Southern California - Low carb diet is a big fat lie.

I noticed that Asian are in general much slimmer than westerners. Now why is that so? They're diet is very high carb (up to 90%), greasy and low protein. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

It is a myth that people in Asia don't have enough food to eat. I have been to Asia and food is everywhere! You cannot walk down any street in Asia without passing tons of restaurants and food stands and most of the food is stir fried or deep fried (in lard!) Food is way abundant and inexpensive over there and the variety is endless.

It is also a myth that Asians are so skinny in Asia because they walk around so much since private transortation (owning a car) is rare. Just look at the Asians living in America who have similar lifestyles are no more active than the average white america but still much thinner on average

I have a Korean friend, Joe from LA who is 6'1 and 230lb, he used to be around 175lb. He gained all the extra weight after of moving away to another another state for work (Oklahoma) that has basically no Asian community or authentic Asain food. Now that he has been back for 8 months he has lost over 30lb from just eating Korean food everyday. Just to let you know, he eats like a pig (5 bowls of white rice at dinner) and he NEVER works out. He is one of those guys that is allergic to exercise.

You can say that Asians are genetically slimmer but if you have ever known or spoken to a westerner who has lived in Asia and ate and Asian diet, he will probably tell you that he's lost plenty of weight since arriving. So whats the deal here? Do Asian carbs keep them thin?

I have another revelation for you Santaclaus is not real. :rolleyes:

I have another revelation for you Santaclaus is not real. :rolleyes:

Liar! I don't believe you!

why........

Genetics? Nah, those are a big fat lie too.

I think passing middle school should be a requirement when making threads on bikeforums. Too bad I'm not in charge.

Good point...

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/bigphotos/images/060808-china-fat_big.jpg

he has big tits

He's oriental

He's oriental

dude you RACIST!!!

First, I resent CJ for putting that picture of me up on the internet without my permission.

Second, to the OP, what the hell is an "asian carb"? so you know one asian guy who can eat what he wants and stays skinny. i have a white friend who can eat a tub of butter and actually lose weight. i wonder if its something about the white food he eats.

There are a lot of things factually wrong with your post and this site would crash if i started telling you about them.

I'm Asian and raised in Asia. There's alot of generalization in OP's post. All I can add from MY OWN experience is:

1) Our diet had very little meat in it, because meat is pretty expensive. We got most of our protein from soy (tempe & tofu) or eggs.
2) We eat small meals with lotsa snacks between them (that's why you always see alot of street food vendors).

And genetics played a part too.

And I didn't get fat caused "I moved to America", I was fat before I moved here. :D

PS: Eating too much Yamcha (Dim Sum) doesn't help.

I have been to Asia and food is everywhere! You cannot walk down any street in Asia without passing tons of restaurants and food stands and most of the food is stir fried or deep fried (in lard!).What you failed to realize is the Asians that eat said stir fried and deep fried (in lard) food regularly do get fat.

Extreme analogy is using vegetarians living in the same block as McDonalds as examples of why eating McD regularly don't make people fat.

While I'm not a nutritionist, there are often more than one way to reach a goal.

Cheers!

(runs in....)

Did someone say lard?

So why are Asians generally slimmer?

who cares(?)

Maybe because more Asian follow their mom's advice of eating veggies? :lol:

They certainly eat a lot of pickled vegetable.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000223.htm

Adenocarcinoma of the stomach is a common cancer (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001289.htm) of the digestive tract worldwide, although it is relatively uncommon in the US. It occurs most frequently in men over 40 years old. The incidence of this form of gastric cancer is extremely high in Japan, Chile, and Iceland. The incidence of most types of gastric adenocarcinoma in the US has declined over the years. Experts think the decrease may be related to reduced intake of salted, cured, and smoked foods, and increased vitamin C consumption.

Thus, one can infer that the incidence of gastric cancer in Japan is due to the higher intake levels of salted, cured, and/or smoked foods.

Just somethin' i learned in one of my pathology classes. :D

Asians in asia are generally slimmer ... asians in america are generally just as "overweight" ... myself included.

Can you tell us about your diet then? Are you eating a lot of American food?

In America I eat hamburgers. In Japan I eat ramen. Therefore, as a semi-Asian, I am between slim and overweight.

