The much-needed detox after Diwali

While the skies were exploding with starry fireworks, our collective weights were dangerously rocketing upwards too. While the diyas were glittering with their oil-soaked wicks, plates of gleaming mithai were calling you out in their ghee-filled splendour. And after all the festivities have settled down, we ruefully examine the additional weight that's settled on our hips and waistlines… and we rush towards the gym.

It's so easy to give in to the sweet temptations that are in abundance everywhere during Diwali. We tell ourselves that this is just a once-a-year thing, so it's fine. But is it really fine? All that sugar and ghee has to go somewhere! And it does. It goes straight to your abdominal cavity as body fat or visceral fat. This is stored around several important internal organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. The simplest way to determine the level of visceral fat is to measure your waist. When a women's waist is 35 inches or more and a man's waist is 40 inches or more, it's time to reduce the fatty, sugary foods and increase your workouts.

Here are six tips that can help you to get back in shape:

Sleep well: Sleep is an important aspect of detoxification; it affects your skin, weight, cognitive abilities, immune system and mental health.

Start the day with lime tea or cinnamon or fennel seeds tea: Drinking a glass of lime water or cinnamon tea or fennel seed tea in the morning, helps in flushing out toxins and excess sugar from the system, thus promoting weight loss.

Don't eat raw vegetables or fruits after 4 pm: Raw vegetables and fruits are seen as the best health foods to shed the extra kilos. But one should avoid eating raw fruits and veggies in the evening. Post 4 pm the digestive fire is anyway weak, which will further add to health issues.

Include Probiotics: Probiotics are bacteria that maintain good gut health, and it is highly recommended that one should consume them to naturally restore gut health instead of relying on digestive aids. Include probiotics like kombucha, curd, fermented vegetables or fruits in your diet.

Drink at least 2 litres of water daily: Drink at least 2 litres of water to flush out the toxins. To enhance your water, you can add cucumber, mint, and lemon to make it more detoxifying.

Exercise regularly or at least go for walk: Not only will it help you to lose weight, but also maintain your stamina and keep your active to ward off the post-Diwali doze.

- Chef Raji Gupta, started her gastronomic journey learning traditional Indian dishes and some baking at her home. She has even got training from celebrity chefs in Europe. Chef Raji's talent and hard work have consolidated her reputation as an accomplished chef in the food industry