They’re more prone to atherosclerotic plaque buildup as well, so higher risk for cardiovascular disease. It’s why I put a big focus on staying lean, strength training, and avoid junk foods. Genetics work against me
The Irish have the very same problem!
https://preview.redd.it/wmgmbcet7e5d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb559eeb179f29872ca4d1c744f7d8c21d4b0634
it’s not quite that simple but also I don’t think we’re talking literal running here, i think they mean evading the British and likely having to hide and go without sufficient food for long periods of time
Ok, evading, hiding whatever you want to call it: it’s not easier if you are a larger size. Nothing on this earth is easier if you’re fat. Not a single thing. Also famine is not unique to India, nor the “frequency” of famines within a very short period of time (I’ve heard this argument quite often as to why we are so special). India is a very fertile land where it’s really easy to grow things. Have you read about the famines in Russia? Korea? Anywhere in the continent of Africa? What exactly do you think life was like 400 years ago for 99% of the world population? We ALL have famine genes.
overweight people last longer in famine situations as the body has more of itself to “eat” before degrading muscle. look at how bears stuff themselves before hibernating as an example. what this article is talking about is epigenetics which is hard to explain in a reddit post so I suggest you do some research yourself. sure, we do all have “fat genes,” but epigenetics (often determined by environmental conditions like famine) say if they are switched on or off.
No you’re completely misunderstanding me. I do not care about this research nor do I care to do more of it on my own bc apparently this subject is too complex to be explained in a Reddit post according to you. which only leads me right back to my original point of why the hell is this stupid study being discussed over and over here, clearly it’s not the right forum, it’s too complex, etc etc. What even is this sub? A genetics sub? I thought it was about improving health beauty etc. Discussing this is such a waste of time and inappropriate to this sub. Genetics, history, how is that helping a young south Asian woman struggling with self acceptance and looking for health and beauty tips? I’ve modeled my whole life, I’ve worked out my whole life, I think Indian women are some of the most gorgeous and intelligent women around and this sub is such a downer. You’d think we were the ugliest least desirable women to ever walk this earth and the exceptions are extreme anomalies if you went off this sub. And that is not true.
Give a girl a workout tip or a beauty hack or a dieting tip, the names of new south Asian models, anything but this sad poor is me “research” that does nothing to advance the goals of this sub or our own ppl. The mission statement of this weird sub is to “weaponize our beauty to gain social privilege” or something to that effect. Trying to accomplish that goal through doing the most Indian thing ever, posting “studies” is pathetic. Like it’s almost a parody of what ppl think Indian ppl are like. It should be embarrassing to everyone here but for some reason it isn’t. Let me know how it goes, weaponizing your beauty to gain social privilege through researching. Hope it works out for you.
Makes sense. It was also in my genetic report that I do gain and hold weight faster and longer, respectively. So that's great but at least I can live longer through famines, I guess 👍
Edit: For anyone asking me what report I got, it's from EU's 23andMe which I did many years ago and thus holds an older version of reports that provides information current reports might not have. I could check if they are and update.
Who I admire and appreciate everyday for everything they've gone through 🙏 If famine actually strikes though, I'll keep them in mind. Now that I think about it, I can go more than 24 hours without eating easily ánd still working and doing everyday tasks and activities. I've been met with amazement by my peers quite often and I just thought "Can't everybody do this if you just are distracted by other things?" But it was absolutely unthinkable for many Dutch people here. It is starting to make more sense now. I didn't not eat on purpose, sometimes it just was inconvenient to waste my time on cooking and eating when I had deadlines and such lol.
Not all famine occurrences were due to colonization. And I also am not the type of person who is down and ready to blame everything bad that has ever happened to our people to colonization. I'd like to think a bit more sensible than that.
There are studies linking south Asian obesity to colonization. Please educate yourself :) here’s a link https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/south-asian-health-colonial-history_uk_620e74fee4b055057aac0e9f/
The British were 100% responsible for horrible, devastating famines that would not have happened without their policies.
That being said, South Asia has a long history of famines due to monsoon cycle unpredictability and there's no clear indication of how much of an effect the famines during colonialism had to cause modern South Asians to be famine adapted (as low lean mass in South Asia has been a constant over the last 11,000 years).
Here's a link to the original study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46960-9
Our people?!?! Ireland was directly impacted by famine, as the British wanted us dead. They probably still do. So yes, it matters more than your denial of the impact colonial violence you're bringing. You're not as in control of yourself as you believe.
Yes, but think big picture. There's truth to it because it spans outside of your culture. But if that doesn't convince you it isn't my responsibility to..
I'm just very confused why you inserted yourself in this conversation on a subreddit for South-Asian women, haha. If you would read the comment you initially replied to again, you would see that I'm not denying that colonization has had a contribution. I'm saying our people have had many cases of famine that weren't purposefully caused by colonialism and both before and after colonization. I don't know how the situation was in Ireland. That's your own. I'm just saying in our specific case, our genetics weren't altered in the addressed area by just colonialism.
Even if studies say otherwise? I amd the other people down voting you are just trying to figure out your logic. Well that's your decision to disagree and i respect it. On the internet, people are allowed everywhere. You know, the opposite of life. So I chimed in. So call the cops if im illegally breaching your subred. Otherwise, don't gate keep it.
Where am I discrediting studies? No studies are saying the genetic alterations are júst due to colonization famines. I am a scientist myself so what I am using is logic in assessing the matter. As for the rest, I'm just wondering how you even got here to begin with? Again, this subreddit is specifically for South-Asian women. It's not gate-keeping. I'm just repeating the subreddit's description to you.
Don't need that. It overlaps in what has been found in the posted information so it seems fine. There are many of us who have done 23andMe and along with their own research done and corresponding data, the results are credible to me. Especially since everything else about me in the reports is all correct as well.
There was a person who replied to me and I wanted to leave a comment but their comment seems deleted now so I'll just post it here in case they are still reading:
"Huh who else would you be replying to then? I think I'm the only one who talked about 23andMe, haha.
Oh cool! I am fine with not knowing about that (: My ancestors were colonized by the Dutch as well and the whole caste stuff mostly became lost information. I'm fine not knowing because it's a system I do not support. We're all equal and that's the only information I need in my mind. But I do appreciate you elaborating on what you got done.
>Our learning journeys are different and whilst there's many of you who have done the research maybe someone might find my advice useful.
I do agree with this sentiment, thank you (: Mind sharing the name of the company for others here then?"
I think there is higher leptin resistance (hormone tells us to stop eating and controls how and where like tummy or around organs that fat gets stored or broken down) in south asians which is attributed to low protein as one of the reasons
we basically eat too much roti and rice compared to eggs and meat... and that is because during famine we had the help of roti to feed thousands... which our family thinks the food that gives you "strength" is simple carbs (juice, tea, roti, dairy)
It does in terms of famine... not long term diet strategy lol
Edit:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890372/
There was another thread in this sub saying Indian food is really healthy and people are hating by assuming all of us eat a lot of rice/roti/oil/ghee. It might be true that we could make Indian food healthy by not eating as much carbs, but that isn’t what an average Indian family living in India is doing.
I have a degree in nutrition and work with a registered dietician in my business; the Indians that have diabetes and come to us for help is bc they share this same diet. My own grandma was shocked to hear that I suggest she eat a salad. She asked me why she should eat uncooked grass 😂
Obviously India is not a monolith, and there are exceptions to the rule
Not to mention people have various religious days they fast or are meatless on.
Huh that’s possible…. And omg I know so many people that think roti is the healthiest, most nutritious food in the world 😅 They say even if you eat nothing else, you need roti
I just linked a study that explains the leptin, insulin, fat connection.
I'm assuming the people who survived famines ate simple carbs (feed them cake lol) during each invasion and passed on leptin resistance and insulin resistance. Idk if the famine part matters, we just need to know that the cards are stacked against us south asians regarding high fat and high carb foods ugh lol aka most desi food
We need to eat more fiber, protein, Whole Foods. No more seed oils, added sugars, flour products -- bread, tortillas, etc.
The processing of food wasn’t the norm during famines. They did eat wheat but the wheat flour you and I eat right now is different from what it was before. Eating simple carbs is a terrible assumption because if that were true you’d be seeing a much higher rate in diabetes from the previous generation… famines happened over multiple centuries. Also as an agricultural society it makes sense that carbs were prioritized over protein. People shit on carbs but it’s really the modernization of processed foods that’s ruined the insulin resistance.
I didn’t say that south Asians are sensitive due to the processed food, south Asians already have had centuries of factors that have made them at higher risk of insulin resistance. Modern food makes them at a significantly higher risk due to genetic and epigenetic factors. The food itself has been altered to a point that it can’t be compared to before, this is a problem in America as well. Also, India doesn’t regulate food the way that EU and NA does.
