Chinese Girl Shares Chinese Weight Loss Secrets
Ever wonder why Chinese people generally weigh less? Until 25 years ago, before the advent of fast-food in China, Chinese people have the lowest obesity rate. What is their secret to maintaining a trim waistline given their great obsession with food? If you look at their way of life, it revolves around food. Their common traditional greeting, “Have you eaten?” (Ni chi bao le ma?) and the number of people in the family is defined by the number of mouths to feed (kuo-mouths) show the emphasis on food. They even qualify the ability to eat as a blessing.
I was brought up on Chinese food (my grandparents were from China) and have always maintained a size 0 despite eating 5 meals (3 main meals, 2 snacks in between) a day. I analyze the way Chinese people eat and their whole approach to food and come up with some observations as to why they generally weigh a whole lot less. I have also incorporate some tips from Chinese food expert, Lorraire Clissford, author of the book, Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories.
Forget Calories
To the ruler, people are heaven; to the people, food is heaven ~ ancient Chinese proverb.
A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch ~ James A. Beard (I know he’s not Chinese but who can resist such wisdom?)
Calories? What calories? Chinese people don’t have a word for “calories.” Surprising? Not really, they don’t map out their meals in terms of how many fat calories—in fact a 1990 survey found that Chinese people actually consumed 30 percent more calories than Americans, and they are not necessarily more active. If you do the Math, that spells disaster with the “FAT” word. So, where did the Math go wrong by all reasoning? Chinese people view food as nourishment and enjoyment, they tend to eat a more balanced meal—a little meat, some vegetables and always, rice or noodles. And that’s the way to go when eating. Western nutrition expert, Patrick Holford has this to say, “The latest research into weight loss shows that calorie-controlled, low-fat diets are less effective than low glycemic load diets, which is exactly what a traditional Chinese diet is.”
Verdict: Eat a well-rounded meal with the 3 main groups of foods—some carbs, some proteins and lots of vitamins and minerals (i.e. vegetables and fruits). Avoid waist-enhancing sugary, nutrient-deficient foods.
Portion Proposition
The way you cut your meat reflects the way you live ~ Confucius
If you eat at a Chinese restaurant, the chances are that they don’t serve huge chunks of protein. They cut their meat up into bite-sizes and they like to toss them with other ingredients such as vegetables or an assortment of spices. Vegetables, as you know, are low in fat calories and high in vitamins and minerals. Spices offer huge favor benefits (some even burn fat like chili pepper, ginger, garlic) without unnecessary calories. If you put all the tiny pieces of meat together—they don’t add to much meat intake. Again, using your Math skill, less meat consumed makes for good dieting, even without you knowing it.
Verdict: Instead of eating huge slabs of steak or preparing hunks of meat, opt for the leaner version—slice them up and you’ll be surprised how little meat you need for a dish. Cost effective and very good for the waistline.
A Toast to Tea
Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one ~ Ancient Chinese proverb.
Chinese’s love affair with tea is a well-known secret and they’re not bashful about it. Since the chance discovery of tea by Emperor Shen Nung back in 2700 B.C. when some leaves fell into his cup of hot water, tea is almost always serve with food. Growing up, the pot of tea was always near, in the kitchen, and instead of soda or juice with a meal, hot tea is often the beverage of choice (actually the only choice with the exception of water in my house).
So, what’s so good about drinking tea? A whole slew of researches have shown health benefits of tea—it eliminates toxin, aids digestion (that’s why it is often consumed at meal times), fights damaging free radicals (because of its potent supply of catechins—powerful antioxidants) and reduces risks of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Tea, especially green tea is a fat burner and it can also freshens breath (another fringe benefit). A recent study in Geneva showed that tea’s catechins and its naturally occurring caffeine help to reduce weight. The study shows that both catechins and caffeine increase metabolic rate and rev up the body’s ability to burn fat.
Verdict: X-out soda and juices or fancy drinks to go with your meal. Elect to drink tea (black, green, white or red) for that extra fat-burning boost.