In America I eat hamburgers. In Japan I eat ramen. Therefore, as a semi-Asian, I am between slim and overweight.

You mean just right? :)

I'm an ABC, so I eat what normal americans eat. I generally don't eat steak or hamburgers, but my achilles heel is chips. I'm a ravenous snacker, so that's my big weakness. I think it runs in the family. Oh, I do eat pasta, but generally with all the bad sauces .... like alfredo ...

spingeneer is racist, I got to the bottom of this...

I'm an ABC, so I eat what normal americans eat. I generally don't eat steak or hamburgers, but my achilles heel is chips. I'm a ravenous snacker, so that's my big weakness. I think it runs in the family. Oh, I do eat pasta, but generally with all the bad sauces .... like alfredo ...

So...you're eating Mexican food (tortilla chips? Doritos? MEXICAN!) and Italian food? Damn those Mexicans and Italians for their contributions to American obesity.

When I was living at home, my dad would cook things that are similar to the plainer/non-fancy dishes you see in Chinese restaurants (minus the heavy salt, msg, oil dosages). I do eat chips/snacks once in a while, but that's not my normal diet and I'd get yelled at by my dad if he sees me eating those. I don't gain weight even though I did zero exercise.

Now I'm living by myself. I cooked for the first year, continue to do no exercise and didn't gain any weight. These days I don't cook as often and McD's/eating out is much more frequent. I didn't gain weight but I'm also doing exercises (cycling) on weekends; around 50 miles to 100+ miles per weekend. For me, 50 miles is about 1500 calories based on my bike computer.

My point is that carbs do not make you fat. I spoke to a skinny Vietnamese man earlier and he said that even at his age, (57) he still eats 3-4 bowls of white rice at every sitting and remembers being able to eat up to 8 bowls when he was a young man. I think low/no carb diets are a marketing scam and completely untrue.

For me carbs make me fat and im Filipino. I had to stop eating rice for a while and dropped 20lbs with exercise. I resumed to rice and I got back to half of what I lost.

It depends on who..i dont think you can generalize this.

Though what I can say that Western carb diet is mostly off processed food so its alot of simple carbs that can make you fat.

Carbs don't make you fat. Too many calories ingested, too few calories expended. That is what makes you fat. Carbs and protein have fewer calories per gram than fat, so generally speaking if you eat low fat carb and protein choices, you can eat more than if you choose food with a higher fat content. Rice (especially whole grain so that it does other good things for your body) is good, chips are not so good. Lean chicken/beef is good, high fat hamburger is not so good. And so on.

Plus, athletes, which most of us in this forum are, need carbs for fuel. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains are good for you and help you stay slim. Even American carbs. :)

Even American carbs. :)

White Wonder bread? :p

Shnuddy, do you agree that Asian are on average thinner than us? If so then why do you tink it is so? Diet? Genetics?

Im Filipino.


Thats the problem. You can't say no to Kare Kare.

I remember reading somwhere that Filipinos are not Asian but part of the Pacific Islander culture.

I remember reading somwhere that Filipinos are not Asian but part of the Pacific Islander culture.

Racist.:D

Why?

So...you're eating Mexican food (tortilla chips? Doritos? MEXICAN!) and Italian food? Damn those Mexicans and Italians for their contributions to American obesity.

Hey, as long as it's not poisonous ... I'll eat anything

Most of the Chinese friends that I know from HK don't like Mexican food. They said it has to do with the texture and taste of the bean paste.

Hey, as long as it's not poisonous ... I'll eat anythingMy motto used to be, "If it moves, we can eat it!"!!!



Carbs don't make you fat. Too many calories ingested, too few calories expended. That is what makes you fat. Carbs and protein have fewer calories per gram than fat, so generally speaking if you eat low fat carb and protein choices, you can eat more than if you choose food with a higher fat content. Rice (especially whole grain so that it does other good things for your body) is good, chips are not so good. Lean chicken/beef is good, high fat hamburger is not so good. And so on.

