Indian food & dieting!

fatgirlslim32
fatgirlslim32 Posts: 31 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Tomorrow night I am going out for a friends birthday (so no choice in destination!) and she's decided she wants to go out for a curry at the local Indian.

I 'have' 1530 calories a day allowed plus whatever exercise I do - I should be able to get another 2-300 walking the dog on a particularly hilly walk near us (Endomondo tracked) but I am at work all day and then obviously out in the evening for the curry.

What do I pick?! To complicate things (in my head) Friday morning is my weigh day anyway so I'm not expecting a loss this week ( :sadface: ) I'm not vegetarian but have no issues with picking vegetarian dishes but I don't like fish. I rarely ever have Indian (and in my fat days would have a birihani/peshwari naan/chicken passanda to have over a couple of days) so I need to be careful I don't go mad! - Esp as I've only been on MFP a few weeks and I don't quite trust my 'diet head' in public yet.

Since last Friday I've been 63cals(fri)/320c/291c/295c/756c/so far today 168cal under my totals and dinner is already counted so 'theoretically' I do have spare calories to eat but I don't want to over eat the day before I weigh myself - plus I do need to educate myself in how to eat out while on a diet!

Thank you in advance :)
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Replies

  • fitpilatesqueen
    fitpilatesqueen Posts: 337
    Bump this up for you :wink:
  • mikek333
    mikek333 Posts: 78 Member
    Get whatever you want and eat approx one cup of it plus one cup of rice if it comes with rice, then log it in. Life is too short to not enjoy a little Indian food! I personally think salmon madras is the best. Have fun!
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I suspect if you stick with tandoori chicken a vegetable curry and serving of rice your calorie count won't be ballistic (just stay away from naan - which I love - something like 500 cal for a 160g serving :sad: )
  • geordiegirl27
    geordiegirl27 Posts: 307 Member
    I'm going for an Indians tonight and thinking of having a Thali the one I like is tandoori chicken, prawns & lamb and a small portion of tikka masala with plain pilau rice. Haven't decided on starter yet. I know I'll want poppadoms but will stick to only 1 and a beer or two.

    Ive managed to do a cycle ride & 20min kettle bells to boost my 1250 cals & had home made soup for lunch. If the weather is kind we'll walk giving us a 3m walk as well. After that I'll enjoy myself & work hard rest of week - typically I had a meal out on both Friday & Saturday so it's been lots of exercise & trying to keep cals right other days.

    I'll try to post what I have as I'll be looking for healthier options shame there not a generic calorie database for eating out.

    Enjoy
  • lisaslim1976
    lisaslim1976 Posts: 145
    Tikka chicken/prawn
    boiled rice
    chapati not naan
    madras isnt too bad either :-)
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
    No expert at this at all, but I DO like Indian food.

    Obviously rice is low calorie and you can have as much of that as you like (more or less), so a biryani would be a good idea. Aside from that you can have grilled marinated meats (tandoori) as they are also relatively low calorie. Must curries are reasonable in their calorific content, but you need to avoid ones which are made with yoghurt / cream such as roghan josh and also avoid (obviously) any deep fried things such as samosas and pakoras. Chicken curries would - I think - be lower calorie than beef, pork or lamb.

    Peshwari naans are apparently quite high calories, so a popadom would be a better choice.

    As long as you dont eat the fried stuff, the high in dairy stuff or nanns, then I dont think you will be too bad at all. I eat a lot of curries and I'm a long way from fat. DOnt forget you get a "slight" metabolism increase from cayenne / chilli, so if you are REALLY worried (and you shouldnt be) then get the hottest curry you can manage :)
  • tadpole242
    tadpole242 Posts: 507 Member
    Kaddu Ki Sabzi (pumpkin curry)
    Masala Dal (red lentils)
    Tandoori Chicken (breast) but don’t eat the sauce
    Mutter Paneer (cheese and peas)
  • lisaslim1976
    lisaslim1976 Posts: 145
    "Obviously rice is low calorie " ----not really -
    An average portion of indian boiled rice is about 240 cals per cup (cooked)
    And byriani is fried in Ghee!!! Noooooo!!!
  • Jxnsmma
    Jxnsmma Posts: 919 Member
    Yeah, stay away from the white rice! Totally not low calorie!!!
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I'd go for something tandoori and skip the rice.
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
    "Obviously rice is low calorie " ----not really -
    An average portion of indian boiled rice is about 240 cals per cup (cooked)
    And byriani is fried in Ghee!!! Noooooo!!!

