Yum, Chinese Food

by Haruhi

Speaking of Chinese, I love the Chinese Buffet. It's cheap and you get full! But is it good for you? I tried some of the exercises on the site. I look about average weight. I weigh 160 pounds and I'm 18 is that really bad? I have a pretty big belly. If i could just loose some weight i could wear last year's jeans (i miss my size 9's).

I like the exercise that's kinda like a hula hoop thing. The squatting one really was tough, i fell over after 40 seconds. I'm terrible but I'm serious, i want to be as skinny as a little girl again! So what about subway and wendy's salads, are they GOOD fast food? That's what i usually get. I like this site though. Thanks for all the good exercises!

Matthew's reply: Hi, traditional Chinese food is healthy, but Chinese food, such as from Chinese restaurants in Western countries may not be - it is often too high in fat and msg and there's too much emphasis on meat. If you choose mostly steamed vegetables, plain rice instead of fried rice, and small portions of lean meat you should be fine.

The exercises you tried on the site will help you but you also need to do some heart-pumping cardio exercise several times a week to burn excess fat. You don't need to run marathons or spend hours in aerobics classes to achieve this - play a sport you like, go bike riding or something similar that you ENJOY. I also recommend using an ab wheel to tighten up your belly and lower abs area.

The fast foods you mentioned - subway and wendy's - can be a healthy way to eat but too much bread, for example, can contribute to excess belly fat. And too much cold raw food such as salads can, according to Chinese dietary therapy, weaken some people's digestive system and contribute to weight problems.

Any questions or comments feel free to post them below.

All the best,

Matthew