For those working on maintaining weight

[shootingstar]

I have occasionally encountered non-Asian people in my life who place what I feel is TOO MUCH stock in what, to them, is an exotic cuisine. There is a lot of marketing around the potential benefits of soy and green tea, for example.

I think the idealization of things from other cultures can lead to misperceptions about those cultures as a whole. Those misperceptions in turn lead to messed-up thinking.

An illustration of messed up thinking is not understanding that although tofu itself, is healthy...lots of miso paste is not. Though both forms of food are derived from the soy plant, one does not have salt while the latter does.

I continue to be appalled to see TV cooking shows or recipes that use way too much soy sauce or miso paste. I can make steamed sliced chicken dish (cut in 1-2 inch slices) that is flavoured with low-sodium soy sauce with 1/4 teaspoon of soy sauce, small jot of sunflower oil, etc. ...to serve 6 people. It would have rehydrated tiger lily buds, etc. Real home cooking.

In my extended family, over the last few decades, I can easily see the profound effect of diet changes, physical activity levels and its effect when relocating from a poor, agrarian/agricultural area of a developing country to a affluent, industrialized country.

Several different relatives who immigrated to Canada at different times, from southern China agricultural areas over 20-15 years ago, where they worked on farm communes and construction projects (before present semi-privatization of land), now look overweight because they ARE eating more processed foods, junk foods (pop, etc.). It's just more readily available here (and now in China compared to 2 decades ago). They started to look like that within 5 years or less after arriving in Canada. Though some have jobs where they are still physically active, but not to the same level of intensity as compared to what they were required to do in China with less machinery, appliances, etc.

Sorry I'll continue this later...this evening.

[tulip]

Because of this post, I had amazing sashimi last night with my parents. I usually sushi, but thought I'd branch out a bit. It was served with long strings of daikon (I think). I also got some rice because I like it, but I don't think it was as much as comes with sushi.

Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to me that the sashimi fish was fresher and better than the sushi. Maybe it's just because it comes in larger pieces, I don't know.

I am one of those people who loves Asian cuisine, but I cannot stand what passes for Chinese food because my experience with it is heavy on the oil and heat lamps and light on fresh ingredients. But Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, and Japanese I'll take any day.

[han-grrl]

I often eat sashimi

in fact i will order sashimi, miso soup (i have a weakness, i'm sorry!) and a salad for my dinner...maybe like one kind of "fancy" sushi - but i just like the natural flavour of foods...

I've also been trying to eat a lot of raw foods ie fruits/veg because i'm a bit of a paleo type - that is, i believe we should be eating more like cavemen...i often wonder about cooking foods and whether it is totally "natural'
i know it is necessary - because of our digestive systems, like for proteins, but i always go back to "what would the cave WOman do"

[NbyNW]

Shootingstar, I love your food descriptions. Can I come to your house? I'll bring a potluck dish!

I wish my mom had taught me how to cook . . . you've inspired me to bug her when I am visiting the parents this weekend.

Tulip, you're so right about "what passes for Chinese food." It wouldn't pass muster in any (or most) Chinese communities anywhere in the world. I had a history professor in college who had a theory that a lot of Chinese restaurant food as we know it in the U.S. has its origins in the merchant marine service and the introduction of Chinese labor to the U.S. Being the cook was not a desirable job, nor did they go to great lengths to hire people (usually men) who were good at it . . . voila, greasy heat-lamp piles of stuff. I avoid it too.

[shootingstar]

Shootingstar, I love your food descriptions. Can I come to your house? I'll bring a potluck dish!

I wish my mom had taught me how to cook . . . you've inspired me to bug her when I am visiting the parents this weekend.

Any time you're in Vancouver...

This might sound corny and even puzzling to some folks here especially when alot of ethnic food has gone global..but admittedly, some of the home-style Chinese dishes ..is for me, part of family history. It is part of identity. I consider what I know cooking/food-wise which is not well-documented in English,...a legacy from my parents.

So in the end, eating some of this stuff has very little to do with maintaining my weight. I'm just lucky...it does happen to be generally healthy dishes also that I choose to remember and prepare.

After going on a long vacation nowadays, I go home...and cook a steamed meat dish. It's like comfort food to me. At university, I didn't junk out on pizza, potato chips, etc. I was cooking this type of food for myself..it was therapy from studying and occasionally missing home-cooking.

So take advantage of your mother's cooking know-how. We videotaped my mother making gluntinous rice packets with other meat/bean goodies wrapped in bamboo leaves, then steamed. It's 1 food, though not healthy for maintaining weight, I will allow and ask my mother to make whenever I visit. I have not yet learned how to make this time-consuming thing. My mother will not live forever..I might as well enjoy a few non-weight maintenance special foods now.

[shootingstar]

I was trying to figure out today, why I did not feel full in the stomach yesterday.

It didn't make sense, especially when I had lunch at Denny's with some people at work. Had light green salad with smallish pieces of grilled chicken and water to drink. I was a little agog to see the 5 other women (in their mid-30's to early 50's) each order largish hamburgers with fries on the side for each person. And I know these women do want to lose weight and they are not totally inactive people.