    Boiled rice (basmati) is much lower in calories than you state. My father, who worked in the medical field for 40+ years used to prescribe it to patients who needed to lose weight fast. It is almost impossible to over eat on rice as it makes you feel full quite quickly. Its listed as a "fantastic food for dieting" on most dieting websites.

    The biryani's I cook aren't fried in ghee at all. You cook the rice and contents in the oven with the rice. Cooking them in ghee would be disgusting.
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    I wouldn't freak out about it at all and have what I wanted. It's not like you go out for Indian food every day of the week. One evening will not mess up your weight loss for the week. I simply refuse to give up some of the stuff I really, truly enjoy.

    1 Cup of rice is about 200 calories. Some will depend on the type of rice, the grain, and what it is cooked in. A basic medium to long grain rice boiled in water should be 200-210 calories for that cup.
  • TheDreadPirateRoberts
    TheDreadPirateRoberts Posts: 225 Member
    Oh and a 4oz serving of rice (which is more than enough for 1 person, I serve 8 oz for 3) is approx 140 calories, so I fail to see why you should avoid it, especially as its much lower calories than anything else that will be available in the restaurant and will make you feel full.
  • KittieLea
    KittieLea Posts: 1,156 Member
    I LOVE Indian food! If I lived there, I'd be as big as a house because I don't think I could stay away from naan. I know this won't help you tonight, but here's a link to a calorie friendly Chicken Masala recipe. It's so easy, just throw the ingredients in a crock pot and let it cook.
    http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-chicken-masala/
  • lisaslim1976
    lisaslim1976 Posts: 145
    Oh and a 4oz serving of rice (which is more than enough for 1 person, I serve 8 oz for 3) is approx 140 calories, so I fail to see why you should avoid it, especially as its much lower calories than anything else that will be available in the restaurant and will make you feel full.

    Ok im wrong
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
    The rice, the nan, and the creamier sauces are what will get you.

    Choose a dish with more meat and veg content than sauce. Or even with no sauce at all (like a meat skewer).
  • sc1572
    sc1572 Posts: 2,309 Member
    order your favorite and enjoy it! :) can't have a lifestyle change without treats every so often!

    order it and split it, or order it and immediately box half. :)
  • londongirl2012
    londongirl2012 Posts: 149 Member
    some tips would be:
    share a starter and get a side salad to help fill you up
    just have 1 poppadom if they bring them over, as not very filling and quite salty so make you more thirsty/retain water
    lentil dishes such as tarka dahl can be quite healthy maybe ask for it to be made without/less ghee/oil if possibleand have it with plain boiled rice but watch portion sizes
    a dry chicken or vegetable dish would be ok too,
    stick to water/low calorie drinks if you can to avoid extra unnecessary cals, :)
  • roxerella
    roxerella Posts: 80 Member
    I love Indian food and have it quite often. The best option is tandoori or tikka–chicken (1 tandoori thigh 230 cals) (5 piece s of tikka 180 cals). These are both dry dishes, just the meat marinated in spice and baked in the tandoor oven. Avoid the rice or go for half a portion of steamed rice. Biryani and other types are fried in ghee-high cal. A side of spinach (Saag bhaji) is a safe option. Half a cup is approx 175 cals.

