Atkins Diet Vs Thai Food

[cm boy]

I'm trying to stick to the Atkins Diet (Asian style) and still enjoy the tastes of Thai food. My bathroom scales keep yelling at me that it 'aint happening! Any ex fatties out there had the same experience and made it work? Jasmine rice is a big NO, NO!

Suggestions please......please,

cm boy

[mbkudu]

I'm trying to stick to the Atkins Diet (Asian style) and still enjoy the tastes of Thai food. My bathroom scales keep yelling at me that it 'aint happening! Any ex fatties out there had the same experience and made it work? Jasmine rice is a big NO, NO! 

Suggestions please......please, 

cm boy

I have always felt that the Atkins diet is like the 'Fat Bastards Feel Good About Yourself' diet.

[chuchok]

I'm trying to stick to the Atkins Diet (Asian style) and still enjoy the tastes of Thai food. My bathroom scales keep yelling at me that it 'aint happening! Any ex fatties out there had the same experience and made it work? Jasmine rice is a big NO, NO! 

Suggestions please......please, 

cm boy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

If you must eat rice, make it wholemeal.Better for you too.

[sabaijai]

If you eat Thai food only, and eat in the same portions most Thais do, you will slim down automatically and still maintain balanced nutrition (unlike the Atkins diet, which is fine temporarily to lose weight fast, but is not good long term).

Before I met my wife, who is Thai, I was eating perhaps a 50-50 mixture of Thai and farang food (not mixed together!) and had been putting on pounds steadily over the years. SBut after we met I've eaten almost nothing but Thai, as per her preference, and I'm slim again.

You don't need to avoid carbs when eating Thai, all the good stuff is there if eaten according to Thai custom: 3 or 4 or even 5 meals a day, always small portions, lots of raw, high-fiber vegetables on the side.

[Ajarn]

At least for Atkins, might as well knock out all rice, noodles, fruits, and anything else sweet, of course.

Pretty radical in Thailand, but easy to accomplish the high-protein side here...

The main ingredient is excercise. Just spinning your wheels otherwise, in my experience.

I struggle with it, too. I was better designed for living in Arctic Wilderness.

Edited May 11, 2005 by Ajarn

[Dara]

I'm trying to stick to the Atkins Diet (Asian style) and still enjoy the tastes of Thai food. My bathroom scales keep yelling at me that it 'aint happening! Any ex fatties out there had the same experience and made it work? Jasmine rice is a big NO, NO! 

Suggestions please......please, 

cm boy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The basic concept of keeping your weight down is to balance between your intake (food) and output (activity). If you don't put it in your mouth, it can't pile on the weight. If you can't stop eating, then do more physical activities. Easy concept, hard to follow until you come to term with the fact that the only reason that we need to eat is to give our body the fuel - no more, no less. Food has become a comfort and/or control factor in our lives, and it should not be.

I know it's a cliche - "it's all in your head"....

[sabaijai]

It's hard to work out a balance between exercise and eating, you have to be thinking all the time.

You don't have to put as much thought into it if you just eat Thai. If you eat Thai only (or mostly), you won't get fat (and you will slim down if you're already overweight). Think about it -- how many overweight Thais do you know? The only overweight or obese Thais I know are those who have an 'abnormal' diet, from a Thai perspective, ie, either they eat way more than the average Thai or they eat a lot of farang food (worse yet, at places like McD's, though almost any farang diet will put the pounds on anyone over 30 yrs old, from my observation).

Yet among my farang friends who eat mostly farang, only the folks who I'd call 'health nuts' (meaning they're obsessive about what they eat and how much they exercise, it's the only way to stay fit on that diet) aren't overweight.

All of my Thai friends are slim to medium in build, and yet they exercise very little. Of course for cardiovascular health, they should be exercising, and their lack of exercise will catch up with them, no doubt, longevity-wise.

The point is the Thai diet doesn't lend itself to obesity, the average farang diet does. Wags talk about how healthy a 'Mediterranean' diet is, but I've been to Med countries and there are a lot of fat folks.

I eat Thai food almost exclusively (save for maybe two farang meals a month, usually pasta, even occasionally a burger or pizza) and swim 20-30 minutes daily. Doesn't require a lot of thought, and it feels good.

[chuchok]

It's hard to work out a balance between exercise and eating, you have to be thinking all the time.

