Desi Dietary

Cheatsheet

*Many of the following graphics are adapted from Precision

Nutrition & Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide
 HOW TO EAT TO BUILD
MUSCLE & LOSE FAT
build
DESI MEAL TEMPLATE
When you’re putting together a meal, try and have a “macro mindset.” Think in terms of
protein, fat, carbs and try to keep them balanced like below.

Use the following template to build your meals. Scale the portions up or down
depending on your individual needs and appetite!

Start with one fist size

(100-150g) of meat,
fish, eggs, or tofu,
OR 1
cup of lentils/daal and
1 cup of yogurt
Try and fill a
half your plate
with veggies
such as veg
sabzi, curries,
salad, etc

Rice, roti, etc.

Start with 1 fist
size (1 cup) of rice
1-2 teaspoons or 1-2 rotis, adjust
oils in cooking depending on your
recommended
portion sizes

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 40

 BALANCED MEAL

This plate is heavy on carbs (rice, roti, Add a side of Greek yogurt raita
small bowl of daal) and low in protein. to increase the protein and
remove a carb source.

Reduce dosa serving size and add

Plain dosa with sambar: high in carbs some egg or paneer bhurji,
and low in protein and veggies. or tofu mixed with veggies on the side
to increase protein and micronutrients.

Mix in some lean ground chicken or

Pav bhaji is high in carbs some soya crumbles to make a higher-
and low in protein. protein keema pav bhaji. Even better,
only eat one bun!

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 45

Desi Vegetarian
PROTEIN HACKS
Make egg bhurji, Use in place of Make smoothies,
curry, egg chaat, hard
regular dahi in mix into desserts,
boiled eggs, or
omelettes. The white raitas, kadhi, etc. mix unflavored pea
is primarily protein Swap for sour protein into roti
while the yolk is cream in dips and flour, or mix into
protein plus fat. sauces. curries and sabzis.

Mix into curries and Make paneer tikka, Use non-fat American
sabzis, mix into pav cottage cheese to
paneer bhurji,
bind roti dough. Eat
bhaji, or add into paneer stuffed with spices for a
upma and poha for dosas, kaati rolls, savory snack / dip, or
high protein and other mix into eggs to make
breakfasts. dishes. higher-protein
scrambled eggs.

Get the extra-firm or Use in place of green

TVP stands for high protein tofu for peas in mattar paneer
Textured Vegetable the most protein. and other dishes.
Protein and is usually Roast or air-fry with
Swap for paneer in
made from soy. Make chaat masala for a
curries. Make tofu crispy snack. Make
keema with it, or mix
into upma or poha. tikka or burji. edamame chaat
(recipe in this book).

Tofu's cousin with This high protein

Mix into idlis,
a firmer texture. powder has a
dosas, rotis, or
Grate it for sabzis cheesy flavor. Mix
other dishes.
& curries, or cube into pasta or
Sprinkle onto toast
it and make tikka sprinkled on pizza,
or blend into
or tikka masala. popcorn or salads.
smoothies.

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide

44
 MACROS IN DESI FOOD

Protein

Non-Fat Egg whites

Greek Yogurt Fish*
Tofu/Soy Shrimp*
chunks Chicken breast*

Protein + Protein +
Daal
Fat Cheese / Paneer Rajma
Carbs
Lamb* Channah
Chicken thigh* Besan
Salmon* Tofu
Keema* Dahi
Whole eggs Rice
Avocados Low-fat milk
Complete Roti
Oil meals Naan Potatoes
Butter Bread Pasta
Ghee Samosas
Idli Maggi
Cream Vada
Pakora
Dosa Chai (w/
Nuts (Almonds, Upma Sugar)
Paratha
Cashews, Thepla
Snack Mixtures
Peanuts Desserts Poha
Coconut, etc)
Coconut milk

Fat Carbs
Carbs + Fat

*= Non-veg

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide

39
 DESI SOURCES OF PROTEIN
FOR FAT LOSS

Greek Yogurt Lean meats:

Paneer & Chicken breast
Other Cheeses White Fish
Creamy curries (use Shrimp
greek yogurt) Turkey
(butter paneer, etc) Tandoori / Grilled meats
Protein powder Low-cream curries

Lentils, Chickpeas,
& Medium-lean meats:

Beans (Daal) Chicken thigh

Soya chunks Creamy meat curries

Tofu / Tempeh (butter chicken, etc)