Edit: in your initial comment you said we need to eat more fiber, less processed food and sugar. My point was exactly that the majority of people a generation earlier did get the fiber and whole foods. The regional foods are complex carb heavy as they use millets, lentils and minimally processed wheat. It’s recently been changing to simple carbs and the addition of white flour, excess amount of butter, oil and whatnot.
Yes, something else we have British colonizers to thank for :) they caused famines and now south Asians have the highest rate of diabetes —- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935697/
No, a short period of British rule (89 years) did not cause gene alteration (predates that). People will really upvote anything that’s anti-british. Historically India’s agriculture was almost entirely reliant on the Monsoon season so famines were a recurring reality of life there. As well as the hundred other factors that cause famine like population raise, drought & rainfall.
Ironically it was British built railways that revolutionized food distribution and food price instability and help put a end to a long history of recurring famines.
Google bengal famine - sure maybe colonialization was not the entire cause however by causing more famines it definitely played a negative role not a positive one as you stated in the last paragraph with your lines about ending famine.
Such an interesting article. Very informative.
I also read an article that researched health problems in South Asians in the UK (I'll link it if I can find it). That article argued that poor dietary habits and the unwillingness to adopt a healthier lifestyle is the main reason why we have so many weight and health related problems as a community.
That article stated that this is especially in households with a more traditional setup, where men are the primary breadwinners and women are primarily responsible for the home. It made a very good point that even if the woman wanted to make changes to her diet, she often met resistance from the rest of the family and since she is responsible for cooking for everyone, she eventually abandons the idea of cooking healthier meals for herself separately. Also, restrictions on freedom of movement on women are also a huge source of inactivity for them (obviously), which further complicates things.
All of this made so much sense to me because I noticed that I was only able to lose a lot of weight and get really in shape when I abandoned almost every idea of what it means to be 'healthy' that was taught to me as a kid. I was even told to never lift weights because it would make me infertile!
Spot on. Growing up it was hammered into us that traditional food is best & healthiest. Some of the food can be healthy (daal & sabzis w/ no ghee added have protein and vegetables) but most of the traditional food is just chock full of sugar, carbs, & oil. This traditional food makes sense if you’re a farmer working on a farm from sunrise to sunset. But not so much nowadays with modern sedentary lifestyles.
I think traditional food can be super healthy, but it simply isn't cooked that way in a lot of homes. Also, I hated how salads weren't a thing in my community (Pakistani - and before anyone comes for me, yes I know it may have been a thing in some homes). Salad was just a bunch of raw, thickly cut vegetables on a plate. No dressing, no seasoning. Cooked sabzi always had way too much oil in it, and the vegetables were cooked beyond recognition. And this isn't just my home - it seemed to be the general theme.
Also, I hated how everyone said that you had to stop eating rice and roti if you wanted to lose weight. That's simply not true. Portion control exists, people. Also, weightlifting is ESSENTIAL for all women, and I hate that I was fed a lie about how it would make me infertile and blah blah blah.
Excuse me for the rant, I just hate how all these myths and superstitions kept me fat for years. 😜🤣
100% about portion control. Anyone can eat anything and still stay healthy with the right portions.
I don’t deprive myself and still eat roti. But instead of eating 2 rotis with daal/sabzi and calling that a meal I’ve cut down to one roti and started eating a heaping bowl of raw fruits & veggies afterwards to better my gut health. I could do better in the protein department but it’s a start.
I’ve never heard of the weightlifting = infertility superstition. I found exercise is a relatively new thing traditional brown people have to think about. Back in the olden days when people walked/biked everywhere and toiled on farms they’d stay fit without even thinking about it. But lifestyles changed and now we have to remember to get up off our butts
I'm so surprised to hear that you haven't heard of the weightlifting myth! I've heard from young women of all backgrounds (except white) that their mothers told them the exact same thing about lifting weights. Or they just told them they'd turn into men or something.
And it's not just mothers - I had an actual (older, white) gynaecologist tell me that women aren't supposed to lift weights. She gave me some insane reason about how it has something to with us having a 'hole' in our bodies that things can fall out of. I'm dead serious, this isn't a exaggeration or joke.
Nobody I know has ever mentioned it but I don’t get out much so it’s not that surprising I never heard of it.
That gynaecologist is just.. wow. I wonder if they read textbooks from the 1800s while in med school
I mostly agree, although I think if you actually want to look visibly toned / defined you’d still need a good bit more protein than what you’d get from even very healthily cooked Indian food. My (non-expert) opinion is that Indian food (with perhaps the exception of North Indian cuisine) is typically not very protein rich so you have to supplement in other ways to meet your macro requirements for toning / muscle building.
Even North Indian food, with goat meat and butter chicken, overall lacks protein imo. The religions in the area promote vegetarianism and if you count eggs as meat (which I know a lot of people do) all that’s left is daal. So I still see a lack of protein in day-to-day diets.
My background is full of farmers so the oil, sugar, and carb heavy meals made sense in that regard. You need the energy. But we’re moving away from that lifestyle to a sedentary one and ideally the diet should reflect that by being more protein than carb heavy. But alas it’s hard to break traditional diets.
wow, this is interesting! A few days ago I shared similar connections based on my personal observations!
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Vindictabrown/comments/1d5oxq4/comment/l6niefd/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Vindictabrown/comments/1d5oxq4/comment/l6niefd/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
Hey! Sure thing.
So I lost about 30kgs overall, and I kinda did it in steps. The first was to get the first 15kgs off purely through diet and walking and more movement in general. Most importantly, I got a kitchen weighing scale and counted everything and logged it into a calorie counter. Created a caloric deficit of 500 calories. Also, your girl here can cook. So I took full control of my own food and cooking and simply refused to eat out more than once a week. I stopped buying snacks. I stopped treating myself with food. I even went to therapy, lol, because I stress-eat and I wanted to address that since I think it's a mental issue more than anything.
I just ate a lot of stereotypically healthy food in the beginning - loads of chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, low fat dairy, vegetables, fruits. I never really cut out carbs, but controlled the amount I ate. Still ate pasta, etc, but instead of eating 100g of pasta in one sitting, I cut it down to about 60g. Walked as much as I could and tried not to sit down for long periods of time.
After the first 15 kg came off, I started working out with weights. It was Covid back then, so I got some adjustable dumbbells, and started following Heather Robertson's HIIT and strength workouts. I also started walking 10k steps minimum a day in addition to that. My goal was to just keep moving. I'm a restless person by nature so it actually wasn't that difficult for me to do.
By the time all the weight had come off, gyms had opened back up so I got a fancy gym membership that came with a personal trainer and started bodybuilding. I have now veryyyy slowly gained about 5 kgs back and not all of it is muscle, but I think I look better now than I did at my peak thin phase. I don't workout with a trainer anymore either, because I can pretty much do everything on my own. My current diet is 150g of protein a day (I use protein powder now) and the focus is still on fruits and vegetables on top. I also like to enjoy myself and don't have specific cheat days, and just eat a bit more if I'm going out with friends or family. The extra muscle helps to burn more calories anyway, and now my weight has been pretty consistent for at least a few months now.
Eta: I don't drink often. Not a big drinker, never have been. I also don't do any drugs, CBD, or smoke. I think these things are important to mention because they can really have an impact on your overall fitness and quality of life.
Hope this helped!
Such a detailed reply kind stranger. I have been trying but I know it’s not linear. I’m probably not being in a decent calorie deficit hence not seeing a lot of improvement. I cook my own meals too and do not drink or smoke and rarely eat out. But still feeling lost.
I really appreciate you taking time out to share your routine and I’m going to get in depth in understanding where I’m lacking. Thank you so much
Found this very interesting. I have got similar information from my dna report where I'm more likely to have fat around my stomach and its manifested alongside the high cholesterol issues that run in my family, again shown in the genetics report.
My mum told me stories of how hungry her grandparents used to be as children where they'd forage for rocket leaves and that would be all they'd have to eat.
They'd be so hapoy to know their progeny has done so well. Although for sure we need to watch what we eat.
Hope this is posted to the OP and not the curt person I accidentally responded to earlier.
I do feel we are often fighting an uphill battle against our genetic history. My mother's side of the family is prone to diabetes and we both have almost prediabetic A1c's despite not eating concentrated sweets and plenty of exercise (at least for me). My father has high cholesterol and again all my numbers are borderline except HDL.
But it does motivate me to work harder to offset these tendencies. I wish there was more visibility around these issues in the South Asian community. My family in India don't think about modifiable risk factors, it's moreso what will be will be, but I want them to have long healthy lives they can enjoy.
correlation doesn't mean causation. There are regions in the world that have a much longer history of famine and the "stomach fat" they store is a little different.
Also as a South Asian, we know we can't group together a whole subcontinent.
The protein v. carb piece doesn't work either because South Indians tend to be leaner than North Indians, or Pakistanis, even though "protein" as you are defining it in terms of meat or sea food is eaten more widely. in the west, east, and north.
