Indulge in Diwali sweets guilt-free!

The festival of lights is the most awaited festival of the year in India, with family, friends, lights, sweets, and savouries aplenty. The entire week is adorned with celebrations, colourful clothes, beautifully lit homes and delicious aromas from the kitchens.

Indian sweets have an overwhelming amount of one ingredient which makes the sweets rich and melt-in-the-mouth delicious - Ghee. The same ingredient also leaves you feeling particularly heavy after the festivities come to an end.

The pleasant aftermath the body feels after the festivities has also come to become what most Indians embrace as a part of the festival, but health and fitness enthusiasts dread those extra pounds that the season brings along.

How can you keep the extra pounds away? Don’t worry, we wouldn’t suggest that you lay off the sweets, that would be blasphemy! The secret is to make a shift in your metabolism and keep your core active. Your body is tricked into processing the sugars and fats in a manner where it does not leave you regretting those last few sweets that you ate.

• A slow warm-up of the body, a flow which circulates blood to all parts, especially the extremities.
• Stick to your regular Yoga flow, do not skip your routine, the festive season is not an excuse to ignore your health.
• Incorporate the plank pose in your daily routine, increase the duration you spend in this pose by double.
• Practice detoxing postures, forward bends, spinal twists, downward dogs, locust pose, bridge pose, inversions and plow pose.
• If you want to try something different from your regular Yoga flow, start your day with Surya Namaskars. The sun salutations are a full body workout which is bound to light up your day and your mood.
• Add Herbal teas, fruits, and vegetables to your daily schedule, to balance out sugars and fats.
• Hydration is the name of the game but also avoid water retention at all cost.
• Massages post the festive season could help detox and rejuvenate and help keep the excess fat off.

Diwali is a festival of celebration of the inner light and the light that surrounds us, it is also extremely important that we maintain a balance in whatever we do, and that extends to how we celebrate! The festive season is to ignite the light in our lives and those of many others!