Eid Diet Plan for Weight Loss- Best Alternatives
Whether it’s eid-ul-fitr or eid-ul-adha, both give us muslims the chance to further strengthen our relationship with our immediate and distant relatives. They offer us a chance to spend time with our families and enjoy the festivities of this celebration right alongside them.
But how do muslims celebrate the festivities of Eid? Well, in most families, it’s through dinner, lunch or breakfast parties. Especially during eid-ul-adha.
And while that sounds like plenty of fun, for a person who’s focusing on losing weight, these parties can have the opposite effect.
Which is why in this article I’ve come up with a comprehensive Eid Diet Plan for Weight Loss that you can follow on eid without disrespecting any of your hosts.
But before I get to that, let’s talk about some of the major foods and drinks you’ll have to control yourself from taking too regularly during eid.
How to Prepare your Meat?
Eid lunches and dinners are all about treating yourself, and what better way is there to do that then by eating tons of meat. The only problem with consuming a lot of meat that’s been cooked in flour and fatty oils is that it can be detrimental to your weight loss efforts.
Not only does consuming meat all day that’s been cooked with flour increase the amount of fat you’re consuming but it also increases your uric acid level which can lead to a gout attack.
That’s why it’s better to know beforehand how to prepare any meat that you’re going to consume on Eid. And the best way to do that is grill or barbecue any meat that you’re going to consume.
Grilling your meat is by far the best way as it preserves all of its nutrients without overpowering them by adding more flour or fat to them.
However, if you’re someone who finds it difficult to eat meat without dulling down its natural smell, then adding as many spices as you want and barbecuing it is also an option.
Just make sure you remove any visible fat that you see on the meat as that too can increase the fat content of your body and even increase your cholesterol levels.
All in all, the next time you go to an Eid dinner, just make sure you prepare the meat you’re going to consume by either grilling it or barbecuing it.
The Problem With Consuming Soft Drinks
What’s the one thing that gets served at every Eid party regardless of what type of party it is? Soft drinks of course! And seeing as we’re in for a summer Eid this year, these cold drinks will be even more sought after.
But, despite how enjoyable it might be to feel something cold in your mouth after enduring crazy hot weather the whole day, I’d suggest curbing your consumption of soft drinks during this time.
That’s because all these drinks offer enormous amounts of sugar which can significantly harm your weight loss efforts as well as your general health.
Sugary soft drinks or sodas can cause serious harm to your body and increase your risk of heart disease, cancer and even type 2 diabetes.
Apart from that, the enormous amounts of calories these drinks provide is enough to stop all your weight loss efforts in their tracks.
Thankfully for you, I’ve come up with an alternative to soft drinks that’ll provide you with the same level of coldness without filling up your body with sugar.
Mint Margarita as an Alternative to Soft Drinks
There’s nothing that’ll help you escape the warmth of a summer day like a mint margarita. On top of that, the drink’s particularly useful as an alternative to fizzy drinks that are served in almost every eid party.
However, you can’t follow just any recipe for creating these mint margaritas, you’ll have to follow the one I’m about to outline down below. That is, if you’re truly looking to control the amount of weight you gain.
Mint Margarita Recipe:
- Squeeze one full lemon into a glass.
- Add some pink salt or black pepper according to your taste.
- Add some mint (again, according to your taste buds) and blend until the mint turns into liquid.
- Do not add any sugar or food colorings.
- You can also add in a quarter of a sprite or 7UP bottle in there for that fizzy feeling.
Control Your Dessert Consumption
Dessert is a must at every Eid party regardless of what time it is held on. And while you may be tempted to gorge yourself on all the tasty desserts you’ll see in the entire day, I’d highly advise against that.
Unlike soft drinks though you’re not completely banned from consuming any desserts. However, I ask that you only consume about two to three tablespoons of dessert with every meal during the day.
That’s also only for the three days of Eid, as consuming desserts or sweets on a daily basis can also be harmful for your weight loss efforts. As they too contain sugar, not as much as soft drinks but enough to completely nullify all your exercise’s results during the day.
Preparing a Plate of Food For All Three of Your Meals – Eid Diet Plan for Weight Loss
1. Lunch and Dinner
In terms of Eid parties, you’re going to be served the same type of food during both lunch and dinner. So, it’s only fitting that I come up with a similar plan for both of those meals. On any other day, I’d recommend that you fill half your plate up with a salad or vegetables.
But since It’s Eid I’m going to take the occasion into consideration. Keeping that in mind, here’s what my ideal plate of food would look like during Eid:
- Half of your plate’s space should be taken up by meat, preferably grilled or barbecued meat. No gravy at all as that just provides unwanted fats.
- ¼ of your plate should be reserved for salad or any green vegetable that’s on offer.
- The last ¼ of your plate should be filled with rice or any kind of wheat bread like Naan, Chapati or Roti. All amounting to a total of 24-30 teaspoons.
- You can also include a bowl (half a 250ml glass) of raita as an alternative to a sauce or gravy.
2. Breakfast
The breakfast plate greatly mimics the plate I just described for lunch and dinner. As the one described above is the ideal plate of food you should be going for if you’re looking to eat healthy and lose weight.
However, for some people it’s difficult to eat a salad in the morning as soon as they wake up. So for them I’ll replace the ¼ of the plate that was to contain salad or green vegetables with 2 to 3 tablespoons of dessert. All the other parts of your plate are to be prepared in the same manner.
Final Thoughts
I understand that I can’t stop many of you from enjoying all the foods set in front of you during Eid. But I can give you a plan that you can follow during this period. A plan that’ll help you stay on course for your weight loss goals as suggested by best nutritionist, while also enabling you to enjoy the Eid festivities.
And that’s exactly what I’ve done by outlining all the foods and drinks you should be avoiding and by presenting healthier alternatives to you.
Plus, I’ve also detailed how you should be making your plate at every meal during the day to ensure that you look after yourselves by controlling and reducing the size of your portions during the day.