A few days back I cooked jeera rice for my youtube. I knew it was healthy but wondered if jeera rice was also good for weight loss. After a bit of research, this is what I found.
Jeera rice is not an empty calorie food and so is good for weight loss. A single serving of jeera rice provides up to 300 calories along with essential nutrients. It is high in carbs so be less generous with the serving size.
However, one must understand how to consume jeera rice correctly in order to maximize its weight loss benefits.
How to consume Jeera Rice the right way for weight loss?
To know if the jeera rice you are cooking/ordering is good for weight loss perform the following steps:
Step 1:Find the following numbers
- How many calories and nutrients are there in the jeera rice?
- How much are your daily calorie and nutrient requirement?
Step 2: Answer the following questions:
- Are the calories in your portion size of jeera rice within your daily calorie limit?
- Are the nutrients in your portion size of jeera rice providing your essential daily nutrients requirement?
If you answered yes, to both the above questions then you are eating jeera rice the right way and it will not negatively affect your weight loss effort.
Also, please read the disclaimer.
Let us apply the above knowledge.
Step 1:
How many calories and nutrients are there in the jeera rice?
If you want to know how I got the numbers then please watch this video.
If you do not know the calorie and nutrient info and rely on guesswork then you’ll struggle to achieve your weight loss goal. Also, please do not use any app to count calories and nutrients. Watch this video to know the reason.
How much are your daily calorie and nutrient requirement?
Please visit this link and return after calculating your daily calorie and nutrient requirement.
Note:
What is the difference between calories and kilocalories?
The “calorie” we refer to in food is actually kilocalorie. One (1) kilocalorie is the same as one (1) Calorie (upper case C). A kilocalorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water one degree Celsius.
For example purpose, I am assuming a dummy set of numbers here.
Daily Calorie Requirement: 2511 Kcal
Daily Carb Requirement: 1501 Kcal
Daily Protein Requirement: 314 Kcal
Daily Fat Requirement: 691 Kcal
Step 2:
Before you answer the questions, be ready with the numbers.
Assume you consume three meals each day. This is my preferred and recommended eating pattern (Brunch, Evening snack, Dinner).
Calculate your entire day’s jeera rice consumption i.e how many servings you consumed in each meal.
E.g. you consumed 1 serving in Brunch and ½ serving in Dinner.
Hence,
Total calories: 445
Carbs: 292 Calories ( 73 gm)
Proteins: 28 Calories (7 gm)
Fats: 126 Calories (14 gm)
Are the calories in your portion size of jeera rice within your daily calorie limit? Yes!
Are the nutrients in your portion size of jeera rice providing your essential daily nutrients requirement? Yes!
Voila! You are eating jeera rice the way to lose weight.
Hence, if eaten the right way (no empty calorie food + controlled serving size) jeera rice is good for weight loss.
If you struggle to understand how all the numbers used above make sense then, please watch my Free Smart Healthy-Eating Program. It will give you a solid understanding of the healthy-eating principles and remove the guesswork from your food choices i.e. you’ll intuitively know if a food item is right for weight loss or not.
I can guess your doubts:
- it sounds ideal on the paper
- we have to look at all the food items that we eat throughout the day and then do the calculations.
You are right! However, objectively speaking, is jeera rice good for weight loss then it is. I do not see why you cannot have jeera rice for weight loss.
Nevertheless, you can see that losing weight is not dependent on one item. And that is what I wanted you to conclude.
How to consume Jeera Rice to maximize your weight loss efforts?
You should educate yourself about the calories and nutrients in food before deciding if it is good for weight loss or not.
The equation to lose weight is very simple! Create a calorie deficit i.e. The total calories consumed should be less than the total calories used i.e. Calories In < Calories Out
The above statement suggests that you can literally eat any food as long as you stay within your calorie limits.
However, the ground reality is not always as rosy as the theory suggests.
Be aware of the below-mentioned concerns and adapt your meals accordingly to maximize your weight loss efforts.
1. Jeera rice is high in carbs
If a food item is high in carbs doesn’t mean you cannot have it to lose weight. Nevertheless, you have to be careful that you do not overindulge in it. Also, carbs should provide the bulk of your daily energy requirement and hence they are inherently not bad. [ I see the keto folks frowning there but I don’t agree with the keto principles anyway. Let’s have a debate if you will 😉 ]
The carbs that you do not burn get converted to fat and that is where the problem is. If you can burn carbs then it doesn’t matter how much you consume them.
“Carbohydrates should be your body’s main source of energy in a healthy, balanced diet.
They’re broken down into glucose (sugar) before being absorbed into your blood. The glucose then enters your body’s cells with the help of insulin.
Glucose is used by your body for energy, fuelling your activities, whether that’s going for a run or simply breathing.
Unused glucose can be converted to glycogen, which is found in the liver and muscles.
If more glucose is consumed than can be stored as glycogen, it’s converted to fat for long-term storage of energy.”
If your profession demands heavy physical activity then you have to consume a large number of carbs. E.g. if you are a farmer, carpenter, outdoor/infield salesperson, etc. Hence, you cannot have a blanket rule that carbs are bad.
You have to analyze your lifestyle and based on it make a wise decision.
2. Jeera rice is clubbed with other items
You usually do not consume jeera rice as a standalone item. It is usually clubbed with another gravy item like Rajma, Matar Paneer, etc. [Rajma -> Kidney Beans; Matar -> Green Peas; Paneer -> Cottage Cheese]
Hence you will have to consider the combined calorie count to get an accurate idea.
3. Jeera Rice has a high Glycemic Index (GI)
This suggests that your body converts the carbs in jeera rice into glucose faster than other carbs. This is another reason you have to control your serving size. This doesn’t mean it is an empty calorie food. It simply means compared to other carb sources the carbs from jeera rice will burn faster. It is still a healthy source of carbohydrates.
Unprocessed rice is a whole grain and so jeera rice made with it is any day superior to bread, pasta, or noodles.
We take things out of context and make a judgment and this leads to incorrect results. Yes, rice is high in GI but analyze your entire day’s meal and see how big a culprit is rice. Don’t ignore any beverage like chai/coffee, any snack like bhelpuri/sandwich, any sweet juice, any sauce or pickle or chutney, etc. You’ll realize that in most cases your rice consumption is absolutely normal. It is the other eating and lifestyle habits that are causing you to remain overweight.
A regular serving of rice will not negatively affect your weight loss effort and on the contrary, is good for your health.
If you find Jeera Rice tasty then it will help you to lose weight! Why? How?
If you like the taste of Jeera Rice then you can stick to it longer. If you select food items purely from a weight loss point of view without you really liking their taste then there is a low chance of you sticking to them for long. Eventually, you will return to your old eating habits.
If you like the taste of jeera rice then let it be one of your go-to weight loss items. Monitor that you don’t consume in excess and you will definitely lose weight.
Please don’t get lost in all the numbers and rules. Bottom line is that if you derive energy from nutrients instead of empty calories then you are good. The only task left is that you do not eat more than required. Period!
Equipped with the above knowledge you should now be able to make a decision on how you can consume jeera rice based on your lifestyle to maximize your weight loss effort.
Happy Eating!!