Soups
He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the skills of the physician ~ Chinese proverb.
Chinese people love soups—in the morning, noon and night. Not the creamy, heavy version of most western diet but light, liquid based soup with an assortment of vegetables, meat and often, herbs. For instance, they use goji berries, dates, ginseng, galangal, lemon grass and ginger—among others, to flavor their soups. They generally don’t add up to many calories, since water has zero calories and they fill you up to induce a feeling of satiety. Chinese herbs used when preparing soups have various health benefits—from improving immune system, detoxifying toxins to maintaining good eye-sight (see goji berries health benefits).
Another western nutrition expert, Ian Marber says, “I’m a great believer in soups before food. Miso soup, for instance, or anything fermented—these are probiotics, which help release nutrients from the food you are about to eat.”
Verdict: Enjoy soups with your meal. Make it light, make it healthful to enrich health without taking a whole bunch of supplements to make up for nutritional lack.
Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang are synonymous with the Chinese take on life—they believe in balance—even in their food preparation. Yin “cools” the body whereas Yang “heats” it up. In their food preparation, they often use yin (wet and moist) to balance yang (dry and crispy). A popular dish comes to mind—Szechwan beef—strips of crispy beef stir-fried with cooling celeries and carrots.
Some restaurants (common in Asia) even employ this concept when serving their foods. They actually do a thorough examination (by means of questioning and taking pulses) to determine your yin-and-yang status and then they proceed to prepare a meal for you based on their findings to restore the balance of yin and yang in your body. What a way to dine!
Why the emphasis on balance? According to Holford, it makes good health sense: “Most protein foods are seen as yang, carbohydrates as yin. The combination of these two helps stabilize blood sugar, which is key to good energy (chi) and minimizing weight gain.”
Verdict: Balance is key—as in a well-balanced diet, so utilize this concept in your food preparation.
Stir-fry Crazy
Sincerely full, the epicure would say, Fate cannot harm me; I have dined to-day ~ Sdyney Smith “Recipe for Salad.”
Sure salads are healthy and rightly so, if they are prepared with nutrient-rich fresh vegetables and healthy dressings. But fortunately, or unfortunately, Chinese people don’t like raw vegetables for the most part. They like to rock their woks with their stir-fries—lightly cooking their vegetables with intense heat. Is it healthier? While it may not necessarily be so, Lorraine Clissford says that sautéing vegetables can make the nutrients easier for the body to take on. She goes on to amplify a Chinese concept regarding raw food: the stomach finds it hard to digest too much raw food and this can lead to bloating and weight gain.
Verdict: Try lightly sautéing your vegetables instead—one more creative way to eat your vegetables and you may be doing your body a great service—since lightly cooking vegetables make nutrients more bio-available.
What’s for desserts?
Eat first, talk later ~ common Chinese saying
Chinese people love desserts too. But desserts is often looked upon as a side, an after-thought kind of arrangement unlike Westerners who view desserts as the grand finale to their meal. For most part, they like to end their meal with a plate of fruits. And if you ever look at their selection of desserts, you may be tempted to say, “You call this dessert?” Their selection?—red beans soup, mung beans with sliced dough sticks, almond jelly with lychees, banana fritters, glutinuous rice balls with sesame paste, and mango pudding—to mention a few—they don’t sound too appealing but maybe that’s a good thing for the waistline. With the exceptions of some, most Chinese desserts are not terribly sweet and some desserts are made with medicinal value in mind—Ginseng sweet soup with red dates and eggs, bird’s nest soup, for examples. They are not piled up with heavy cream or loaded with icing.
Verdict: Short of skipping dessert, why not opt for a very healthy alternative—eat fruits as desserts.
Guilty Pleasure?
