My wife is Filipina and I have the privilege of knowing many Asian friends that we have met over the years. Whenever we talk about losing weight, this is the typical comment I hear from them, "I love my rice"!
This isn't a surprise. I've already previously blogged about the eating habits we learn as children and growing up. We are all a product of our upbringing and our cultures and the dominance of rice in the Asian diet is beyond question. Rice was one of the first grains cultivated, and there were paddy fields in Asia when we were eating nuts, berries and whatever we could catch in Europe.
In the Philippines - like in Malaysia, Indonesia and in fact every country in South-East Asia and beyond - rice features as the principal element for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unfortunately the same development that has resulted in weight gain in the West applies to many people in Asia. You could call it the misfortune of wealth. This is because the easy way to avoid the problem is not to get wealthy. I know this wouldn't be a serious option for anyone who can make the choice.
I read recently that the Philippines has the highest rates of obesity in Asia. Why is this? The simple answer is rising standards of living. Traditionally, the Filipinos ate a mainly rice-based diet, with vegetables and relatively little amounts of fish. They combined this with hard physical work. Many people in the Philippines - and the neighbouring countries - still live that way and they are generally not fat!
For the urban Filipino, especially in the larger cities, the problem of weight gain that is so serious in the west is just as pervasive. The urban Filipino who is living better than his countrymen did in his grandfather's time is visiting Goldilocks, Dunkin' Donuts and all the other fine food outlets which surround him. He also eats the foods he used to look forward to at fiestas and parties, but he is eating them every week. The cuisine of the Philippines is a wonderful mixture of elements: Chinese, Malay, Spanish. It is a very distinctive mixture and when we entertain and my wife cooks, it is always a hit. Now that so many Filipinos can eat these special fatty dishes - the lechon, the adobo - all piled up on plenty of rice, unfortunately the calories build up. The urban Filipino goes everywhere in his car and works in an office rather than in the fields as his ancestors did. The sums are the same as everywhere else: eat more than you need and you will get fat.
But what about rice? it is a very good food. White rice provides plenty of energy easily. That's great if you lead a demanding life. I'm afraid, if you want to follow the Dukan Diet, the rice will have to go the way of potatoes, bread, pasta and all the other delicious, energy rich starchy foods we all enjoy.
This only needs to be for the Attack and Cruise phases. The stricter you are during these phases the better -and the faster - will be your success. Then you will get to the Consolidation phase and you can start to reintroduce the wider range of foods.
Here's a suggestion for my rice-loving Asian friends. Dr Dukan recommends that during the Consolidation phase you have two slices of wholemeal bread every day (except the protein day). I suggest that instead of the bread, you could have a cup of brown rice.
You will also have your extra carb meals and your celebration meals, so you'll have other opportunities for some more rice if you want, but to make the diet palatable for those of you who have eaten rice every day - perhaps three times a day - all your life, exchanging the bread for brown rice (or red rice, or wild rice, just not polished white rice) would be the answer. It is also a solution for anyone who wants to stay gluten free.
I would really appreciate it if anyone had some thoughts on this to share with me. I am reluctant to mess around with a formula which worked so well for me, but I think I am applying some logic here which will help people.
This isn't a surprise. I've already previously blogged about the eating habits we learn as children and growing up. We are all a product of our upbringing and our cultures and the dominance of rice in the Asian diet is beyond question. Rice was one of the first grains cultivated, and there were paddy fields in Asia when we were eating nuts, berries and whatever we could catch in Europe.
In the Philippines - like in Malaysia, Indonesia and in fact every country in South-East Asia and beyond - rice features as the principal element for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unfortunately the same development that has resulted in weight gain in the West applies to many people in Asia. You could call it the misfortune of wealth. This is because the easy way to avoid the problem is not to get wealthy. I know this wouldn't be a serious option for anyone who can make the choice.
I read recently that the Philippines has the highest rates of obesity in Asia. Why is this? The simple answer is rising standards of living. Traditionally, the Filipinos ate a mainly rice-based diet, with vegetables and relatively little amounts of fish. They combined this with hard physical work. Many people in the Philippines - and the neighbouring countries - still live that way and they are generally not fat!
For the urban Filipino, especially in the larger cities, the problem of weight gain that is so serious in the west is just as pervasive. The urban Filipino who is living better than his countrymen did in his grandfather's time is visiting Goldilocks, Dunkin' Donuts and all the other fine food outlets which surround him. He also eats the foods he used to look forward to at fiestas and parties, but he is eating them every week. The cuisine of the Philippines is a wonderful mixture of elements: Chinese, Malay, Spanish. It is a very distinctive mixture and when we entertain and my wife cooks, it is always a hit. Now that so many Filipinos can eat these special fatty dishes - the lechon, the adobo - all piled up on plenty of rice, unfortunately the calories build up. The urban Filipino goes everywhere in his car and works in an office rather than in the fields as his ancestors did. The sums are the same as everywhere else: eat more than you need and you will get fat.
But what about rice? it is a very good food. White rice provides plenty of energy easily. That's great if you lead a demanding life. I'm afraid, if you want to follow the Dukan Diet, the rice will have to go the way of potatoes, bread, pasta and all the other delicious, energy rich starchy foods we all enjoy.
This only needs to be for the Attack and Cruise phases. The stricter you are during these phases the better -and the faster - will be your success. Then you will get to the Consolidation phase and you can start to reintroduce the wider range of foods.
Here's a suggestion for my rice-loving Asian friends. Dr Dukan recommends that during the Consolidation phase you have two slices of wholemeal bread every day (except the protein day). I suggest that instead of the bread, you could have a cup of brown rice.
You will also have your extra carb meals and your celebration meals, so you'll have other opportunities for some more rice if you want, but to make the diet palatable for those of you who have eaten rice every day - perhaps three times a day - all your life, exchanging the bread for brown rice (or red rice, or wild rice, just not polished white rice) would be the answer. It is also a solution for anyone who wants to stay gluten free.
I would really appreciate it if anyone had some thoughts on this to share with me. I am reluctant to mess around with a formula which worked so well for me, but I think I am applying some logic here which will help people.
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