    If you really want something saucy make sure it is tomato based not cream/coconut. A madras and rogan josh are approx 450 cals per portion. where as a cream based korma is more like 650 per portion.
  • squirrleydoodle
    squirrleydoodle Posts: 58 Member
    order your favorite and enjoy it! :) can't have a lifestyle change without treats every so often!

    order it and split it, or order it and immediately box half. :)

    ^this!! indian food is tooooo delicious!!!
  • Rilke
    Rilke Posts: 1,201 Member
    How often do you do this? Give yourself a break. Eat light the rest of the day, then get what you want in small portions. Keep the naan down to one piece instead of denying youself its deliciousness altogether. Eat everything slowly and enjoy. Indian food is amazing.
  • roxerella
    roxerella Posts: 80 Member
    White basmati rice contains 195 cals per 180 grams of steamed rice. Indian restaurant portions are often much bigger than 180 grams.
  • TeenageSwag
    TeenageSwag Posts: 23
    Chicken curry
    White Rice...
    Chicken Tikka...its the best food in the world...but it has high calories lol
    pakota
  • kcgslp
    kcgslp Posts: 203 Member
    Indian food fits perfectly into a diet.

    Avoid anything "paneer" that is cheese.
    Try Chana Masala (chick peas) it's pretty standard so they
    Should have it at most restaurants. yummy and low cal.

    But take this as an opportunity to try some wonderful vegatarian dishes!

    Enjoy
  • jonnyman41
    jonnyman41 Posts: 1,032 Member
    skip the rice or share a portion with someone else and only have a little. Boiled only as pilu is cooked in oil. Have chapatis instead of nan and also instead of rice as they are quite low in cals. Also unleavend bread, as a puree is not too bad either or have chicken kebab for starter, (or other meat) Tandori chicken is fine with veg curry too.
    Have water at the table so that you dont drink too much alcohol or pop either
  • lisaslim1976
    lisaslim1976 Posts: 145
    I love Indian food and have it quite often. The best option is tandoori or tikka–chicken (1 tandoori thigh 230 cals) (5 piece s of tikka 180 cals). These are both dry dishes, just the meat marinated in spice and baked in the tandoor oven. Avoid the rice or go for half a portion of steamed rice. Biryani and other types are fried in ghee-high cal. A side of spinach (Saag bhaji) is a safe option. Half a cup is approx 175 cals.

    If you really want something saucy make sure it is tomato based not cream/coconut. A madras and rogan josh are approx 450 cals per portion. where as a cream based korma is more like 650 per portion.

    Thank you :-)
  • Ngm82
    Ngm82 Posts: 1 Member
    Hey thr! I am an indian and cook at home very frequently. Your best bet would be dal tadka ( ask them to get the tadka or tempering separately) with some mix veggies (again ask for less oil) with tandoori roti (instead ofc nan). tandoori roti is made with whole wheat flour therefore much healthier than nan.
    In case u wanna go for non vegetarian food, ask for tandoori chicken with least amt of oil, butter or ghee.
    You can also go for paneer tikka ( cottage cheese tikka) without butter or ghee.
    Go for salads and vegetable raita ( raita is yoguhrt with veggies)
  • BSummers321
    BSummers321 Posts: 94 Member
    Tandoori Chicken or Chicken Tikka, plain boiled rice or chapati/tandoori roti instead of calorific Naan (Oh how I miss you naan).

    Stay off the creamy nutty curries, go for the tomato-onion based ones. Aloo Gobi is great, and low calorie too. I'd go for tandoori chicken with a nice Aloo Gobi on the side and a bit of rice! I don't go to Indian restaurants much, since I'm South Asian myself and make that food at home everyday, but I have been losing weight eating tandoori chicken! Love the stuff.
  • geordiegirl27
    geordiegirl27 Posts: 307 Member
    mmm just been perusing the menu for tonight grilled tandoori prawns with salad, now I could fancy that dieting or not!!
  • starla5881
    starla5881 Posts: 190 Member
    Heh, I live near an (American Indian) reservation, so I was thinking of fry bread and Indian tacos. Not quite the same thing, but diet killers as well. As far as your dinner goes, I'm with the "order what you want and watch your portions" faction. :-)

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