We have all heard about this one. People staving away from rice (or nasi) in the hopes to lose weight. I wrote about the whole rice issue a while back. Now it works for some and probably doesn’t work for others but whatever the outcome, at the end of the day, its not rice at fault. Let me explain:

Why It Works

Now as all know that weight loss is about about calories – eating more than you need will lead to weight gain. Now cutting our rice completely adds up to about 500-600 calories per day (probably a decent average for most Asians or Malaysians). For say 500 calories per day, that works out to be 3,500/week or 15,000 calories/month. Now convert that to kgs, that’s 0.45kg or 1.95kg respectively. So clearly, as long as you are creating that kind of calorie deficit, you will lose weight.

Why It Does Not

There are two problems with the “no rice” diet. If you replace your rice with say breads, fruits or pasta, you are in fact not changing anything at all as they all are carbohydrate sources. The idea of getting rid of rice is all about getting rid of carbohydrates. Period! Secondly, rice is our staple food! For how long can you completely ignore rice? Sooner or later most people will go back to rice and if they don’t watch the quantity of rice, they will surely regain the weight again!

Verdict: The problem is not rice. Its the amount of rice or calories we consume. Rice is an important source of energy but again, we Malaysians eat too much rice. In a single serving you only need about a fistful of rice. That’s it! It is your choice to go on a “no rice” diet but at the end of the day, you need to make a decision that is based on know-how and not what is popular.