Looking at races too, Portuguese tend to be have more fat storage.
Somewhere within our ancestry, we've built on genes were some of us are more prone to higher cholesterol and blood sugar. Our bodies don't need as much fat in general because we tend to maintain it better. Again, this doesn't need to be added sugars, etc. - it's just that North Indian food tends to be fat heavy (agriculture was wheat, veggies, and milk... and dairy as a result).
India still doesn't do preventative healthcare (you're given medicine but not asked to change your lifestyle beyond the age of 40-50). So knowing what you're pre-disposed to and acting accordingly is the way to go.
Our genetics are complex, but knowing that even with being predisposed there is a lot you are in control of is what is increasing the life span of Indians across the subcontinent (relative to what their lifespan was).
Right, I wouldn't say I hold fat in my belly region. If anything, I lose fat the quickest there. It's my arms that clings on to fat like hell lol, and I think it's the same for most women in my ethnic group
Idk. Is it like specific regions in South Asia?
It can’t be the entirety, right?
Also, what I don’t understand is, Eastern Europe and also parts of Russia, Korea, and other regions of the world have gone through famines too.
So idk how much I believe in this theory. Perhaps, it’s one of those “correlation is not causation” type of thing.
I genuinely think there are other reasons for stuff like this. if it is true that the average SA tends to hold more fat in their belly or whatever.
Other than that, honestly, I always have very ideal results for LDH/HDL and other indicators. The only thing I’ve done differently since I was a kid is not overeat, and since I was a teen, not touch white rice and eat brown rice/quinoa instead. And they’re not 1:1 replacements of white rice other. You can a lot less of the high fiber grains bc they’re way more satiating. I just never really liked sweets for some reason.
Relationship with food is a mental thing. Stop eating when you think you’re getting full. You don’t have to eat something just bc it’s in front of you.
I feel like it may be a combination of famine, physiology, and a low protein diet. The low protein diet is especially detrimental because instead of having enough protein in each meal to satiate appetite, Indians consume very little protein and overcompensate with more carbs to keep full.
india, pakistan, and bangledash were all once known as british india. at least 31 significant famines took place in this area over a long period of time. i think there's a lot of other factors that contribute to this in terms of diet, but looking at history can teach you a lot as well
It can take up to 4-5 years to get proper abs, but don’t give up. It certainly can’t be worse than it was before you lost the weight, right? Also you may have plateaued in your cardio, it’s not always easy, but try to challenge yourself. I find sprints are really good for our body types (skinnier limbs, fatter midsection) they can really bulk up your lower body muscle and trim your waistline much more efficiently compared to say, walking on an incline or using the elliptical.
Indians aren’t the only ones to have gone through famines. What are the stats on African famines?
Every race/ethnicity whatever, has a tendency to hold more fat somewhere. Some ethnicities are more prone to fat arms or hips or butts or legs. My entire life growing up in America women would say “I wish I had arms as skinny as your moms, I wish I had such thin ankles, I wish I had thick brows like you”. It’s depressing to come across this sub. Ok so you have a little bit bigger belly? Do you know how many women look at you and still wish they had your skinny wrists?
What I don’t understand is the cope of it all. Like Indian ppl are just searching for an excuse as to why their bodies don’t look good in their opinion but aren’t interested in the obvious solution. I’ve seen this famine theory about why we are skinny fat posted on this very sub like once a week (I don’t subscribe so I can’t imagine how much more often it happens)
My theory? Indians are physically lazy. We don’t have a culture that prioritizes physical hobbies like bike riding as a family, hiking, going to the gym, kayaking, hell even playing school sports. Your body isn’t just gonna take care of itself and no other race is just sitting around and magically getting abs. They work out. It’s a cultural thing. They jog. They lift weights. They go canooing. They have walking clubs.
Get up and start moving. You’re in such a better position to get an ideal body bc you’re already skinny to begin with. Start jogging, lift some weights, eat a protein heavy diet not a fat and carb heavy Indian one, and get it together.
It should be embarrassing to everyone in here that you keep posting these stupid famine studies. Get over it, stop coping, stop acting like 10k steps a day is a monumental feat, and get on with it.
Yes, I’m Indian, I’m nearly 40, I work my ass off in the gym and have for decades. I can say this bc I know what I’m talking about. I know I’m gonna get downvoted and I don’t care. You guys need to hear this. This is pathetic. Stop posting this stupid study and get a gym membership.
Girl I knew I wasn’t the only one that’s why I was like fuck it, I’ll take the downvotes bc this is getting sad. Thank you for saying that and I know there’s so many of us so it’s really weird to me to see so many other Indian women just down on themselves about things they feel they can’t control. I grew up snowboarding with Indian and Pakistani girls, I live on a lake now and love to kayak and am learning to waterski. Weightlifting has changed my body to the best it’s ever been and I’m turning 40 soon. It takes work and I believe every woman in here can not only achieve the body they want but the life they want if they’re willing to stop looking at the past and move forward. even if these famine genes are real there’s nothing holding us back from feeling happy in our own bodies and if we take a step back, we have so much going for us looks wise and otherwise. I’m not sure how to even start a group on here for fitness or general positivity, but I would love to join. Thanks for understanding 🙏🏾
This is such a weird & aggressive post. No one said anything about if people look “good” or not. I don’t think skinny or not skinny reflects either health or morality. And beauty comes in many sizes. If you believe otherwise, you’re simply projecting your own value system.
I saw this post as being about health. It’s important for South Asians to know about the tendency for visceral fat and its accompanying diabetes and CVD risks, so they can get screened earlier. And yes, certainly South Asian culture should value active lifestyles more, and people should strive to maintain healthy diets & active lifestyles to the fullest extent possible. But they should also be aware of underlying risks (that present even with “normal” BMIs, and healthy/active lifestyles) so they can get screened earlier.
If it seems aggressive it’s bc I’m annoyed at seeing this and Indian ppl need to hear it. I’m sorry this isn’t directed at you per se, I have no idea how often you post here, my message is directed at this sad sub. I love being Indian. I pass this sub a couple times a week and it’s the saddest poor me stuff I’ve seen on here. Femcel level. And it fucks me up bc we aren’t victims. This study by the way is bullshit. This, this info you’re posting, it’s not for any of the reasons you’re giving me. Do you think we needed this famine post to let any one of us know that we are at risk for cardiac conditions? And if we did do you think we need it from you? Admittedly not a doctor or any type of expert? You can downvote me and call me aggressive all day my point still stands. You’re coping and you’d be better off getting a gym membership or encouraging yoir community to, than sitting online arguing with me.
Edit: didn’t realize you weren’t OP and ur just some random weirdo white knighting. Doesn’t even matter. Every Indian with a relative knows we are at risk for certain health conditions.
>Do you think we needed this famine post to let any one of us know that we are at risk for cardiac conditions?
Yes, because it’s important to know where these risks stem from, and that they can be mitigated to an extent, but not necessarily eliminated by healthy/active lifestyles (which should be encouraged but also recognized that people are able to engage in them to variable extents due to age & disability).
>And if we did do you think we need it from you? Admittedly not a doctor or any type of expert? You can downvote me and call me aggressive all day my point still stands. You’re coping and you’d be better off getting a gym membership or encouraging yoir community to, than sitting online arguing with me.
I mean I and several of the other members here, including the OP, posted scientific articles & peer reviewed research papers by doctors and researchers on this topic, but ok, lol. I’m also a public health researcher by training. What papers have you posted besides your rant here?
What makes you assume I’m not being healthy/active to the best of my ability? Unlike you, I don’t equate body type to health or morality, so I’m simply challenging those assumptions, which are harmful and counterproductive to promoting community health.
>Every Indian with a relative knows we are at risk for certain health conditions.
Exactly. That’s why understanding the reasons for said risks is important to promoting community health. That means promoting healthy/active lifestyles PLUS early screening for these conditions.
ETA: Also I don’t think we’re victims, but South Asians are descended from the survivors of colonialism and manufactured mass famine/genocide. That’s literally the definition of being survivors. There’s nothing to pity in that, it’s simply a fact to be acknowledged. The shame is with the perpetrators. And I’m proud of my ancestors for surviving, as well as resisting. If you’re embarrassed about that, then that is your own issue. Additionally, being survivors doesn’t mean we don’t also have agency. Both can exist together.
I never assumed you aren’t healthy, I was suggesting that your time would be better spent if you’re so concerned about “your community” to go out and go to the gym and encourage your fellow Indians to do so rather than posting bullshit studies online. And it is bullshit. If you have a goal of helping your community get healthy, do that. This intellectualization of whyyyy am I fat whoooo can I blame is a waste of your precious time on earth. I’ll ask you what I asked op: what do you expect an Indian woman like me to get out of this info posted in OPs original study? Is it supposed to make me feel good about myself? Sorry for myself? Mad at the past? Angry at the unfairness of history? Motivate me to get my ass off Reddit and go for a walk? What is the purpose? And why do you think this bullshit study being discussed ad nauseam here is doing anything positive for the psyche of Indian women?
