[Palestrina]

Originally Posted by krampus

If white rice is so bad, how come people in Northeast Asia are thin and live to be 100?

I'd eat some of the rice. Like others, I just...can't make smart decisions I won't regret if I'm blindsided by hunger.

The same can be said about all the different starches. How do Italians stay thin eating pasta? How do South Americans stay thin eating so much corn? How do Asians stay thin eating so much rice? How do the French stay so thin eating so much bread, cheese and wine? The OP's dilemma wasn't the rice, it was the unexpected change in her schedule that would deter her from her meal plan. It's something we all face in our day to day struggle. We develop skills that will help us get through these glitches. Dealing with hunger is a useful strategy, one that normal eaters execute daily.

[mandypandy2246]

Yeah, to me the issue is not the white rice. White rice can definitely be in a healthy diet and weight loss plan. But if that is not what she planned for, and for her the amount of food/satiation is not worth it - not worth eating - particularly because white rice alone will probably spike blood sugar and she'll still be hungry again by the time she leaves work. For me - I treat each bite as a cost/benefit analysis. White rice is generally not worth it for me.

[kaplods]

I don't like any food being labeled bad or unhealthy, so planned and unplanned or on-plan and off-plan being better labels.

Off topic a bit, but I think we Americans often have problems with carbs, especially higher glycemic carbs like pasta, potatoes, bread, and rice that are less common in thinner cultures for several reasons.

1. Food is cheaper and we can afford to eat more.

2. We tend to add more fat to carby foods (which makes it easier to eat more).

3. We don't eat nearly as many greens and other low-carb vegetables (or any vegetables) than folks from "thinner" cultues. The space veggies should take up on our plates are often replaced with more of the starch foods and fat.

4. We live much more sedentary lives, and have far more labor-saving devices.

5. Many thin cultured either graze/snack all day OR they eat 2-4 substantial meals. Americans often do both.

6. We tend to eat out more AND we tend to shop less frequently, so we stock up and have more food in the house than folks from traditionally thin cultures.

Some foods that are very healthy for thin and active folks, aren't quite so good for fat or sedentary folks. Sometimes it's easier to cut the carbs than it is to try to burn them off, especially once blood sugar issues like diabetes and insulin resistance crop up.

I know our favorite farmers market vendor, an elderly Hmong lady who is a very respected in her community as healer/shaman/herbalist, told hubby and I that we needed not eat rice, potato, bread... and more veggies, especially bitter melon (she could tell hubby had diabetes by looking at him. She told me I might too. At the time I had been diagnosed IR, but not yet diabetic). Other southeast asian friends (especially women) also told us that when they want to lose weight, they cut out or cut down on rice and eat more salads ans spicy foods like papaya salad.

So even in traditionally thin societies, what a person eats for weight loss isn't necessarily what one normally would eat if one didn't have to lose weight.

[GMNEVO]

I vote for eating it mainly because I make the dumbest diet decisions when I'm hungry.

[alaskanlaughter]

if given the opportunity when starving, I will eat as much junk as I can manage to scarf down...with no willpower or thoughts to my diet...I need to eat when reasonably hungry and not delay food too long or i'll regret my choices at that point

[MAK247]

I can generally wait through hunger for quite a while, I rarely stop to eat lunch during a work day. However, I keep something non-perishable in my purse for emergencies. Right now I am toting around an applesauce pouch (the kind made for kids) it's only about 40-50 calories if I remember correctly, so it wouldn't break the calorie bank if I felt the need to have it.

[sonickel77]

I'm learning to say no to food if I'm a bit hungry at the end of the day, instead of going past my diet allowance.

I just think of the starving children I saw in this documentary called "Zimbabwe's forgotten children" - (you can see it on Youtube). Children eating some maize once every four days, slowly starving to death, resorting to eating ants, bullfrogs and birds to survive. Horrifying stuff, but it puts my diet struggles into real perspective.

[IanG]

Go hungry. Dieting is a form of mild, controlled starvation. With an emphasis on the mild and controlled.

A little hunger is good. It makes food that is good for you taste better.

[Palestrina]

Originally Posted by IanG

Go hungry. Dieting is a form of mild, controlled starvation. With an emphasis on the mild and controlled.

A little hunger is good. It makes food that is good for you taste better.

Haha I like that, mild controlled starvation lol. It's true and I'm making that one of my go-to quotes lol.