Well, a full belly conquers all ~ From the film Saving Face
Talk doesn’t cook rice ~ Chinese saying (meaning talk means nothing, if there’s no action)
The rice is cooked ~ another Chinese saying (It’s too late to change, or to regret something. The English equivalent—don’t’ cry over spilled milk)
Chinese people love their rice, especially white, fluffy rice. In fact, if a woman cannot cook good fluffy rice, her culinary skills are often called to question. They also love noodles—oodles of them—they carry auspicious meaning: eating noodles on your birthday ensures a long life. Now, this love for simple carbohydrates doesn’t sound like a good diet plan. Not so, says Clissold-- although rice is high in carbohydrates, it is also low in fat and high in nutrients and it fills you up quickly, so you are not snacking on low-carb and high fat foods, which can translate to weight gain in the long run.
Verdict: So white rice and noodles may not be the best thing about the Chinese diet but if you watch the portion size (should be no more than a quarter of your plate or no more than a small bowl of rice), it can actually fill you up, thereby preventing unnecessary snacking later to quell hunger pangs. Another good alternative is to replace rice and noodles with brown rice or the healthier whole-grain version.
So there, you have it—secrets from an insider, who still retains her Chinese way of eating food, despite the fact that she’s surrounded with fast food restaurants and hamburger joints.
Other Chinese quotes about food I can’t pass up, because they’re so darn good:
- I just love Chinese food. My favorite dish is number 27 ~ Clement Atlee, former British Prime Minister
- Tea tempers the spirit, harmonizes the mind, dispels lassitude, relieves fatigue, awakens thoughts and prevents drowsiness ~ The Classic Art of Tea, by Lu Lu
- We think fast food is equivalent to pornography, nutritionally speaking ~ Steve Elbert
- There is one thing more exasperating than a wife who can cook and won’t, and that’s a wife who can’t cook and will ~ Robert Frost
- And I find chopsticks frankly distressing. Am I alone in thinking it odd that a people ingenious enough to invent paper, gunpowder, kites and any number of useful objects, and who have a noble history extending back 3,000 years haven’t yet worked out that a pair of knitting needles is no way to capture food? ~ Bill Bryson
Well, actually they have. Chopsticks is their ultimate diet control solution—how much food can you pick up with a pair of skinny bamboo contraption, that takes even greater effort to maneuver?
Agree, readers? Now, run out and buy yourself some good-looking chopsticks and half of the weight battle may be won, just like that.
Other interesting related reads:
Why are Thai People So Skinny? : http://hubpages.com/hub/Why-Are-Thai-People-So-Skinny--Try-Thai-Green-Curry
How to trim the waistline without going on a diet: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Trim-the-Waistline-Without-Going-on-a-Diet
Whittle away belly fat: http://hubpages.com/hub/Whittle-Away-Belly-Fat
How to build dieting success into your daily life: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Build-Dieting-Success-into-Your-Daily-Life
© 2009 anglnwu
Comments
I like your easy approach to diet and not to get too regimental. I agree totally on the need to avoid sugary stuff.
All of this comes from India. This is all Indian knowledge, taken by the chinese, of course, so they can pretend it's theirs. All of this is correct, but comes from India, not China. Those 'spices' are all Indian - ginger, garlic, red chilli, etc., that is used in Indian diet and has been for millions of years. Ancient India is way older than the chinese civilization and all this 'chi', meaning energy, and 'yinyang', meaning balance, etc., is basically just copied from Indian concepts.
And noodles are harmful junk, as is caffeine. You can claim that.
Dude how westernized are you? Chopsticks are a DIET SOLUTION? LOL I can eat more with my pair of "skinny bamboo sticks" than with a crude fork. If you or anybody thinks that using chopsticks will make you lose weight well you're either too dumb to use them or you're in for a surprise.
Chinese eat healthy, don't eat too much, and understand that weight gain isn't just about what or how you eat. Some of it has to do with how you sleep and what you do during the day. Read up on some Chinese medicine before coming up with these crackpot theories like chopstick diets! lol
You really gave me something to think about, especially since I've been feeling guilty about craving Chinese style food. I thought, "this can't be healthy wanting something with rice or noodles everyday." Now, I can eat what I've been wanting without the guilt trip. Thank you.
