The moon is round, but I am not! Eat mooncakes to avoid gaining weight, remember these 5 tips

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. Mooncake gift boxes are often given as gifts by relatives, friends or colleagues at work. From traditional mooncakes to a wide variety of creative mooncakes on the market, it is so tempting that you can't help but feast on them. When you are reunited, you are faced with the temptation of so many mooncakes. How can you enjoy them without gaining weight?

Obesity is the root of all diseases. Eating mooncakes can prevent you from gaining weight. Weight control is the most important thing.

One traditional Cantonese mooncake 800 calories = 3 bowls of rice

Nutritionist Ye Yimiao pointed out that the raw materials of mooncakes are mostly made of flour, bean filling (red bean filling, mung bean filling, jujube paste filling, taro filling, etc.), cream, eggs, sugar and other ingredients. In order to make the crust of traditional mooncakes crispy and the fillings dense, a large amount of oil and sugar are generally added during the production process. Some mooncakes also add salted egg yolks to make the taste richer. They are refined snacks with high calories, high fat and high sugar content.

Taking a 185-gram Cantonese-style double-egg yolk mooncake as an example, the calories are close to 800 calories. The calories consumed in eating a Cantonese-style mooncake are equivalent to eating 3 bowls of rice! As for a 50-gram egg yolk pastry, which contains about 200 calories, Chief Nutritionist Ye Yimiao said that eating one egg yolk pastry contains nearly the calories of a bowl of rice (about 280 calories), which is surprisingly high in calories!

In addition, when enjoying mooncakes, you should reduce the amount of staple foods in your regular meals. For example, reduce the intake of rice, pasta and starch by 1/4 to half a bowl to avoid excessive sugar intake. You should not ignore the fat and added sugar contained in mooncakes, so as to avoid excess calories and accumulation that lead to obesity.

5 tips to avoid gaining weight by eating mooncakes

Nutritionists remind people not to treat mooncakes as a main meal. After all, they are refined pastries that are high in oil and sugar and are not a nutritionally balanced meal.

Tip 1: Don’t eat mooncakes as a meal, share small mooncakes

• Don't treat mooncakes as a main meal. After all, they are refined pastries high in oil and sugar, not a nutritionally balanced meal. They are only suitable for enjoying during the Mid-Autumn Festival to satisfy your cravings. You can cut the mooncakes into small pieces to share with relatives and friends, or eat them in multiple times, 1/4 to 1/2 of a mooncake each time. It is also recommended to purchase packaging that contains detailed "nutrition labels". Through the nutritional content and calorie labels on the product, you can record your food intake more clearly and simply.

Tip 2: Eat fresh mooncakes with less sugar and oil

• Mooncakes that are stored for too long will lose their flavor, and will still go bad even if stored in the refrigerator. It is best to eat them while they are fresh and the storage time should not exceed 30 days.

Tip 3. Drink sugar-free tea to aid digestion

• Sugar-free tea has zero calories and is more suitable than beverages such as cola and coffee. For example, brewing a cup of sugar-free green tea can remove oil and greasiness, promote metabolism, and prevent excessive sugar from staying in the body. The water temperature for brewing green tea should be below 70℃, otherwise it will easily destroy its rich vitamin C and catechins. In addition, vinegar drinks are also a good match for mooncakes. The acetic acid in them can promote the dissolution of calcium, phosphorus, iron and other ingredients in food, which is beneficial to the body's absorption of nutrients and has a good effect on strengthening the spleen and stomach and aiding digestion.

Tip 4.2 Eat between meals and don’t eat mooncakes before going to bed

• Mooncakes are best eaten between meals. You should eat less or nothing at night, especially not 2 hours before going to bed.

Tip 5. Exercise more with fruits

• In addition to sharing mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival, it is also recommended to pair seasonal fruits to aid digestion, such as grapefruit, persimmon, grapes, dragon fruit, etc. Grapefruit is a high-fiber fruit rich in vitamin C and pectin. Every 165 grams (equivalent to about 2 slices) of grapefruit is equal to 1 serving of fruit (about 60 calories). It is recommended to consume two servings of fresh fruit every day, which helps to maintain skin beauty, promote gastrointestinal motility, promote the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, and maintain health. In addition, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, relatives and friends should make an appointment to go outdoors to enjoy the moon, take a walk to help burn excess calories, sweat to improve metabolism and reduce burden.