I have been happily eating carbs in the form of rice (and ramen) in meals that in my opinion are wholesome.
By wholesome, I mean a meal that consists of carbs, protein and vegetables. Korean or Japanese set meals are ideal as they serve a small portion of rice accompanied by a protein and some veggies.
In fact chap fan can also be wholesome depending on what you choose to fill your plate.
This 3 week experiment revealed to me that if I am selective with what I eat, even if it contains carbs, I suffer no ill effects. Combine that with a 20-30 minute walk after the meal, I maintain my weight. My second meal for the day is still all meat.
But of course, it's not just about weight, there are many factors that are also important like inflammation, changes to specific blood markers and physiological effects like energy levels, mental clarity/focus etc.
Although as I said, I did not suffer noticeable ill effects (like I did in the past by reintroducing not-so-wholesome foods which were redolent in carbs/sauces), I can feel the carb load after two weeks in. I don't feel as well as I did when staying off carbs and eating it not so frequently.
This meal I am posting today made me unwell although it was within the "wholesome" category.
I have been avoiding this place because of poor service that I experienced a few years back. But heck, maybe they improved.
They remain popular among the lunch crowd as the tables quickly filled up after I was seated.
The banchans, soup and rice were served quite promptly. But the main dish took forever to come.
The kimchi was rather good.
I dislike processed food like this fishcake.
This daikon kimchi was not bad.
Taugeh is meh.
These brinjals were all right.
This pumpkin looked like it had seen better days. I did not touch it.
I liked the soup. Very flavorsome.
The rice, though it looked soggy, it wasn't.
A whole bunch of veggies which I feel was unnecessary unless if one is having the BBQ. There was another banchan which was a lettuce salad dressed in mayonnaise which I also didn't eat.
I was served this complementary pancake. It was just all right.
The clock was ticking. Fifteen minutes passed and it took three reminders before my main dish was served. I find that highly unacceptable.
Finally the set was complete.
The pork was delicious which at least pacified me after the long wait.
The sauce served on the side was very tasty.
After the meal, I experienced a sharp drop in energy and bloating. I also felt foggy in my head. Walking back to the office I was so fatigued that I could not perform my mall walk.
It must be something in the food that I am sensitive to which made me feel that way. So, I cannot come back here, hence the self imposed ban.
I assume MSG was the ingredient that caused your ill effect?
ReplyDeletePerhaps and also some other seasoning ingredients. It was very bad.
DeleteOnce I wore a CGM (continuous glucose monitor) for 2 weeks.
ReplyDeleteI used to visit the Korean BBQ shop near Baskin Robbins in Uptown and during that few visits with the CGM, my blood sugar spiked each and every time after a meal there.
During those visits I tried avoiding one thing after another that I believed could have spiked my blood sugar (i.e. coleslaw), but whatever I did, there were still sugar spikes after each meals.
After that I concluded maybe my body not very ngam with Korean food.
Perhaps there are hidden sugar in Korean food that I'm not aware of; a friend told me Koreans love using corn syrup instead of sugar as condiments.
Hi there! I know that restaurant. Some Korean dishes and ingredients contain a lot of sugar. For example gochujang sauce is sweet as well as their bulgogi and BBQ sauces. High fructose corn syrup is very bad. Thanks so much for sharing your experience!
DeleteHhhmmm, ya, better to ban the place. Now also I am more careful about what I eat because that day the hot tea was too strong and at night I felt like vomiting but I held it in and didn't vomit.
ReplyDeleteWon't go there anymore, scared already. The tea you had sounds scary. Usually when I felt strong urge to vomit, I will just do it to get rid of whatever toxin that was making me feel that way.
DeleteI'm glad to see you finally eating a balanced meal...which I've always supported. You sound a lot like me now in being very selective of what dishes to eat. I'm surprised to hear you didn't do so well after this Korean meal as I thought this is one of the "safest" bets for us since they're meat-centred with fermented food. Perhaps it's the seasonings they used. Luckily, I don't like gochujang or their BBQ sauces all that much...or bulgogi for that matter! ;D
ReplyDeleteI suspect it's their seasonings that made me unwell. I happen to like gochujang sauce >.<
DeleteThere was once my friend commented that the tea she had at the famous TWG outlet at Marina Bay Sands SG, the tea tasted very very "sharp" or in hokkien very "lai" and she felt uncomfortable drinking it. It is considered an "atas" restaurant but not all foods there are suitable for different dividuals.
ReplyDeleteI agree, foods affect us differently.
DeleteYes it is necessary to have a balanced diet with some carbs, protein, veggies and fruits. Usually after a heavy meal, I will go for a walk to digest my food and which is why I am able to maintain my weight. Some carbs and protein keep us energetic and happy. Veggies and fruits all along we already know they help in digestion in case of constipation and cancer. Mental clarity/focus is to prevent us from becoming senile or at later stages when we get really old, dementia.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing the right thing!
DeleteLet me guess, or did you have quality sleep the night before and did you have your coffee in the morning? Maybe it was the fullness of the meal, lack of sleep and lack of coffee that made you feel the drop in energy level and feel drowsy?
ReplyDeleteYes, I had good sleep and had coffee. It was something in the food that made me unwell.
DeleteSo better ban that place.
DeleteYup not going back there ever.
Delete