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Diwali may be over, but the mithai boxes are still sitting at home. For most of us, resisting that one last piece of kaju katli can feel almost impossible.
Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal shared a post-Diwali video on Instagram explaining why people often find themselves reaching for one sweet after another. Her message: it may not simply come down to willpower.
In a video shared post-Diwali, Nmami talks about how festive sweets can be particularly difficult to stop eating once you start. The combination of sugar and fat can activate the brain's reward pathways, making that next bite especially tempting.
Instead of completely avoiding mithai, she suggests making a few smarter changes.
1. Eat one piece at a time
The first tip is simple: eat one piece at a time.
Rather than sitting with an entire box of sweets and continuing to pick pieces from it, take one serving and focus on eating it. The idea is to avoid mindless eating and actually savour what is on your plate.
That way, enjoying a piece of kaju katli or another favourite mithai becomes a conscious choice rather than something you keep doing automatically.
2. Pair your sweet with nuts or seeds
Her second fix is to complement the sweet with nuts or seeds.
Instead of having mithai on its own, adding nuts or seeds can make the eating experience more balanced and satisfying. Nuts and seeds also provide protein, healthy fats and fibre, which can contribute to satiety.
The idea isn't to turn your Diwali sweet into a “healthy food”, but to make the overall snack more satisfying so you aren't immediately looking for another piece.
3. Drink water and stay hydrated
Nmami's third tip is to stay hydrated, particularly before a snack or meal.
Reason: thirst can sometimes disguise itself as hunger. If you haven't had enough water, you may interpret that feeling as a need for food and reach for a snack when what your body actually needs is hydration.
So, before automatically reaching for another mithai or snack, have some water and check whether you're actually hungry.
The bigger message is not that you need to eliminate sweets after Diwali.
It's about being more intentional about how you eat them.
Take one piece. Savour it. Pair it with nuts or seeds. Keep yourself hydrated.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.