This is very useful to me. I like the way HP always change the Hubs on our profiles, otherwise I would never have seen this Hub. I have noted that Obesity / over weight is not an issue common with Asians and have often wondered how they keep so slim.
The chinese have a healthy attitude towards food. Even I don't really like raw/boiled Veg, but love stir frying them. I am definitely book marking this.
Excellent Hub. :)
I really enjoyed reading your article,I am a diabetic and on insulin and I can't get my blood sugars down. I have been a diabetic for 20 years,I am 36 at the moment,I would really appreciate if you gave me some advice.See I am a single parent of 3 children and I know I have to maintain myself healthy since I am the only support for my children.
Hi. I really liked this information. I am American and I am trying to change my whole mentality with how I eat and what I eat. I recently set a date for my wedding and really want to shed about 60 pounds but I don’t want to do it unhealthy! So I hope that by focusing on the beauty of healthy food and not treating it as an enemy my body will respond mercifully. I really appreciate your insight and thank you for sharing the information! Hope everyone has a great holiday season! ?
How wonderful your hub is. I was fascinated by the way you put together your information and common sense. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Up and others, and of course, shared.
Fantastic hub!
Ron from http://www.intervalstraining.net
Hi, question for you: Do you know the original Chinese for the expression "Talk doesn't cook rice?"
Thanks
Thanks for sharing :D really love the info.
But I'm wondering.. I always hear doctors say that don't drink while eating especially the red tea should be after 2 hr. !!
really wanna know,What do u think !!
I loved this article. Very well written and informative. Thank you for the great information!
I love this article, will you be doing another article relating to weight loss in China? I sure hope so, because boy, I sure enjoyed reading this!
Well done, and thank you, like so so much!
Bye.
It is such a coincident that I landed at your Hub, I live in china-town Chicago and it was just this morning that my friend Anthony had asked if I can go for some Chinese food.
We had the usual Shaomai, which is a part of the traditional Dim Sum.
Joseph
P.S. I enjoyed this hub very much.
I love this hub, my daughters went to a World Cultures Elementary school and studied China and Japan for two years each, we had so many wonderful ceremonies with amazing foods, I recognize many I will once again be enjoying thanks to your wonderful diet tips.
I love your Chinese Girl Shares Chinese Weight Loss Secrets as they are also good food and healthy foods!
:) Katie
very nice info.
i just have one question
do chinese drink their tea sweetened or unsweetened?
This was great! I lost a lot of weight once I moved a block from not only my favorite chinese restaurant, but also my favorite sushi bar. I thought I was going to gain weight because I felt like I was eating so much more. I feel better, and I know I am doing much better than if I went to Mcdonalds for a Mcdouble. I love oriental food and now, I have a wonderful excuse to always eat it! Thanks :P
the way you presented the hub... started with proverbs... is so Chinese. I like it!
It will be very helpful for me since I've gained over 20 pounds after graduation.
Great hub.. I personally love tea and especially green tea. Have tweeted your page and added you.
nice hub,
thank you so much for those secrets about the Chinese diet. Now I know what to eat all the time... (:
Great read! Thanks for sharing those tips!
Thanks a lot for this post. I gain weight quite easily and my chinese friends stay slim no matter how much we frequent Mc D but now i know why, gonna try green tea :)
Hi this is amin from U A E ..........................................................................................................................................................
angel, I like tea, green tea and i like the sayings you put in every capsule, eat first talk later hehe, not guilty, hehe, Maita
Loved this hub! I love greentea and drink about 6 glasses a day-hot tea! sometimes more! I am still trim and not overweight-though I do indulge in certain things like chocolate goodies-I am able to keep my figure!
I learned much from this Hub!
Interesting and informative! Although it is in general true about the thin Chinese people, I was one of them too till I am an American, LOL. I onced was a size 3 now times 4? I have gained so much...So much that it is hard to become average anymore. Forget about being thin. I would be happy to take off about 30 lbs. and become that thin Chinese woman again. Thanks for the hub!
