Eat, drink, and stay slim

Photo by [Li Feng/China Daily]

Festive feasts are fun, but beware weight gain! For those who gain a few kilos, experts weigh in on dieting fads.

Mooncakes, hairy crabs and Chinese yellow wine; these are the things that automatically come to when one's thoughts turn to the Mid-autumn Festival dinner.

The festival is a time to enjoy family reunions and to feast on dishes that have been popular with countless generations of Chinese, but for the health conscious, the thought of gaining weight can dampen the festive feeling. For many, the high-protein holiday food is a concern because it has far more calories than the daily requirement, which is not just deleterious to long-term health, but can also result in an immediate effect on the weighing scales.

However, according to Fan Zhihong, a member of the board of directors of the Chinese Nutrition Society, there's no real reason for pessimism.

"Indulging one's appetite for one or two days is not so terrible," he says. "If you believe you've eaten too much, just take some exercise to avoid gaining weight." Fan did have one caveat, maintaining control over one's weight - both during holidays and daily life - is complicated and requires persistence.

The secret is to reduce one's intake of calories while simultaneously increasing the number of calories you burn - in other words; eat food that's low in fat but rich in fiber, and to exercise.

Fan pointed out that from the perspective of lifelong weight management, instead of worrying about one's weight over a short period, one should focus on changing the unhealthy lifestyles that result in obesity, such as a lack of exercise.