Latin food and weight loss issue
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Raulytati
Posts: 2 Member
i have Cuban parents and grew up eating Latin foods. It's what I like and crave. I can't stick to a diet that is totally different from the foods I've ate all my life. Any suggestions? I mean, ppl diet in every part of the world with what they have so... Does anyone have a "Cuban" menu for weight loss? Lol HELP
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Replies
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Don't change anything about your diet - simply make sure that you are under your allotted calorie goals every night. You can make the same food you do now, just less of it!0
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As long as you know the calorie content of your Cuban food, you can still eat it. The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you eat. Doesn't necessarily matter what kind of food it is, just matters how much.0
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Just eat less of it.0
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Eat the same foods, just smaller portions. It's what I do with my Salvadorean food. It's our food, we just need to learn to use less oils, which is what makes it higher calories.
Add me if you'd like. :flowerforyou:0 -
If it's high-cal, just eat less. Assuming you're getting your vitamins and minerals, the. only problem is that you may end up hungry.
I have a bunch of Spanish-speaking neighbors from various places who cheer on my weight loss, but except for the fat one, they all insist that if I could eat uber-spicy food like they do, I'd lose more weight and lose it faster. That's the secret to being thin - eating astronomically spicy food.
The fat one, though, when this first came up, just sat there with this slightly-puzzled, "I'm biting my tongue because these people are idiots" face, looked at me and silently disagreed while gently - almost imperceptibly - shaking her head "No." Like we may be fat, but the two of us are in the Fat Club of people who know better. It was hilarious.
For the heck of it, I increased the heat in my food, but didn't lose more or faster. They say it's because I didn't increase it enough, lol. If I ate what they eat, I'd get thin really fast, lol. If I did that, though, I'd end up in the hospital. I just cannot tolerate that kind of heat. So, they have not been proven wrong.0 -
While I agree wholeheartedly with others that portion control is a great strategy to enjoy the foods you love, you can also experiment with lightening up some of the recipes. Try using half the bread, half the fat, half the sugar; twice the citrus and fresh fruit. A little experimenting, and you'll find out what flavors you REALLY crave, and which ones you can give a pass.
And mix it up girl! Love an honor your heritage, but expand your palette! There's a whole WORLD of delicious cuisines out there to love and enjoy!!!0 -
i have Cuban parents and grew up eating Latin foods. It's what I like and crave. I can't stick to a diet that is totally different from the foods I've ate all my life. Any suggestions? I mean, ppl diet in every part of the world with what they have so... Does anyone have a "Cuban" menu for weight loss? Lol HELP
Just eat the same food but with the portion sizes that fit your goal.
Pair smaller portion sizes of higher calorie items with larger quantities of lower calorie foods like vegetables/salad.
You could try making lower calorie versions of your favorite dishes.
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Food is food is food.
Remain in a calorie deficit. Do this however you see fit.
Simple.0 -
It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
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I'm Cuban also. There is nothing better than a cafecito and croqueta in the morning with some pan cubano. Cuban food does tend to be high calorie and as someone who loves their heritage, it made weight loss difficult. I'd say keep those meat recipes like boliche or palomilla. Do you really need a bistec empanizado? Probably not (but I do understand how good they are). With rice and beans what I have done is replace rice with cauliflower rice though if that's not your preference I'm sure there are other low cal rices you can get. With my cafe cubanos I either use splenda or a spenda and sugar blend and with my cafe con leche I use either almond milk or coconut milk.0
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Use the recipe builder function when adding your food (assuming you make your own) and add each ingredient separately, after weighing it. The recipe builder will calculate how many calories are in each serving, as long as you tell it how many servings are in each recipe, and accurately weigh each ingredient when adding them in.
Then only eat one serving at each meal.0 -
Ok, so I'm not super up-to-date with ordinary Cuban fare, but I live in an area with an enormous Puerto Rican and Dominican population and a big staple of their diet is fatty meat, rice and beans. So I would say to eat the same, but less. Measure out to portions and use the recipe builder to be more accurate. Eat the foods that are normal to you and that you love!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE (really love) rice and beans. My brother-in-law made Cuban pork with rice and black beans and seriously...ohemgee was it delicious.0 -
MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Since OP grew up eating it, I strongly doubt she's 'sensitive to carbs'. Eating less of what she grew up eating will help her lose weight just fine.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Or....you could first just try to limit portion sizes overall as suggested. I know...something so simple couldn't possibly be true. Gotta be some sinister other reason, right? (carbs BAD!!!!!).0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Since OP grew up eating it, I strongly doubt she's 'sensitive to carbs'. Eating less of what she grew up eating will help her lose weight just fine.
That doesn't make sense...
I grew up eating it too, but when my thyroid and pituitary both failed and I became pre-diabetic, something had to change.
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Since OP grew up eating it, I strongly doubt she's 'sensitive to carbs'. Eating less of what she grew up eating will help her lose weight just fine.
That doesn't make sense...
I grew up eating it too, but when my thyroid and pituitary both failed and I became pre-diabetic, something had to change.
Well...of course since the majority of the population has thyroid, pituitary, and diabetes issues, right?0 -
Because those are the kinds of things that are at issue here.azulvioleta6 wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Since OP grew up eating it, I strongly doubt she's 'sensitive to carbs'. Eating less of what she grew up eating will help her lose weight just fine.
That doesn't make sense...
I grew up eating it too, but when my thyroid and pituitary both failed and I became pre-diabetic, something had to change.
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azulvioleta6 wrote: »azulvioleta6 wrote: »MarziPanda95 wrote: »It's all about portion control. Have a smaller portion
Totally true, unless you happen to be sensitive to carbs. All of the fabulous things in Cuban cuisine are super high in carbs. Bread, rice, tostones/patacones, lots of delicious things sweetened and flavored with condensed milk...mmm, batidos.
I am Spanish and Argentine, so this has been a challenge for me too. I have to limit carbs, so that means white rice is out. White rice was the foundation of my diet for 35 years, so it's been a huge paradigm shift. I lived in Ecuador for many years, where a typical lunch would include a huge plate (as much as 2C) of white rice, a bunch of potatoes and perhaps a quinoa soup. They also have amazing tropical fruit and it is easy to consume was too much. Healthy stuff, but FAR more carbs than my body can handle.
My strategy at this point is to eat veggies and protein and to slowly leave behind the higher-carb staples. I eat some brown rice, but I portion it strictly. I save really special dishes (paella, noquis) as once-a-year treats. I make sure that I have lots of people to share with when I cook those things so that I don't have too many leftovers.
Since OP grew up eating it, I strongly doubt she's 'sensitive to carbs'. Eating less of what she grew up eating will help her lose weight just fine.
That doesn't make sense...
I grew up eating it too, but when my thyroid and pituitary both failed and I became pre-diabetic, something had to change.
These aren't common problems, and OP didn't mention either of them. She just asked for help with eating her cultural food and still losing weight.0
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