Is Thai Food Fattening And What Do You Eat For Luch?

[corkman]

Exactly as the title says:

1. Is thai food, generally, fattening? I mean stir fry stuff with rice, the various types of curries etc., noodle soup, and all that? I'm guessing that it is (fattening) despite the fact that most thai people are not fat.... or even chubby ...... are there any particular things to be encouraged, or avoided?

2. If not thai food, then what do you eat for lunch that may be considered healthy (I'm an office worker). I mean, I am thinking burgers, fries, pastries, sandwiches, pissa, pasta, and all that sort of thing are as bad, if not worse?

Many thanks for your suggestions.

[siamquilter]

It all depends on what you choose to eat. I find Thai yums & stir fries fairly healthy and control the amount of rice consumed with it. Yums are full of fresh vegetables with a bit of protein, so one of my favorites. Stir fried rice and noodles fall into the fattening end of the spectrum, including pad Thai so something to eat only occassionally if you are concerned about healthy.

[ChoakMyDee]

I'm currently trying to lose a few pounds on my belly and I have come to understand that carbs are my enemy. For that reason I avoid noodles altogether and I don't eat rice except a little rice in my soup for breakfast(I have seafood soup for breakfast every day). What I do now is I eat fish or chicken from the roadside stands and a green vegetable(cucumbers or carrots or whatever green you can get) with it. I also eat fruit with every meal to help fill me up a bit.

[prighas]

Thai food is generally 'healthy' because the ingredients normally used in the Thai cuisine are naturally herbal. However, Thai junk food (as with all junk food) is not healthy at all - with all its 'fried' varieties.

For lunch, I usually choose from the following list:

- Som Tum (less sugar).

- Tom Yum Pla.

- Ghao Lao Pla Fish Soup, no skin) or Ghao Lao Gai (chicken soup).

- Grilled Chicken.

I try to keep away from fried rice due its fat/carb content.

[QED]

Avoid the curries/soups with coconut milk, I never realised how bad that stuff is until a friend told me recently, I then googled it and was shocked (in my mind it was healthy, like fruit juice:D )

[bkkjames]

I am a big fan of that stewed pork leg.

I wouldn't say Thai food is fattening overall - however a lot of it is fried.

[YoursTruly]

I also am making an effort to drop a few pounds and more importantly to start eating healthier. I have lived in Thailand for a while now, and have a pretty good handle on how they prepare and cook food. In general I do not think Thai food is healthy. Grant it they use a lot of fresh produce which is a plus, but everything is cooked in either a lot of oil with lots of salt, sugar and msg or in lots of oil and coconut milk. Coconut milk is a healthier fat, but if you eat it everyday its not going to help in weight loss.

On the note of msg- I recently discovered that the seasoning mixes and Knorr products contain msg. Most people don't know this and think they are cooking msg-free and yet still use Knorr in everything.

Yum's, I think are a good alternative (be careful of the sugar). The key to having a healthy lunch is to make sure you are getting a lot of protein- which will give you energy and give you the sense of "fullness" that prevents you from overeating.

I stumbled upon this forum when I was researching ideas on how to eat healthy but cheaply in Thailand. It's easy to fall prey to the 20 Baht fried rice and fried chicken.

[bkkjames]

I also am making an effort to drop a few pounds and more importantly to start eating healthier. I have lived in Thailand for a while now, and have a pretty good handle on how they prepare and cook food. In general I do not think Thai food is healthy. Grant it they use a lot of fresh produce which is a plus, but everything is cooked in either a lot of oil with lots of salt, sugar and msg or in lots of oil and coconut milk. Coconut milk is a healthier fat, but if you eat it everyday its not going to help in weight loss.

On the note of msg- I recently discovered that the seasoning mixes and Knorr products contain msg. Most people don't know this and think they are cooking msg-free and yet still use Knorr in everything.

Yum's, I think are a good alternative (be careful of the sugar). The key to having a healthy lunch is to make sure you are getting a lot of protein- which will give you energy and give you the sense of "fullness" that prevents you from overeating.

I stumbled upon this forum when I was researching ideas on how to eat healthy but cheaply in Thailand. It's easy to fall prey to the 20 Baht fried rice and fried chicken.

FYI, Knorr, not all contain msg, but you need to find the one's that aren't loaded with it - it says on the package. 

Another trick used to hide it is that generic word found on packaging called 'seasonings'.

[YoursTruly]

So far I have checked the Knorr chicken, pork and vegetable stock cubes including the green "healthier" ones. All of them (written in Thai) have Monosodium Glutamate

[bkkjames]

So far I have checked the Knorr chicken, pork and vegetable stock cubes including the green "healthier" ones. All of them (written in Thai) have Monosodium Glutamate

Ok, I just asked the Mrs who tells me that it says in thai "this kind is without msg" for what its worth.

