Whenever you mention about healthy eating during Chinese New Year, here’s what you will hear from your family members or relatives,
Aiya, once a year!
It’s fine, you can eat more.
Don’t worry about getting fat, let’s eat together.
That’s how most of us are swayed and we end up having indigestion at the end of each day during Chinese New Year.
Not to talk about the delicacies that you only get to enjoy during Chinese New Year: Kuih Bangkit, Bak Kwa, pineapple tart, rice cakes, honeycomb cookies and many more.
If we simply indulge in whatever is presented to us during this Chinese New Year, it will definitely harm our body and kidneys.
Therefore, it is crucial for us not to overeat while enjoying this full-filled time with our close family members (since we are only allowed to celebrate this festive season at home with the enforcement of SOP by the government).
Read on to find out more about how you will suffer if you do not take control of the portion you eat during the Chinese New Year.
4 Major Consequences of Overeating
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Whenever we are enjoying a big feast with fatty food and carbonated drinks, some of us we will develop gas and bloating.
On top of this discomfort, we often challenge the upper limit of our stomach’s capacity during Chinese New Year.
If we do not put a stop at that moment, here’s what you can expect. You may experience nausea, indigestion and the worst scenario is that you will end up vomiting.
Overeating is not just about indigestion. You might think that by eating more, you will feel more energized.
What happens is in fact the direct opposite. When you eat more than you need, your blood sugar level will drop and you will soon feel sleepy and tired.
On top of this, you will consume far more calories than you need when you overeat.
You will end up developing excess body fat and suffering from obesity.
As you are now aware of the harm of overeating, let’s look into how we can secure at least 50% of healthy eating during this festive season.
We assure you that you can still enjoy your favourite delicacies and dishes without compromising your health.
3 Ways to Practise Healthy Eating During Chinese New Year
#1: Set your own boundaries
With a variety of Chinese New Year delicacies such as pineapple tarts and cookies available at home, it is irresistibly tempting and we can’t really stop our hands from getting them into our mouths.
This is even worse if you are having these cookies and delicacies while you are watching TV or playing with your phone.
However, you should set a limit to your eating by having an aim for the calories you consume per day.
You should aim for not more than 2000 calories in a day.
Another alternative that you can have is to enjoy healthier snacks such as nuts.
Nuts like pistachios, almonds and sunflower seeds are high in fibre, protein and healthy fats.
The fibre content will help you to feel full for a longer period of time so that you will not reach out to any more delicacies throughout the day.
Mind that you should choose nuts that are roasted, baked or raw. Do not opt for those which are fried, or coated in sugar, honey and salt.
Burning your head on what to have during this Chinese New Year? Check out our detailed article on how to ‘cow-tim’ your Chinese New Year on your fingertips with Klook!
Amazing gifting ideas are available too if you wish to send your love during this last week of pre-Chinese New Year celebration!
#2: Go for smaller portions by using smaller plates
Another way to secure at least 50% of your healthy eating during Chinese New Year is to trick your brain with a smaller plate.
In order to avoid the bloated stomach and indigestion, you can have every Chinese New Year with a smaller plate.
You might be doubtful about this, but it is scientifically proven by researchers.
It is actually the Delboeuf illusion, where the size of our dinnerware actually affects how much we serve and eat.
So, when you use a larger plate, your brain will be tricked by the visual illusion into thinking that portion sizes are smaller.
You or your family members will keep on adding food onto your plates and you end up eating more than you have expected.
If you are still sceptical, you can try out this method now during your daily meals where you fill a bigger and a smaller plates with rice.
You will be shocked by the difference in the amount of rice to fill up each plate.
#3: Drink more water and tea
As we enjoy our Chinese New Year meals throughout the day, we should also watch out on what we choose to drink.
As the weather during Chinese New Year is often hot and dry, it is quite difficult to resist the temptation of soft drinks during the festive season.
However, drinking sugary and carbonated drinks will not quench your thirst. It will only add extra calories to your diet without any essential nutrients.
Do you know that as an average healthy adult, we should not consume more than 50g or 10 teaspoons of sugar per day?
How about our children then? Children ranging from 2 to 18 years old should have 25g or 6 teaspoons of sugar intake per day.
Do you then know that a packet drink alone contains four to five teaspoons of sugar?
If we do not watch out what we and our children drink throughout this festive season, it is very easy for us to exceed the daily limit.
Not to say if we drink sweetened beverages for every meal during the feasting!
Is there any better option to have a healthier Chinese New Year? Yes, there is.
One of the best options you can have is to drink more plain water. Besides having zero calories, water can also help to flush out the wastes accumulated from feasting.
You can also opt for unsweetened beverages such as Chinese tea during this festive season.
Healthy Eating During Chinese New Year Is A Must
With the ongoing pandemic, it is a must for us to take good care of our health, even during celebrations such as Chinese New Year.
Let’s practise healthy eating during Chinese New Year so that we can celebrate the year of ox with excellent well-being and abundance.