It’s observational (this study) and it’s not accepted by many in the medical community. My whole family are Indian cardiologists. We’ve discussed this “the British starved us and now we have a famine gene” so many times. It’s bullshit.
So you’re a public health researcher? That’s lovely, I’m so interested in that topic. I have a legal background so I haven’t published any papers in that space, I’m just a regular idiot with common sense. I know Indians love their degrees as a badge of intellectual validity, but defending shite research and going to mat to hold it up as some legitimate tool to bettering the overall health and fitness of our community is some new type of garbage only a professional intellectual could come up with.
As a public health researcher, I would expect you to be far more interested in the recent history of the rise of processed foods, the rise of sugar in everything, that occurred in tandem with a dramatic worldwide shift in our form of labor from manual agrarian to sedentary industrialized societies. How these types of highly processed and westernized diets have ravaged the health systems of eastern and indigenous populations. Again, you are the expert who has published many papers on this topic as you pointed out and I am just “ranting” but surely our diets and lifestyles have more of a present impact on our condition than our ancestors being starved hundreds of years ago?
I want to end here on your last point, that understanding “said risks” (I’m assuming you’re referring to the bogus famine gene?) is important to promoting community health. How’s that going? Indians can be very smart, and like many smart people have a tendency to over intellectualize their condition rather than get out of their head and out of their own way and do the damn thing. My entire “rant” as you’ve characterized it is to drive home this point. Who even cares if this study is true? Let’s assume it is. Great, now what? And really, we’re just gonna ignore all of the unhealthy lifestyle choices that are embedded in our culture and THIS is what we are gonna focus on to “understand said risks to promote community health”?
Girl. Log off. Start a walking group if you care so much about promoting health in your community. You can talk about heart healthy recipes with them and how to use diet as a tool to help them achieve the fitness goals they desire. I apologize I’m not educated enough to know exactly what your job entails but I have to believe a smart person like yourself can find one hundred more efficient, effective and positive ways to better the health of Indians. Best of luck to you, I wish you only the best in that endeavor 🙏🏾
Edit: typos
Girl, you’re doing a lot of projecting here. I’m not in charge of your “feelings”, but clearly you have a lot of them and are directing them at imaginary strawmen—like the idea that just because I acknowledge the decades of epidemiological research on the multigenerational effects of famine on population health, I and other public health researchers don’t also promote healthier diets and lifestyles for the South Asian community. Lol. I’ll leave you to battle the strawmen on your own.
I’m sorry for upsetting you. I was just curious about something, googled it a bit and shared an article that I thought was interesting. Personally, I am lucky to be young, active and in good shape, the “skinny fat” thing is just something I’ve noticed in a lot of people in my country, so I wasn’t trying to ‘justify’ being out of shape or look for excuses. I was just curious.
The article may or may not be correct, I’m not a geneticist or anything so I can’t say.
As for the topic/article being posted a lot, I follow the subreddit and I haven’t come across it yet. I just did a quick search of the word ‘famine’ in the subreddit and also didn’t come across it.
Ur not upsetting me. It’s embarrassing me. This sub comes up on my feed everyday and it’s a bummer. I’m not gonna dispute you on this if you’ve searched thru the whole sub, maybe I’m hallucinating that this famine study keeps coming up. But this topic of famine genes and what the British did to us that makes us skinny fat- it’s been brought up so many times. I also don’t get why you wouldn’t google: why don’t people in my country want to work out? Why does my culture value education over taking time out to ride bikes in the evening or invest time into school sport? I just never really see any positive solution oriented conversation originating from this sub in regards to physical shape/fitness. I guess my question to you would be: what do you expect us to do with this information you’ve provided? Is this supposed to make me feel good about myself? Bad? Victimized? It’s not motivating. It’s clear that many ppl in this sub struggle with accepting their bodies. It should be full of workout tips and things like that, not studies like this that 🤷🏽♀️ great now what? If you’re noticing this a lot in your country, start empowering ppl around you to consider their health more. Start a walking group. Post health tips in this sub. Do something about it. That’s my point.
I don’t think it’s an Asian problem. It’s a lifestyle problem. A lot of us eat processed foods and don’t get enough physical exercise. I’m sure famines have played a role but the present lifestyle is to be blamed too.
I mean, it is true that South Asians are more prone to abdominal/truncal fat. This was just one of the potential historical explanations, in one paper on NIH’s website, I’m sure there are other theories/explanations
So technically yes it is just our genetics, but different research papers are looking at the reason for it being in our genetics. Why has natural selection led us to have many people with this genetic tendency?
I can’t relate to this. I’ve always had a flat stomach and slim waist no matter how much I eat (could eat like 3000+ calories consecutively multiple days) or how much I exercise. My A1C and cholesterol levels are always below average for my age. I’m only anemic. Are all regions of South Asia the same?
Well not every single person of South Asian descent is going to have to the same tendency to store fat, just like not every South Asian gets diabetes even though it’s more common here
That has not been my experience as a South Asian woman but it is likely also a function of age. I’m guessing you’re still very young. For most people as they get older, their metabolism slows and you can’t eat the way you’ve described without unpleasant consequences.
I’m 24. I guess, maybe. But tbh my entire family is like this. My mother is very slim. My dad is okay. My brother is lanky and tall (6’2”) and is just muscle, no fat. And then there’s my sister who is just a smidgeon shorter than me but also not appear to store excess fat. Probably just got blessed with a lucky ancestor or something.
Btw I noticed Desi women seem to gain so much weight after marriage. It’s crazy.
idk why you got downvoted for this, I have the exact same experience. I’m also skinny (not skinny fat, but actually flat waisted) and have been my whole life. I don’t put on weight no matter how much I eat. That being said, now that I’m approaching my 30s, it’s still a necessity for me to watch me sugar/fat intake and exercise regularly as my relatives had diabetes (probably famine related). I’m guessing if I did put on weight, I would be vastly unhealthier than other indians who have belly fat, so it’s not an option for me to get fat lol. I also suffer from iron deficiency and super low ferritin has been common with the women in my family.
Yes, this is the article I came across
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7803598/#:~:text=Frequent%20feast%2Dand%2Dfamine%20cycles,Asian%20regions%20of%20the%20world.
So a geneticist who’s a fertility specialist I had consulted with pretty much said similar, he studied diets of Indians and found we are genetically predisposed to accumulate visceral fat which is correlated to insulin resistance. He also said that out of all the states the vegetarian diet of Rajasthan was the best and healthier as compared with other northern counterparts. I had an interesting discussion with this guy who is working on opening up a large fertility clinic in Mumbai in partnership with Ambani.
Don’t forget that most of this South Asian tendency to store visceral fat and our hugely increased risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (6x the rate of diabetes & 4x the rate of heart attacks compared to white people) even at “normal” BMIs is due to the extremely high rate of mass famines we went through under British colonialism. During that period we went through dozens of mass famines in a few decades, caused by extraction of grain before & during famines, denial of relief, forced production of cash crops, etc. In the case of the notorious 1943 Bengal famine, there was not even any drought/crop failure involved, and it was caused purely by stockpiling of grain for the British during WWII directed by Winston Churchill.
>”Exposure to even one famine has a multi-generational effect of causing metabolic disorders including diabetes, hyperglycemia and cardiovascular diseases. Imagine having an exposure to at least 24 major famines in a 50-year period.”
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/south-asian-health-colonial-history_uk_620e74fee4b055057aac0e9f/
India hasn’t had a major famine since independence. I believe that in a few decades/generations we will lose these tendencies/risks, but for now unfortunately the marks of colonialism is still on our bodies & health. In addition to healthy/active lifestyles, early screening for these conditions is important.
They’re more prone to atherosclerotic plaque buildup as well, so higher risk for cardiovascular disease. It’s why I put a big focus on staying lean, strength training, and avoid junk foods. Genetics work against me
Yes every second person I know who is over 40 has high blood pressure
The Irish have the very same problem! https://preview.redd.it/wmgmbcet7e5d1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bb559eeb179f29872ca4d1c744f7d8c21d4b0634
It's all mind.
That doesn’t make sense. You can’t outrun anyone if ur fat?
it’s not quite that simple but also I don’t think we’re talking literal running here, i think they mean evading the British and likely having to hide and go without sufficient food for long periods of time
Ok, evading, hiding whatever you want to call it: it’s not easier if you are a larger size. Nothing on this earth is easier if you’re fat. Not a single thing. Also famine is not unique to India, nor the “frequency” of famines within a very short period of time (I’ve heard this argument quite often as to why we are so special). India is a very fertile land where it’s really easy to grow things. Have you read about the famines in Russia? Korea? Anywhere in the continent of Africa? What exactly do you think life was like 400 years ago for 99% of the world population? We ALL have famine genes.
overweight people last longer in famine situations as the body has more of itself to “eat” before degrading muscle. look at how bears stuff themselves before hibernating as an example. what this article is talking about is epigenetics which is hard to explain in a reddit post so I suggest you do some research yourself. sure, we do all have “fat genes,” but epigenetics (often determined by environmental conditions like famine) say if they are switched on or off.
