A guide to eating well during the Spring Festival without gaining weight. Just read this article →

Although going home for the Chinese New Year is a happy thing, many people are also troubled by the fact that they gain three pounds every holiday season. So, how can we prevent ourselves from gaining weight during the holidays? Paying attention to these 7 "don'ts" may help you avoid gaining weight during the holidays.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

1. Avoid frequent gatherings and overeating

During the Chinese New Year, you can have a meal with many relatives and friends. When the mood is strong, it is easy to overeat and eat a lot. Overeating and overeating at every meal will lead to excessive energy intake. If the energy intake cannot be consumed in time, it will be converted into fat and stored in the body, which will lead to obesity. Therefore, it is recommended that you pay attention to eating in moderation when attending a meal.

2. Don’t eat too much meat and fish every day

During the Chinese New Year, it is natural to enjoy delicious food. Many people like to eat big fish and meat, braised pork, braised pork elbow, braised beef, fried chicken, lamb chops... These foods are people's favorites, but vegetables and fruits are often ignored. However, big fish and meat foods usually have higher energy, especially more fat, and eating more can easily make you fat. It is recommended that you do not relax, and pay attention to a balanced diet even during the Chinese New Year.

3. Don’t put too much salt in cooking

In addition to providing saltiness, salt is also the best player in blending flavors. It can eliminate bitterness, weaken sourness, enhance sweetness, and enrich the aroma of food to enhance the overall flavor of the diet. Therefore, salt is always indispensable in food, and many people are used to adding two spoons of salt when cooking. In addition, during the Chinese New Year, people in some areas will make a lot of pickled foods, such as sausages, bacon, salted fish, etc. The food made in this way is really delicious, and the appetite is good, so people eat more and gain weight easily.

4. Don’t always use thick oil or fry when cooking

Many people like to add a thick layer of oil when cooking, and they also like to make various fried foods during the Chinese New Year, such as fried chicken, fried fish, fried meatballs, fried tofu puffs, etc. Fried foods are not only delicious, but also convenient and easy to store. Especially when there are many people in the family and a lot of food needs to be prepared, the advantages of fried foods are very prominent. However, fried foods have a high fat content, and eating too much can easily make you fat. The per capita cooking oil intake of Chinese residents has exceeded the recommended amount by more than 40%.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

5. Don’t eat too fine food

Many people like to eat soft rice and pasta as staple foods, and do not like to eat coarse grains and whole grains. These refined staple foods have a delicate and delicious taste, but they are digested and absorbed quickly, which will increase blood sugar levels and stimulate the pancreas to release insulin. Insulin promotes the growth of adipose tissue and may cause weight gain.

6. Don’t lie down or play mahjong right after a meal

During the Chinese New Year, many people do not do much activity after eating. They basically lie down or sleep immediately. This causes a large amount of food to accumulate in the stomach and cannot be digested. The calories in the food are converted into fat, causing people to gain weight and grow a belly.

Even if there are activities, many people play mahjong and sit for long periods of time. People who sit for long periods of time consume fewer calories than active people.

If you intake high energy, exercise less, and consume less energy, your body will naturally gain weight. In addition, blood circulation in the waist and abdomen is poor, so fat is easily retained, leading to excessive fat accumulation over time.

7. Don’t stay up too late

During the Chinese New Year, many people like to stay up late, play games, play mahjong, etc. Lack of sleep is more likely to cause weight gain or even obesity. A British study collected data on the sleep duration, diet records, blood samples, and weight of 1,615 British adults. The results showed that people who sleep about 6 hours a night on average have a waist circumference 3 cm larger than those who sleep 9 hours a night.

How to spend the New Year healthy and gain less fat?

If you want to have a happy New Year without gaining weight, the key is to control your diet and move your legs.

1. Control your diet and eat a variety of foods

When the energy intake of the human body is greater than the energy consumed, the excess energy will be converted into fat, and the person will naturally gain weight. Therefore, if you want to avoid gaining weight, it is important to pay attention to your mouth and control your energy intake. You may want to try these tips:

Use less oil when cooking, and avoid frying and pan-frying. It is recommended to stew, boil, steam, and mix instead.

When cooking, try to keep the flavors light, use less salt, and eat less bacon and sausage.

When eating staple foods, don’t always eat soft rice noodles and pasta. You might as well add some coarse grains, mixed grains and whole grains.

Pay attention to food diversity in your diet, don't be partial to big fish and meat, and eat more high-fiber foods such as vegetables, fungi, fruits, whole grains, etc., which can make people feel fuller and are low in calories.

When eating meat, give priority to white meat such as fish, shrimp, chicken, or lean red meat.

Copyright images in the gallery. Reprinting and using them may lead to copyright disputes.

2. Walk your legs and exercise appropriately

During the Chinese New Year, don't just spend time having dinner and drinking, and try not to play mahjong all the time. When you have time, you might as well exercise more to burn excess energy, which is very effective in preventing weight gain and reducing excess abdominal fat.

For example, you can skip rope for half an hour, jog or walk for half an hour every day, or you can do exercises at home for the "core muscle groups" such as the abdomen, thighs, waist, etc., such as jumping jacks, plank support, hip bridge, stretching, etc.

References

[1]QinP,LiuD,WuX,ZengY,SunX,ZhangY,LiY,WuY,HanM,QieR,HuangS,ZhaoY,FengY,YangX,LiuY,LiH,ZhangM,HuD,HuF.Fried-foodconsumptionandriskofoverweight/obesity,type2diabetesmell itus,andhypertensioninadults:ameta-analysisofobservationalstudies.CritRevFoodSciNutr.2022;62(24):6809-6820.doi:10.1080/10408398.2021.1906626.Epub2021Apr7.PMID:33825582.

[2]BeccutiG,PannainS.Sleepandobesity.CurrOpinClinNutrMetabCare.2011Jul;14(4):402-12.doi:10.1097/MCO.0b013e3283479109.PMID:21659802;PMCID:PMC3632337.

[3]DingC,LimLL,XuL,KongAPS.SleepandObesity.JObesMetabSyndr.2018Mar30;27(1):4-24.doi:10.7570/jomes.2018.27.1.4.PMID:31089536;PMCID:PMC6489488.

[4]PotterGDM,CadeJE,HardieLJ(2017)LongersleepisassociatedwithlowerBMIandfavorablemetabolicprofilesinUKadults:FindingsfromtheNationalDietandNutritionSurvey.PLoSONE12(7):e0182195.

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Ruan Guangfeng, Director of the Science and Technology Department of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center

Review丨Zhang Yu, Researcher, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Doctor of Medicine