Is it just me or does this creep anyone else out?
 

Ok, so last night both me and the bf worked late. Then we met a friend and her family and spent a good 2 hours outside talking. By the time we got home we were both exhausted and we decided to do something we hadn't done in over 2 months (cue the scary organ music) we ordered in chinese food. We both got reasonably healthy dinners, chicken and broccoli for me :) I only ate half of a small container of rice (less than half a cup) and a large container of the chicken and broccoli. Calorie wise I was still 500 under for the day but today I gained two pounds when I weighed in. Don't worry, I'm not freaking out. I know that it's water weight. That is the first thing that freaks me out. I drink ALOT of water, easily 100oz in a day and regardless of that I still retained water after that food. The other thing...I can feel it. My hands feel that yucky tight way they do when I'm retaining badly. Ugh. Clearly I can't eat Chinese food anymore. I can't say I really mind...I cook better than most of the restaurants in the area anyway :D But EW How much salt do they put in that stuff?!?!?!

Ok, that's all sorry for the randomness but I was waaaaay creeped out this morning.


All the love ladies!!!!

Think msg and soy sauce. Lots of sodium in Chinese food. I still indulge but request low sodium soy when it is available, also they will make it without the msg if you ask.

My husband and I ALWAYS feel like crap when we go for Chinese food. We get the craving about once every 2 months or so. After we are finished, and we do make good choices, we both look at each other and say "Let's never do this again" Bloated, gassy, we can't seem to get enough water to drink for almost a day later. WHY DO WE CONTINUE ???? We try to make a effort to stay away !!
Suzy

Me too!! I had Chinese for the first time in months yesterday, no rice, and Bam!! One pound higher today! And, UGH, do I feel bloated!

Ummm. But it was Goooooood!

Yeah, it's pretty nasty. :(

I take it you meant 1500 for the day, not 500... :o

I haven't had Chinese food in some time. When I do eat it, I stick with mostly vegetables and try to get items without a lot of sauce. It's the sauces that get you with Chinese foods--they are all sugar and oil and salt. Of course, many traditional Chinese dishes are not like that, but the foods made for Western consumption usually are...

Jay

Jay, 500 under, not total ;)

I feel exactly what you're saying... I eat out rarely - partly for financial reasons but partly because I bloat terribly almost whenever I eat out. I LOVE spicy Thai food, and I do occasionally eat that or sushi, but I have to drink lots of water the next day too. I'm sure you'll be fine once you flush sodium out, but it makes you want to fix your own meals for a while, doesn't it??

I had Chinese food on Friday for the first time in probably at least 6 months. Super bloated until today. Yuck. MSG is worse than just plan salt LOL!

There is a reason why it's called Chinese Food Syndrome. :D

I haven't had Chinese in ages (probably not since I started my weigh loss journey, but that's not by decision, I simply don't get to eat Chinese very often) but I had some Vietnamese/Thai food and I never felt bloated. But than again, I am not the habit of weighing myself every morning. I also don't have problem with Indian food - in fact, I had Indian this Sunday and oh my gosh, I know I should not say it here but I was stuffed to the rafters!!! I went with a friend and we ordered 3 different meals so that we can mix and share. One was lamb in curried sauce (absolutely delicious), one was chicken in yogurt sauce (so-so) and the third was eggplant, tomato and other veggies in some spicy mixture. Oh, and raita. We both opted to have no rice or naan bread. It actually was not a huge amount of food (they bring it in the serving dishes and when you split it between two people, it's not that much) but somehow I was horribly full - but I did not feel bloated, I was just too full.
I am sure there was some cream in the curry sauce, it was too good, but at least I had lots of protein!!!

Next time, we are skipping the chicken in yogurt sauce and going just for the lamb in curry sauce and the eggplant veggie mixture. :hun:

Try switching to Japanese food. We used to be weekly Chinese eaters, and instead we've switching to going to a Hibachi restaurant once or twice a month. The food is better {cooked right in front of your from scratch, so you know what you're getting} and I never get that bloaty, water retaining feeling afterwards.

Since I've been weighing daily, I've found so many things that can affect the number on the scale. I do avoid what I can several days before my TOPS weigh-in on Monday nights, but generally I've learned ways to deal and compensate.

Extra water helps alot, so I really push the water when I'm eating chinese food, starting with the meal. That means I'm up all night going to the potty, but usually I don't get the nasty bloated feeling, or much if any water gain the next day (and it's all back where it should be by day 2).

