Why do asian women stay so skinny? Anyone out there who can give me some advice on dieting? What works what doesn't. I am committed to giving up fastfood, which means I have to cook now. I have no idea what to buy, what's healthy and tastes good at the same time. Help me! Where do I start?

Asian women eat a diet very high in FRESH vegetables and fruit. They eat mostly lean proteins and the carbohydrates that they consume are complex (like rice) which means they burn more slowly, sustain you longer and convert to glucose more slowly than other carbohydrates. My suggestion...keep it simple..eat fresh fruits and vegetables in abundance, stop drinking anything with sugar, and limit foods like white breads, white pastas. There is no "secret" but loosing weight is a little easier if you avoid processed foods.

So that is their secret. Thanks for your advice! I think I'm going to go out and buy a wok now.

I will also try this, I do love steamed veges.

tea, did you get fat when you got mature?
a year ago you were as thin as a witch's broomstick!

Dont worry everyone, it wont last Its just healthy because its cultural. We need to spread more of our evil western burger empires around ... not just cities but every village in the world...then hey presto - fat asian women in 10 years time

i think it's a genetic and cultural thing. also a little stereotypical.

i've seen some fat asian women in my time.

here's an easy start for anyone.
1. No fast food. none whatsoever.
2. Two salads a day (tomato's, cucumbers, parsley, green peppers) with lemon juice and a little olive oil as dressing.
3. Add to that a 45 minute walk after work every night and you will immediately see the benefits (5 lbs in a week maybe?)

Obesity in America is a big problem but I will say that there are obstacles for Americans that many other countries don't have. For one, in most areas, you have to drive to do everything. School, work, shopping, you name it. So right there, the best form of exercise for the whole world doesn't happen naturally in America because its just too bigand spread out. Only a small percentage of areas have shops you can actually walk to. Another side factor of this is since you have to drive to shop, you tend to stock up and buy more, and also buy items that will last for a week. You cannot buy fresh vegetables for a whole week and expect them to stay fresh.

All of you who are looking to lose a few, I wish you the best and hope you stay with it!!!

That makes sense. I have to admit the salad you mentioned sounds good and better yet I recognize all of the ingredients. Now, I just need to find my running shoes.

I am guilty of putting way too much dressing on. Maybe to hide the taste of the salad. Apple-vinegar, I will have to try this to.

you might even like to try a little sprinkling of balsamic vinegar as a dressing for the salad. not too much as it's pretty powerful taste.

another good one is pomegranite vinegar. Myself I wouldn't put olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar in there if you use lemon juice, forgo the vinegar - you can also add a little crumbled feta cheese to the mix and some black olives!! and you have shepherd salad ready to go. I normally make a batch of it up and I find that lemon juice and olive oil help keep the veggies fresher longer.

I remember the Chinese restaurants we used to go for lunch when I was in USA. Eat all you can and pay $7.5 only, damn cheap, every kind of salads, sea food, fruits, sweets. If we have such restaurants here, people would get fat easily, no doubt about it.

I always wondered why people that would have a non-diet drink were thinner than people that drank diet sodas. (I know this is not true for everyone, but I did notice it in a lot of people.)

This must be why I am having trouble. I drink a lot of diet sodas. I guess I better start drinking more water. I do now all the rules of dieting, it is the following of them I am having trouble with!!!

Thanks Elisabeth. My mother is into all the natural stuff, so I really don't have an excuse. I am going to start small and make sure I drink my water and NO SODA!!!

I followed which is really popular in Holland at the moment.. and lost quite a lot of weight actually.

It basically says the following:

-Drink at least 2 liters of water a day (very very important!)
-Eat at regular intervals (so breakfast, 1 snack in between, lunch, 1 snack in between, dinner and another little snack).
- don't eat after 8 o'clock, because your fat burns less fast then or something..

Also: variation in your food! don't always have breakfast with bread and lunch with bread. Take something different for breakfast (like an apple, or crackers, or fruitjuice), and again something else for lunch.

I hope this will work out for you too teaschip! Right now I got used to eating less (I usually had more than 1 snack betweent he main meals). And I even can eat some chocolate now and then!

Good luck!

I am on a red wine diet.....so far I have lost 2 days!