White Rice and Asians

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EGSanz225
EGSanz225 Posts: 32
in Food and Nutrition
Most Asians are thin yet they incorporate a lot of white rice in their diet. How does that work? Is it metabolism? Are they more active? Is it the type of white rice they eat? Maybe they do not incorporate things in their rice like other people do (Oils, salt, etc.)

I'm a Spanish girl who loves her white rice. I haven't been eating a lot of it ever since I started this new lifestyle change and weight loss goal (Started back in May, lost 4 lbs so far.) I'm trying to lose another 5-7 lbs and get leaner. My longterm goal is to be as healthy as possible in the long run, but my main goal is to get a flatter stomach and it looks like I'm almost there. I'd like to eat more rice but I don't want to compromise what I have so far. Is it possible to eat more rice ans still lose weight?

I know a lot of you are going to suggest eating brown rice. I would in a heartbeat (I love brown rice too, I don't discriminate :P) but I'm on a tight budget and I have these large bags of white rice and it would be a shame to throw/give/waste it all away. Suggestions would be helpful. Even if it means telling me something I don't want to hear.

BTW, I'm 5'4 and currently 113 lbs if anyone is wondering.
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Replies

  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    white rice, brown rice, wild rice. Eat which ever kind u want. It's the amount of it that u eat that may be the issue.
  • Chadomaniac
    Chadomaniac Posts: 1,785 Member
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    CALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT

    They eat such low cal food in general and move all day .
  • tekwriter
    tekwriter Posts: 923 Member
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    I am thinking their portions are probably not as large as you are thinking. Also the diet is heavy on vegetables and uses only a small quantity of meat.
  • tmpecus78
    tmpecus78 Posts: 1,206 Member
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    CALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT

    They eat such low cal food in general and move all day .

    THIS.
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
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    I love both of those things.

    ......and I somehow get the feeling this thread will not end well.

    But Calories in Vs. Calories out - Agreed.
  • squirrell79
    squirrell79 Posts: 154 Member
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    A good example of what I think you're talking about is the traditional Japanese diet. Lots of white rice surrounded by lots of seafood and vegetables -- *not* surrounded by a pound of sugary-glazed beef teriyaki, like at your local take-out place. The white rice by itself isn't why Japanese folks are traditionally very healthy; it's more about the surrounding foods (and portion size, too).

    On a related note, this has been changing over time. As Western ways of eating (McDonald's, etc.) have spread to east Asian countries, their appetites have grown to like such food and their waistlines have grown right along with them. There's probably statistics somewhere about rising rates of heart disease and diabetes, but I'm too lazy to look them up at the moment.

    So in conclusion, yeah, lots of us Asian types love white rice, but it's not the white rice alone that keeps many of us slim.* The guy who said "calories in, calories out" sums it up nicely.

    * Not me, unfortunately--I am not slim, but I grew up in the Unites States eating fried chicken (I'm adopted).
  • JSA17
    JSA17 Posts: 81 Member
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    I have to disagree with all of you. They don't ALL move ALL day long. Like, really? I personally think it's that damn green tea they ALL drink ALL day long.

    Google green tea. It has major health/weight loss benefits.
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
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    white rice, brown rice, wild rice. Eat which ever kind u want. It's the amount of it that u eat that may be the issue.

    ^this

    a lot of people assume since asians eat rice with almost every meal that they consume a large portion of it, when in reality the rice is small in size and the vegetables / protein are the main percentage of the meal.

    I was planning on moving to Japan to study as a chef before changing my mind and meeting my girlfriend, and I predominantly set myself up for it (for fun) by eating the way japanese did. I would actually read up and go out and watch families eat in japanese neighborhoods, and order what they would (found a lot of really cool ideas, just from talking to them after they noticed me staring lol)

    usually a meal consists of maybe a full cup of cooked rice, and 70-120 gms of protein / 120+ gms of vegetables. Usually followed with or consumed with green tea / room temperature water.
  • LB2812
    LB2812 Posts: 158 Member
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    mmmm I LOVE white rice... I just can't get into brown rice... i could eat just white rice with butter and be happy lol

    Anyway, as for your question.... yea, cals in vs cals out... If you measure the rice & watch what you eat it with, there's no reason you can't enjoy your rice!