I don't really avoid chinese or ethnic restaurants because while they may add a little extra water weight temporarily, the're often a better choice in the long-run, as there are often a lot more lower calorie and high veggie choices available at ethnic restaurants than "american" ones. I have to be aware not to avoid the super-sweet or fatty sauces and deep fried meats, and starchy entrees, but I'm stll left with more weight-loss friendly choices than in most other restaurants.

Same here. I love a good veggie Thai curry or a steamed veggie dumpling or stir fried veggies and brown rice. All yummy stuff. :) I just know that I'm gonig to consume more sodium and that it'll affect my weight at least temporarily.

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The best way to go with Chinese food is steamed. So if your in a bind have steamed chicken and veggies and add your own soy sauce or get a garlic sauce on the side ;)


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I've never had a problem with the Asian food I crave. Thai (ate green curry a MINIMUM of 1 time a week when I was pregnant with my first...poor husband had to drive half an hour to get it too!) and Japanese food are my favourite styles of food out there. I had a Japanese roommate one year in college...between the two of us we went through a 50 pound bag of rice. The place my husband and I got engaged was a Japanese restaurant called Koji's (now unfortunately, that one was bought by Hooters, though there is another Koji's that my Japanese language class went to). Drat, now I'm craving spider maki and curry! :)

I haven't had Chinese is probably a year so I don't know how I react. I do know that some people are deathly allergic to MSG. Another roommate of mine had to go to the hospital on more than one occasion because of it. I avoid it like the plague, it is in so much stuff though, it can be hard to do.

It may not be just the sodium. When I eat food that isn't part of my normal diet, it makes me retain water. The food doesn't have to be particularly high in sodium, it can be anything that my body just isn't used to processing--foods that are high in fat, processed carbs, sugars, etc. All of it makes me retain water, sometimes several pounds of water, until my body flushes it out.

Food that is high in fat makes me feel especially crummy the next day, whereas food that is high in sodium doesn't make me feel bad.

There are some foods I just can't live without -- Italian food, Chinese food, Turkish food (OMG so good if you've never had it!) and Indian food; I don't think I could realistically live for the rest of my life barely eating that stuff and I don't really like to cook, so I will never come up with my own lo mein recipe so I can make Chinese food at home or anything.

I try to make the best choices available to me (like at a Chinese place, I will usually have some bean curd and veggie dish with brown rice, if I get any rice at all). I don't weigh myself very often (bc it's discouraging and doesn't reflect inches I'm losing, muscles I'm toning, etc.), but I usually wake up feeling okay after I have Chinese food -- I don't feel particularly bloated or gross. I *DO* feel pretty bad and tremendous the next morning if I have a lot of rice/noodles though. And if I have anything dessert-like a sugary, I feel TERRIBLE in the morning and sometimes for days afterwards too; I feel incredibly bloated with a mild stomach ache.

In terms of ethnic foods, I too agree that if you're gonna eat out, it's better to go to an ethnic restaurant; imo they tend to use fresher ingredients, less frying, etc. than chain places or American places.

Well, I didn't say ethnic food places were necessarily any CLEANER or more up to code than chains or American places. But, by and large, foreign cuisines do tend to be more vegetable-based than the classic American fare, so there may be more healthy options at an ethnic restaurant than at an American one.

That's so true, and kind of sad. We've gooped up our taste buds so badly we (think we) need to pile on so much unhealthy glop. :(

:lol: my hands started feeling "stiff" just thinking about it :lol: Thanks for reminding me I don't miss ordering out ;)

Doggone it, txsqlchick, now you've got me wanting Indian food! :drool:

Ghee is actually not a bad oil--as oils go--and it can be stored at room temperature indefinitely in a closed container. I make it myself sometimes (note that unsalted butter must be used). However, it truly is high in calories. And I love those terrible, fattening curries... Sigh...

And what's worse, you've got me wanting a good steak! :faint:

Jay

Global generations don't work well for choosing in a restaurant, you've got to know what's in a dish and how it's prepared. Even if a culture is known for healthy, low fat food, and almost everything on their menu is perfect for you, if you don't know what you're picking you could pick the one diet-nightmare on the menu.

You've got to become savvy so that you can recognize the best and worst dishes on any menu. Sometimes the menu can give a clue, but there's no substitute for talking to the restaurant staff, and using your own senses.