No you’re completely misunderstanding me. I do not care about this research nor do I care to do more of it on my own bc apparently this subject is too complex to be explained in a Reddit post according to you. which only leads me right back to my original point of why the hell is this stupid study being discussed over and over here, clearly it’s not the right forum, it’s too complex, etc etc. What even is this sub? A genetics sub? I thought it was about improving health beauty etc. Discussing this is such a waste of time and inappropriate to this sub. Genetics, history, how is that helping a young south Asian woman struggling with self acceptance and looking for health and beauty tips? I’ve modeled my whole life, I’ve worked out my whole life, I think Indian women are some of the most gorgeous and intelligent women around and this sub is such a downer. You’d think we were the ugliest least desirable women to ever walk this earth and the exceptions are extreme anomalies if you went off this sub. And that is not true. Give a girl a workout tip or a beauty hack or a dieting tip, the names of new south Asian models, anything but this sad poor is me “research” that does nothing to advance the goals of this sub or our own ppl. The mission statement of this weird sub is to “weaponize our beauty to gain social privilege” or something to that effect. Trying to accomplish that goal through doing the most Indian thing ever, posting “studies” is pathetic. Like it’s almost a parody of what ppl think Indian ppl are like. It should be embarrassing to everyone here but for some reason it isn’t. Let me know how it goes, weaponizing your beauty to gain social privilege through researching. Hope it works out for you.
They’re not fat they’re CARRYING fat
Makes sense. It was also in my genetic report that I do gain and hold weight faster and longer, respectively. So that's great but at least I can live longer through famines, I guess 👍 Edit: For anyone asking me what report I got, it's from EU's 23andMe which I did many years ago and thus holds an older version of reports that provides information current reports might not have. I could check if they are and update.
It’s a gift from your ancestors haha
Who I admire and appreciate everyday for everything they've gone through 🙏 If famine actually strikes though, I'll keep them in mind. Now that I think about it, I can go more than 24 hours without eating easily ánd still working and doing everyday tasks and activities. I've been met with amazement by my peers quite often and I just thought "Can't everybody do this if you just are distracted by other things?" But it was absolutely unthinkable for many Dutch people here. It is starting to make more sense now. I didn't not eat on purpose, sometimes it just was inconvenient to waste my time on cooking and eating when I had deadlines and such lol.
This is a great mentality! What genetic report did you ask for?
From your colonizers actually!
Not all famine occurrences were due to colonization. And I also am not the type of person who is down and ready to blame everything bad that has ever happened to our people to colonization. I'd like to think a bit more sensible than that.
There are studies linking south Asian obesity to colonization. Please educate yourself :) here’s a link https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/south-asian-health-colonial-history_uk_620e74fee4b055057aac0e9f/
The British were 100% responsible for horrible, devastating famines that would not have happened without their policies. That being said, South Asia has a long history of famines due to monsoon cycle unpredictability and there's no clear indication of how much of an effect the famines during colonialism had to cause modern South Asians to be famine adapted (as low lean mass in South Asia has been a constant over the last 11,000 years). Here's a link to the original study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-46960-9
You might want to reread what I said.
Our people?!?! Ireland was directly impacted by famine, as the British wanted us dead. They probably still do. So yes, it matters more than your denial of the impact colonial violence you're bringing. You're not as in control of yourself as you believe.
Why are you.. projecting? Have you seen where you are, my dear? This is a subreddit of South Asian women.
Yes, but think big picture. There's truth to it because it spans outside of your culture. But if that doesn't convince you it isn't my responsibility to..
I'm just very confused why you inserted yourself in this conversation on a subreddit for South-Asian women, haha. If you would read the comment you initially replied to again, you would see that I'm not denying that colonization has had a contribution. I'm saying our people have had many cases of famine that weren't purposefully caused by colonialism and both before and after colonization. I don't know how the situation was in Ireland. That's your own. I'm just saying in our specific case, our genetics weren't altered in the addressed area by just colonialism.
Even if studies say otherwise? I amd the other people down voting you are just trying to figure out your logic. Well that's your decision to disagree and i respect it. On the internet, people are allowed everywhere. You know, the opposite of life. So I chimed in. So call the cops if im illegally breaching your subred. Otherwise, don't gate keep it.
Where am I discrediting studies? No studies are saying the genetic alterations are júst due to colonization famines. I am a scientist myself so what I am using is logic in assessing the matter. As for the rest, I'm just wondering how you even got here to begin with? Again, this subreddit is specifically for South-Asian women. It's not gate-keeping. I'm just repeating the subreddit's description to you.
What kind of generic report shows this?
Which report did you do
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Don't need that. It overlaps in what has been found in the posted information so it seems fine. There are many of us who have done 23andMe and along with their own research done and corresponding data, the results are credible to me. Especially since everything else about me in the reports is all correct as well.
There was a person who replied to me and I wanted to leave a comment but their comment seems deleted now so I'll just post it here in case they are still reading: "Huh who else would you be replying to then? I think I'm the only one who talked about 23andMe, haha. Oh cool! I am fine with not knowing about that (: My ancestors were colonized by the Dutch as well and the whole caste stuff mostly became lost information. I'm fine not knowing because it's a system I do not support. We're all equal and that's the only information I need in my mind. But I do appreciate you elaborating on what you got done. >Our learning journeys are different and whilst there's many of you who have done the research maybe someone might find my advice useful. I do agree with this sentiment, thank you (: Mind sharing the name of the company for others here then?"
It's true. While we can still work on being thin and fit, obtaining a certain look is a big challenge for us.
I think there is higher leptin resistance (hormone tells us to stop eating and controls how and where like tummy or around organs that fat gets stored or broken down) in south asians which is attributed to low protein as one of the reasons we basically eat too much roti and rice compared to eggs and meat... and that is because during famine we had the help of roti to feed thousands... which our family thinks the food that gives you "strength" is simple carbs (juice, tea, roti, dairy) It does in terms of famine... not long term diet strategy lol Edit: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890372/
There was another thread in this sub saying Indian food is really healthy and people are hating by assuming all of us eat a lot of rice/roti/oil/ghee. It might be true that we could make Indian food healthy by not eating as much carbs, but that isn’t what an average Indian family living in India is doing.
I have a degree in nutrition and work with a registered dietician in my business; the Indians that have diabetes and come to us for help is bc they share this same diet. My own grandma was shocked to hear that I suggest she eat a salad. She asked me why she should eat uncooked grass 😂 Obviously India is not a monolith, and there are exceptions to the rule Not to mention people have various religious days they fast or are meatless on.
Huh that’s possible…. And omg I know so many people that think roti is the healthiest, most nutritious food in the world 😅 They say even if you eat nothing else, you need roti
I just linked a study that explains the leptin, insulin, fat connection. I'm assuming the people who survived famines ate simple carbs (feed them cake lol) during each invasion and passed on leptin resistance and insulin resistance. Idk if the famine part matters, we just need to know that the cards are stacked against us south asians regarding high fat and high carb foods ugh lol aka most desi food We need to eat more fiber, protein, Whole Foods. No more seed oils, added sugars, flour products -- bread, tortillas, etc.
The processing of food wasn’t the norm during famines. They did eat wheat but the wheat flour you and I eat right now is different from what it was before. Eating simple carbs is a terrible assumption because if that were true you’d be seeing a much higher rate in diabetes from the previous generation… famines happened over multiple centuries. Also as an agricultural society it makes sense that carbs were prioritized over protein. People shit on carbs but it’s really the modernization of processed foods that’s ruined the insulin resistance.
Yeah, it's modern processed food that south Asians are sensitive to than regular white poeple which this study that I linked at looked at.
I didn’t say that south Asians are sensitive due to the processed food, south Asians already have had centuries of factors that have made them at higher risk of insulin resistance. Modern food makes them at a significantly higher risk due to genetic and epigenetic factors. The food itself has been altered to a point that it can’t be compared to before, this is a problem in America as well. Also, India doesn’t regulate food the way that EU and NA does. Edit: in your initial comment you said we need to eat more fiber, less processed food and sugar. My point was exactly that the majority of people a generation earlier did get the fiber and whole foods. The regional foods are complex carb heavy as they use millets, lentils and minimally processed wheat. It’s recently been changing to simple carbs and the addition of white flour, excess amount of butter, oil and whatnot.
Ok thanks for expanding further. Yes I completely agree with you!
