Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

[LondonGirl!]

Hi all,

My friend has just had some good news and wants to go out for a meal at a chinese resturant to celebrate. I know the obvious things to stay away from, but I need some suggestions with what to order!

When I did atkins years ago, I used to eat crispy seaweed (which I believe is actually cabbage), dry spare ribs and chicken satay sticks (dry without the heavey sauce) or Egg foo yung.

Does anyone know if msg is carby?

Any other suggestions would be welcome!

LG

[imagood1]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

I don't know about where you live but where I live you can order "Mongolian Bar-B-Que". You go through a line and pick meat & veggies you want and they prepare it either cooked in water or dry -- you also pick the spices you want on top.

I'd stay away from MSG -- ask for your meal to be made without it -- if you want to enhance the flavor of your food use a small amount of salt to enhance it.

I would order steamed veggies (no rice or noodles) and maybe egg drop soup. Here is a thread about Chinese food that was posted earlier this year that may help also:

http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard.com/forums/main-atkins-diet-forum/74106-dim-sum.html

[appleshake]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Hi there!!!
i thought the crispy seaweed had sugar on it, not to sure on that one so don't quote me!!! how about sliced fried beef with chilli and vegetables? I think most Chinese restaurants do some sort of meat stir fried with veggies!! omelette too! Every time i have entered a Chinese restaurant being on Atkins the Egg fried rice gets the better of me!!! Have a lovely time whatever you decide to eat x

[msanjelpie]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

MSG causes a very large insulin response after it is ingested since there are glutamate receptors in the pancreas which increases cravings... try to avoid it like the plague...

[Momtofour]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

My standard is Mandarin egg foo yung with no rice, sauce, baby corn, or peas. They add extra broccoli for me too.

[LondonGirl!]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Hi all,

Just to let you know, I must have chosen wisely because my ketostix are still dark purple! I had the seaweed (which i think is covered in salt) and ribs without sauce. I asked them not to put any msg on it, which they said was okay - but as they brought it over she said that they already had msg on them. I thought it was lesser of two evils given that I was STARVING and sat at a table full of rice and noodles, so I ate them any way. Glad it hasn't kicked me out of ketosis!

LG

[imagood1]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Hi all,

Just to let you know, I must have chosen wisely because my ketostix are still dark purple! I had the seaweed (which i think is covered in salt) and ribs without sauce. I asked them not to put any msg on it, which they said was okay - but as they brought it over she said that they already had msg on them. I thought it was lesser of two evils given that I was STARVING and sat at a table full of rice and noodles, so I ate them any way. Glad it hasn't kicked me out of ketosis!

LG

the color of the sticks means nothing -- if there is color you are in keotsis. The dark color could be from dehydration -- make sure you are drinking a minimum of 64 ounces of PURE water daily.

Next time see if you can pick the place to eat - that way you can have an easier time staying legal.

[LondonGirl!]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

I've had 3 litres of water today (I'm taking part in the water challenge) so I know I'm definitely not dehydrated!

If I had the choice it would have been somewhere else, but I'm not going to inflict my diet on my friends! Also, if this diet is going to be sustainable then I need to learn how to live throughout all the stages.

LG

[Georgiana]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Just a note here. If you ever eat something that has the potential to kick you out of ketosis, the ketones won't simply disappear from your body. You will be peeing them for a while, because excess ketones might still be "floating" around. If you stay on track after that meal, you might get back to ketosis before you finish peeing those excess ketones you had from before the "illegal" meal, so you will never notice you went out of ketosis. Many people don't realize this and after a cheat they are proud they weren't kicked out of ketosis, when in fact they were, but the stix didn't show it since they had left over ketones from before.

Your meal was a good choice given the options, but watch for cravings and be prepared with some "legal" foods in case you run into trouble. Also, for newbies here, seaweed is an OWL Rung 1 food, not an Induction food (check the lists of acceptable veggies in DANDR 2002).

Good job drinking all that water!

[LondonGirl!]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Thanks Georgiana,

Your info about slipping in and out of ketosis was very interesting, i didn't know that! I suppose that what I take from this is that I was lucky enough to either not slip out of ketosis or slip back into it very quickly! I don't regularly go to Chinese restaurants, but its important to me that I can continue my life as normal(-ly as possible) whilst doing this!

I don't understand why the seaweed would not be allowed... Over here its basically fried cabbage with salt sprinkled on it, and cabbage is on the acceptable list on induction...?

[not2late]

Re: Help! I'm going for a Chinese meal!

Thanks Georgiana,

Your info about slipping in and out of ketosis was very interesting, i didn't know that! I suppose that what I take from this is that I was lucky enough to either not slip out of ketosis or slip back into it very quickly! I don't regularly go to Chinese restaurants, but its important to me that I can continue my life as normal(-ly as possible) whilst doing this!

I don't understand why the seaweed would not be allowed... Over here its basically fried cabbage with salt sprinkled on it, and cabbage is on the acceptable list on induction...?

It depends on how it is prepared. If the quality of the food isn't what it should be, then chefs have a tendency to add something to make it taste better. For example, if garden peas aren't as fresh, chefs will add a bit of sugar to give the diner the impression that the peas are fresh and to enhance the flavor.

Also the chef might not add additional sugar or starch, but the sauces, marinades, etc. may contain sugar. For example, mirin is often used in Japanese cookery. Mirin is a sweetened rice wine. So you might tell the chef not to add any sugar, but he might still add mirin not thinking when you said no added sugar, you meant the typical sauces and condiments too.

But all in all, you did your best with your food choices.