Some info and thoughts on weightloss/healthy eating/dieting sensibily

Hello everyone

This is regarding my experience in slow and sensible weight loss.

My in laws were with us in the US for 5 months.My MIL was the cook officially. I ate rice,rice,rice,or rice mixed stuff like idli/dosa/stuff.

I gained some 12 pounds easily during that period.I am now literally fat, which is totally unlikely of me.

First thing I did was to stop eating white rice,or rice mixed stuff like idli/dosa.
within a week i lost 2 pounds.

for breakfast, ate a fruit on an empty stomach..before that a bottle of water. later i ate cornflakes-little bit not too much, or sandwich or toast with 1 or 2 whole grain breads with 2% cheese.eat slowly.then drink some milk,or water..drink yogurt..or buttermilk.

then lunch, ate quinoa pulav/quinoa soup..like that..- before that a bottle of water.

quinoa pulav is just like regular pulav. cook quinoa in a pot in 1:2 ratio like rice..let it cool, fluff it up..season with masalas,ginger,veggies,and cooked quinoa. or season,boil the veggies,add dry quinoa,and cook together.google for receipes..showmethecurry.com in youtube has a receipe of quinoa pulav.that's what i followed. try in small quantity first.if u like it, make more.

for snacks-fruits/few nuts.or yogurt.or a cup of boiled channa.

for dinner-1 chapati,with some veggie stuffing inside. and fruits.or only fruits. lots of water again.I ate yogurt, buttermilk.

I followed this for a week mon -fri, on satday morning lost 2 pounds...I also did 2 mile walk at home everyday (followed leslie sansone's walking dvd)

I am repeating the similar diet this week too.
I have started making oats idli/oats dosa/oats paniyaram/quinoa dosa etc..,

some people think rice is bad, and roti is better. NO - eat roti also moderately,1 or 2, but avoid white rice.

Include even few tea spoons of oil everyday but not rice or similar cheap carbs.

Avoid Potatoes too.

if u eat egg take eggs..or if u eat meat, stick to lean meats..baked/grilled.

we should start eating protein in place carb. and include lots of fiber.I am a vegetarian. i get my protein from milk,oats,sprouts,different types of beans,quinoa(great source),even spinach has protein.

I made brown rice too (similar to shiva choubey's) - for dinner. it tasted so flavorful.

If you are not aware ,read about Quinoa(keen-wah) in wikipedia.we get it in costco in US in rice section.

I have also included some recipes of dosas/idlis I made without rice.


Oats-rava idli

Ingredients

2 cups of roasted and powdered oats
1 cup of roasted rava
Salt to taste
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp bengalgram dal
1 tsp blackgram dal
1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 finely chopped green chillies
Few broken cashews
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Few curry leaves
1 cup curd
Water as required
I used yogurt for the whole amount,avoided the water.(its your choice) add 1/4tsp of ENO salt or baking soda.

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, bengalgram dal, blackgram dal, cashews and roast till it splutters. Add it to the oats powder. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. The consistency should be similar to rava idli batter consistency.
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Quinoa Dosa
Ingredients Brown rice or Idly rice-1 cup
(I used brown rice)
Quinoa-1 cup
Uraddhal-1/2 cup
Methi-1/8tsp
Salt to taste
Method
Wash & soak quinoa,methi & brown rice together & dhal separately for 3 hrs.Grind dhal till fluffy & rice till smooth batter.Mix everything together,add salt & ferment it overnight.Next day make Idly as usual.Serve it with any chutney of your choice.


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Oats dosa

Oats - 1 cup - any vareity ( soak in 1/2cup of water for 10mins)

Besan flour - 1 1/4 cup

chillipowder,salt,jeera,hing - to taste.

add chopped onions,curry leaves,green chillies,grated carrots. make a not too thick or not think batter.make dosas..with less oil/

They taste yum and are so filling.
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Oats Paniyaram

1 cup oats
1/2 cup rice flour
2 tbsp roasted rava
1/4 cup curds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp green chilli sauce
Finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tsp oil

Make a batter (consistency that of dosa batter) of all the ingredients except oil and keep covered for 10 minutes.

Add a drop of oil in each hole of the paniyaram pan and pour the batter in it. Cook till it is crisp and done. Turn and cook on other side as well with a drop of oil.

