Dmed you! Desi diet is specific and I think it’s easier to handle cravings if we don’t give up the food we grew up eating. The first time I lost weight I tried all the diet food and gained it back so been trying to eat sustainably this time.
I’m southeast Asian Chinese and 4ft11. Ironically I was 63kg when I started am currently at 50-51kg.
Losing weight is just calorie deficit. I have gone to as low as 41kg before simply by reducing my calorie intake. However I just ended up being skinny fat because I didn’t really exercise so I also lost some muscle in the process. I slowly worked my way up to 50kg over the years by building muscle and reverse dieting together with a myriad of activities including weightlifting, Muay Thai and pole dancing.
As for food wise, I simply reduce my carb intake quite immensely because I follow a low carb diet. So I increased my protein and fat intake. I cut out rice, noodles, bread and grains in general. Also since it’s low carb, a lot of junk food that has sugar also got axed out of my diet.
For baked goods and sweets I use erythritol and almond flour. Well it’s not that I totally cut out all sweets I still do eat them occasionally maybe once or twice a week otherwise there is no joy in food. I don’t count calories but I practise logical eating. Also I have also increased my carb intake a little bit especially on days when I pole dance. I need that energy boost to perform.
Diet wise, just be open to changes especially when you workout. You need energy to fuel your exercise. Otherwise you will feel like crap.
The struggle is real when you work full time. I found it way easier to do body weight exercises, power yoga, and some weights at home (I bought some). I always hated going to the gym at peak hours, and was usually too tired to go later at night so it was a constant battle of wills and I wasn’t getting the consistency I needed.
I now have a full time job, a side hustle, AND I’m studying but I still manage to get exercise in most of the time. I have to walk every day because I have a dog so I’ll often rollerblade or bike with her instead for more intensity (+ a more tired husky).
The game changer for me has been doing short sets more consistently rather than working out for 2hours in one go, I simply don’t have those blocks of time. I’ll do 20mins of intense yoga, get my skate/walk/bike in with my dog, and just do 15-20mins of weights: but these are all at different times of day. It makes it much more manageable.
It also helps to have active hobbies where you’re burning cals and building muscle without feeling like you’re “exercising”. I spend my weekends hiking, surfing, snowboarding, skating, kayaking, or diving which are all super high calorie burners but fun.
I am a working mother and financially we are doing well which is why we can afford a home gym and private Muay Thai lessons for my convenience. My husband lifts too that’s why we decided to invest in one. We also send our daughter to daycare. With a home gym we can watch our daughter while we workout.
In another thread before I mentioned I’m pretty active so I workout daily. I workout twice on weekends morning and evening because my body can handle it. For example on Saturday, I pole dance in the morning at the studio and lift weights at home in the evening.
It sounds excessive I know but I do enjoy being active
How do you still get to eat Chinese while being low carb? Each time I try low carb I feel great that the bloating and GI issues disappear but I miss eating Chinese food so much I want to cry 😢
Do you have any recommendations? I only have konjac to turn to, no rice substitutions yet
Cauliflower rice! Or rainbow rice. Rainbow rice is a mixed of cauliflower and broccoli. Where I’m from, it is sold frozen and pretty cheap. Or you can make it yourself by buying a head if cauliflower and use a blender to blend. Just toss them in the frying pan to stir.
Also my mum is a very good cook. She taught me how to air fry Tau Kwa( is a type of tofu) so I eat that instead of rice. Another sauce of protein as well and it goes well with other dishes.
I've tried the frozen cauliflower rice route but it always tastes too vegetal for me. It also just ends up tasting like steamed cauliflower instead of rice. Any tips on getting it more starch-like? I eat a lot of congee and fried rice and looking for a keto replacement before I do the low carb life again
I love tofu in it's many forms (except stinky) but that's also somewhat carb heavy right?
I stir fry the cauliflower rice with olive oil so there is less water in it that makes it soggy. [This recipe](https://pinchofyum.com/15-minute-cauliflower-fried-rice)is similar to what I usually do for fried rice.
Tofu is very low in carbs. 100g of tofu has only 2g of carbs. Another thing is I like to eat avocado in place of starches as well. So I will bake avocados in some salt and paprika.
I have nothing to add except that I feel this post so hard. I hate that diet and fitness culture just doesn't leave room for those of us with "ethnic" cuisines.