NOTE: Lentils, beans, paneer, tofu, or
and chickpeas (daal,
rajma, channa, etc) have
some protein, but they
are also high in carbs.
Most have 2-3 times the
amount of carbs as
protein!
Edamame
Egg
High-fat red meats*
Seitan
like Lamb, Beef, Pork
Deep fried Deep-fried meats
Highly processed
other proteins meats
*These are not unhealthy, just high
in calories due to the fat content so
not as good during a fat loss phase

43
*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide
 DESI SOURCES OF CARBS
FOR FAT LOSS

Oats Fruits &

Lentils (daal) Vegetables
Chickpeas & Quinoa
Beans Brown rice
Ragi (millet) Sweet Potatoes
Whole-wheat flour (atta) White potatoes
Whole grain flours Besan / Dal flours

Honey and Jaggery

Dosa
Idli
White rice /
Rice flour / Poha
Upma / Semolina
White flourWhite
breadWhite pasta

Chips
Snack mixtures
Fried snacks
Desserts: Gulab Soda
jamun, jalebi, barfi, Sweets
ladoos, etc Fruit juice

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide

41
 DESI SOURCES OF FATS

Cheese / Paneer Coconut milk

Ghee Coconut oil
Egg Yolks
Butter
Fatty fish (like
salmon)
Cream Various Meats

Olives/Olive oil
Avocados /
Avocado oil Chia seeds
Sabja (basil) seeds
Nuts / Nut butters)

Sunflower oil
Peanut oil
Rice Bran Oil

Canola Oil
Margarine Soybean oil
Shortening
Hydrogenated vegetable
oils ("vegetable ghee")
Deeo fried foods

*Fat is high in calories so minimize

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide cooking fat/use spray oil during a fat
loss phase
42
 Estimating Food
If someone else cooked the food, do the best you can to approximate portion
sizes. You can use your hands as an estimate--See the image below. It might not
be perfect, but that’s ok! Aim for close enough, not perfect. Break down the dish
into various components when tracking. For most vegetable dishes, this looks like
veggies + some oil it’s cooked in. For meat curries, this looks like meat + cooking
oil + some tomato and onion. Remember, spices are negligible.

Your fingertip is about 1

teaspoon

Your thumb is about 1

tablespoon from knuckle
The front of your closed fist
to tip of thumb
is about 1/2 cup

Your palm is about 4oz,

which is a standard
serving of a meat

A clenched fist is
about 1 cup

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 48

Tracking Desi Food
If you are making these at home, use a measuring cup or scale and see how
much flour, oil, or ghee you use. Keep track of how many rotis this makes. Create
a "recipe" in your app, and divide by the number of rotis you made to get an
accurate measure. If you are buying roti from a store, check the packaging to
see nutrition facts.

OTHERWISE - See if you can find an entry in your app for a roti. On average, roti
will be about 100 calories each. Small phulka rotis will be 80- 90 calories (with
no ghee). Larger ones with more oil will be around 120- 200 calories per piece
(especially with ghee). Here are a few examples on MyFitnessPal:

If you are making it at home, create a recipe. Otherwise, find the type of lentils and
estimate the quantity you ate. (Remember, 1 cup = about 1 fist size). Make sure you
enter the lentils either cooked OR raw, depending on how you measure them.
NOTE: 1 cup of cooked lentils should be about 200 calories. Make sure your value
is somewhere around this. If you’re not sure which type of daal, or if it’s a mix, use
generic “lentils, cooked.” Add a small amount of onion and tomato, and 1 teaspoon
oil or ghee per 1 cup serving (if you aren't sure how much oil was used). If the daal
feels very oily, enter 1-2 teaspoons additional oil per 1 cup serving. EXAMPLE DAAL
ENTRY:

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 49

 If you make it at home, create a recipe. Otherwise, find the type
of vegetable used and use your hands to approximate how
much you ate (remember, 1 cup is about 1 fist size). If it’s a mixed
dish with multiple vegetables, enter one or two of the
vegetables--don’t stress about every single veggie. (Unless the
veggies are starchy veggies like potatoes, peas, corn, or yams).
Add about 1 teaspoon oil per fist-size serving. If the food feels
more oily, enter 1-2 more teaspoons of oil. If the sauce is creamy
and contains a lot of butter or cream, enter about 1-2 more
tablespoons of butter or cream
per 1 cup serving.
EXAMPLE - DRY FRIED BHINDI:

If you made it at home, enter a recipe. Otherwise, figure out what

cut of meat it is: Is it chicken breast or thigh? If it’s ground meat, is
it 80% lean or 90% lean? If you’re not sure, err on the side of over-
estimating calories. Serve yourself a portion that’s approximately
the size of your palm or a deck of cards (4 oz), and enter the
appropriate value. Add ½ tomato for the base and some oil (1-2
teaspoons or tablespoons, depending on oiliness. If the curry is
very creamy, add 1-2 tablespoons of cream per 1 cup serving.

