Festival guilt - how to let it go and move on
One festival day cannot wipe out weeks of good eating, because 1 kg of real fat needs about 7700 extra kcal. The big scale jump the next morning is mostly water from extra salt and sweets, so be kind to yourself and simply return to your normal plate.
Diwali sweets, wedding thalis, Eid sheer khurma, Christmas cake - our festivals are made of food, and that is a good thing. Then the next morning you step on the scale, see a scary number, and the guilt starts. Let's look at what that number really means, so you can enjoy the festival and let the guilt go.
One festival day of overeating ruins all your weight-loss progress.
mostly falseMostly false. One kilogram of real body fat needs about 7700 kcal MORE than your body burns. Say you eat about 1500-2500 kcal extra on a big festival day (a rough example). That is only about 0.2-0.3 kg of real fat. The scary scale jump is almost all water, not fat. Weeks of good eating are not undone in a single day.
The 2 kg the scale shows after Diwali is 2 kg of new fat.
mostly falseMostly false. Most of that jump is water, not fat. Extra salt from namkeen, savouries and restaurant food holds water in your body - about 300-500 mL of water for every extra gram of sodium. Extra sweets and carbs get stored as glycogen, which traps 3-4 g of water for every gram. Drink water, eat your normal food, and most of this 'weight' is gone in 2-4 days.
How much real fat can one festival day actually add?
Kind ways to let the guilt go and move on
- Don't weigh yourself for 3-4 days after a big festival. The water weight falls off on its own once you eat normally again.
- Drink plenty of water the next morning. It sounds odd, but water helps your body let go of the extra salt and water it is holding.
- Go for a 20-30 minute walk. Movement helps your muscles use up the extra glycogen and feels good for your mind too.
- Do not skip the next meal to 'make up' for it. Skipping usually leads to more hunger and more overeating by evening.
- Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend. You enjoyed the festival. That is not a crime - it is one day.
- Your body even burns a little extra adapting to the change, about 65-230 kcal a day, so the real damage is smaller still.
The bottom line
One festival day does not break your journey. Real fat needs about 7700 extra kcal per kilogram, so even a big feast adds only a few hundred grams - the rest is water that leaves in days. Be kind, drink water, walk a little, and simply go back to your normal plate. The festival was worth enjoying.