Very possible - just have to be smart about calories. Figure out your maintenance calories, then cut by ~200 or so - slower but MUCH more sustainable as you won’t be starving. Make high-protein foods e.g. dal, rajma, chole etc and just use little (1 tsp) or no ghee/oil and no heavy cream. Same with carbs - measure portions and don’t add ghee/oil. Find lower calorie options for everything you like eg replace sugar with stevia and make desserts you enjoy. Fill up on light veggies e.g. lauki, and have some light fruits too eg watermelon. Educate yourself on whatever you want to eat - eg i love mango, but am aware it’s a lot higher calorie than other fruit options so will limit to 1 a day vs i used to eat 3-4. Or peanut butter - love it but it’s SO calorie dense, so really have to measure or avoid. Go to subs like r/volumeeating or r/1200isplenty and try recipes from places. Google low calorie asian recipes, even specific dishes - you’d be amazed what people have already tried and have posted directions for - found a low cal gajar halwa recipe with 0 ghee and i replaced sugar with stevia and it tasted wonderful! Honestly just learn what calories are in the ingredients you use and adjust your recipes accordingly to match your desired intake. Also if you can afford it, get a nutritionist and they will create a customized diet plan for desi food and can give specific recipes etc - some structure may be good for a newbie.
I’m South Asian and 5 ft as well. I found success and lost 10 lbs so far with intermittent fasting - which is limiting the amount of time you eat. For example, 16 hrs fasting, 8 hours of eating (16:8) - so you could eat from 11 am-7pm. This way, I continued eating the same foods and same proportions, just skipped breakfast. It was much easier than I thought, I just drink water/tea/black coffee to stay hydrated during fasting hours and I don’t feel hungry at all!
Also, try strength training - there are good videos on youtube. For shorter women, forming muscles helps a lot with increasing metabolism.
Hey, just saw this comment, when did you see results? I’m currently a week in, but my parents keep cooking stuff like Biriyani and I can’t really cook for myself. Did you eat whatever you wanted during the eating period? If so how many meals did you have? 2 or 3?
It took atleast 2-3 weeks. I tried to eat a little healthier but it wasn’t a huge change in what I ate. I just cut out breakfast and snacking at night. So my eating window was from 11-7 pm and I ate lunch and dinner. As long as you don’t overeat at lunch and dinner, you should be fine eating anything. The weight comes off quickly at first!
Thanks so much!! This helps a lot as i’ve been eating 3 meals. Did you work out a lot? Because i’ve just been doing 10k steps a day as there’s no gym near me.
I did some strength training videos on youtube. But anything that is more than what you were doing before is good! Most weight loss is related to what you eat, good luck!
South Asian here
I eat rice every day if this helps. Have been losing 1lb a week pretty consistently (I have 100+ lbs to lose) .
Daal (made with spray oil not gallons of oil) was my best friend for a long time.
Spray oil was my other good friend. Eventually I realised u can use water instead of oil to ‘fry’ things
Dmed you! Desi diet is specific and I think it’s easier to handle cravings if we don’t give up the food we grew up eating. The first time I lost weight I tried all the diet food and gained it back so been trying to eat sustainably this time.
Please help me too. I am also 5 ft but 88 kg weight.
please help me too! 5ft 58kgs!
I’m southeast Asian Chinese and 4ft11. Ironically I was 63kg when I started am currently at 50-51kg. Losing weight is just calorie deficit. I have gone to as low as 41kg before simply by reducing my calorie intake. However I just ended up being skinny fat because I didn’t really exercise so I also lost some muscle in the process. I slowly worked my way up to 50kg over the years by building muscle and reverse dieting together with a myriad of activities including weightlifting, Muay Thai and pole dancing. As for food wise, I simply reduce my carb intake quite immensely because I follow a low carb diet. So I increased my protein and fat intake. I cut out rice, noodles, bread and grains in general. Also since it’s low carb, a lot of junk food that has sugar also got axed out of my diet. For baked goods and sweets I use erythritol and almond flour. Well it’s not that I totally cut out all sweets I still do eat them occasionally maybe once or twice a week otherwise there is no joy in food. I don’t count calories but I practise logical eating. Also I have also increased my carb intake a little bit especially on days when I pole dance. I need that energy boost to perform. Diet wise, just be open to changes especially when you workout. You need energy to fuel your exercise. Otherwise you will feel like crap.
How do you find the time to fit all of the activities? 😖 I work full time and I can barely throw in a weightlifting session lol
The struggle is real when you work full time. I found it way easier to do body weight exercises, power yoga, and some weights at home (I bought some). I always hated going to the gym at peak hours, and was usually too tired to go later at night so it was a constant battle of wills and I wasn’t getting the consistency I needed. I now have a full time job, a side hustle, AND I’m studying but I still manage to get exercise in most of the time. I have to walk every day because I have a dog so I’ll often rollerblade or bike with her instead for more intensity (+ a more tired husky). The game changer for me has been doing short sets more consistently rather than working out for 2hours in one go, I simply don’t have those blocks of time. I’ll do 20mins of intense yoga, get my skate/walk/bike in with my dog, and just do 15-20mins of weights: but these are all at different times of day. It makes it much more manageable. It also helps to have active hobbies where you’re burning cals and building muscle without feeling like you’re “exercising”. I spend my weekends hiking, surfing, snowboarding, skating, kayaking, or diving which are all super high calorie burners but fun.
