Just a thought. It also might have something to do with the fact that in most Asian cultures, weight is something that's very publicly discussed. I mean, if you get a little over weight, EVERYBODY comments on it. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles...they'll just grab pieces of fat on your body. I'll go maybe a few months without seeing someone from my family and the conversation will sound like this "Hey Marcy! Wow you look chubby! How's your mom?" Maybe it's just a psychological thing? I don't know. I'm Filipino and my best friend is Korean and we used to talk about how funny it was that it was the same in both our cultures.

That's really quite interesting about being chubby and an Asian perspective.

I have been in Thailand now for around 11 months and it appears that body image does not factor high in peoples judgements.

I am not sure if this is attributable to Buddhism, but my partner assures me that getting fatter does not immediately invoke the same response as it would, say back home, in Australia.

This of course, has been quite a trap for me, as the fatter and larger I got, nothing was said. It was just accepted.

When I started complaining about it myself, the constant response was that my partner loved me for who I am, not my body.

Maybe they are just polite, I am unsure, but a persons body type does not appear to be of utmost importance.

Mine is to me of course, hence my laser beam focus on getting this fat off.

Cheers to all.

Paulee.

Marcy, that's interesting that you mentioned that. I've found this to be true for my Asian family as well. The chubbier I got, the more comments I got about it. The comments were not vague or little hints at all. They were more along of what you said... "Hi! So good to see you! Wow you've gotten so much bigger!" It's all said quite publicly and casually.

In the midwest, the expression is a more indirect "You've wintered well..." with an eye to the flabby areas.

You're snarkiness really isn't called for. I wasn't bragging I could eat a whole box of pasta. I was simply saying that, if I did eat the box of pasta I was more than happy to leave pasta alone for 2 to 3 weeks, ultimately eating much less pasta than I would if I "moderated" over the course of those 2 or 3 weeks.

Different approaches for different people. Just because something works well for me and wouldn't work for you for whatever reason, it does not mean that I have a mental disorder.

Not according to the principles of Intermittent Fasting... But that's a whole different beast than Atkins.

It's not "snarkiness". It's a simple statement of fact. Unless I really, seriously missed something, binging on pasta isn't a part of the plan.

What plan? It was a very successful part of my maintenance plan, which lasted over two years. I reached goal (115 to 120lbs) on a calorie-controlled version of Atkins, and then maintained very successfully with an I.F. plan. Of course, I didn't think of it as I.F. at the time... But that's what it was. And yep, on that plan, I could eat a whole box of pasta if I so chose. And if I did, what's the problem with that?! I looked great, felt great, was healthy and active. I just quickly learned that eating 1/4 the box yielded the same temporary fake weight gain as eating the whole box. Except the whole box was more satisfying.

When you do an I.F. program that incorporates high carb foods something amazing happens... Over time, you get to adapt to the high carb foods and can eat more of it without gaining weight. In a lot of ways it's like your body normalizes. It is worth looking into for people who don't want to make Atkins a lifestyle. The only reason you have such a reaction to "a whole box of pasta" is because you can't fathom that someone actually COULD binge and fast in cycle and not only be healthy, but be HEALTHIER than someone who doesn't intermittently fast. Even with the box of pasta.

I am not sure whether you're missing something or you just can't wrap your head around the idea that a maintenance plan like mine DOES work and IS incredibly healthy. There's nothing unhealthy about whole wheat pasta with a tomato-based sauce and some fresh parmesan cheese. Believe me, it took me a long time to wrap my head around the principles of weight maintenance with I.F. because it flies in the face of conventional "eating rules".

What I can tell you is that I reached about 115/120lbs (depending on the day) and not only did I MAINTAIN my weight for over 2 years, but at the start of that 2 years I would gain 3lbs. after 1 day of eating whatever I wanted.... By the END of that 2 years, before my accident, I could go not a week but WEEKS (up to 3 or 4) eating whatever I wanted without gaining those 3lbs. That's pretty amazing really, no matter how you look at it...

You see, if you tell someone they can eat whatever they want, but on a given I.F. schedule, if the person can stick to the I.F. schedule it's perhaps a more satisfying way of eating than perpetual low carb. That's not about bragging about eating a whole box of pasta (that's such a silly thing for you to say) but it's about "I want to eat the box of pasta... Here's how I can do it without harming my weight or health".

Maybe an I.F. program incorporating high carbs wouldn't work for you. Maybe it would. Who knows! But it worked for me, and I offer my advice just like you and everyone else here does. And it's not bragging. It's perhaps opening up someone's eyes to a different way. If the original poster is going to have rice, he's going to have rice. Atkins doesn't really provide a protocol for having a satisfying amount of white rice. My maintenance plan does. It's as simple as that.

Anyway, best of luck to you on your weight loss journey.

i couldn't agree with you more!!! i'm new to the asian culture but my husband always calls himself fat and his sisters because that's what he's always heard...when i met his sisters they're like 140 pounds! lol what do you think his mom thought when she met me??? lol i was 260 at the time...it's been 3 years that i've been married and five years that i've been with my husband and their doing better about it..i still hear all the time about my weight and all of his siblings that are fat including my husband from his mom and aunts....funny, his sister is on this milk diet and she's lost 15-20 pounds. now she weighs 140ish and his mom said that when she gets down to 90 pounds like she use to be then she's lost enough weight..now if that isn 't promoting anorexia i don't know what is!!!! first of all his sisters body is a medium bone, not a small bone like his mother's is so it's not even going to be possible for her to be that small...we're going there in a couple of weeks and even though i've lost 35 pounds and very proud of it, i'm sure they'll only see the other 200 pounds i need to lose...lol.

I can kind of understand how you feel, being new to the culture and everything. My mom is white and when people in my dad's side of the family would comment on my weight, she would be horrified. I guess I never thought anything of it because I never really knew any different.

There are moderate low carb plans around that you could have rice on. Never nasty white stuff but basmati or wholegrain. You could try The Schwarzbein Principle, Sugarbusters etc.

I don't know how it is in your family but - When I go to a Chinese restaurant, the rice usually comes in an extra bowl on the side, while the main dish that you order just consists of meat and veggies (and that glutamate sugary sauce). It seems really easy to just leave the rice alone!

OKAY!!! I am so happy to understand about asian cultures and the blaint IN YOUR FACE discussion of "YOUR ARE SO FAT" it has really bothered me in fact...this weekend I was around some friends of my boyfriends...(he is filipino) I haven't seen these friends in like 6 months or so and I was really ready to just walk out and leave I was so horrified and offended by the contiuous stream of people "in very normal conversation" just blurting out of the blue how fat I was. I literally have avoided them for several months b/c of this. I did not understand how anyone could be so rude. There is also an office mate of mine who is filipina and she never shuts up about my weight (even though she is not thin herself) she comments on what I eat,which diet I should be on, she even goes as far as to say some clothes in a magazine are not for me b/c there not for fat people.The other people in my office cannot even believe it and I have actually not really known why all of the attacks on me and my boyfriend has never explained that it was "normal" This has cleared alot up for me and I feel somewhat better b/c I have felt soo attacked by his family and friends for so long now with no explaination . I feel somewhat better now.Thanks.

i just love ur dancing asparagus.

I am italian and was raised on spaghetti, linguine, lasagna, garlic bread, and all of my relatives drink wine with dinner. I gave it ALL up and I am more satisfied and happy on LC than I have been in a long time!! Its all about willpower and what youll give up to be healthy