Do you think Chinese food is more/less healthier than your own country

[hannafit]

Waaaaaaaaaay less healthy. I went to China in the best shape of my life only to lose it, my sixpack...and then gain weight. The food is so oily and it's hard to find healthy ingredients besides raw veggies. I'm still struggling how to eat healthy over here  so I don't end up a whale by the time my year is over.

 

 

The Chinese people can eat soooooo much and not gain even a single pound!!!!

[abcdefg]

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I went to China in the best shape of my life only to lose it, my sixpack...and then gain weight. The food is so oily and it's hard to find healthy ingredients besides raw veggies. I'm still struggling how to eat healthy over here  so I don't end up a whale by the time my year is over.

 

Do you cook much of your own food in China, or do you usually eat out? If you are willing to cook at least some of your own meals, I can help you find a solution.

[zhouhaochen]

I always hear people complaining about food in China not being healthy, which I find quite ridiculous. First we do not really know what healthy food is. All kinds of food experts change their opinions every couple of years. As the perception of what is healthy changes all the time, while our bodies remain the same, most likely most of the time what is thought to be healthy at any specific point of time is actually not.

The most reliable data one could look at is how long people live. Life expectancy in developed (meaning proper health care) Chinese food eating societies like Hong Kong is higher than in any western country. Life expectancy in mainland China is also significantly higher than most other countries at a comparable economic development stage.

So unless Tai Qi really makes you live that much longer, whatever the Chinese eat, cant be that unhealthy.

[Flickserve]

11 hours ago, hannafit said:

Waaaaaaaaaay less healthy. I went to China in the best shape of my life only to lose it, my sixpack...and then gain weight. The food is so oily and it's hard to find healthy ingredients besides raw veggies. I'm still struggling how to eat healthy over here  so I don't end up a whale by the time my year is over.

Eat no more than two meals a day.

Cut out snacks.

Walk (especially stairs ) or bike more. (might be difficult if polluted air)

 

Smoking has got to be the biggest killer in China and then perhaps air pollution.

[ChTTay]

It's super easy to eat healthy in China. I would say it's one of the easiest places to eat vegetables in the world. So many different types of vegetables, so many different ways to cook them with different flavours. 

 

When my mum came to visit me she said she felt great the whole time. It was the first time she hasn't felt bloated after a holiday. Put this down to eating a lots of vegetables, steamed dishes and a little meat. No bread or dairy. 

 

As ABCDEFG alluded to, if you're eating out all the time and not making good choices then it can become unhealthy. There was a time when I got way too enthusiastic about noodles. Took a while to work that weight off! If you think about it, when you order noodles it's often a load of carbohydrates, a small amount of vegetables and a little bit of meat if lucky. Not a balanced meal.   

[realmayo]

 

11 hours ago, hannafit said:

The Chinese people can eat soooooo much and not gain even a single pound!!!!

 

I don't know if I'm right but I often wondered whether foreigners eating a couple of meals a day in restaurants would be eating quite differently to how their Chinese friends are?

 

Like: if I go to a restaurant with Chinese people then there'll be quite a lot of dishes ordered and we might eat quite a lot. But that's because we're 'out for a meal'. Most of the time Chinese people won't be eating that much: eating at home, in a more simple 盒饭 place or whatever, rice takes a bigger role and the 'dishes' or 饭菜 basically accompany the rice.

 

But I remember when I was in China with a group of other foreigners we'd rely on eating in restaurants, often twice a day, and end up ordering lots of dishes, the way we were used to seeing Chinese friends ordering. But we'd be doing that twice a day every day, not just a 3-4 times a week.

 

I know weight etc is a huge amount more complicated than just calories in calories out, but just as an observation, I'd suggest that Chinese people a bit differently.

[Shelley]

30 minutes ago, realmayo said:

huge amount more complicated than just calories in calories out

I would have to say that I think it is as simple as calories in - calories out = weight gain or loss. Your calories out may consist of lots of exercise to balance your calories in or you might just not eat that many calories so you don't need to do any thing extra special in the exercise department to lose or maintain your weight.

 

Remember everything in moderation and a little of what you like does you no harm.

 

I only eat one meal a day, I may have tea and a couple of biscuits in the afternoon, but I need to eat more because of my health issues. So I snack a lot to help with the calorie intake.

I can't face breakfast and lunch comes round too quick as well.

This shows how everybody is different and everyone has to find what suits them.

 

 

 

[realmayo]

Why is this person fat?

Because more calories went in than went out

 

Why is this restaurant full of customers?

Because more customers went in than went out.

 

Doesn't tell us anything about why.

 

to explain obesity by overeating [is] about as meaningful as explaining alcoholism by overdrinking

 

http://garytaubes.com/2010/12/inanity-of-overeating/

[hannafit]

@Flickserve

 

Thank you for the advice!

[Shelley]

6 hours ago, realmayo said:

Doesn't tell us anything about why.

This is a whole other subject, the why anyone does what they do.

I deal in the physics of things, the mind is for others to fathom.

