I recently returned from a trip to the East, and I was amazed at the amount of skinny people wandering the streets (I was in China and Vietnam). The women have beautiful, tight skin, and the only overweight people I saw were some young kids who are obviously being raised on Mc Donald’s. They really inspired me to re-look my lifestyle. Here are some of my observations:
1. I found that the food served in both these countries were always super fresh. Red meat was only a little bit of beef here and there, otherwise it was mostly fish, chicken and pork. Most of their dishes are served in a light broth and with rice.
2. Fruit and vegetables are part of every meal, and the quality produce found in their supermarkets puts Woolworths to shame.
3. Meals are light, and not overpowered with flavour (no salt was found on most restaurant tables).
4. Portions are smaller.
5. I found that because you can’t drink the tap water in these countries, I always carried bottled water with me, so ended up drinking way more water than I normally would. You also sweat a lot from the heat, so you make an effort to stay hydrated.
6. Chocolates and potato chips are not very popular there. I couldn’t figure out what half of it was, but they seem to snack on dried seafood, fruit and vegetables rather than fried or baked things. When I had a Snickers bar there, the sweetness was nauseating!
7. I walked a lot while I was there, this could be because I was on holiday, but the average Chinese is definitely much more active than your average South African.
8. They eat a proper breakfast, usually the type of dishes you would eat for lunch or dinner. I also spotted a lot of oats in the shops.
All in all, I think Western women can learn some lessons from our Asian counterparts and their eating habits. Time to work on those Dim Sum skills!
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