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 50

 You can enter these as a "custom food" in
MyFitnessPal, or find a value in your app that's
approximately the same calories:

One medium One medium

310 Calories 60 Calories
32g Carbs (2g Fiber) 6g Carbs (0g
18g Fat Fiber) 3g Fat
4g Protein 1g Protein

One medium One medium

70 Calories 100 Calories
15g Carbs (0g Fiber) 7g Carbs (1g Fiber)
0g Fat 6g Fat
1g Protein 3g Protein

1 Medium (about 9 inch diameter) One piece (about 1.5 x 1.5inches long)
150 60 Calories
20g Carbs (1g Fiber) 6g Carbs
7g Fat 3g Fat
3g Protein 1g Protein

Multiply by 1.5X for a large dosa

*if eating out, add 1-2 teaspoons extra oil

One medium
One medium
160 Calories
155 Calories
17g Carbs (1g Fiber)
14g Carbs (3g Fiber)
7g Fat
8g Fat
8g Protein
6g Protein

1 cup One medium

290 Calories 150 Calories
40g Carbs (3g 18g Carbs (1g Fiber)
Fiber) 11g Fat 7g Fat
7g Protein 3g Protein

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 51

 BEVERAGES & BOOZE

GO LIGHT ON THE SUGARY DRINKS...

Juices, sodas, milkshakes, lassi, or other drinks are a sneaky source of “empty calories:” Meaning
ingredients like sugar or fat which add a lot of unnecessary calories while not adding any other sort
of useful nutrients like vitamins, minerals and protein. They are also very easy to overeat and not
very filling making them particularly dangerous for fat loss. Try and limit the amount of sugary
beverages you consume and stick to water, plain tea, and lower-calorie drinks.

...AND HIGH ON THE H2O

Aim for 2-3+ Liters of water a day. Why? Drinking water will flush out water retention, beat
the bloat, improve your digestion and skin, and help you feel fuller. Get a water bottle, and
carry it around with you! You can also squeeze a lemon in it, or add some cucumbers, to
make it taste better. Often when you are hungry and craving something you are actually just
thirsty so try to drink a glass of water first to see if its actual hunger or just thirst.

WHAT ABOUT ALCOHOL?

Alcohol is a macronutrient, which means it has calories,
but our bodies process it differently than most other
foods. When we drink alcohol, our body presses "pause"
on our metabolism and digests the alcohol first. This
means that anything else you eat is more likely to get
stored as fat instead of being digested and utilized
as energy. On top of that, we tend to eat more
when drinking.

That's why it's important to drink in moderation instead of

binge drinking.

If you have fat loss or health goals, try sticking to drinking

1-2 times a week maximum. Pick lighter, lower-calorie
drinks over sugary cocktails.

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 46

 MINDFUL EATING
101
Mindful eating is a tool you can use to connect to your body, enjoy your meals more,
and prevent overeating. The hunger scale below is one tool you can use to assess how
hungry you are before and after meals. Try to start meals when you're just a little
hungry, and stop when satisfied but not stuffed. Mindful eating takes practice, but with
repetition, you can do it!

THE HUNGER SCALE: PREVENT OVEREATING

Starving: You Just a little Neutral Satisfied, Stuffed. You

could eat hungry but not stuffed definitely
anything in overate.
sight. "Hungry."
...STOP AT SATISFIED,
EAT WHEN JUST NOT STUFFED
A BIT HUNGRY...

OTHER TIPS:
Breathe deeply and check in with Don't show up to restaurants starving:
your belly through the meal to see if Have a small snack beforehand to
you're hungry. prevent overeating.

At restaurants, ask for high calorie

Slow down, chew throughly, and
dressings and sauces on the side, so
savor each bite of your meal.
you can control how much you add.

Find ways to cope with stress,

At restaurants, opt for food that's
boredom, and other emotions
baked or steamed instead of fried.
without food.

*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 47

 WANT MORE?
By following this guide you should be able to lose 10-
15 lbs of fat and build some muscle.

Portion Control

But if you want to fully transform you are going to

need a structured plan.

SAS PROGRAM

To get a customized workout and meal plan designed

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For More Content on How Skinny Fat South Asians Can Eat &
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*Adapted from Dee Gautham's Fit Desi Food Guide 47