You don't have to put as much thought into it if you just eat Thai. If you eat Thai  only (or mostly), you won't get fat (and you will slim down if you're already overweight). Think about it -- how many overweight Thais do you know? The only overweight or obese Thais I know are those who have an 'abnormal' diet, from a Thai perspective, ie, either they eat way more than the average Thai or they eat a lot of farang food (worse yet, at places like McD's, though almost any farang diet will put the pounds on anyone over 30 yrs old, from my observation).

Yet among my farang friends who eat mostly farang, only the folks who I'd call  'health nuts' (meaning they're obsessive about what they eat and how much they exercise, it's the only way to stay fit on that diet) aren't overweight.

All of my Thai friends are slim to medium in build, and yet they exercise very little. Of course for cardiovascular health, they should be exercising, and their lack of exercise will catch up with them, no doubt, longevity-wise.

The point is the Thai diet doesn't lend itself to obesity, the average farang diet does. Wags talk about how healthy a 'Mediterranean' diet is, but I've been to Med countries and there are a lot of fat folks.

I eat Thai food almost exclusively (save for maybe two farang meals a month, usually pasta, even occasionally a burger or pizza) and swim 20-30 minutes daily. Doesn't require a lot of thought, and it feels good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I can agree only partly here.Everybody is different.If I stick to just Thai food and in moderate proportions, I put on weight.That is with excercise and no grog too.If I eliminate the bad carbs, then I start to lose it.I am lucky to have a western graze about once a month.

[sabaijai]

It's hard to work out a balance between exercise and eating, you have to be thinking all the time.

You don't have to put as much thought into it if you just eat Thai. If you eat Thai  only (or mostly), you won't get fat (and you will slim down if you're already overweight). Think about it -- how many overweight Thais do you know? The only overweight or obese Thais I know are those who have an 'abnormal' diet, from a Thai perspective, ie, either they eat way more than the average Thai or they eat a lot of farang food (worse yet, at places like McD's, though almost any farang diet will put the pounds on anyone over 30 yrs old, from my observation).

Yet among my farang friends who eat mostly farang, only the folks who I'd call  'health nuts' (meaning they're obsessive about what they eat and how much they exercise, it's the only way to stay fit on that diet) aren't overweight.

All of my Thai friends are slim to medium in build, and yet they exercise very little. Of course for cardiovascular health, they should be exercising, and their lack of exercise will catch up with them, no doubt, longevity-wise.

The point is the Thai diet doesn't lend itself to obesity, the average farang diet does. Wags talk about how healthy a 'Mediterranean' diet is, but I've been to Med countries and there are a lot of fat folks.

I eat Thai food almost exclusively (save for maybe two farang meals a month, usually pasta, even occasionally a burger or pizza) and swim 20-30 minutes daily. Doesn't require a lot of thought, and it feels good.

I can agree only partly here.Everybody is different.If I stick to just Thai food and in moderate proportions, I put on weight.That is with excercise and no grog too.If I eliminate the bad carbs, then I start to lose it.I am lucky to have a western graze about once a month.

Chuchok, that really surprises me. But you're right everyone's different, perhaps I've been overgeneralising. I do think it's rare, though, to become overweight on the average Thai diet.

[cobra]

I'm trying to stick to the Atkins Diet (Asian style) and still enjoy the tastes of Thai food. My bathroom scales keep yelling at me ...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have always felt that the Atkins diet is like the 'Fat Bastards Feel Good About Yourself' diet.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly,

[texpatriate]

I lost almost thirty pounds on my version of a low carb diet, so I understand your dilema.

The best thing to do is to cook your own food.

You can eat a lot of stir fry items, just skip the rice.

Or have a a bit of brown rice instead.

Pad Thai is right out

Drink liquor and wine and avoid Gods gift to man (beer).

When I was in Laos I made friend with a family that owned a restaurant. SInce I ate there almost everyday they were willing to altered menu items at my request. The would make me a small batch of brown rice and they would use the cooking oil that I supplied.In addition to my loyal patronage I also taught them how to make A-2-fay and gumbo.

You can also look at a Thai cook book and you can make your own modifications.

If you are going to be in LOS for a while you might try going native.Eat nothing but Thai food.Cook with brown rice and enjoy noodles sparingly and TOTALLY AVOID farang food (soft drinks especially).

-texpatriate

Edited January 9, 2007 by texpatriate