[ihunnieibee]

I've lost around 25lbs since I've been here...I came in June of 09'..I now live with a Thai family so we usually eat together.. (sharing food, and using a lazy susan on a table only taking one bite at a time helped me too..before i would just load up my plate then get full and feel obligated to finish it all because i had put it on my plate)

These are a few things that may help you:

If you don't eat breakfast - start.. and by eating breakfast I don't mean eating sugar coated cereal or fatty bacon or whatever you would have in the west.

a typical breakfast for me now is:

some sort of steamed fish

veggies

a clear based soup

rice (mixed brown-white because all people in this family aren't really into the 100% brown rice thing..)

Switching to brown rice can be very good for you, besides, having carbs in the morning can help jump start your day.

At lunch i tend to have noodles or fried rice...i don't really limit myself

and for dinner i would have something similar to the things that i have for breakfast.

Of course I still go out to eat at times, and there are some fried things and coconut milk based things here and there but I've found having a normal schedule of eating like this:

Breakfast (somewhere between 7am - 9am)

Lunch (12ish)

Dinner (somewhere around 6:30pm - 8pm)

has helped me, also having some snacks in between, if you just eat some fruit or really a little bit of anything every few hours it keeps your metabolism up.

I've started drinking a lot more water here, so that is always a helper when trying to lose weight.

Anyways to answer your question.. Thai food has some healthy and not so healthy options. It's the way you live and the way you consume them to determine your weight gain/loss or maintainability

I wasn't trying to lose weight when I came here but everytime my friends come to visit me they are shocked about how much weight I've lost.. I believe it is due to the change in my schedule, starting to eat breakfast, drinking more water, and sleeping at night.

Alcohol can also make you gain a ton of weight. If you are a drinker and think you can give up drinking alcohol then you will be able to drop a few pounds that way too...

[YoursTruly]

Quite possibly I stand corrected- I don't have any on hand to confirm myself, but next time I go to the store I will have a look. I know it is common in stock cubes and seasoning packets as well as in chips (such as pringles) to have msg, which is bad if you are trying to lose weight.

[witold]

There really is no such thing as 'fattening' food. Every food will fatten you just the same. It primarily comes down to quantity/calories.

[YoursTruly]

There really is no such thing as 'fattening' food. Every food will fatten you just the same. It primarily comes down to quantity/calories.

How did you come to that conclusion? While portion and moderation is important you cannot rely on that solely if you want to change the way your body looks. It has been proven that foods with high saturated fats, sugar and sodium affect your body in a negative way. Good proteins and produce give your body energy without clogging your arteries, which in turn will help you too eat less because your body will get the nutrients it needs and will feel satisfied. Exercise is important in becoming healthy and unless you are eating healthy and not junk food- your body won't be able to keep up and as a result you will feel tired.

[eslteacher]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with saturated fats. Sugar? Yes. Trans fats? Yes. Many vegetable oils? Yes. But not saturated fat. Many healthy populations throughout our history have consumed very high amounts of saturated fat and thrived.

[Rumpole]

Avoid the curries/soups with coconut milk, I never realised how bad that stuff is until a friend told me recently, I then googled it and was shocked (in my mind it was healthy, like fruit juice:D )

Coconut milk is high in calories and saturated fat, but also has health benefits:

While coconut milk is high in saturated fat, it is much healthier than other saturated fat products, and the fat is easily metabolized by the body. Coconut milk also offers some particular health benefits. It is anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. The main saturated fat that it contains, lauric acid, is also found in mother's milk and has been shown to promote brain development and bone health. Some hope that coconut milk, with its powerful anti-viral properties, can one day be used in the fight against AIDS.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-coconut-milk.htm

It also contains no cholesterol, is low in sodium and high in manganese.

Edited July 17, 2010 by Rumpole

[xen]

I know it is common in stock cubes and seasoning packets as well as in chips (such as pringles) to have msg, which is bad if you are trying to lose weight.

Do you mean the msg is bad if you are trying to loose weight ,or just the pringles (obviously). MSG gives you a Full feeling after having it in food ,si in effect you may not eat as much but then feel hungry later on, but i think the biggest problem with MSG is the relationship with such complaints such as gout, asthma and migraine.

[bkksteviejai]

I've recently decided to lose the "love handles" and have therefore been a bit more discerning with the diet. Although I've always eaten plenty of fresh fruit, I was eating a fair few snacks (crisps / deep fried thai style stuff / roti) and chocolate / Ice Cream pretty regularly. I made a few changes which have not only helped lose some weight but made me feel much better in myself and stopped an ongoing stomach problem. I excercise the same amount as I did before.

I packed in eating pork / chicken / beef, just eating fish & seafood (usually not fried style)

I started eating porridge again for breakfast with some honey and a banana.

