Most weight-loss diets restrict excess calorie consumption. Basically, in order to lose weight, you must create a calorie deficit by eating fewer calories than you are able to burn on a daily basis.
This is why a few people stop eating rice, as it packs with high amounts of carbohydrates and rich in calories. But, should it be eliminated from your diet altogether? Not necessarily. Rice is also low in fat, easily digestible, and gluten-free grain that offers a number of B vitamins as well.
So, you might want to reconsider remove it completely from your diet. You do need to be careful while consuming rice on a weight loss diet. According to Dietitian Fiza Sobri, there is no need to avoid rice while on diet.
To know more, below are the reason why there is no need to avoid rice.
Remember that fat is an excess of calories no matter where it comes from, whether it is fat, protein, or carbohydrates.
Before I begin I want to ask
1. How long do you want to avoid rice?
We as Malaysian love to eat rice. By following the western diet, rice is very rare. People over there can easily avoid rice, but here, early afternoon and evening, near home, near work, back home, near the store…rice is everywhere.
2. Did you enjoy that kind of diet?
When we avoid eating what we love, our diet is not fun. It is not fun at all because eating is so much fun. When we hold, there will be a time when we rebound it back..eat rice again but not in a controlled quantity, it will become over the limit because we want to eat it.
It was like when we returned to our hometown and we missed our mother’s cooking…hehehe
3. Rebound effect
Diet is too extreme, when we stop, the lost weight can come back and even bring more ‘friends’. Because we avoid 1 type of food, not control the calories.
Anyway, we need to control calories as a whole … not avoid 1 type or 1 food class …
If we avoid but do not control calories, still will not reach the target weight.
Because, when we avoid rice but replace it with other sources of carbohydrates, the calories are still the same.
1 tablespoon rice (as in the picture) the calorie content is the same (75kcal scoop)
– 1 slice of bread (white/wholemeal)
– 1 tablespoon meehon / kueyteow / noodles
-1 potato / fist-size
-3 teaspoons of oats/flour
So, if you avoid rice but do not control other sources of calories, the story is the same… Just follow the ‘suku-suku separuh’ (diet). Eat while controlling the calories and ensure enough nutrients and satisfied with the eating. We must enjoy life .. don’t be too strict …
Sources: Dietitian Fiza Sobri