Plus, athletes, which most of us in this forum are, need carbs for fuel. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains are good for you and help you stay slim. Even American carbs. :)That pretty much hits the nail on the head. As long as your carb-intake is less than what it takes to max-out your glycogen-stores, there's no excess to get converted to fat. So if you did a 50-60 mile ride and depleted your glycogen, you can eat about 3.5 lbs of carbs to restore that glycogen. About 3 loaves of bread for dinner and you'll be fine!!! As mentioned, higher calorie-dense foods with fats will pile on more weight for the same volume. The cheese-sauce on a fettucine alfredo can pile on 0.5 lbs of fat while the pasta may contribute only 0.05 lbs.

The myth that carbs is bad comes from the scores of sedentary couch-potatoes who continue to eat when not needed. Their glycogen stores are completely stocked up, and ALL of the carbs they eat will end up getting converted to fat and stored. It's not so much the carbs that's bad, it's eating too much.

Most of the Chinese friends that I know from HK don't like Mexican food. They said it has to do with the texture and taste of the bean paste.

Yeah, but if you are chinese, and you live near East LA (yours truely), you cannot help but eat Mexican food.

Hmm, so you get those reactions too? I don't mind Mexican food; just find it a little weird that my group of HK friends have a common reaction to it whenever I suggest Mexican food for lunch/dinner.

Probably because of the kind of Mexican food we get in California. Most of the Mexican food in California is peasant food and nothing like the stuff you get if you go deeper into Mexico. It is no wonder why a Chinese would reject it since it is so much inferior to their standard of eating. When I was in Mexico city the food was incredible. It was like European food but a bit spicier. Nothing like what you get just south of the border.

Shnuddy, do you agree that Asian are on average thinner than us? If so then why do you tink it is so? Diet? Genetics?

People from almost every other country and culture (with a few exceptions) are thinner than Americans. We eat more processed food, more fast food, move less (just day to day movement). We eat huge portions, at least twice as much as you would need to fill up. We diet more, which is known, ironically, to (over time) cause you to gain weight. Marketing for diet food, diet books, diet information is so prevalent, that almost everyone is confused about what is healthy to eat. We want a quick fix, one of the reasons "low carb" became popular--it offered quick weight loss without have to deprive yourself.

Basically, staying thin (or getting there) comes down to eating less and exercising. No magic bullets. :)

People from almost every other country and culture (with a few exceptions) are thinner than Americans. We eat more processed food, more fast food, move less (just day to day movement). We eat huge portions, at least twice as much as you would need to fill up. We diet more, which is known, ironically, to (over time) cause you to gain weight. Marketing for diet food, diet books, diet information is so prevalent, that almost everyone is confused about what is healthy to eat. We want a quick fix, one of the reasons "low carb" became popular--it offered quick weight loss without have to deprive yourself.

Basically, staying thin (or getting there) comes down to eating less and exercising. No magic bullets. :)

+1,000

The portions in restaurants in usa are soooooo friggin' huuuuuuge. They should have a separate menu for those of us that don't want to eat a cow. How does everyone have enough room to eat appetizers, main meal, and dessert, all in one sitting? And why is it that junk, unhealthy foods are less expensive, and healthy food, that's good for you, is twice as expensive? "Supersize Me"

If anyone wants to try my diet, PM me. I came up with the diet after several years of testing and research. Everyone who has been on it has not only lost weight, they have leaned down. Not only do you get to eat a lot of food, you can eat pizza, fast food, ice cream or whatever other kind of food you want and still lose weight.

russians are asian....and theyre some BIG folks in that neck o the continent......sorry ovo, its true...

If anyone wants to try my diet, PM me. I came up with the diet after several years of testing and research. Everyone who has been on it has not only lost weight, they have leaned down. Not only do you get to eat a lot of food, you can eat pizza, fast food, ice cream or whatever other kind of food you want and still lose weight.Does it involve riding 200+ miles per week? :p

russians are asian....and theyre some BIG folks in that neck o the continent......sorry ovo, its true...

I think there are 2 types of Russians, Mongoloids and White Russians.

I think there are 2 types of Russians, Mongoloids and White Russians.

(runs in...)

Did someone say white russian?

http://www.drunkenblog.com/drunkenblog-archives/i/db_white_russian.jpg

Does it involve riding 200+ miles per week? :pNo, it's not enough calories.

Edit: I reread my original post and it sounds like an informercial. My diet is pretty simple.
1. Eat small meals so you don't get hungry.
2. Eat more in the morning and then taper off.
3. Periodically reward yourself.