Ethnic Food is Killing Me.

To start off, I'm 19 years old and currently 240 lbs with a height of 5'9 and wearing pants that are at least 40 inches around the waist. I am also Bangladeshi, and to save us all some time, let's just say that I'm Indian, LOL.

I'm studying dietetics and nursing but it'll be an ultimate contradiction as I must become healthy first and then worry about helping others. Because honestly, no one wants nutrition advice from a fat guy, haha.

So I've been using MFP on and off since my senior year of high school and now I'm about start my junior year of college this fall and yet made no progress because I cant keep to my diet. Why? Because I get lazy after a while.

Like I said, I'm Bengali. With that being said, the main thing on our tables is ALWAYS rice. Parboiled, Long Grain, Basmati, Short Grain, Sweet, Brown, whatever. Rice. Rice. Rice. And with the rice, different curries of lamb, goat, chicken, beef, fish, shrimp, quail, veggies and all kinds of curries are served along side. But these curries have so much oil and spices to them that you'd be having pre-ulcer symptoms if you didnt stop eating it for a while.

It's the rice that kills me. I do have wheat Pita (equivalent to the indian Roti) sometimes with my curry, but it's still a carb. Anyone who is Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepali, Burmese and so on, and anyone who has had Indian food in general will tell you how addicting things can get. With that being said, I'm thinking about starting my old diet of minimal carbs again but making a few new changes as I have taken a few nutrition classes for my degree. And no, I will not let go of my curries. However, I will make some changes to them. Dramatic ones. My mother may slap me, but it's for the best. As for samosas and other fried delights, baking them is not an option and I will not bring shame to my desi household, so I am letting go of fried foods completely. Not even gonna try baking. :laugh:

Anyways, my new diet plan includes the following and still staying under 1500(-) a day.
-3 Cups of Organic Green OR Oolong Chinese Tea a day (no sugar). It'll be bitter but its good for ya!
-Using minimal amounts of oil in Curries and adding fat free yogurt to tame the spices. And it's added protein.
-Having soups more often: Lentil, Chicken and Veggies, Shredded Chicken Haleem (a healthier take on a Pakistani Lentil dish)
-Eliminating rice, completely.
-Incorporating more salad into meals with no dressing. Only lemon juice and some salt with some chopped Cilantro as dressing.
-No beef. Absolutely. I have seen my mother make curry out of a freshly slaughtered beef shoulder, starting with just only 1/3 cup of oil for a big pot and ended up with a thick layer of oil on top of curry after cooking. So much natural fat and oil comes out from the beef. It's a heart disaster waiting to happen.
-More chicken with lots of veggies. Like a Dopiaza (if anyone has had it before). Chicken breast with onions, peppers, and with non-traditional Dopiaza veggies such as eggplants, cauliflower, etc. All stewed in a spicy thin broth that's lightened with yogurt.
-More veggie stir fry. Eat it in a form of omelettes (1 yolk, 3 egg whites) or eat it with a slice of wheat pita.
-No candy. No cookies. No cake. No Ice cream. No Muffins. No sugar what-so-ever.
-No sauces. No BBQ Sauce, Ketchup or anything. Maybe Sriracha and Mustard is okay. NO MAYO!
-No Chips. Sigh. Good bye Hot Flamin' Cheetos.
-No fried foods. Including Samosas, Fritters and anything that takes in a lot of oil.
-No breading on any foods. It's just extra carbs. Searing your meats make a better crust anyways.
-No cheese, no butter, or milk. Unless it's fat free/skim milk, Almond Breeze or some other disgrace to milk.
-Eating plenty of Lentils, Beans, and Legumes in general. Protein keeps you full and balances you!
-Plenty of cucumbers! Really hydrates you and makes a good snack when sliced and salted.
-Hummus! YES. I love dipping raw veggies, such as Broccoli, Sweet Pepper slices, Cucumber slices, and other things into this mushy protein.
-Lots of Garlic! I add it to my hummus and my curries. It's really good for the heart. Not sure about weightloss but it makes food taste so much better. I even add it to my lemon dressing for my salad.

I think that foreign eating habits work well only in those places because the lifestyle is so much more different. Where I come from, people work from sunrise to sunset. They eat heavy breakfasts and lunches and eat a lot of rice BUT they burn it off because they're out working in the fields, farming and what not. We cant keep those eating habits in America. We dont walk much. We use our cars, MTA, public transport. We sit on our butts a lot. We dont burn the calories like they did back home.

Is anyone else foreign and struggling with ethnic foods? I know some Polish friends who are struggling because of their ethnic foods (something about lots of pork and potatoes and cabbage). So again, ANYONE else relate to what I'm saying? oy. :indifferent:

NOTE: 1500 calories a day is doable for me. Ive done it before and didnt complain. Just got lazy of inventing and finding quick fixes.