7 Tips on how to watch your calories during CNY reunion dinners

Note amount of calories in each dish. Knowing how much calories there are will help you to eat selectively and prevent overeating. Download the MyFitnessPal mobile app to record what you eat and find out your calorie intake with each meal.

Select healthier choices. You always have a choice on what you consume. Traditional chinese new year snacks have high sugar content and are of little nutritional value. Opt for healthier snacks such as chewing on oranges and drink plain lemon water or prepare homemade juices instead of sugary packet drinks.

Have your breakfast. Before heading out for the all-day visitings, start the day with a glass of low-fat milk with cereals or a cup of no-sugar fruit juice. It will keep you full till midday when you will have your lunch. Avoiding the most important meal of the day will cause you to overeat by snacking unccessarily even before the next meal.

Eat your greens. Reserve more space in your system for more vegetable dishes, instead of simply stuffing yourself with bak kwa (barbqued pork) and the onslaught of meat. Stock up on the greens early and adopt a healthier cooking method for it.

Cook with less oil and dressing. Preparing salads with a lot of dressing doesn’t do anyone any good. So modify your cooking preparations with less of it.

Serve fruit for desserts. Instead of bringing out sinful tubs of Ben and Jerry’s for desserts, take the effort to wash and cut out fresh fruits instead. Leave out the ice cream for the younger ones and your body will thank you for it.

Wear a comfortable, fitting outfit. Be it your skirt, pants or dress, the more fitting choices will help you to be more conscious of your eating patterns. Overeating will certainly alter the shape of your outfits in a not so pleasant way.

Sharon Salim

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