Rice & the gi diet

I am trying to lose weight. According to this book I just bought, my BMI needs to go down from 27.3 to about 24.8. I’m not in the health risk zone, but I’m definitely not at my ideal weight. So this book about the Gi diet is pretty straightforward, had lots of recipes, and has a chart that groups foods into red, yellow, or green. I’ve already started excercising regularly for a few months now so if I follow the guidelines in this book, I should be losing a pound a week. It all sounds do-able until…oh jeez, jasmine rice is in the red group!

Rice in any Thai person’s home has to be jasmine rice. I have probably been eating Jasmine rice since I had teeth. It is just unheard of to buy any other type of rice. I had a roommate in college who bought American rice. My mother came to visit, saw this American rice in the cupboard and had an absolute fit. “What is this doing in here? You bought this? You eat this?” I swore to her that I never once ate a single grain of that inferior rice.

Jasmine rice is distinctive, it has a softer texture than other rice and has just the right amount of stickiness to it. Its taste blends perfectly with the flavors of Thai curries, soups or stir-fries. My favorite thing about jasmine rice is the smell. It has such a soft, pleasing smell. It is one of those smells that makes a house feel like a home. I have gone without Jasmine rice before. When I was a student, I spent 3 months as an exchange student in Japan. Japanese people think that Japanese rice is the best in the world. I like Japanese rice and I think it is perfect for sushi, but it is not the best in the world. The Japanese are just, unfortunately, a little misguided because Thai rice is the best in the world.

So Step 2 of this Gi diet is to “clear out the cupboards” of all red- and yellow-light products. I have an unopened 5kg bag of jasmine rice in my cupboard which I guess is going to be donated to the local homeless shelter. I have already bought some basmati rice, which is a green light product (along with wild, brown, and long grain rice). Of course I will never completely eliminate jasmine rice from my diet, but I really want to get into shape so I think that jasmine rice will have to take on a less familiar role in my life. This is worse than the day I realized I had become lactose intolerant. Sad, sad day.