These Navratri diet tips can help you lose weight

Navratri is the most awaited time of the year as it marks the beginning of the festivities. Many people fast during these nine auspicious days. The fast restricts eating non-vegetarian food, alcohol, grains, pulses and normal salt.

Fasting does not only serves the religious purpose but is also linked with many health benefits. Not many are aware that it serves as a detox. And if correct diet is followed then one of the major benefits of Navratri fasting can be weight loss.

Not just this, by eating the right food in the correct proportion one can achieve better mental health and reduce the risk of many diseases.

Here we give you four effective diet tips that can help you lose weight during the nine-day fasting.

Nowadays with so many food options available in the market, fasting often becomes feasting. Stopping yourself is not easy when the market is full of tempting food items like chips, mixtures and vrat thalis. But these foods items are loaded with salt and hydrogenated oil, which is not good for health and can lead to weight gain.

So, make sure to carry your food dabbas with small treats so that you don’t eat the outside food.

Having fresh fruits will provide you with ample nutrients and the fibre in the fruits will help you keep fuller for longer. Another benefit of having fruits is you don’t need to cook them. If you don’t like fruits much, you can have makhana, sabudana, sweet potato, green veggies, arbi and kuttu aata roti. All these fasting foods are loaded with nutrients, minerals, antioxidants and vitamins.

This goes without saying - Staying hydrated is very important irrespective of whether you are fasting or not. Begin your day with one or two glasses of lukewarm or plain water. When you feel hungry instead of reaching out for processed foods, choose hydrating drinks like buttermilk, fresh fruit juice, coconut water, nimbu pani, etc. Having enough liquids keeps you satiated for longer and also helps to burn fat.

Even before the Navratri starts, the market gets flooded with foods labelled as fast/vrat foods. Do not get fooled by such tags. These foods are loaded with excess sodium and unhealthy fats that can lead to weight gain. Processed foods can also cause a rapid rise and fall in blood sugar, which can lead to increased hunger and thus binge eating. Avoid consuming deep-fried foods like poori and pakoras.