What I think of the NO RICE DIET?

The asian family

Inherent to Asian culture, rice has always been a staple diet for centuries. Every meal seems to be non-existent without a cup of freshly cooked rice where one sees the steam on top of it. I personally have known this culture where my family cooks the rice beforehand above everything else. When I was in fourth grade, I woke up at 5 in the morning just to cook rice for my siblings (I'm the eldest of 4). I'm sure so much weight had been put on my shoulders especially if I failed to push the "cook" button in the rice cooker. They may say how fortunate I am to be in the 90s where rice cookers have been revamped from its predecessor. 

Now, how did I come up with this no rice diet? I've heard numerous stories from people. I'm already 30 years old and imagine the numerous tales that I've come across with on how they've always wanted to try the no rice diet but it just seems like a mission impossible? 

The difficulty of the no rice diet

Reaching for the stars. The human mind always tries to skip the process, and it makes me sad. We got so accustomed to the elevator to success where it takes seconds before we see the breathtaking view. However, it may seem lovely in movies, fictional as it is and in reality, this doesn't happen. We love to be on top of the world. I get that feeling to be honest. We do everything to skip the ads, do shortcuts and just live happily ever after. 

Do not worry. If there is anything that I am sharing with you, it's not the difficulty but what I did to overcome the mountain of work to achieve it. 

October 2017: 1 cup of rice every single day. 

November 2017: 1/2 cup of rice every day. 

December 2017. 1/4 cup of rice every day. 

As you can see, I didn't jump into shallow waters. I didn't take the elevator. I took baby steps until my body got accustomed to this so-called deprivation. I love to say it but its definitely a form of deprivation from something that's culturally inherent in me and my family and something that had been my best friend each meal.

Mistake of most people

People take huge leaps only to find out on how unsustainable it is in the long run. You may survive day 1 without rice. You may fully document it on social media but how long are you able to keep up with this regimen? If you are doing this, I suggest that you take baby steps and slowly get rid of the bad foods in your diet. Nothing is actually arduous if you don't let your body feel. Law of inertia. I remember those typical physics examples where a huge weight lies on a sheet of paper and the teacher removes this paper without the slightest movement (on the macro scale) from this pile of weights. 

The law of substitution works only if you substitute rice with a better and healthier meal. Replacing your rice meal with cookies or a dashing slice of luscious chocolate cake is abhorrent. I've tried that a couple of times as I've tried to tweak my brain that I won't get fat yet sugar inevitably beefed me up to my 90+ kgs weight. 

If you are just starting on this no rice regimen, here are just some of my tips: 

1. Staggered descent. 

What do I mean by this? slowly decreasing your rice intake on a daily basis. That table may have worked for me but you may tweak it or customize it. Above it all, you know your body more than anyone else. I am simply writing this from my experience. 

2. Best substitute

The best substitute for rice was protein, water and brewed coffee. In all honesty, it was hard at first. When the going gets rough, the rough gets going. If you don't train your body, your body will be your master and you'll drool at every food you'll see every time. 

3. Hydrate yourself

No matter how I try to put it, water's properties will always be good for the body. We are at this region of modernization where thousands of studies have proven how important water is. In my case, I always try to drink lukewarm water.  

Rice remains staple and fundamental in every asian family. However, I have chosen a non-linear view towards dieting and rice was one of the first things in my bucket list. My game plan worked and I'm sure you'll also reach it by not giving up.