What is your biggest challenge?

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ChetThaker
ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
Since this is a group of Indians I wanted to throw out a question to find out what, as Indians, do you find the toughest challenges with your health & fitness goals?

For me I find our food is very Carb heavy so it's harder to find better ways of eating long term. Similarly I expect for those people who are Vegetarians it's tougher to get enough protein and perhaps other nutrients meat eaters get more easily.

What about you?
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  • anubhavsharma18
    anubhavsharma18 Posts: 63 Member
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    1. Getting enough protein in vegetarian diet
    2. Staying away from delicious Indian sweets.
    3. Jogging during Indian summers.
    4. Staying away from Desi Ghee especially if you are a Punjabi.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    If you're really looking to increase your protein levels, you need to be eating more beans/lentils/pulses, green vegetables and dairy products, all of which the less processed the better!

    I don't have a huge amount of control over everything I eat, comes from living with my parents. BUT you can't lay the blame on Indian food being carb heavy for being the main area of concern.

    To answer the topic, for me it's logging food accurately on here, not all the raw ingredients are available and those that are, checking up on them can be a challenge.
  • ChetThaker
    ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
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    To answer the topic, for me it's logging food accurately on here, not all the raw ingredients are available and those that are, checking up on them can be a challenge.

    This is true! When I first used MFP when it came out the lack of Indian food put me off. Having come back to it again last November with so many more foods in the database it's much better but the accuracy can be way off I find sometimes and I agree trying to work it out can be challenging.
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    Biggest problem may be - yeah ironically - the calories !! Calories in Indian foods are assumed to be accurate. Even if not, at least it gives us the ballpark figure. That way it helps me to choose better.

    My staple diet was rice (I am a Southie, remember?! :P ). Now I am trying to make a conscious decision to choose healthy alternatives. Transition is tough to say the least...........................old ways are so tempting ! :P

    Initially staying away from samosas and french fries were tough. Now with time and effort that I've put in here, I dont feel like having them. At least, not often as I had them earlier.
  • HappilyRubina
    HappilyRubina Posts: 206 Member
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    Since this is a group of Indians I wanted to throw out a question to find out what, as Indians, do you find the toughest challenges with your health & fitness goals?

    For me I find our food is very Carb heavy so it's harder to find better ways of eating long term. Similarly I expect for those people who are Vegetarians it's tougher to get enough protein and perhaps other nutrients meat eaters get more easily.

    What about you?
    You're right! We're basically surviving on carb diets.
    Carb for breakfast, carb for lunch, carb for dinner. But very recently I've made it a point to make atleast one of my meals carb-free.
    And yes protein intake is tough too.
    Another challenge is motivation. I mean that's not a problem with anything else, it's me. But being consistent is a TOUGH job.
  • ChetThaker
    ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
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    And lets now forget that Indian food tastes freakin awesome! Too yummy for our own good ;-)
  • HappilyRubina
    HappilyRubina Posts: 206 Member
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    And lets now forget that Indian food tastes freakin awesome! Too yummy for our own good ;-)
    Haha. Definitely. I resisted eating a samosa today and don't ask me how. It was PAINFUL. ;)
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    You bet!! Today I had 2 khakras with coffee this evening. Only now I realized that one khakra was approx 80 cal. wow!

    Back then, I used to empty the container... but now, the leash is too tight I guess ! :D

    My only consolation is that I cook my own food and my mom lives miles away from me :P ....... Else my MFP journey would have been a disaster ! :P

    -AI
  • greeshu_89
    greeshu_89 Posts: 136 Member
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    Our food is the major challenge. We have such a huge variety of tasty sweets, snacks and savories which make it hard not to snack!!!
    Lack of supportive people around is also a major set back. Some ppl just state the obvious fact that I have put on weight every time they see me. N d same ppl wont even care to comment when they see that i have lost a few inches.
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    well.. we (in general desis) have a wrong attitude and mindset that being skinny is bad..........and its not a 'state of healthiness'! I dont get that logic. :P

    Anyway.... you stay focused. That's all it takes. You have MFP to find like-minded folks to share your ideas. Do rant and chant.. but dont jump off the wagon.

    Follow your routine. Ppl will eventually notice and appreciate your efforts.

    Cheers
    AI
  • greeshu_89
    greeshu_89 Posts: 136 Member
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    Thanks for the support :) Need to put my 100% effort into this mission from now on !!
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    Nice.

    But dont kill urself in the process. Enjoy it rather.