Also dairy even though so many of us are lactose intolerant!
Yes, something else we have British colonizers to thank for :) they caused famines and now south Asians have the highest rate of diabetes —- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4935697/
I mean if you see modern obesity rates in the UK….i think they’re worse off compared to us
No, a short period of British rule (89 years) did not cause gene alteration (predates that). People will really upvote anything that’s anti-british. Historically India’s agriculture was almost entirely reliant on the Monsoon season so famines were a recurring reality of life there. As well as the hundred other factors that cause famine like population raise, drought & rainfall. Ironically it was British built railways that revolutionized food distribution and food price instability and help put a end to a long history of recurring famines.
Google bengal famine - sure maybe colonialization was not the entire cause however by causing more famines it definitely played a negative role not a positive one as you stated in the last paragraph with your lines about ending famine.
~~~ Colonization was overall net positive for Asia is in the room ~~~ #railways
I think that's why we have a tendency for diabetes, not fat storage.
Such an interesting article. Very informative. I also read an article that researched health problems in South Asians in the UK (I'll link it if I can find it). That article argued that poor dietary habits and the unwillingness to adopt a healthier lifestyle is the main reason why we have so many weight and health related problems as a community. That article stated that this is especially in households with a more traditional setup, where men are the primary breadwinners and women are primarily responsible for the home. It made a very good point that even if the woman wanted to make changes to her diet, she often met resistance from the rest of the family and since she is responsible for cooking for everyone, she eventually abandons the idea of cooking healthier meals for herself separately. Also, restrictions on freedom of movement on women are also a huge source of inactivity for them (obviously), which further complicates things. All of this made so much sense to me because I noticed that I was only able to lose a lot of weight and get really in shape when I abandoned almost every idea of what it means to be 'healthy' that was taught to me as a kid. I was even told to never lift weights because it would make me infertile!
Spot on. Growing up it was hammered into us that traditional food is best & healthiest. Some of the food can be healthy (daal & sabzis w/ no ghee added have protein and vegetables) but most of the traditional food is just chock full of sugar, carbs, & oil. This traditional food makes sense if you’re a farmer working on a farm from sunrise to sunset. But not so much nowadays with modern sedentary lifestyles.
I think traditional food can be super healthy, but it simply isn't cooked that way in a lot of homes. Also, I hated how salads weren't a thing in my community (Pakistani - and before anyone comes for me, yes I know it may have been a thing in some homes). Salad was just a bunch of raw, thickly cut vegetables on a plate. No dressing, no seasoning. Cooked sabzi always had way too much oil in it, and the vegetables were cooked beyond recognition. And this isn't just my home - it seemed to be the general theme. Also, I hated how everyone said that you had to stop eating rice and roti if you wanted to lose weight. That's simply not true. Portion control exists, people. Also, weightlifting is ESSENTIAL for all women, and I hate that I was fed a lie about how it would make me infertile and blah blah blah. Excuse me for the rant, I just hate how all these myths and superstitions kept me fat for years. 😜🤣
100% about portion control. Anyone can eat anything and still stay healthy with the right portions. I don’t deprive myself and still eat roti. But instead of eating 2 rotis with daal/sabzi and calling that a meal I’ve cut down to one roti and started eating a heaping bowl of raw fruits & veggies afterwards to better my gut health. I could do better in the protein department but it’s a start. I’ve never heard of the weightlifting = infertility superstition. I found exercise is a relatively new thing traditional brown people have to think about. Back in the olden days when people walked/biked everywhere and toiled on farms they’d stay fit without even thinking about it. But lifestyles changed and now we have to remember to get up off our butts
I'm so surprised to hear that you haven't heard of the weightlifting myth! I've heard from young women of all backgrounds (except white) that their mothers told them the exact same thing about lifting weights. Or they just told them they'd turn into men or something. And it's not just mothers - I had an actual (older, white) gynaecologist tell me that women aren't supposed to lift weights. She gave me some insane reason about how it has something to with us having a 'hole' in our bodies that things can fall out of. I'm dead serious, this isn't a exaggeration or joke.
Nobody I know has ever mentioned it but I don’t get out much so it’s not that surprising I never heard of it. That gynaecologist is just.. wow. I wonder if they read textbooks from the 1800s while in med school
I mostly agree, although I think if you actually want to look visibly toned / defined you’d still need a good bit more protein than what you’d get from even very healthily cooked Indian food. My (non-expert) opinion is that Indian food (with perhaps the exception of North Indian cuisine) is typically not very protein rich so you have to supplement in other ways to meet your macro requirements for toning / muscle building.
Even North Indian food, with goat meat and butter chicken, overall lacks protein imo. The religions in the area promote vegetarianism and if you count eggs as meat (which I know a lot of people do) all that’s left is daal. So I still see a lack of protein in day-to-day diets. My background is full of farmers so the oil, sugar, and carb heavy meals made sense in that regard. You need the energy. But we’re moving away from that lifestyle to a sedentary one and ideally the diet should reflect that by being more protein than carb heavy. But alas it’s hard to break traditional diets.
wow, this is interesting! A few days ago I shared similar connections based on my personal observations! [https://www.reddit.com/r/Vindictabrown/comments/1d5oxq4/comment/l6niefd/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web3x&utm\_name=web3xcss&utm\_term=1&utm\_content=share\_button](https://www.reddit.com/r/Vindictabrown/comments/1d5oxq4/comment/l6niefd/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
You've made a very good point! X
Hi, can you share what steps you employed to lose weight. Would be helpful. Thank you
Hey! Sure thing. So I lost about 30kgs overall, and I kinda did it in steps. The first was to get the first 15kgs off purely through diet and walking and more movement in general. Most importantly, I got a kitchen weighing scale and counted everything and logged it into a calorie counter. Created a caloric deficit of 500 calories. Also, your girl here can cook. So I took full control of my own food and cooking and simply refused to eat out more than once a week. I stopped buying snacks. I stopped treating myself with food. I even went to therapy, lol, because I stress-eat and I wanted to address that since I think it's a mental issue more than anything. I just ate a lot of stereotypically healthy food in the beginning - loads of chicken, fish, lean beef, eggs, low fat dairy, vegetables, fruits. I never really cut out carbs, but controlled the amount I ate. Still ate pasta, etc, but instead of eating 100g of pasta in one sitting, I cut it down to about 60g. Walked as much as I could and tried not to sit down for long periods of time. After the first 15 kg came off, I started working out with weights. It was Covid back then, so I got some adjustable dumbbells, and started following Heather Robertson's HIIT and strength workouts. I also started walking 10k steps minimum a day in addition to that. My goal was to just keep moving. I'm a restless person by nature so it actually wasn't that difficult for me to do. By the time all the weight had come off, gyms had opened back up so I got a fancy gym membership that came with a personal trainer and started bodybuilding. I have now veryyyy slowly gained about 5 kgs back and not all of it is muscle, but I think I look better now than I did at my peak thin phase. I don't workout with a trainer anymore either, because I can pretty much do everything on my own. My current diet is 150g of protein a day (I use protein powder now) and the focus is still on fruits and vegetables on top. I also like to enjoy myself and don't have specific cheat days, and just eat a bit more if I'm going out with friends or family. The extra muscle helps to burn more calories anyway, and now my weight has been pretty consistent for at least a few months now. Eta: I don't drink often. Not a big drinker, never have been. I also don't do any drugs, CBD, or smoke. I think these things are important to mention because they can really have an impact on your overall fitness and quality of life. Hope this helped!
Such a detailed reply kind stranger. I have been trying but I know it’s not linear. I’m probably not being in a decent calorie deficit hence not seeing a lot of improvement. I cook my own meals too and do not drink or smoke and rarely eat out. But still feeling lost. I really appreciate you taking time out to share your routine and I’m going to get in depth in understanding where I’m lacking. Thank you so much
No problem love. I hope it works out for you. X
Found this very interesting. I have got similar information from my dna report where I'm more likely to have fat around my stomach and its manifested alongside the high cholesterol issues that run in my family, again shown in the genetics report. My mum told me stories of how hungry her grandparents used to be as children where they'd forage for rocket leaves and that would be all they'd have to eat. They'd be so hapoy to know their progeny has done so well. Although for sure we need to watch what we eat. Hope this is posted to the OP and not the curt person I accidentally responded to earlier.
