thanks for the many responses.

you know what doesn't make sense to me? asians eat rice everyday yet many of us (not including me) are skinny. How does that work?

It's all in the quantity and what you eat it with. If you have say, 1/2 c with some meat and veg, the glycemic load will probably be low enough to not raise your blood sugar too much (which would lead to cravings, etc.)

If you just can't or won't give up rice, and please everyone don't kill me for saying this, just have a small, measured amount. At least this way you'll have a way of eating you can live with, and after all, that is the aim here.

If you're anything like me, the minute you restrict something, it will lead to a binge of that substance later on.

If possible, I would try to make the switch to brown or basmati rice. They both have a lower glycemic index than white rice. White is the worst as far as raising blood sugar. You might as well be eating sugar right out of the sugar bowl.

I hope you can work out a plan you can live with. I would recommend using this as a measurement for your plate: 1/4 protein, 1/4 rice or complex carb like barley, peas, etc.(not more than 1 inch high for both) and 1/2 low carb veggies (you can have more than 1 inch high on these). Use a reasonable sized plate, in case you have visions of using a serving platter to get past these guidelines!

You will lose weight.

P.S. Exercise helps...a lot! I have found the more I exercise the more carbs I can eat and still lose weight.

Best wishes!

metabolism...many may be skinny but many many have high blood pressure, either diabetic or borderline diabetic, high cholesterol. i'm not sure about you're family but my dh's family all have either high blood pressure or diabetes or both. not to mention high cholesterol...(and many have even weight issues). like a previous poster wrote look at the other low carb diets besides atkins...im not too familiar with them but i'm sure you can incorporate a healthier rice in small quantities. i don't think any of the plans allows white rice though since it lacks anything nutritious.

Everyone is different. Some people who eat lots of carbs are never going to get fat. For me, calories have something to do with it. When I eat like a pig, even if I stay low carb, I gain weight.
Plus I think processed foods add to weight gain, and the traditional Asian diet might have some rice, but not a lot of processed foods.

anyone else?

In my old diabetic life one serving of starch= 1/3 cup. How many servings do you eat?

I'm Asian too and ate rice all my life until I started lc'ing 3 years ago. I was heavily addicted to rice. Couldn't imagine living w/o it. I thought to myself.. "I'll just stop eating rice for a bit, lose some weight, and then ease myself back to rice". Well I eased myself off of rice to lose the weight, but have found after awhile that I've lost the taste for it so now it's not hard to stay away from it. Rice tastes bland to me now. There are many veggies that are incredibly more flavorful and tasty than rice -- and healthier for you too. The more I read into lc'ing, the more I turned my nose on rice. To me, rice is a waste of calories. Each cup is about 200 cals and imo it doesn't have enough nutrients worthy of 200 cals. I'm better off eating a piece of fruit if I really needed a carb fix. Or better yet, just eat more lc veggies.

You asked how to deal with the problem with rice. When I started lowcarbing, I slowly eased myself off of it. I used to eat at least 2 cups of rice per meal. I cut back to 1 cup per meal for couple weeks, then 1/2 cup, all the while increasing my veggie intake, or I'd have a peach or small apple at each meal. Slowly, the rice was gone, and then I took the fruits out. So I went from an average of 300+ carbs per day down to 20-30. Gradual method worked for me. I did not suffer much craving or hunger.

Good luck to you!

You say that Asians eat rice EVERY day and probably at every meal. Well most people of European decent eat bread every day and sometimes at every meal. It is just as hard for those of us to give up bread as it is for Asians to give up rice. It is just a lifestyle change you have to WANT to make if you want to lose weight.

Most Asians I know don't eat a lot of donuts, pies, cake and that sort of stuff.

I would add that being skinny doesn't mean healthy. Many skinny people have health issues such as high cholesterol and diabetes.

Also, people's bodies process starches and sugars very differently. I am one of those people who cannot have sugar at all. It makes me violently ill.

The key is finding out if maybe you are having some health issues that are contributing to weight gain then find what works for you to lose weight. Read read read read read...that's what I had to do.

Good luck!

i Have done this cauliflower trick, subbing grated cauliflower for both rice and potatoes. My whole family likes it, even though I am the only one doinglow carb. I have used it as a rice substitute with chinese, potroast and gravy, and all sorts of other meals. it's good with butter on it too.

Yup I would agree that skinny doesn't equal to health. I think that Asians in general aren't programmed to become heavily obese. From what I've observed, they may put on extra pounds and become overweight if they ate crap, but in general you aren't going to see a 300-400 lb Asian. However, if they ate crap, the symptons of illness from eating this crap would show more along the line of high blood pressure, cancer, heart disease, diabetes -- not so much in weight.

How long do you cook the cauliflower and do you use fresh or frozen? Usually when I make cauliflower it comes out a little mushy.

Well Sumo wrestlers certainly are obese and have a shorter life expectancy than their fellow Japanese. Their diet is mainly a lot of rice with noodles and a little meat and vegetables. They also take several long naps every day.

That's true. But maybe you need to have the gene to gain lots of weight before you can be a successful wrestler? I'm trying to imagine my skinny father trying to get to 400 lbs... I don't think it's possible.. it's just not in his genes.