and good hospitali ty. With so much variety availabl e as well as some traditional foods chat are only cooked on these particular festivals, ir sometime s becomes difficult co a void bigb calorie festi ve foods. Th.is i s the time when even rhe most disciplined person lets loose. And at th.is time of t he year, anyo ne even talki ng about a diet or bealcby eating is deemed t o be mo st unpopular

But if you have managed to lose ,veight or keep ir off thi s season, or are a diabetic or have high blood pressure or cholestero l, it becomes even more imperative to eat heald1y as after the feasting is over, yo u might end up witb m any more problems than you starred with. Counting calories at festivals is a b ig challenge. It bas been seen over the years rbat after the festival season, the rate of obesi ty goes up, suga r control o f diabetics goes down and those who are predisposed co develop diabetes also sbow signs of contracting diabetes. Experts warn that festival fun - and not the l east, cbe culture of sweet-eating d1at peaks rhencan help trigger long- rerm health prob lems, with diabetes only the start. In fact, Tndi a is di e diabetes capital of tbe world, as it hosts the most diabetics among all nations. Bue \\1th festivities following each od1er during this time, it is ve t )' difficult to stay focu sed and ad here co a strict d iet schedule It might scan with a bite here and a bite dlere and before we know it, we have eate n a plate full of e..'<tra cal o cies b)' the end of the day. If you keep in mind a few points, you need not m iss our all the fun and they might help in avoid health prob lems later.

Smaller portions

Have smaller portion sizes o f sweets a nd high calorie foo d s. Even whil e visiting fr iend s a nd families, pick up smaller pieces rather than overindulging o r being rude and complete ly refusing. Instead of loadi ng yo ur plate to cbe brim \Vith sweets, just rake a few, m ay be one or two, and ear

Do not eat sweets and 111ithai just because they are there or go ing bad because no one e lse is eating dlem. It is better to th row away a few pi eces of r11ithai railier cban putting yo ur healdl at risk. Or take the extra sweets to your workplace, to be enjoyed by your muJticulmral colleagues who would d efi nitely love a taste of lndian tradition.

Avoid aerated drinks

Avoid hav ing aerated drinks, sweetened beverages and fizz y drinks, which only add unnec essar y calor ies. Instead , have natural refreshing drinks like lemon ju.ice, ja!Jeera, coconut water, g reen tea or fruit juice. Drink plenty o f water, dle healthiest drink available!

Reduced fat foods

lf you are making sweets you rse lf, use low fat ingredients like low fat milk and other dairy pro ducts. Use natural sweeteners like honey and dates m make sweers, and avoid using refined sugar or artific ial sweeteners. But even if you use low fat products, do not overconsume. Plan recipes that are low in calori es and set an example for od1ers co follow. When eating out, d1oose roasted or baked, grilled o r barbequed s n acks instead of fried o nes.

Avoid skipping meals

Do not skip meals to compensate for the extra calories. You always ten d to have more cravings and overeat on an empty stomach.

Rather, cry to nibble on h ealthy snacks like salads, sproms, fruit and nuts to avoid overeating at dinner parties or bingeing o n unheal d1y sn acks.

Snack healthy

Include fresh fruits, yogur t dips with crackers, outs, raw salads, soups, roasted meats and chicken, soups as part of your snacks and meals instead of fried, oily and h ig h sugar foods and sn acks Do not skip out on sweets completely, bur adding fruits and nuts to d1e p la te may help balance dle calori es You c ould also have a light s nack before visi ting, to avoid consuming high calorie foods d1ere.

Gift healthy

Set a n example by g i fti ng healiliy foods such as basket.~ of fruit, dried fruit, nuts or candles ins tead of sweet s or ch ocolates.

Limit alcohol intake

Avoid consuming too much alcohol at parties. Sip on some fruit juic es or water in between drinks or go slow on drinks to avoid refilling. And make sure you s nad, in moderation and snack healthy wid1 alcobol, as that is where you add dle maximum calories

Exercise

No matter h ow busy yo u are o r h ow late you might have slept dle night before, do nor miss your exe rc ise schedule

Nothing can be more harmful dlan m issing exercise at th.is time Most of us tend ro skip our daily exercise during festivals m catch up on sleep or go visi ting. Bu t exercise i s very important m burn out th e extra calories dlat have been consumed and som etimes i f we break our .routine i t takes a while to get back on track.

Festivals and celebrations should be to mingle and socialize w i dl friends and not give us an excuse co binge eating Remember moderation is dle key to enjoy festive food am! still keep d1e weighi n g scales io balance.

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I t.,. , BY TIM BLIGHT

0ver the years, the Indian subcontinent has esmbLished it self in my heart as my favourite travel destination. What I love most abom the subcontinent is its diversity, not just within India, but in her neighbours: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal. lam fortmiate enough co have visited all of these na tions, a nd have met with their people and heard their thoughts on the region's superpower, Bharat. In this article l recount to you m y experiences of these conversations, and the sentiments which may surprise some.