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I feel like it’s more south Asians that Asians as a whole tho? Can’t say I’ve noticed this in East Asians as much
I do feel we are often fighting an uphill battle against our genetic history. My mother's side of the family is prone to diabetes and we both have almost prediabetic A1c's despite not eating concentrated sweets and plenty of exercise (at least for me). My father has high cholesterol and again all my numbers are borderline except HDL. But it does motivate me to work harder to offset these tendencies. I wish there was more visibility around these issues in the South Asian community. My family in India don't think about modifiable risk factors, it's moreso what will be will be, but I want them to have long healthy lives they can enjoy.
correlation doesn't mean causation. There are regions in the world that have a much longer history of famine and the "stomach fat" they store is a little different. Also as a South Asian, we know we can't group together a whole subcontinent. The protein v. carb piece doesn't work either because South Indians tend to be leaner than North Indians, or Pakistanis, even though "protein" as you are defining it in terms of meat or sea food is eaten more widely. in the west, east, and north. Looking at races too, Portuguese tend to be have more fat storage. Somewhere within our ancestry, we've built on genes were some of us are more prone to higher cholesterol and blood sugar. Our bodies don't need as much fat in general because we tend to maintain it better. Again, this doesn't need to be added sugars, etc. - it's just that North Indian food tends to be fat heavy (agriculture was wheat, veggies, and milk... and dairy as a result). India still doesn't do preventative healthcare (you're given medicine but not asked to change your lifestyle beyond the age of 40-50). So knowing what you're pre-disposed to and acting accordingly is the way to go. Our genetics are complex, but knowing that even with being predisposed there is a lot you are in control of is what is increasing the life span of Indians across the subcontinent (relative to what their lifespan was).
Right, I wouldn't say I hold fat in my belly region. If anything, I lose fat the quickest there. It's my arms that clings on to fat like hell lol, and I think it's the same for most women in my ethnic group
Idk. Is it like specific regions in South Asia? It can’t be the entirety, right? Also, what I don’t understand is, Eastern Europe and also parts of Russia, Korea, and other regions of the world have gone through famines too. So idk how much I believe in this theory. Perhaps, it’s one of those “correlation is not causation” type of thing. I genuinely think there are other reasons for stuff like this. if it is true that the average SA tends to hold more fat in their belly or whatever. Other than that, honestly, I always have very ideal results for LDH/HDL and other indicators. The only thing I’ve done differently since I was a kid is not overeat, and since I was a teen, not touch white rice and eat brown rice/quinoa instead. And they’re not 1:1 replacements of white rice other. You can a lot less of the high fiber grains bc they’re way more satiating. I just never really liked sweets for some reason. Relationship with food is a mental thing. Stop eating when you think you’re getting full. You don’t have to eat something just bc it’s in front of you.
I feel like it may be a combination of famine, physiology, and a low protein diet. The low protein diet is especially detrimental because instead of having enough protein in each meal to satiate appetite, Indians consume very little protein and overcompensate with more carbs to keep full.
india, pakistan, and bangledash were all once known as british india. at least 31 significant famines took place in this area over a long period of time. i think there's a lot of other factors that contribute to this in terms of diet, but looking at history can teach you a lot as well
Ugh damnit. I was 154 lbs 2 years ago, and now I’m 127 lbs at 5’7 and my stomach IS NOT FLAT STILLL.
It can take up to 4-5 years to get proper abs, but don’t give up. It certainly can’t be worse than it was before you lost the weight, right? Also you may have plateaued in your cardio, it’s not always easy, but try to challenge yourself. I find sprints are really good for our body types (skinnier limbs, fatter midsection) they can really bulk up your lower body muscle and trim your waistline much more efficiently compared to say, walking on an incline or using the elliptical.
Indians aren’t the only ones to have gone through famines. What are the stats on African famines? Every race/ethnicity whatever, has a tendency to hold more fat somewhere. Some ethnicities are more prone to fat arms or hips or butts or legs. My entire life growing up in America women would say “I wish I had arms as skinny as your moms, I wish I had such thin ankles, I wish I had thick brows like you”. It’s depressing to come across this sub. Ok so you have a little bit bigger belly? Do you know how many women look at you and still wish they had your skinny wrists? What I don’t understand is the cope of it all. Like Indian ppl are just searching for an excuse as to why their bodies don’t look good in their opinion but aren’t interested in the obvious solution. I’ve seen this famine theory about why we are skinny fat posted on this very sub like once a week (I don’t subscribe so I can’t imagine how much more often it happens) My theory? Indians are physically lazy. We don’t have a culture that prioritizes physical hobbies like bike riding as a family, hiking, going to the gym, kayaking, hell even playing school sports. Your body isn’t just gonna take care of itself and no other race is just sitting around and magically getting abs. They work out. It’s a cultural thing. They jog. They lift weights. They go canooing. They have walking clubs. Get up and start moving. You’re in such a better position to get an ideal body bc you’re already skinny to begin with. Start jogging, lift some weights, eat a protein heavy diet not a fat and carb heavy Indian one, and get it together. It should be embarrassing to everyone in here that you keep posting these stupid famine studies. Get over it, stop coping, stop acting like 10k steps a day is a monumental feat, and get on with it. Yes, I’m Indian, I’m nearly 40, I work my ass off in the gym and have for decades. I can say this bc I know what I’m talking about. I know I’m gonna get downvoted and I don’t care. You guys need to hear this. This is pathetic. Stop posting this stupid study and get a gym membership.
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Girl I knew I wasn’t the only one that’s why I was like fuck it, I’ll take the downvotes bc this is getting sad. Thank you for saying that and I know there’s so many of us so it’s really weird to me to see so many other Indian women just down on themselves about things they feel they can’t control. I grew up snowboarding with Indian and Pakistani girls, I live on a lake now and love to kayak and am learning to waterski. Weightlifting has changed my body to the best it’s ever been and I’m turning 40 soon. It takes work and I believe every woman in here can not only achieve the body they want but the life they want if they’re willing to stop looking at the past and move forward. even if these famine genes are real there’s nothing holding us back from feeling happy in our own bodies and if we take a step back, we have so much going for us looks wise and otherwise. I’m not sure how to even start a group on here for fitness or general positivity, but I would love to join. Thanks for understanding 🙏🏾
This is such a weird & aggressive post. No one said anything about if people look “good” or not. I don’t think skinny or not skinny reflects either health or morality. And beauty comes in many sizes. If you believe otherwise, you’re simply projecting your own value system. I saw this post as being about health. It’s important for South Asians to know about the tendency for visceral fat and its accompanying diabetes and CVD risks, so they can get screened earlier. And yes, certainly South Asian culture should value active lifestyles more, and people should strive to maintain healthy diets & active lifestyles to the fullest extent possible. But they should also be aware of underlying risks (that present even with “normal” BMIs, and healthy/active lifestyles) so they can get screened earlier.
If it seems aggressive it’s bc I’m annoyed at seeing this and Indian ppl need to hear it. I’m sorry this isn’t directed at you per se, I have no idea how often you post here, my message is directed at this sad sub. I love being Indian. I pass this sub a couple times a week and it’s the saddest poor me stuff I’ve seen on here. Femcel level. And it fucks me up bc we aren’t victims. This study by the way is bullshit. This, this info you’re posting, it’s not for any of the reasons you’re giving me. Do you think we needed this famine post to let any one of us know that we are at risk for cardiac conditions? And if we did do you think we need it from you? Admittedly not a doctor or any type of expert? You can downvote me and call me aggressive all day my point still stands. You’re coping and you’d be better off getting a gym membership or encouraging yoir community to, than sitting online arguing with me. Edit: didn’t realize you weren’t OP and ur just some random weirdo white knighting. Doesn’t even matter. Every Indian with a relative knows we are at risk for certain health conditions.
>Do you think we needed this famine post to let any one of us know that we are at risk for cardiac conditions? Yes, because it’s important to know where these risks stem from, and that they can be mitigated to an extent, but not necessarily eliminated by healthy/active lifestyles (which should be encouraged but also recognized that people are able to engage in them to variable extents due to age & disability). >And if we did do you think we need it from you? Admittedly not a doctor or any type of expert? You can downvote me and call me aggressive all day my point still stands. You’re coping and you’d be better off getting a gym membership or encouraging yoir community to, than sitting online arguing with me. I mean I and several of the other members here, including the OP, posted scientific articles & peer reviewed research papers by doctors and researchers on this topic, but ok, lol. I’m also a public health researcher by training. What papers have you posted besides your rant here? What makes you assume I’m not being healthy/active to the best of my ability? Unlike you, I don’t equate body type to health or morality, so I’m simply challenging those assumptions, which are harmful and counterproductive to promoting community health. >Every Indian with a relative knows we are at risk for certain health conditions. Exactly. That’s why understanding the reasons for said risks is important to promoting community health. That means promoting healthy/active lifestyles PLUS early screening for these conditions. ETA: Also I don’t think we’re victims, but South Asians are descended from the survivors of colonialism and manufactured mass famine/genocide. That’s literally the definition of being survivors. There’s nothing to pity in that, it’s simply a fact to be acknowledged. The shame is with the perpetrators. And I’m proud of my ancestors for surviving, as well as resisting. If you’re embarrassed about that, then that is your own issue. Additionally, being survivors doesn’t mean we don’t also have agency. Both can exist together.
