Weight-Loss and Chinese cuisine

Many people are interested in food for different reasons. The book "French women don't get fat" has become a bestseller for many reasons ( I hear it is a great book) but it resonates with women's two desires to be thin and have the romantic social experience that accompanies it (I know it sounds sexist but oh well). With all respect to the French, they do get fat.

Frankly, if you want to copy those who are thin, you must go to Asia, more specifically China. Though Chinese are getting bigger(taller, fatter), it is largely because of McDonald's entry, the growth of soda consumptio and automobile consumption, Chinese are still quite thin. How is this? Chinese food is so good and when they serve it they serve a lot at a time, it would make sense that Chinese would be a very large people.

Why is Chinese food good for losing weight? Chinese food etiquette. Etiquette is one of the reasons that western dining is not conducive for losing weight, Chinese meals are more social. For those who have spent time in an authentic Chinese restaurant, food is placed on the lazy susan and then distributed among the diners. So your dining experience takes place at a round table to everyone is facing everyone else. Therefore, the eating process takes place over the food and the conversation is potentially multi-directional. Therefore, unlike western food (including the French) you do not have the option of digging your face into your food and shutting out others while you eat. If you want to eat you are forced to interact with those around you meaning you chew, then you talk, then you take your next bite. If you have especially interesting dinner companions, then it makes it much more likely that you will speak more than you eat.

Second, the nature of Chinese eating compels sensible portions. Chopsticks may not be the most effective eating utensil, but they do compel you to eat in small bite-sized portions. This is especially true if you are not terribly familiar with how to use them. With a knife and fork, you cut up steaks with extreme ease because they are extremely efficient tools. Therefore, you can stuff yourself with a buttered baked potato with a large rib-eye before your body even realizes you are full, needless to say your waiter will ask you if you want desert soon after you are finished, further piling on the waistline before your body even figures out what happened.

Thirdly, where we are going, Sichuan, is known for its spicy food. Spicy food supposedly speeds up your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories.) Whether spicy food does or not, it does usually mean you will have to slow down your eating to deal with the increased spiciness. I will share with you all the photos from our travels and the appearances of foods here in Sichuan. If you want to lose weight, I would suggest that you start eating Asian.

I want to hear your favorite Chinese dish

Many people are exposed to different kinds of Chinese food (Dim Sum, Chop Suey, Kung Pao Chicken, Baozi) and depending on where you are you have tasted different things and different styles. Some may enjoy hot flavors while others prefer the coastal seafood. For those who have traveled extensively in China you may have stumbled across something unforgetable. I would love to hear anything from your past experiences about what Chinese foods you especially enjoy.