It is the week after the Raya holidays and the kids are back to school. The adults have to get back to work despite Raya being a whole month of celebration. Yes, even though Eid arrived on the 7th of July, in Malaysia, Raya is celebrated till the end of Syawal with open houses, festivities and of course food and more food.
Today being the first day after the long Raya weekend, the streets of Kuala Lumpur still appear pretty much tranquil as most people would have taken an extra day off in case of the massive traffic entering back into the metropolitan city that may incur hours of jam. And of course, the finals of the Eurocup 2016 was airing at 3 am this morning with a miraculous win of Portugal over France with a score of 1-0 during extra time unexpected since their star player Ronaldo was taken off field for injury earlier on. For most Malaysian men, football is as loved as food, regardless of which continent it plays in, hence probably a quarter of the nation is at work bleary eyed from watching the game. C'est la vie.... Sorry France, you'll have to tie Spain some other year.
Courtesy of Star.com.my
With a long week of holiday after a whole month of fasting, the most common complaint you would always hear about is how a person loses a few pounds during fasting and then regains back what is lost (or more) during the raya spree. Ah, yes, but how can you say no the the most delicious wondrous food that come out usually only once a year of celebrations. It is rare to see a Malaysian turn down rendang, ketupat, sate and all the different types of food every state has to offer, not to mention the multiple open houses that invites people to dine from morning till late night. Yes, we love our food, we love festivities, and we really love Raya.
But we are also the fattest nation in south-east Asia which was recently shown on recent statistics with a high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCD) like diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, spine issues etc. Hence, the post raya blues.
There are many studies linked to obesity and weight loss which gives us a good picture of how to reduce weight and what works and what doesn't. There are also so many products and fads in the market that promises weight loss and slimmer body. Whether they really work or not? Well, its hard to say since there is not much evidence collected on them. And when I say evidence, it does not mean testimonials. It means controlled comparison studies between product A and a placebo (placebos are usually just water or sugar tablets mimicking the original product but have zero effect on the person) blindly randomized and given to an x amount of people and observed over time. Testimonials are flawed because some people are paid to write positive testimonials on a product. We have so many websites offering ghost testimonials mimicking real life people that anyone can create testimonials and put them on their site.
On the lighter side, eating is culture in Malaysia. It would rude not too. But we can still keep off the extra pounds if we are mindful of what we eat. Here are a few tips to stave off the extra calories despite having to be guest to the many open houses.
1. Stay off the carbs as much as you can.
Omitting rice, bread and other carbohydrates would definitely help to reduce the pounds gained. But still, the delicious food can be so enticing. Instead of completely omitting the carbs, try to portion the carbs to be smaller than usual. For example, maybe just a small portion of rice compared to the dishes or limit your ketupat lemang intake to just a fistful.
2. Watch out for additional sugars in the drinks.
Stay off the sodas and cordials if you can. Usually when I go to open houses, I would opt for plain water, sparkling water or coffee without sugar. All forms of canned drinks, soda, gas and fizzies are a complete no - no on my list. Cordials are minimally welcomed because usually they have been diluted in a lot of water. Fresh juices are acceptable but you barely get those in open houses. Teh tarik and nescafe tarik contains a lot of sugar from the evaporated milk used (approximately 182 kcal calories per cup).
3. Kuih Raya are sugar culprits.
What is raya without kuih raya? We have a tendency to stock on these cookies during festivities. The problem is, eating these biscuits can be quite addictive and we tend to lose track of how many we take. Most of these cookies are sugar laden, margerine or butter laden, well you get the picture. They may look innocently small but 1 hari raya cookie can easily give you between 53-110 kcals of calories. Imagine taking 10?
4. Drink More Plain Fluids
Malaysia is a hot and humid country and Raya usually falls in the middle of the year where it is super hot. Eating all the salty and sweet foods also leads to more dehydration and thus we need to rehydrate constantly with water. This also helps with our digestive system and bowels to avoid constipation. The more you eat, the more you need to drink to get it out of your system as fast as possible,
5. Local fruit are sugar menaces. Take in moderation.
We are always encouraged to take fruits in our diets and told to increase servings. However, our local fruits tend to have a higher sugar content due to the tropical nature of the fruits. Durian is a common favourite among Malaysians. It is tasty but 1 seed is roughly 50 kcal calories. Imagine eating a whole fruit? It can come close to 1200 kcals for a fruit. For those durian lovers, limiting to 2-3 seeds per day is actually the best way to go. Besides, you have other things to eat which are equally heavy in calories. Moderation is always the key.
Courtesy of www.huffingtonpost.com
Well, of course if all else fails, you can always come in for a proper consultation on weight loss management and regimes to help get back that shape you wanted. For a limited time only we are offering 30% off our HCG diet programs and Mesotherapy spot treatment courses. Offer valid for the whole month of July only so book your treatments now.
Contact us at drmmclinic@gmail.com or send us a txt to +60129660852 for more information or to grab this deal.
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