    AI
  • ChetThaker
    ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
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    Totally agree. Do it for yourself - if other people notice your progress and say positive things those are the good people. Ignore the people pointing out weight gain. I've had this same issue for a few years but then I had been increasing more than I had realised. Glad I'm on the right path now and don't want to go back to the heavier days ever.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    Our food is the major challenge. We have such a huge variety of tasty sweets, snacks and savories which make it hard not to snack!!!
    Lack of supportive people around is also a major set back. Some ppl just state the obvious fact that I have put on weight every time they see me. N d same ppl wont even care to comment when they see that i have lost a few inches.
    I never actually have an issue with the sweets and even most of the snacks, just not into them. Portion sizes! Mum's one of those, you finish everything on your plate before you get up. And growing up, she'd feed us massive portions.

    A bad habit to get into, which I've slowly learned to deal with. Still slip back into bad habits tho
  • ChetThaker
    ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
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    Oh you got that right Kendra. It also goes hand-in-hand with ingredients in food done through guessing and tasting. I haven't yet take it to this level but when eating curries I have no clue if the serving I'm having is too much, too little - it's just guesswork too. I'm sure I over did it the other day with the Chicken Curry Lol.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    Oh you got that right Kendra. It also goes hand-in-hand with ingredients in food done through guessing and tasting. I haven't yet take it to this level but when eating curries I have no clue if the serving I'm having is too much, too little - it's just guesswork too. I'm sure I over did it the other day with the Chicken Curry Lol.

    I've gotten Mum into a habit of writing the ingredients for recipes she makes. Since she won't let me help with the cooking, I can't do the writing, so I get to hear a lot of grumbles about it. But as I've pointed out to her, calorie counting and portion sizes have helped me lose a big chunk of weight.

    There are lot of curries logged in the database, those staples that most Indians know, but have their own variations. I'd go with those with mid-range calorie value As for portion size, trying using a US style cup and see if as a serving that's enough for you or not.

    Even with all this, it is still guestimating, Indian food, unlike Western food, just doesn't lend itself to easy nutritional values, especially when the raw ingredients are unknown to the Western world or the values found in various online database can be a best guess at best.
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    That's true. Calories shown here may not be accurate but at least give us a ballpark figure to start with. I alter my portions accordingly.
    Oh you got that right Kendra. It also goes hand-in-hand with ingredients in food done through guessing and tasting. I haven't yet take it to this level but when eating curries I have no clue if the serving I'm having is too much, too little - it's just guesswork too. I'm sure I over did it the other day with the Chicken Curry Lol.

    I've gotten Mum into a habit of writing the ingredients for recipes she makes. Since she won't let me help with the cooking, I can't do the writing, so I get to hear a lot of grumbles about it. But as I've pointed out to her, calorie counting and portion sizes have helped me lose a big chunk of weight.

    There are lot of curries logged in the database, those staples that most Indians know, but have their own variations. I'd go with those with mid-range calorie value As for portion size, trying using a US style cup and see if as a serving that's enough for you or not.

    Even with all this, it is still guestimating, Indian food, unlike Western food, just doesn't lend itself to easy nutritional values, especially when the raw ingredients are unknown to the Western world or the values found in various online database can be a best guess at best.
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member
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    That's true. Calories shown here may not be accurate but at least give us a ballpark figure to start with. I alter my portions accordingly.
    To be honest, that's the best anyone can do, after all, no one cooks a meal in exactly the same way each time. And while ready meals have nutritional information on the back, as the recent horse meat scandal in Europe shows, even they are at best a guide to what the content actually is
  • ChetThaker
    ChetThaker Posts: 186 Member
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    That's true. Calories shown here may not be accurate but at least give us a ballpark figure to start with. I alter my portions accordingly.
    To be honest, that's the best anyone can do, after all, no one cooks a meal in exactly the same way each time. And while ready meals have nutritional information on the back, as the recent horse meat scandal in Europe shows, even they are at best a guide to what the content actually is

    How many calories in Horse? ;-)
  • AdviDaddy
    AdviDaddy Posts: 207 Member
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    That's true. Calories shown here may not be accurate but at least give us a ballpark figure to start with. I alter my portions accordingly.
    To be honest, that's the best anyone can do, after all, no one cooks a meal in exactly the same way each time. And while ready meals have nutritional information on the back, as the recent horse meat scandal in Europe shows, even they are at best a guide to what the content actually is

    How many calories in Horse? ;-)

    Depends. Arabian Horse? :P Italian Stallion, perhaps? ;)