[hannafit]

Okay the eating situation is way different if you are a Chinese eating at home every day. But ME, I am a foreigner living at a university in China. We have little cooking options and most of the time have to go to the cafeterias to eat. I'm not the only foreigner at my university struggling to eat healthy. The outside restaurants are also unhealthy. I don't have the resources to cook as I do at home. Sharing a flat-type dorm with 5 other girls with one stove top and that's about it. We have a small refrigerator but I can't meal prep for days at a time because there isn't any space. The extent of my cooking has reached cutting vegetables and cooking chicken with olive oil. 

 

At home I eat completely different. Very organic, low carb, almost vegan with the exception of turkey and A LOT OF FRUIT. The fruit(in the shops around campus) is very expensive for my budget. So I'm at a loss. 

 

I need better healthier options.

Everyone has different experiences and in my opinion Chinese food is very unhealthy if you are not Chinese and cannot cook at home. 

 

[hannafit]

One of my Chinese friends sent me a dairy free protein powder that I might try. It's a whopping ¥400+, but it might just save my health and sanity 

 

BTW I have a dairy allergy 

[Angelina]

Have you tried spirulina?

 

BTW Many adults in China are lactose intolerant, which is different from a dairy allergy, but good to know anyway. 

 

[ChTTay]

There's always a solution.

 

Just don't buy the fruit on campus. If campus is far away, at the weekend go and buy a fair bit and keep it in the fridge or freezer. 

If campus is REALLY far you could freeze some fruit and make smoothies. Local people nearby must buy fruit and veg from somewhere though. 

 

You can buy small fridges easily if that's the problem but I imagine most of the people you live with don't use it either. As for cooking, you can buy electric hot plates  cheaply. Toaster ovens are also really cheap. 

 

Many of my friends ended up doing this and setting up mini kitchens in there rooms even though they technically weren't allowed to. 

 

I guess each University canteen is different but Tsinghua had healthy options if you look for them. I often just got simple stir fried vegetables - two kinds - and maybe a chicken leg or something. On the side would be rice or Mantou. All very affordable too. Tsinghua had many canteens so I just found ones I liked and went to those. 

[abcdefg]

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I need better healthier options.

 

Hannaafit -- I can see that your situation is difficult. Much more challenging than my own. But I agree with ChTTay that there are bound to be ways to make it at least somewhat better.

 

For example, fruit is inexpensive if you buy what is produced locally and stick to what is in season. And, as mentioned above, make a point of buying from shops that don't cater to foreigners. There is bound to be someplace within walking distance where locals shop; even if just a half a block where vendors with pushcarts congregate.

 

If some of your roommates share your concerns, it is pretty easy to make tasty and healthy "one-pot-meals" that feed three or four people.  These can be whipped up on your electric burner or even in a rice cooker.

 

Small merchants operating all these tiny open-store-front, two or three person neighborhood shops, usually cook a simple lunch right out in front. I see them every day. One electric burner, one wok, one stirring utensil (锅铲 -- kind of like a spatula.)

 

加油！(Yes, I intended that slightly tongue in cheek.)

[grawrt]

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One of my Chinese friends sent me a dairy free protein powder that I might try. It's a whopping ¥400+, but it might just save my health and sanity 

 

What about beans/legumes? Probably cheaper than 400 rmb protein powders  Nuts for snacking is a good option too. I'm not sure how you feel about eggs but that's also an easy option for protein to keep on hand. I keep my eggs in my cabinet. 

 

p.s I cook in the dorms too, but only vegetarian. Its much more practical in my new school than the dorms in blcu which consisted of 5 floors of girls and one small kitchen with two hot plates, one microwave and no fridge. 

[abcdefg]

Grawrt -- I was thinking the same thing about natural sources of protein being a better, cheaper (and maybe even safer) idea than some mystery powder. And they taste better too. Tofu is another option that's readily available here.

 

A quickly boiled or sauteed green vegetable with tofu plus a small handful of nuts, makes a decent quick meal. Especially if one has a little steamed rice on the side. A small electric rice cooker 电饭锅 costs under 300 Yuan and takes up very little space. Furthermore, it's a very versatile appliance.

 

A small (lidded) electric skillet 电炒锅 is another excellent tool, similarly priced or even less (as low as ￥100）。 One can make a large variety of "soupy noodle" 汤面 one-dish meals in it, heavy on the vegetables, light on the meat (if any.)

 

Plenty is written about using these to full advantage on the local internet by Chinese university students.

To have a quick look, try using these search strings on Baidu:

 

     -- 大学生如何在宿舍做饭？

     -- 如何在寝室做饭？

 

The whole subject of how to do minimalist, dormitory-type cooking in China sounds like it might be an interesting topic to explore.

 

[LinZhenPu]

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The whole subject of how to do minimalist, dormitory-type cooking in China sounds like it might be an interesting topic to explore.

Yes please

[Angelina]

I feel like an old China hand ahhhhhhh 

 

 

good idea, abcdefg 

[imron]

9 hours ago, abcdefg said:

The whole subject of how to do minimalist, dormitory-type cooking in China sounds like it might be an interesting topic to explore.

Add it to the book!