I lost inches after drinking chinese soups. Here's my story
I have always had some puppy fat or so I thought. You know, a slightly rounded face, a slight double chin, and a medium-sized trunk. I wasn't fat, I don't over-eat, I don't snack, I don't drink soft drinks, and I eat my vegetables.
I was like that for so long that I thought this was my optimal size and weight.
I did not think it was possible for me to be any thinner or lighter (other than if I am seriously ill)
One day, I came across a book called Natural Health, Natural Medicine: The Complete Guide to Wellness and Self-Care for Optimum Health written by Dr Andrew Weil.
I paid particular attention to one of the sections on cancer because my mum had breast cancer. And the doctors said because of that, I am high risk.
The book covered a variety of ways food can become oxidated and therefore carcinogenic.
For example, heating cooking oil until it smokes can cause the oil to oxidize and over-consumption of oxidized oil may lead to high risk of cancer occurrence.
After reading the book, I walked down rows of food stalls in the food centres near my workplace observing the various ways the stall vendors were preparing their food. I saw the smoke from their frying pans. I saw refined carbohydrates everywhere. I may have been paranoid but I just could not bring myself to eat any of those foods even though they smell and look great.
What shall this hungry girl do?
Finally, I settled on a chinese soup dish called "Niang Dou Fu" in mandarin.
At the stall, the vegetables, meatballs, fishballs, mushrooms, eggs, tofu (beancurd), and an assortment of fried items are arranged in rows like a self-serve salad bar. I can pick any number of items and add either egg noodles or rice vermicelli as the main carbohydrate.
I usually choose the fresh green vegetables such as mustard greens, shanghai cabbage as well as the non-fried items like fish, fishballs, mushrooms and tofu. I avoided all the fried items. I also asked to be served with clear soup and rice vermicelli.
Apart from picking different types of green vegetables to increase variety, I basically had this dish for lunch for the next 2 to 3 weeks.
Would you believe me if I tell you that just after 2 weeks my dress size went from a medium to a small?
SERIOUSLY, all my skirts and pants were so loose after those 2 weeks, I had to start shopping again.
I was looking for a weight loss system. I was looking for ways to prevent cancer and I lost weight instead. It was only a slight change in my lunch choice and I lost inches, and more importantly, I lost them from my hips and lower back.
I did not know it at that time, but my body had been keeping extra fluids due to all the hidden salt and refined carbohydrates in my meals prior to my lunch change. Once I cut them out from my food intake, I shed the excess water and lost the inches.
Filling up with healthy soup, I got my nourishment with fewer calories.
Niang Dou Fu is a unique Singaporean food and I don't think it is available outside of Singapore except maybe Malaysia.
You may not have the same dish at your location, but the principles of weight loss are the same.
There are many reasons why people are gaining weight and weight can come from water or fat. If you are overweight, it is better to find out why first before you try any weight loss programmes. Most weight loss programmes do work but usually for people with the causes these weight loss programmes are targetted to resolve.
Not everyone has the same causes
Having said that, many weight problems are caused by eating, not just over-eating. The amount of food consumed is of course important especially for people who are so used to eating a lot. But the kinds of food that are being consumed also matter.
Drinking a variety of soups (exclude thick soups containing cream) in the long run will help to maintain health and weight.
No pills no surgery, just a simple natural dietary approach that requires only a change in meal planning.
Start by trying some of the chinese soups in this website. Most of them are designed to be low fat and low salt.
Try these:
Last but not least, create your own weight loss soups.
Tips for weight loss soups
Excess intake of salt causes fluid retention. Drink homemade soups where you can limit the salt used.
- Feed yourself highly nutritious homemade soups with fewer calories.
- Choose loads of roots and tubers as alternative carbohydrate sources and avoid refined carbohydrates.
- Soup with lots of vegetables can improve digestion, ease constipation, and help cleanse the colon.
That's all I have to say. Happy souping and slimming!