Then my regular commute homeward, included my 15 min. walk to bus stop, bus, commuter train then bike for 16 kms.

I was pacing myself at Denny's..because already I knew and on our way home on bike, stopped at a Japanese restaurant for supper. So had 2 small gyozas and a bento box meal that included small slices of B.B. eel on a really itty bit of rice (nearly laughable) nori strands for garnish, 3 small sashimi, 1 small salmon sushi roll, little "Japanese" salad with bed of daikon sliver shavings with small miso soup on side. Also a small slab of green tea ice cream with 2 large cups of green tea.

So part of the solution for night out, not to overly pig-out ...was the bento box style meal...smaller amounts of food but with a good variety.

No haven't weighed myself. My shorts around waist feel right..not tight.

[shootingstar]

Am just reviving this topic thread..since for some of us, it's an ongoing effort, maintaining weight or at least keeping our weight stable without going overboard too much.

I don't post at all on the weight loss topic thread that Possegal is helping to track some people's weight loss efforts.

But there's some of us that must lose 3-6 lbs. after every winter or so. This too, requires some vigilance and regular cycling/exercise.

And the older I get, I actually get vaguely annoyed when people still tell me that I don't have to do much/lose weight. My metabolism has changed compared to 10 yrs. ago.

Please....I've been cycling 32-45 kms. daily for the past few weeks. I just don't post my ride mileage on TE daily.

[redrhodie]

Am just reviving this topic thread..since for some of us, it's an ongoing effort, maintaining weight or at least keeping our weight stable without going overboard too much.

I don't post at all on the weight loss topic thread that Possegal is helping to track some people's weight loss efforts.

But there's some of us that must lose 3-6 lbs. after every winter or so. This too, requires some vigilance and regular cycling/exercise.

And the older I get, I actually get vaguely annoyed when people still tell me that I don't have to do much/lose weight. My metabolism has changed compared to 10 yrs. ago.

Please....I've been cycling 32-45 kms. daily for the past few weeks. I just don't post my ride mileage on TE daily.

I'm right with you, sister! The annual gain/loss cycle is real for me, too. I peak around April, and by September, I have to eat a lot to maintain. I don't like going below 120 lbs because I look gaunt (I have a thin face to begin with). At that point, <120, I add lots of nuts, and a second breakfast, and I can eat potato chips and French fries (my weaknesses). I feel like I'm constantly eating, which is fun, but then it suddenly turns from maintaining to gaining, and is less fun .

Right now, I'm watching it (fries are a no no ). I really have to be careful not to overindulge. It's hard because I get used to the extra eating, and when the weight suddenly goes up, it's hard to cut back. This year, I thought riding a lot would keep it more in check, but I still gained 5 lbs. My ideal weight (the one I feel best at) is 122. I'm 5'5". I wish I could just be and maintain that weight all year eating the same amount of food, but it just doesn't work that way for me.

[shootingstar]

What is Evista, Crankin?

Just on the variety of physical activity, you're more active regularily than I. I don't jog. I agree it requires for me ..I dunno ..maybe a wk. or much LONGER to get rid of 2-3 extra lbs. with sustained daily exercise and mindful eating.

Well, I'm not observing the simple golden rule of long-term, undesired weight gain. I seem to have at least 1 biscotti every morning. That's approx. 100 calories..all adds up over several years. In case people think this is paranoia, well just allow yourself to gain 2-3 lbs. annually. After a decade, that really adds up!

A person cannot shut themselves off reasonable restaurant meals here and there, for 1 whole year. Just unrealistic. So we have to make dietary adjustments on the fly, every week, month and every year of our lives...for as long as we live. Thank goodness, we discovered our long-term love of cycling. I can't imagine engaging in a sport/exercise that one dislikes just to maintain healthy weight.

Redhodie: Never in my life I have ever made a conscious effort to gain weight. I just gained weight by not paying attention to what I was eating.

[redrhodie]

Redhodie: Never in my life I have ever made a conscious effort to gain weight. I just gained weight by not paying attention to what I was eating.

I was borderline anorexic in my 20s, when I was taking ballet classes. I got down to 112, pretty much by starving myself, and I obsessed over every calorie and gram of fat, and every bump in the mirror (at that point, I didn't see myself as thin. I weigh over 10 lbs more now, but I think I look thinner. It's a strange phenomenon).

AT that point, I was pretty miserable. I stopped dancing and started taking yoga, and the less time I spent looking in a full length mirror, the healthier I got. It's sad I wasted so much time striving for something that was so destructive. I'm lucky to have gotten through it.

Now, to see myself as healthy at a weight I would have been very depressed about back then is a big improvement in my self esteem. I thank cycling for that. I know how weak I am when I get below 120. When I get to that place, I know I need to watch myself just as much as getting over 125. It's a balancing act.

Of course, it's much easier to gain than lose for me! Gaining is effortless! I love to eat!