    I think in general in asian countries, they eat a lot of rice & a lot of vegetables & proteins like beans or tofu or fish.... other meat is used sparingly and more to add some flavor or fat.
  • escloflowneCHANGED
    escloflowneCHANGED Posts: 3,038 Member
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    Don't they all do Karate, that burns some serious calories!
  • BattleTaxi
    BattleTaxi Posts: 752 Member
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    It's all the math they do.

    This made me lol.

    Portion and food choice is def a big factor. Like some above posters said, less added sugar in their foods and I do have to agree that they are a society of people who are a lot more physically active than some other places. Also, in some Asian cultures, they only eat when everyone else eats. So you won't see someone snacking like we do in America unless everyone else they are around is eating something. Everything they do as a culture is done together, one person eats, everyone eats; one person takes a nap, everyone takes a nap. (Of course within reason, and I'm speaking for in the household..)

    I also think LOTS of SHARING has a play in this.
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
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    Here's a good commentary about that:
    http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-asian-paradox-how-can-asians-eat-so-much-rice-and-not-gain-weight/#axzz2ap3GJ77L

    Rice is a fairly neutral grain, and a traditional Asian diet is high in natural, unprocessed foods that don't have added sugar or fat. Generally the foods other than rice are fairly low-cal - lots of veggies, fish, and lean meats. Asia is starting to have its own obesity crisis with the rise in consumption of fast food - it really does come down to calories in vs. calories out, not some magical Asian metabolism.
  • ngyoung
    ngyoung Posts: 311 Member
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    Most don't eat as much as people think. Yes they have some with most of their meals but for total carbs they are still lower then the standard western diet. The problem with weight begins to happen when eating rice as well as cake, donuts, cereal, pasta, bread, pizza, cookies, etc. That is why you can find plenty of overweight asians when they start adapting the typical western diet
  • ChiManLifts
    ChiManLifts Posts: 97
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    IIFYM.

    Not a big fan of brown rice, though I'll eat it from time to time.

    I can confirm, girlfriend is asian and eats a ton of white rice-she's also 95lbs.

    The stigma against white rice and refined flour is a bit ridiculous.
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
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    CALORIES IN VS CALORIES OUT

    They eat such low cal food in general and move all day .

    It's that simple. Occasionally people try to make it more complicated than this. It's just... not. It's simple.
  • dessertlover27
    dessertlover27 Posts: 385 Member
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    Hmm, there seems to be some misconceptions here.

    1) Calories in, calories out.

    2) What type of Asian lifestyle are we talking about first? Not all Asian diets are skimpy on meat. Chinese food, for example, is primarily meat-based (excluding vegetarian of course). So are Malay cuisine. These two, in fact, are high on fats and carbs.

    3) And no, contrary to popular beliefs, not all Asians move all day.

    4) And no, it's not the green tea either. Or the Maths. :laugh:

    5) Which brings us back to calories in calories out.

    So, OP, eat white rice if you want, or brown, or purple or orange. Just in moderation, is all.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
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    Which Asians? There are 49 countries in Asia and they don't all eat the same foods.
  • MG_Fit
    MG_Fit Posts: 1,143 Member
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    Being Asian the answer is simple. We have a special enzyme that breaks down rice differently than other ethnicities. It's genetics. This enzyme breaks down the carbs in white rice and turns it into a protein of sorts, which annoys me because MFP food calculator doesn't take that into consideration when I log it.
  • PlanetoftheAtheists
    PlanetoftheAtheists Posts: 112
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    THIS WHOLE THREAD.


    1375338983348.gif
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
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    lol is this serious?

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