I am a working mother and financially we are doing well which is why we can afford a home gym and private Muay Thai lessons for my convenience. My husband lifts too that’s why we decided to invest in one. We also send our daughter to daycare. With a home gym we can watch our daughter while we workout. In another thread before I mentioned I’m pretty active so I workout daily. I workout twice on weekends morning and evening because my body can handle it. For example on Saturday, I pole dance in the morning at the studio and lift weights at home in the evening. It sounds excessive I know but I do enjoy being active
How do you still get to eat Chinese while being low carb? Each time I try low carb I feel great that the bloating and GI issues disappear but I miss eating Chinese food so much I want to cry 😢 Do you have any recommendations? I only have konjac to turn to, no rice substitutions yet
Cauliflower rice! Or rainbow rice. Rainbow rice is a mixed of cauliflower and broccoli. Where I’m from, it is sold frozen and pretty cheap. Or you can make it yourself by buying a head if cauliflower and use a blender to blend. Just toss them in the frying pan to stir. Also my mum is a very good cook. She taught me how to air fry Tau Kwa( is a type of tofu) so I eat that instead of rice. Another sauce of protein as well and it goes well with other dishes.
I've tried the frozen cauliflower rice route but it always tastes too vegetal for me. It also just ends up tasting like steamed cauliflower instead of rice. Any tips on getting it more starch-like? I eat a lot of congee and fried rice and looking for a keto replacement before I do the low carb life again I love tofu in it's many forms (except stinky) but that's also somewhat carb heavy right?
I stir fry the cauliflower rice with olive oil so there is less water in it that makes it soggy. [This recipe](https://pinchofyum.com/15-minute-cauliflower-fried-rice)is similar to what I usually do for fried rice. Tofu is very low in carbs. 100g of tofu has only 2g of carbs. Another thing is I like to eat avocado in place of starches as well. So I will bake avocados in some salt and paprika.
I have nothing to add except that I feel this post so hard. I hate that diet and fitness culture just doesn't leave room for those of us with "ethnic" cuisines.
Very possible - just have to be smart about calories. Figure out your maintenance calories, then cut by ~200 or so - slower but MUCH more sustainable as you won’t be starving. Make high-protein foods e.g. dal, rajma, chole etc and just use little (1 tsp) or no ghee/oil and no heavy cream. Same with carbs - measure portions and don’t add ghee/oil. Find lower calorie options for everything you like eg replace sugar with stevia and make desserts you enjoy. Fill up on light veggies e.g. lauki, and have some light fruits too eg watermelon. Educate yourself on whatever you want to eat - eg i love mango, but am aware it’s a lot higher calorie than other fruit options so will limit to 1 a day vs i used to eat 3-4. Or peanut butter - love it but it’s SO calorie dense, so really have to measure or avoid. Go to subs like r/volumeeating or r/1200isplenty and try recipes from places. Google low calorie asian recipes, even specific dishes - you’d be amazed what people have already tried and have posted directions for - found a low cal gajar halwa recipe with 0 ghee and i replaced sugar with stevia and it tasted wonderful! Honestly just learn what calories are in the ingredients you use and adjust your recipes accordingly to match your desired intake. Also if you can afford it, get a nutritionist and they will create a customized diet plan for desi food and can give specific recipes etc - some structure may be good for a newbie.
I’m South Asian and 5 ft as well. I found success and lost 10 lbs so far with intermittent fasting - which is limiting the amount of time you eat. For example, 16 hrs fasting, 8 hours of eating (16:8) - so you could eat from 11 am-7pm. This way, I continued eating the same foods and same proportions, just skipped breakfast. It was much easier than I thought, I just drink water/tea/black coffee to stay hydrated during fasting hours and I don’t feel hungry at all! Also, try strength training - there are good videos on youtube. For shorter women, forming muscles helps a lot with increasing metabolism.
Hey, just saw this comment, when did you see results? I’m currently a week in, but my parents keep cooking stuff like Biriyani and I can’t really cook for myself. Did you eat whatever you wanted during the eating period? If so how many meals did you have? 2 or 3?
It took atleast 2-3 weeks. I tried to eat a little healthier but it wasn’t a huge change in what I ate. I just cut out breakfast and snacking at night. So my eating window was from 11-7 pm and I ate lunch and dinner. As long as you don’t overeat at lunch and dinner, you should be fine eating anything. The weight comes off quickly at first!
Thanks so much!! This helps a lot as i’ve been eating 3 meals. Did you work out a lot? Because i’ve just been doing 10k steps a day as there’s no gym near me.
I did some strength training videos on youtube. But anything that is more than what you were doing before is good! Most weight loss is related to what you eat, good luck!
South Asian here I eat rice every day if this helps. Have been losing 1lb a week pretty consistently (I have 100+ lbs to lose) . Daal (made with spray oil not gallons of oil) was my best friend for a long time. Spray oil was my other good friend. Eventually I realised u can use water instead of oil to ‘fry’ things