Eating more vegetables, including the thai style "yum".

Packed in drinking beer, but have the odd whiskey ........

Stil eat the same amount of eggs & cheese that I was eating (since these saturated fats are supposed to be ok in moderation)

I like thai food alot, the curries, the kanom, the street meat etc but there does seem to be alot of oily and deep fried offerings, so now just eat them every now and then. Some thai fruits like durian and jackfruit aren't ideal for scoffing regularly. But there are so many delicious fruits here I find it easy to find something healthy to snack on.

[edwardandtubs]

The majority of food you buy ready-prepared in Thailand (either from the street sellers, in restaurants or in packets) is unhealthy. Here's why:

1. anything fried is cooked using the cheapest, unhealthiest oils (like soybean oil)
2. way too much oil is put in (e.g. whereas a 'normal' omelette should contain about a tablespoon of oil, the Thai version contains about ten times that)
3. way too much sugar is put in almost all dishes
4. way too much salt is put in almost all dishes (the daily recommended maximum is one teaspoon (6g) but there's often double that in a single Thai dish)
5. bottled condiments containing yet more sugar, salt and unhealthy preservatives and poured into food
6. any baked product and many fried products contain hydrogenated vegetable oil which is so unhealthy it is banned in most developed countries
7. farming is not properly regulated so the meat and vegetables may contain unhealthy levels of antibiotics and pesticides

So anyone telling you 'Thai food is healthy' has just been blinded by the nationalism with which Thai people regard their food.

[Shurup]

You can always find enough healthy foods in every country's cuisine to have good variety of foods for breakfast lunch and supper.

All deep fried and stir fried food is bad. A lot of saturated fat is bad, all the sweets are bad processed carbs (white rice, anything with white flower) are bad. I dropped all that years years back. It was a challenge at first do stay away from what you like and watch what you put in your mouth, but now I just take a look at the food and I can tell if it's healthy or no.

I never skip meals to keep my metabolism high, I usually eat a lot of eggs in the morning with only few yolks (this is where all the cholesterol is) I have another snack time 3 hrs later with a bowl of healthy no sugar cereals with low fat milk, I eat lunch with rare stake or chicken breast (no skin) with some potato and veggies, I have another snack meal 3 hrs after that with more egg whites or tuna fish and veggies or salad, and for supper I usually have a protein shake with some orange juice. That's my normal eating day. I do have junk days (like pizza and beer) sometimes but it doesn't bother me, they are really sometimes, like once in a 1 or 2 month.

[sonicdragon]

Agree with edwardandtubs that most ready cooked Thai food is unhealthy. Another thing that worries me is the propensity to re-use cooking oil over and over again.

My biggest problem with Thai food is that I eat too much. I'm sure everyone knows that Thais generally eat little, but often. I just can't do that. Well, I can do the often part. but I just don't feel right unless I'm full. Not over-full - just full. So I can easily end up eating 5 big meals a day. My solution to this is a twice-daily workout, which is fine when I have the time, but if I go through a busy period then I'll easily put on 5Kg in a month, and my only solution to that, is to cut out meals and just eat twice or three times a day. I know it's considered bad, but at those times I always skip breakfast and sometimes lunch as well, and just drink water but I make sure I work out twice - early in the morning, then at lunch time.

[Fionaz]

I'm currently trying to lose a few pounds on my belly and I have come to understand that carbs are my enemy. For that reason I avoid noodles altogether and I don't eat rice except a little rice in my soup for breakfast(I have seafood lingerie online soup for breakfast every day). What I do now is I eat fish or chicken from the roadside stands and a green vegetable(cucumbers or carrots or whatever green you can get) with it. I also eat fruit with every meal to help fill me up a bit.

If you want to eat rice, eat brown rice. That is

healthier than white rice. Also you should actually go for a run or some sort of workout program

to get rid of the stomach fat ^^

Edited October 6, 2010 by Fionaz

[endure]

I'm currently trying to lose a few pounds on my belly and I have come to understand that carbs are my enemy. For that reason I avoid noodles altogether and I don't eat rice except a little rice in my soup for breakfast(I have seafood soup for breakfast every day). What I do now is I eat fish or chicken from the roadside stands and a green vegetable(cucumbers or carrots or whatever green you can get) with it. I also eat fruit with every meal to help fill me up a bit.

Several months ago I was diagnosed with diabetes. I bought myself a blood glucose meter and started to test how all the meals that I ate affected my blood glucose levels. I found that I could maintain a near normal BG level if I avoided completely potatoes, rice, bread, noodles and to a lesser extent fruit. This left me meat, fish, eggs and vegetables to play with. I normally eat egg and bacon for breakfast and grilled chicken/pork/beef plus large plate of veggies in the evening. If I have a Sunday roast dinner I eat the beef/lamb and all the veg but avoid the potatoes and Yorkshire pud. My last blood test put me in the normal range for BG and for cholesterol and lipids.