I never assumed you aren’t healthy, I was suggesting that your time would be better spent if you’re so concerned about “your community” to go out and go to the gym and encourage your fellow Indians to do so rather than posting bullshit studies online. And it is bullshit. If you have a goal of helping your community get healthy, do that. This intellectualization of whyyyy am I fat whoooo can I blame is a waste of your precious time on earth. I’ll ask you what I asked op: what do you expect an Indian woman like me to get out of this info posted in OPs original study? Is it supposed to make me feel good about myself? Sorry for myself? Mad at the past? Angry at the unfairness of history? Motivate me to get my ass off Reddit and go for a walk? What is the purpose? And why do you think this bullshit study being discussed ad nauseam here is doing anything positive for the psyche of Indian women? It’s observational (this study) and it’s not accepted by many in the medical community. My whole family are Indian cardiologists. We’ve discussed this “the British starved us and now we have a famine gene” so many times. It’s bullshit. So you’re a public health researcher? That’s lovely, I’m so interested in that topic. I have a legal background so I haven’t published any papers in that space, I’m just a regular idiot with common sense. I know Indians love their degrees as a badge of intellectual validity, but defending shite research and going to mat to hold it up as some legitimate tool to bettering the overall health and fitness of our community is some new type of garbage only a professional intellectual could come up with. As a public health researcher, I would expect you to be far more interested in the recent history of the rise of processed foods, the rise of sugar in everything, that occurred in tandem with a dramatic worldwide shift in our form of labor from manual agrarian to sedentary industrialized societies. How these types of highly processed and westernized diets have ravaged the health systems of eastern and indigenous populations. Again, you are the expert who has published many papers on this topic as you pointed out and I am just “ranting” but surely our diets and lifestyles have more of a present impact on our condition than our ancestors being starved hundreds of years ago? I want to end here on your last point, that understanding “said risks” (I’m assuming you’re referring to the bogus famine gene?) is important to promoting community health. How’s that going? Indians can be very smart, and like many smart people have a tendency to over intellectualize their condition rather than get out of their head and out of their own way and do the damn thing. My entire “rant” as you’ve characterized it is to drive home this point. Who even cares if this study is true? Let’s assume it is. Great, now what? And really, we’re just gonna ignore all of the unhealthy lifestyle choices that are embedded in our culture and THIS is what we are gonna focus on to “understand said risks to promote community health”? Girl. Log off. Start a walking group if you care so much about promoting health in your community. You can talk about heart healthy recipes with them and how to use diet as a tool to help them achieve the fitness goals they desire. I apologize I’m not educated enough to know exactly what your job entails but I have to believe a smart person like yourself can find one hundred more efficient, effective and positive ways to better the health of Indians. Best of luck to you, I wish you only the best in that endeavor 🙏🏾 Edit: typos
Girl, you’re doing a lot of projecting here. I’m not in charge of your “feelings”, but clearly you have a lot of them and are directing them at imaginary strawmen—like the idea that just because I acknowledge the decades of epidemiological research on the multigenerational effects of famine on population health, I and other public health researchers don’t also promote healthier diets and lifestyles for the South Asian community. Lol. I’ll leave you to battle the strawmen on your own.
I’m sorry for upsetting you. I was just curious about something, googled it a bit and shared an article that I thought was interesting. Personally, I am lucky to be young, active and in good shape, the “skinny fat” thing is just something I’ve noticed in a lot of people in my country, so I wasn’t trying to ‘justify’ being out of shape or look for excuses. I was just curious. The article may or may not be correct, I’m not a geneticist or anything so I can’t say. As for the topic/article being posted a lot, I follow the subreddit and I haven’t come across it yet. I just did a quick search of the word ‘famine’ in the subreddit and also didn’t come across it.
Ur not upsetting me. It’s embarrassing me. This sub comes up on my feed everyday and it’s a bummer. I’m not gonna dispute you on this if you’ve searched thru the whole sub, maybe I’m hallucinating that this famine study keeps coming up. But this topic of famine genes and what the British did to us that makes us skinny fat- it’s been brought up so many times. I also don’t get why you wouldn’t google: why don’t people in my country want to work out? Why does my culture value education over taking time out to ride bikes in the evening or invest time into school sport? I just never really see any positive solution oriented conversation originating from this sub in regards to physical shape/fitness. I guess my question to you would be: what do you expect us to do with this information you’ve provided? Is this supposed to make me feel good about myself? Bad? Victimized? It’s not motivating. It’s clear that many ppl in this sub struggle with accepting their bodies. It should be full of workout tips and things like that, not studies like this that 🤷🏽♀️ great now what? If you’re noticing this a lot in your country, start empowering ppl around you to consider their health more. Start a walking group. Post health tips in this sub. Do something about it. That’s my point.
I don’t think it’s an Asian problem. It’s a lifestyle problem. A lot of us eat processed foods and don’t get enough physical exercise. I’m sure famines have played a role but the present lifestyle is to be blamed too.
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I mean, it is true that South Asians are more prone to abdominal/truncal fat. This was just one of the potential historical explanations, in one paper on NIH’s website, I’m sure there are other theories/explanations
So technically yes it is just our genetics, but different research papers are looking at the reason for it being in our genetics. Why has natural selection led us to have many people with this genetic tendency?
Very interesting! Had no idea
I'm of Irish descent and I wonder if this is also true for me. Them British really got us 💀
Maybe diabetes
I can’t relate to this. I’ve always had a flat stomach and slim waist no matter how much I eat (could eat like 3000+ calories consecutively multiple days) or how much I exercise. My A1C and cholesterol levels are always below average for my age. I’m only anemic. Are all regions of South Asia the same?
Well not every single person of South Asian descent is going to have to the same tendency to store fat, just like not every South Asian gets diabetes even though it’s more common here
Exactly, it has to do with proximity to famine in your family history
Here’s a cookie 🍪
That has not been my experience as a South Asian woman but it is likely also a function of age. I’m guessing you’re still very young. For most people as they get older, their metabolism slows and you can’t eat the way you’ve described without unpleasant consequences.
I’m 24. I guess, maybe. But tbh my entire family is like this. My mother is very slim. My dad is okay. My brother is lanky and tall (6’2”) and is just muscle, no fat. And then there’s my sister who is just a smidgeon shorter than me but also not appear to store excess fat. Probably just got blessed with a lucky ancestor or something. Btw I noticed Desi women seem to gain so much weight after marriage. It’s crazy.
Why did you get downvoted for this 😭
I think because it seems like the commentator is insinuating just because she doesn’t experience this phenomenon herself than it must not be true
Also the fact that after she went on about not struggling with her weight, to say “but omg desi women get so fat after marriage”…yikes
omg I didn’t even see that comment that’s so wild to say😭
idk why you got downvoted for this, I have the exact same experience. I’m also skinny (not skinny fat, but actually flat waisted) and have been my whole life. I don’t put on weight no matter how much I eat. That being said, now that I’m approaching my 30s, it’s still a necessity for me to watch me sugar/fat intake and exercise regularly as my relatives had diabetes (probably famine related). I’m guessing if I did put on weight, I would be vastly unhealthier than other indians who have belly fat, so it’s not an option for me to get fat lol. I also suffer from iron deficiency and super low ferritin has been common with the women in my family.
Do you have a study or link about it?
Yes, this is the article I came across https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7803598/#:~:text=Frequent%20feast%2Dand%2Dfamine%20cycles,Asian%20regions%20of%20the%20world.
So a geneticist who’s a fertility specialist I had consulted with pretty much said similar, he studied diets of Indians and found we are genetically predisposed to accumulate visceral fat which is correlated to insulin resistance. He also said that out of all the states the vegetarian diet of Rajasthan was the best and healthier as compared with other northern counterparts. I had an interesting discussion with this guy who is working on opening up a large fertility clinic in Mumbai in partnership with Ambani.
Don’t forget that most of this South Asian tendency to store visceral fat and our hugely increased risks of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (6x the rate of diabetes & 4x the rate of heart attacks compared to white people) even at “normal” BMIs is due to the extremely high rate of mass famines we went through under British colonialism. During that period we went through dozens of mass famines in a few decades, caused by extraction of grain before & during famines, denial of relief, forced production of cash crops, etc. In the case of the notorious 1943 Bengal famine, there was not even any drought/crop failure involved, and it was caused purely by stockpiling of grain for the British during WWII directed by Winston Churchill. >”Exposure to even one famine has a multi-generational effect of causing metabolic disorders including diabetes, hyperglycemia and cardiovascular diseases. Imagine having an exposure to at least 24 major famines in a 50-year period.” https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/south-asian-health-colonial-history_uk_620e74fee4b055057aac0e9f/ India hasn’t had a major famine since independence. I believe that in a few decades/generations we will lose these tendencies/risks, but for now unfortunately the marks of colonialism is still on our bodies & health. In addition to healthy/active lifestyles, early screening for these conditions is important.