Introduction:
you might think you can’t do it yourself because, number one, you love rice, and number two, you’re probably Asian. Believe me, I love rice. I mean, I used to love it even if I haven’t eaten it in more than seven years, and I am also Asian. So yeah, I used to eat so much rice: breakfast, lunch, dinner, sometimes even in the afternoon. There was literally no stopping me, and that’s why I decided to literally have no rice at all instead of reserving it for a cheat day or for the weekend only, because I know I wouldn’t be able to stop myself if I was still taking bites every now and then.
As I thought about the pros and cons, I’ll be able to mention how you can stop eating rice, maybe completely or at least control your intake most of the time.
Con number one:
Adjusting. For more than seven years, I have adjusted because of this diet. I live in the Philippines, so rice is everything for most Filipinos, and it was for me as well. When I stopped eating rice, I had to adjust in so many ways because everyone around me still ate it. When I lived with my family, most of the meals we had were made to be eaten with rice, so basically, I just ate whatever dish we had minus the rice. One of those adjustments was eating out. Almost 90% of the restaurants around me promote meals with rice or on the rice, so I really had to adjust not only my appetite but my mind as well. I didn’t want to give up just because it was difficult since it was everywhere. And alongside adjusting your lifestyle, your body will also have to adjust to the change. For some reason, I didn’t feel weak at all when I didn’t eat rice. Kind of weird, I don’t know, but I know a lot of people who really felt weak when they tried quitting rice for a time because of the lack of carbs and the low blood sugar. We’ll get back to that point later on.
Con number two:
It’s not always budget-friendly. At first, I think this really depends on what country you’re in. Again, I live in the Philippines. Rice meals are usually the cheapest or the most budget-friendly, especially if you want to stay full for hours. You know, the home-cooked meals, rice can save you a lot of money. So every time I eat out, the no-rice option is usually more expensive, and when I go grocery shopping, vegetables can be a bit pricey.
Con number three:
Missing out. Like I said earlier, I live in the Philippines, and most of the meals are paired with rice. I think that’s what hurts the most because there are so many amazing dishes with rice. I personally miss sushi, sushi rolls, chicken avocado garlic rice, and basically any Filipino breakfast dish with rice. Every time I go to a buffet, I feel like I’m missing out so much because there are so many good sushi rolls just sitting there. But that’s the price I have to pay.
Now we move on to the pros, which are kind of solutions to the cons that I mentioned, and at the same time, I’ll be talking about how you can stop eating rice as well.
Pro number one:
Better health. This probably doesn’t apply to everyone because rice is actually a good source of carbohydrates, especially brown rice. It can give you more energy, but if you are someone who regularly eats white rice in large amounts, avoiding or quitting rice can be a lot better for your health. White rice doesn’t have that much sugar, but it spikes up our blood sugar, which in the long run isn’t that good for you. It can also vary on how fast your metabolism is, but for me, not eating rice has helped me stay in the appropriate weight for my age and height because I really love to eat. I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m that fit, but like I said earlier, if I didn’t stop eating rice, I probably would be in very bad shape today. I still eat other types of carbs like bread and noodles, and I still eat a lot of carbs, but I don’t eat them for every meal, so I feel like I still get that balance. Because if I was still eating rice, I would be eating a lot for every single meal. So if you want to cut down on eating rice, I suggest you do it gradually, like one cup per meal for a week, then on the following week, two cups a day, and then on the following week, one cup a day, but maybe have it on weekends only or on special occasions until you can cut it out completely if you want to.
Pro number two: It can be budget-friendly. Since my stomach wasn’t looking for the fullness that rice gave, my body got used to not eating so much for every meal. So, like when I eat out, I don’t always eat a lot. At the same time, when I grocery shop, I choose to buy vegetables to be the sides of whatever proteins I’m going to cook that week. Some vegetables are pretty pricey, but if you research and look around, there are actually vegetables that are affordable and are very healthy substitutes for rice. I find that potatoes are very cheap, and they are also very filling because they’re high in fiber. Squash is also very affordable and tastes really good if you cook it right. So I guess you can start—oh my god, it’s raining really hard—so I guess you can start buying those if you decide on cutting down.
Pro number three:
A whole new world. If missing out is the con of not eating rice, I think the new dishes that I’ve tried that I used to miss out on compensate for that. And I think there are dishes that I would have never tried if I didn’t stop eating rice: pastas, ramen, sandwiches, vegetables. I feel like I just mentioned rice substitutes, but still.So if you are going to cut down on rice, I really encourage you to go out and try new dishes, and maybe you may even find new favorites.
So that’s pretty much it. I hope this helped, especially if you are on the verge of deciding whether to cut down rice or not. I guess it really depends on you and whatever situation you’re in. Maybe it’s for your health. Basically, the only weird thing that happens to me is that I have nightmares of accidentally eating rice and breaking my streak. But anyway, that’s just me. But yeah, that’s just the weird thing about this diet and what it’s doing to me. So anyway, thank you for watching this video. I hope it helped in some way. Feel free to leave a comment down below about this topic or anything in general if you want to. I really would like to hear your thoughts. Please subscribe if you haven’t and click the notification bell.