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What are Diwali festivities without those extra bites of sweets shared with everyone, making delightful memories? The festival brings flavoursome confectioneries and fat-drenched savouries to the fore, and most of us don't have the will power to resist.

Yet, we have to be mindful to shred those lip-smacking dishes from the eventful days of Diwali! Here's a detailed diet plan to help you shed extra kilos in five days, allowing you to savour your sweetmeats and indulge in celebratory days guilt-free!

Detox yourself

Cleansing chemicals, waste, toxins, and harmful substances is how our body detoxifies itself through its internal detoxification system i.e. liver, kidneys, colon, skin, lungs, and lymph glands. However, when our bodies become overloaded with toxic substances, such as pollution, a poor diet of fast food, alcohol, medications, illness, and stress, it needs help to reboot so it can function optimally again.

In essence, detox is all about eating a diet that supports and improves the functioning of our liver. Unlike popular belief, detoxification is not about weight loss alone. It's mainly about helping and supporting your body to get rid of all the waste through proper dietary choices. It is beneficial for one and all.

Consuming Natural Detox Water, i.e. overnight Cinnamon/tulsi/ orange-infused water, salads, smoothies, and cold-pressed green juices certainly aid detoxification sooner which in turn is needed to stimulate the overall wellbeing of the digestive system to accept weight-loss targeted foods.

Foods recommended for speeding weight loss

Our traditional herbs and spices like cinnamon, cumin, ajwain, etc., really help to boost the metabolism. With zero side effects, they stimulate weight loss. Apart from these, there are some foods that one must include in their diet to accelerate weight loss.

Leafy greens like kale, spinach, and collard greens are loaded with minerals including magnesium and iron which help reduce stress. They also carry oxygen throughout the body and support weight loss. High in fibre, they also delay the stomach emptying time and can also be easily incorporated into our diet.

Probiotics like Curds and Yoghurt help improve gut health, reduce bloating, improve immunity and prevent fluctuations in weight by promoting better absorption of nutrients. An imbalance in gut health slows down metabolism and leads to weight gain.

Legumes like beans, peas, chickpea, and lentils contain protein, fibre, and complex carbs which take longer to break down. The protein in beans supports muscle formation. Having more muscle mass increases your caloric burn-even while resting. Having good fibre slows down the rate of digestion and also decreases the release of simple sugars and the absorption of carbohydrates from the digestive tract.

Reduce sugar intake, please!

While the days of the festivities will be loaded with fried snacks and scrumptious desi sweets, it is advised to reduce the intake of many guilt foods which hinder the weight loss journey. We need to remove sugar from the diet in the form of sucrose, bread, refined flour, sugar and flour-laden western desserts, etc. It takes a few days to avoid direct sugar but the body gradually adapts. One can opt for natural sugar like fruits, veggies which also provide fibre.

One must also refrain from consuming processed and oily foods which will just increase water retention and build up the fat cells gradually.

Detailed diet plan to reduce weight in 5 days:

There are plenty of diets that one can follow to regulate their weight during Diwali. Here's a simple diet plan that can help one deal with binge-eating and stimulate weight loss:

Every morning it is recommended to drink a glass of water including Cinnamon (�th tsp) + Methi (� tsp) + mint (3-4 leaves) that are soaked overnight.

Breakfast can include a range of meals like:

> skimmed milk + oats + 5 soaked almonds

> Oats cheela + buttermilk + 5 almonds, 2 walnuts

> Poha + buttermilk + 5 almonds, 2 walnuts

> Banana oats smoothie (1 banana, 75ml milk, 5 almonds)

> Besan dhokla (5 pcs) + buttermilk + 5 almonds

> Suji Upma + buttermilk + 5 almonds.

In the afternoon, one can have any 1seasonal fruit like an apple/ papaya.

Lunch can have combinations for each day like:

> 1 tsp Psyllium husk with a glass of water + 2 Chapattis (made combining bran+ atta) + Dal (1 bowl) + Curd (1 bowl, made from skimmed milk)

> 1 tsp Psyllium husk + 2 veg stuff chapati with plain curd

> 1 tsp Psyllium husk + 1 bowl oats porridge + curd

> 4 idlis + sambhar + mint chutney

> Green moong dal chaat (1 bowl) with buttermilk

> Veg Poha (1/2 poha 1/2 veggies) + curd.

1 bowl of salad during lunch is recommended.

Teatime can include Tea (1 cup with no sugar) + biscuit (1-2) or dry puffed rice chaat or 1 bowl of makhana.

Before dinner, a bowl of Vegetable Clear Soup or Chicken stock is recommended.

Dinner too includes a range of foods that one can select from over the 5 days. They include:

> 1 tsp Psyllium husk with a glass of water + Sauteed Veg (1 bowl including capsicum, broccoli, mushrooms, and onion) or Saut�ed Chicken in olive oil (1-2 tsp)

> 1 Cup Brown rice or 1 Chapati (made combining atta+ bran) with dry vegetables + salad

> 2 Oats cheela with mint chutney

> Blackchana chaat

> 1 Bowl steamed veggies + 1 bowl oats porridge

> 2 bowls moong dal with 1 katori dry vegetables

> 4 slices of thin-crust pizza

> and Veg pasta (1/4th pasta and rest veggies in red sauce).

A concoction of curry leaves wherein a few curry leaves being boiled in a cup of water stimulates weight loss better post-dinner.

5Superfoods for the win

While dieting can be difficult with hunger pangs kicking in now and then, to keep you filled and on track of your weight loss journey, it is best to stick to some hunger-satiating superfoods.

Proteins, fibre, and natural sugar (fruits) help to combat hunger pangs and avoid eating junk foods at the same time. Most importantly having enough sleep does the trick as people who get more sleep experience less hunger during the day. They hardly experience a desire for sweet and salty foods.

One can rely on Pumpkin Seeds, Millets like Bajra and Amaranth, Chia Seeds and Darkh Chocolate which are energy-packed foods containing a lot of nutrients like proteins, manganese, zinc, iron, niacin, coppern phosphorous, flavanols and antioxidants keeping one's mood and energy levels up throughout the day.

(Harshita Dilawri is a Nutritionist)