Bhutan

' 'The truth is, we depend o n India a lot," said m y Bhutanese friend Tenzing. "B u t they depend on us too - look at the electricity!" he joked, referring to the August 201 2 widesp r ead power outages. India imports large amounts of energy from Bhutan, a result of the country's excess of hydroelectricity. Man y power plants were b uilt through Indian-Bhutanese joint venntres, and Bhutan appreciates the mone y that lnd.ia pays for the power. Bhutanese students attend universities in India, and Indian passport holders are the oaJy people who can eater Bhutan without a costly v isa/cour package. The Bhutanese view seems to be that India's and Bhutan's destinies are intertwined, and everyone's a wmner.

Maldives

Maldivians seem to be coo cl~illed out to worry about lndi a too much, although recent history bas contributed to some locals' opinions. The p resence of Indian businesses in the l\.1al di ves is a sore point, with some worried that the local market isn't big enough for such heavywe ight competition.

Jvforeover, a small handful of dodgy deaLi ngs have left some isla nd dwellers wondering whether their smaU n atio n would be better off witho ut Indian corporate inte rference. But the Maldi v ians are also a pragmatic bunch, and like the Bhutanese, recognize and largely appreciate the importance of lndia in their Lives. Not to mention the growing popularity of the IPL among young Maldivians! INDIAN

Sri Lanka

Tbe Sri Lankan view of India is pe rh aps what surprised me the most during my travels. Often I was asked rather brusq uely, "Oh yea h, how's India?" The (mostl y Sinha lese) Sri Lankans l met had a fairl y non -commirtal opi nion of India, which they seemed to consider an often patronizing, not particularly clo se sibling. In fact, many of the Sri Lankans I mer we re much more in terested in their country's place in South East Asia - why t al k about India, when we can chat about Singapore, Malaysia a n d Thailand? Blood i s thicket than water, and the Buddhist connection seems to b e stronger with the more similar culntre across the Gulf of Mannar. U nless you speak w i th Sri Lankan Tamil s, of course

Nepal

The veiled h ostility continues in Nepal, where I met lots of ordinary Nepal.is who felt that India was overbearing and often incons iderate. "T hey're always looking d own on us," complai ned Prakash , a NepaLi associate, who was n ot alone in hi s views. ''They th.ink tl1ey're better tl1an us," alleged Ramesh, a frequent business traveUer to India. ''They're always looking for ways to cheat u s," comp lained Don, a Kathmandu resident with an interest in poLitics. However, from what I could gather during my sh ort visit, the Nepalis' attitude towards their n eighbour reminded me of the semi -serious resentm en t which exists in , ew Zealan d towards Australia, or in Australi a towards the domin ating force of America. Friendly jib ing , l egitimate grievances som etirnes, but overall benign!

Bangladesh

Ban glad eshis are a contradictory people. On one band , they will g ladly point o u t areas in whic h India has wronged t hem, such as the contentious Farakka Barrage, a dam in West Bengal which regulates Bangladesh 's access to tbe Ganges. On the otl,er band, they enquire enthusiastically about, "What is India li ke?" The econ omic reality of modern Bangladesh is something which leaves m any feeling s lightly e nv io u s of 21st cenmry India. None of this however, dan1pens their pride in the ir s maU nation.

The fact that man y people ignore India's role in the liberation of Bangladesh should not be see n as a s nub; when a nation's history is only 40 years o ld, one muse focus on what builds pride, not w h at erodes it.

Thinking about India in Kathmandu: Many Nepalis aren't sure about India's regional dominance

''Although they would never admit itto an Indian, even the proudest Pakistani knows that what they share

Bhutanese circumambulate the National Chorten in Thimphu

Sri Lankans look out over the ocean at Unawatuna

Pakistan

A hh , Pakistan 1 saved tb e best (or juiciest!) for last. Giv en how fraught relations are with India , it i s only natural thac perceptions are somewhat c onfused But the mainstream Indian idea of Pakistan as an impoverished, uncivilized bastion of MuslimHindu hatred is simply inaccurate. Like India , it is an .incredibly multi -layered nation, and the majority of peop le are ab le to distinguis h between l ndia's gove rnm ent and her people.

Ma ny Bangladeshis hope their country can piggy-back on India's succ esses

"They're li ke our brotl1ers;' said my good friend Sajid of Indian people adding, "Vf/e c an't forget that we were once part of India." Of course, peopl e like Saj id wo n 't be heard on te levision news channels, when there are isolated cases of Aag-burning to sensationalise. Occasional spurts of nationalist fervour aside, most Pakistanis these days enjoy Indian movies, music and culmre. And al thou gh they would never admit it to an Indian , even the p roudest Pakistani knows that what they sh are wi tl1 lndia is much greater than wh at divides tl1em.