Serve hot with chutney of your choice.
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another change we should make is..

for breakfast - have eggs/cheese/ with or without whole grain breads - limit to 2 breads. - it keeps us full for longer.drink milk instead of juice. or eat a fruit/ or even eat yogurt.

for lunch - add some protein - quinoa, chikpeas etc..,or mushrooms..or lean meats moderate amount.

for snacks - add a little protein - boiled groundnuts/ channa/ nuts

for dinner - eat fruits/before bed. or tofu kind of thing - earlier..3hrs before to bed.or stir fried brocollis..buy a big bag of brocollis from costco...then, heat a spoon of oil,put some red chilli flakes,grate a small garlic,and 1/2spoon salt, then brocollis, and add 1/4 cup water little by little till the florets are soft to eat. enjoy..they taste awesome.same way u can make with french beans-blanch them in hot water before stir frying, or try the same with asparagus..all of them taste good.i cook all these alternatively.eat slowly...at least you must take 20minutes to finish them.

the idea is to have some form of protein in each and every meal, by way of reducing carb ...it automatically cuts our starch consumption ,eventually aids weight loss..

drink as much water as you can..you feel great doing this..

include brown rice for wholesome taste and fiber.make brown fried rice with less oil, Google for cooking instructions for brown rice.

you can have barley, ragi too.they are as good as oats and quinoa.

while buying brown rice-compare the nutrition info on the back. some brown rice have 1% fiber, the one i have bought has 12%..the carb is also 12% in it..so carb and fiber are equal in 1/4cup of dry brown rice..white rice can't give this benefit.

brown basmati rice - also has less fiber i guess,..so go to stores like kroger,whole foods etc..,- keep 2 ,3 brands/varieties of brown rice, and compare before buying...try in small amounts first.that's what i did.

I had belly fat - very noticeable. can you believe it has reduced in a week?i dont feel bloating , or belching too, after cutting the white rice.i just walked 1 or 2 miles...3-4days in a week.that's it. The rice is the only culprit.

Some argue ..we grew up eating rice..Yes.. but till 20, our metabolism is 100%, after 20, it drops by 25-30%, by 30-it slows down much more year by year....and it goes on..so we have to eat the food according to our metabolism...and start moving more.

and white rice is fully polished/processed/refined, ( idli rice/sona masoori or basmati)with absolutely nothing it. same with maida,all purpose flour, ..even white pasta - for that matter is no good. I really miss it these days, i eat a little every now and then though..

even the branded atta flours are processed/refined - does not have as much fiber as wild brown rice. that's why we should limit rotis too to, 2 at the max.

and most of all, let's keep moving..no matter what we eat.. simple moves, like walking..lunges, sit ups, push ups, stretches, spot jogging, squats, quick crunches, etc.., skipping,biking,jumping jacks,every ounce of sweat makes a difference.

Thanks for reading. will write some more after losing more weight

 

Yes rmpriya - as pmas had mentioned - she felt light because of the low carb content in it. rice is polished , so all its germ,and fiber are gone too with polishing. but brown rice, and cracked wheat - are not polished. just the outer shell is removed so still the wheat germ and the fiber are present in it.

if we eat fiber we feel full, it does not add up more cravings. but when we eat empty calories like white rice,white bread,white pasta - it adds up our cravings for more carb and more sweet. that's the only problem. so if you guys are feeling great with cracked wheat, please continue it. may be buy quinoa in a small quantity - a little pocket to try. quinoa is a super food - because its a complete protein because all the 9 essential amino acids are present in it.

that's why in south beach diet - also they ban all the bad carb and sweets including natural foods like fruits for just 2 weeks.only to stop cravings.they ban quinoa too ..in south beach diet.its not a diet for vegetarians...


so no wonder cracked wheat helped with pman's weight loss.i like it too. i do not make it in place of rice.but i make upma often with it.and we all like it including my 4yr old son.its a great dinner option if its made with 1 or 2 tsp of oil also it tastes great with mixed veggies.

thanks everyone for the encouraging words. when my inlaws were there, i was really bugged up with cleaning kitchen (she did not really know how to use the US kitchen with spills, and stains - its an apartment kitchen, so more responsibility),

so never bothered to cook for myself separately, yes i was also uncomfortable telling them that i am trying to loose weight and all.

they are obese!ofcourse they are over 60, but for their age - they weigh way above the limits...they have BP..still they eat extremely salty food..more oil, more rice,extremely spicy foods.,particularly, no vegetables-they simply do not like to eat any vegetables,anything veggie for that matter they are non veg eaters, in my kitchen non veg is not allowed,since i am a vegetarian... so they kinda survived i guess,

we used to take them out for eating chicken biryani in the weekends..,or we buy and bring it home...- so i ate out also in the weekends...i used to eat naan,and some chana stuff..but still restaurant food is fatty..this kind of cooking wrecked my figure...i really regret now. the blame is on me. I should have been cautious and cooked a separate and sensible food for me. the day next they left, i went and bought quinoa.

 

Hi lavanya - thanks

quinoa - i dont know if its available in india..there is no tamil name..you have to do some little research on that...Brown rice - you may get in any supermarket i guess.

for PCOD - always drink warm water.Never eat cold foods or drink any cold drinks. they always say this.