A side effect of this diet is that in 10 weeks I lost 27lbs and 3 inches off my waist. Might be worth your while trying it.

[moe666]

Avoid the curries/soups with coconut milk, I never realised how bad that stuff is until a friend told me recently, I then googled it and was shocked (in my mind it was healthy, like fruit juice:D )

Coconut milk is high in calories and saturated fat, but also has health benefits:

While coconut milk is high in saturated fat, it is much healthier than other saturated fat products, and the fat is easily metabolized by the body. Coconut milk also offers some particular health benefits. It is anti-carcinogenic, anti-microbial, anti-bacterial, and anti-viral. The main saturated fat that it contains, lauric acid, is also found in mother's milk and has been shown to promote brain development and bone health. Some hope that coconut milk, with its powerful anti-viral properties, can one day be used in the fight against AIDS.

http://www.wisegeek....oconut-milk.htm

It also contains no cholesterol, is low in sodium and high in manganese.

Yes, not all fats are the same. The fat in coconut is a medium chain fat and enters the body in a different manner than the long chain and short chain fats. I have a tablespoon of coconut milk everyday in my protien shake. Yum good. Body builder eat quite a bit of fat to lose fat. Also some food such as meats you have to chew and even vegetables that you chew will burn many calories just digesting them. There is more to eating than cutting foods out. The main thing cut out the sugar and this includes fruit which is loaded with sugar. I lost 20 lbs in one month while I was at the monastary only two meals a day but all you wanted of rice and vegetables and some fruit. People would ask me do you get hungry and I never did.

[moe666]

You can always find enough healthy foods in every country's cuisine to have good variety of foods for breakfast lunch and supper.

All deep fried and stir fried food is bad. A lot of saturated fat is bad, all the sweets are bad processed carbs (white rice, anything with white flower) are bad. I dropped all that years years back. It was a challenge at first do stay away from what you like and watch what you put in your mouth, but now I just take a look at the food and I can tell if it's healthy or no.

I never skip meals to keep my metabolism high, I usually eat a lot of eggs in the morning with only few yolks (this is where all the cholesterol is) I have another snack time 3 hrs later with a bowl of healthy no sugar cereals with low fat milk, I eat lunch with rare stake or chicken breast (no skin) with some potato and veggies, I have another snack meal 3 hrs after that with more egg whites or tuna fish and veggies or salad, and for supper I usually have a protein shake with some orange juice. That's my normal eating day. I do have junk days (like pizza and beer) sometimes but it doesn't bother me, they are really sometimes, like once in a 1 or 2 month.

Eggs are now off of the bad list for cholestrol, and if you have a normal metabolism any cholestrol you take in from outside food will be off set by a reduction in your own production. I have low cholestrol without trying and I eat bacon eggs with yolks and a lot of other fat after 6 months I finally got it up from 126 to 132 and boy do I feel better. Low cholestrol is a killer, and brain destroyer.

[jayjay0]

So far I have checked the Knorr chicken, pork and vegetable stock cubes including the green "healthier" ones. All of them (written in Thai) have Monosodium Glutamate

There was never a doubt in my mind about it. The taste told me never even considered reading what was in it.

[mauiguy90]

Street food in general is prepared with palm oil. That's the stuff that can be used as an alternative energy source instead of gasoline. Read up on it and you will find out that food prepared with palm oil will clog your veins quickly. Whether you gain weight or not doesn't matter as much as your health. If you are going to eat fried thai food, at least make sure they are not using palm oil. Remember that its cheap for a reason. Healthy food costs money....

[corkman]

Funny, I started this thread and since there were no replies after a day or two, I forgot about it......

Seems like there are some really good replies in here. Gotta read and digest (pardon the pun).

thanks.

[landanna]

Ive gained 15 lbs since I arrived 7 months ago. The lack of a kitchen, plus my mobility has decreased at least 60% (I live right beside my work), and the cheap street food are too blame. Besides walking to the local grocery store and my gym, everything else requires jumping in a cab. The weather nor my area does not encourage outdoor strolls/runs.

The doctor at my local hospital when I went in for a sinus infection told me that most street dishes - pad thai, pad see ew and fried rice have calorie contents of 500! I have purchased a grill and microwave and have tried to eat 50% of my meals in my studio. When I eat on the street, I avoid the fried rice/noodle dishes. My weight hasnt decreased but I stopped gaining after month 5!

My rant about my local gym - soft drink machine beside the water machine, owners let their small unfriendly dog run loose and I have see it pee on machines, and the air conditioner does not effectively cool the gym, still feel like Im exercising in a sauna!