Green tea is the way forward. I have replaced coffee in the office with it and it's been fantastic for weight loss. You have to be careful, because if you drink too much of it this can have undesirable effects. Drink in moderation only =)
I love this hub. I have recently started drinking green tea and other teas and i love it.
I miss you too. Actually, I eat too much vegetables (I love them), so may be, as you wrote, "the stomach finds it hard to digest too much raw food"..... I will try softening my veggies now.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
Oh, so many comments! It's a very interesting topic and you did a good job! I love tea and always opt for it, but I drink juices too. I should cut on them, as they are loaded with sugar too. I will start sautéing my vegetables, I love vegetables and eat them a lot, but I really noticed that my stomach doesn't agree on this one. LOL.
Great hub! Thank you.
I like your hub about Chinese foods. I agree with the portion control idea and am interested in the ideas you share about eating more carbs. Interesting!since we in USA are all about carb lowering diets. I wonder what part genetics plays into this weight thing. I think many Chinese people are genetically slight in stature.
thanks for the information.
No, I'm not skeptical. I just really thought about that old commercial the minute I saw your hub. If I remember the product I'll look for it on YouTube. I think you'll find it funny and then you'll understand what I meant. Mind you, I probably am talking about a commerical that could have been before your time as I am 48. I'll let you know if I find it!
It's just funny to me.
It reminds me of that old TV commercial:
"Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
I just had to comment because that commercial just popped into my head. I couldn't remember the product though . . . still can't.
Think they took it off the air because it wasn't "PC".
Maybe the answer is to think much less about what you eat than about the amount of disciplined exercise that you take?
Nice hub and i really enjoyed reading it!
I learned to eat with chopsticks before learning to use a fork...haha,i guess i just have to work extra hard to win the other half of the weight battle~
I think it's funny how you can make sweeping generalizations about a group of people but in other uhbs people get sh*t if they do it.
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I always wonder how Chinese girls maintained their skinny figure. The foods you eat must be the biggest reason for this. Very well presented. Merry Christmas!
Fei zhang hao.
I lived in china for 4 years.its right no of people who like fast food is increasing rapidly there .
Excellent information and hub - sort of makes you understand why the western world is dealing with so much rampant obesity.
I really enjoyed this hub. So nice of you to share your eating philosophy with those of us less fortunate who grew up with terrible western diets. I have always shyed away from crazy fad diets because of their lack of balance. I really like what you wrote about balance and portion control. Thank you!
This is one of the best hubs I've read so far. I'm definitely linking. You're right that folks need to get back to their roots. Food is not the enemy of good health or a nice figure.
I really enjoyed reading this anglnwu! It's so full of info with some humor thrown in. I love it!
Oh, I truly enjoyed reading this. Have been practicing my chopsticks too.
This has to be one of my favorites hubs. Thank you for sharing, I love trying to cook Chinese dish, and always get crazy with rice and vegetables and I never eat vegetables usually. So delicious *o*
Tea and a lot of tea. Forget dairy products.
Nice hub.
nice hub, the kinds of food being eaten is a big factor, I think chinese people have a better choice of food, which are healthier.
Excellent - you have made me rethink my eating habits.
This is great counsel for all of us, especially us Americans, who wish to live a little longer. Perhaps we would feel better after eating a well balanced meal as you have described instead of bloated and tired from our usual intake. Thanks again!
anglnwu , fortunately I am not morbidly obese or anything like that but the tips on a good well rounded diet are just excellent . I am also happy that I am a fan of Chinese food big time !And with all the great recipes that you put down here I have no doubt you can cook good rice, correct ?
In any event good hub here. I also like those little Chinese sayings too. Good job my friend
Completely agree with eating healthy alternatives. Wish that there more who able to exercise their options.
There is a lot to learn, here. I especially love the quotes. I will return to reread this again :)
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