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When it’s the festive season, it’s much harder to refuse those must-have tasty treats and large meals, given the many reunion lunches and dinners that can be held in many places including the office and/or at (one’s) home. Over the years of celebrating the New Year according to the Chinese zodiac, I’ve come to realise that it’s better to have a healthier celebration. So, if you’ve been pigging out in the past, why not be more conscious of what you’re serving/eating this year? Here are five ways you can ensure that you’ll not have to end up seeking medical help, especially after all the munching and downing of your favourite snacks and drinks.

1. Keep a well-organised food diary – and be detailed as possible.

In the age of the Internet, there are apps that allow you to keep track of your food intake. I also found some cute and interesting food diaries from scrolling and clicking through search results presented to me by one of the search engines. Even then, I somehow prefer to stick to pen and paper. I started doing so about four months ago. In my version, I include my mealtimes and whatever ingredients added. If I’m having snacks like cookies, I’ll include the number of pieces. It’s one way to monitor what and how much you eat – for a number of weeks I realised that I had been having a little too much fried food. On some days it does feel tedious, in which case I’ll just take snapshots of the food/drink I’m having, using my smartphone. I can’t wait to see what my diary will look like when the festive season kicks in.

2. Try and have a reasonable mealtime schedule that you can commit to.

I’ve learnt the hard way (post-Year of the Rooster 2017) – to always listen to my body. My family and I are sometimes guilty of eating too late, especially after having something rather heavy for breakfast and/or lunch.  Have guests over? Make sure not to get too caught up entertaining them – chances are you’ll forget to have your meals at your usual hour. Meanwhile, when you’re out, sometimes, it can be a challenge to have meals around the same time as you do at home. That’s how gastrointestinal issues start to bother you. Whenever I can, I try to eat thirty to forty-five minutes earlier than my usual mealtimes, which I find, makes a lot of difference. These days, if possible, when we’re at reunion ‘makans’ we’ll negotiate for something earlier and somewhere nearer ????

3. Opt for smaller portions when you can.

I’m lucky to have a small nuclear family in which at least two are small-eaters. Generally, we share almost everything. For example, Mandarin oranges can easily be shared. The real challenge is when you’re in the presence of your other relatives, when your elders start pushing you to have all those baked cookies, a little more of this and that dish, more rice. Perhaps, when you’re with friends who are big eaters, you’ll indirectly feel tempted to eat more than usual. Well, unless you happen to be exceptionally hungry on the day of your meetup, don’t give in to the temptation of eating bigger portions just because your friends are doing it.

4. See if you can ask for less oil, less sugar, less sauce/gravy, less salt – especially when outside food is involved.

If you have little choice but to consume non-home-cooked/packed food during the festive season, try and ask for less oil, sugar, sauce, gravy, and/or salt where appropriate. Do so firmly but politely. It’s healthier and helps curb food waste. In most cases, the restaurants – where we’re regular customers – happily obliged.

5. If possible, space out visits to relatives’ and friends’ houses.

The festive season is one of the chances to strengthen the bond between family and friends – that’s what many of us are used to hearing. Then again, it would be pointless if one has too many invites/places to go to in a day. Always consider time spent travelling to a destination as well as the return journey, especially if it concerns interstate/international travel. If need be, politely reschedule to another time/day more convenient, so you can set some time aside for yourself. This way, you can reduce your chances of overeating.

Well, I can’t wait to welcome the Year of the Pig, but I can resist pigging out ????

Note: ‘Makan’ from Malay literally means ‘eat’.