Some tips for people with disabilities to eat healthy this festive season

The festive season is slowly winding up. But what about all that extra kilos you have added up after munching on delicious Diwali sweets and snacks? When you are a person with mobility issues, it is important to watch your weight. Read on to know how to eat healthy during this festive season as it comes to a close.

Diwali is over, but festivities are lingering in the air. With family and friends around, every person is rejoicing on delicious food. Needless to say, post-Diwali is when you actually count your calories. All those rich delicacies that you treated yourselves with over the past few days would definitely have added to it. When you are a person with mobility problems or physical limitations, like on a wheelchair, it is important to watch your weight.

For Zeenath Sadar, a wheelchair user from Kochi, Diwali is her favorite festival because her neighbors bring in lots of sweets and delicacies.

“Being a wheelchair user, I must watch my diet. But festivals are to be celebrated with good food. So after a couple of days of having Diwali sweets, I go for a one week diet which helps me to shed down extra kgs. I do not want to compromise on good food and also on good health”, she says.

Read on to know how to manage your food intake

• Portion size matters– When your loved ones treat you with some delicious sweets dipped in ghee or fried snacks, would you be able to resist? Definitely no! So try reducing your meal portions, even slightly. You can fill in your plate with more fruits or vegetables if you feel that you’re munching too much on unhealthy foods. It also helps you to feel full.
• Focus on how you feel after meals– Experts have proved how excessive sugar and oil can cause numerous after effects to your stomach in different ways. For those who don’t eat too much of all these, indulging on them once in a while can be stressful to the body. Healthier the food that you eat, better you will feel. When you eat more junk, you tend to feel sicker. So knowing what you eat matters.
• Choose healthier options– One of the best things about buying products from supermarkets are the numerous options that you have. Want to replace real sugar with zero-sugar sweets? You can choose from a wide range. It is the same for fried items too. Baked snacks are the in-thing now. So if you want to stay healthy this festive season, go for healthier alternatives which are readily available near you.
• Stay hydrated– 60 percent of our body constitutes of water, so it is important to keep it hydrated. If you are having too much of sweets and fried items, then make sure you drink lots of water. You can keep a bottle nearby.

It is OK to let out your cravings once in a while and Diwali is the right time. So don’t make eating healthy hard on yourself, but watch what you eat.