Fit Tip #2 - Rice is not ‘fattening’ - we just eat too much of it

Here’s this week’s tip:

Rice is not ‘fattening’ - we just eat too much of it.

Being born and raised in an Asian country - rice is the one thing most of us Asian people have been eating consistently throughout our lives. So it is no mystery that it is also quick to be blamed for our obesity problem.

However, rice, in my opinion, has been misunderstood. Let’s just start on a clean slate, and look at rice from a new slide:

Excellent source of carbohydrates
Good energy source
Low fat
Low salt
No cholesterol
Low sugar
No additives
No preservatives

It doesn’t take a genius to point out that these are all hallmarks of food that is good for you - so can you gain weight by eating rice?

Yes of course you can - provided you eat too much of it, which is usually the case here in Asia. Banana leaf rice, Chicken rice, Briyani rice, Kerabu rice - the list goes on and on. We tend to pile on the rice FIRST on our plates, followed by the servings of protein, and vegetables - it is as if rice is the main course. And if we’re still hungry, we add more rice.

What is actually happening is we’re simply consuming too much energy in the form of carbohydrates - and too much of any food (good or bad), will eventually lead to weight gain.

If only we observed proper portion control, and ‘treated’ rice the same way we treat the other side dishes on our plates… we would truly have a slimmer nation. And if you’d like to get more nutritional value out of rice - go for brown rice.