Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Know Your Calories - Rice

Have you ever wondered how come when you eat normal food you have gained weight.

According to me I was having normal meals (most of the times). 2 roties, rice, sabji, dal this was what a healthy plate should be and that is what I was having.

Ever since childhood, we used to come back home have our roties and the rice (never measured it and there was always a second serving) and then would go off to sleep and then it was studies and home work. The life pattern never changed much for me but the eating habit always continued.

When I started weight loss I wanted to know how much calories does my normal daily food has. I made a mental note of approximate calories in certain foods which I eat on daily basis. Its just an approx value which helps me to know if I am going over board.

I do not measure calories on daily basis (its waste of time), just a mental approx value is more than enough.

When I became aware of calories, I understood why over the years I had piled on so much weight.

Being aware never hurts.

The first thing I checked was calories in rice.

I use CalorieCount for my calorie reference, you can use any site on the web. We just need an approximate value here.

So for 158 gms/ 1 cup of rice has 205 calories. Remember, you won't eat only rice, it is always accompanied by some side dish.

So how much 158 gms rice looks like.

1. Its 1 quarter plate moderately filled or 1 medium size bowl. Now, when I am eating out I know the approximate calories on my plate with the amount of rice.




You can easily make your plate worth 600+ calories or as low as 400 calories. Add a Naan to the plate to increase the calories or have little rice and little naan to have less calories and satisfy the tongue.

Same rule apply at home. Increase the calories by going for second serving of rice or having roties along with rice OR decrease calories by having more of vegetables and salad along with rice and fill your stomach.

2. This is what my plate looked like before. 2 roties, rice, dal, sabji and there was always second helping of the rice.



3. I no longer combine roti and sabji together. It best to have 1 roti or little rice. Try bringing in a salad, the raw vegetables add a fresh twist to the meal and keep the stomach full for a long time. I have increased my vegetable intake and reduced the rice quantity.



4. As a rule (according to me), vegetables and salad have no calories. Even for that matter I always go for second serving of dal if I am hungry.



When we reduce our food intake sometimes even before eating we think that its less food. But remember the reason you are over weight is because you are feeding yourself more food than necessary. So best way is to give it a try and see how full/satisfy you feel.

Its your plate and its your decision to either loaded it with calories OR to load the plate with less calories.

13 comments:

  1. My plate looks like that last pic..but I eat 2 rotis, salad, and a dal or sabji..:-( I cannot eat that much rice...if I was taking rice, it would be half of what you have taken - just can't eat more of it without feeling bloated!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dear Rads,

    Good to know you have a healthy plate :). Yeh the rice does makes one feel bloated. I eat starch less rice. I remove the starch three times, it makes the rice very light and no bloating at all. But still the amount needs to be moderated.

    Have a great day ahead.

    regards

    Shiva

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Shiva,

    nice to c your post after a long time..I am not a rice person..i think i have not eaten rice since a month or so..

    but i am a roti person which i have reduced to 1 now ...and it has taken me time to reducem my appetite but it came naturally..

    your tips and suggestion always makes me feel wonderfull.

    love

    Anamika

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  4. Hi shiva, am Sayantani. I recently discovered your blog and have started following you. I used to be very slim but marriage and delivery of a child has left me with some unwanted kilos. I find inspiration and information from your blog and have started making small changes following you tips. thanks a ton for these beautiful posts.
    between how do you remove the starch thrice? please explain.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear Anamika,

    Good to know you are not a rice eater. I love rice, just can't do without it.

    Honey you are wonderful :)

    Thanks for encouraging and being there for me.

    Love

    Shiva

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dear Sayantani,

    Welcome to my blog. I boil rice 3 times and drain. I will post the method in a day or 2 with pics so it will help you further.

    Long back I learnt how light this rice can be. I will upload the pics very soon.

    Start by making small changes and soon your kilos will melt.

    Slowly but steadily you will be back to pre pregnancy weight.

    Have a great day ahead.

    regards

    Shiva

    ReplyDelete
  7. hi shiva, Great post as usual. I also never take rice and roti together, I take rice only during the weekends. Also looking forward to your starchless rice post. Keep up the goodwork.
    take care
    rekha

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  8. Dear Soul Speak,

    I used to eat them together :) but its been a long time since I did that.

    I have uploaded the post so you can see the method of preparing starch less rice.

    Do give it a try once. With rice we associate a very heavy feeling in stomach. I remember it would make me feel so drowsy in afternoon. This rice is very light and doesn't give that heavy feeling.

    Have a great day ahead.

    regards

    Shiva

    ReplyDelete
  9. What if we are having 1 big naan and dal with desi ghee? What will be the calorie count then?
    I want to know how much calories is there in a piece of bread, a glass of milk without sugar, a cup of tea widout sugar, in matarpaneer, palakpaneer etc.. Plz share..

    ReplyDelete
  10. What if you are adding a spoon of desi ghee to the dal? What will be the calorie count then? Please tell the calorie details of the following:
    1. A glass of milk without sugar.
    2. A cup of tea widout sugar.
    3. Palak paneer & matar paneer ( 3 medium paneer pieces).
    4. Medium piece of bread.
    5. 1 aaloo ka paratha.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Impressive....nw i wl too try...either rice or roti olyy...thanxxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hello Girl no offense but that food is so scarce.I can even eat that within 1 hour after being full.I am little obese 95kg 6 feet but fit.I exercise 3 to 4 hours daily.I only eat 3 times a day but that freaking heavy .But now even i need to control beacuse even after exercising so much my weight is not been reduced but its impossible for me to eat such low quantity food.Should i still give it a try?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Manoj,

      Unfortunately this blog is targeted for women. So please do not attempt to eat this low. If you are into exercising, then just focus on weight training, this will build lean muscles and get in fat loss. Remember, weight loss does not lead to anything but fat loss does. So eat well and build some lean muscles and at 95 kilos you will have a leaner body frame.

      Hope this helps.

      regards

      Delete

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