How to lose weight eating Malaysian food

The NHS puts it simply: you lose weight when you eat and drink fewer calories than you use. Malaysian food is not a problem in itself. Many dishes are rich, but you can fit almost any of them into a week if you know their numbers.

Malaysia's clinical practice guidelines on obesity, from the Ministry of Health and medical societies, suggest one of these ways to start losing 0.5 to 1 kg a week:

• Eat about 500 to 750 kcal less than you usually eat each day.
• Or aim for about 1,200 to 1,500 kcal a day for women.
• Or aim for about 1,500 to 1,800 kcal a day for men.

The same guidelines say diets under 800 kcal a day should only be used under a medical team that includes a dietitian.

Nibbs works out your own target when you set up your plan. It estimates your daily needs (your TDEE) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation and an activity level, then takes away 250, 500 or 750 kcal a day for a slow, moderate or fast pace. It never goes below 1,200 kcal a day. It assumes about 7,700 kcal per kg of body weight, so a 500 kcal daily gap works out to roughly 0.5 kg a week. Our guide to TDEE explains the maths.

A gap of 500 kcal sounds like a lot. In practice it is often two swaps and one drink. Each swap below keeps you at the same kind of stall.

For example, char kway teow and a Milo ais for lunch come to 970 kcal. Wantan mee and a teh tarik come to 550 kcal. That one lunch saves 420 kcal.

Here are two days built from common dishes. Both are normal Malaysian eating. The lighter day keeps roti, rice, noodles and a teh tarik.

The lighter day is 1120 kcal lower. Your own target may be higher or lower than either day, so let Nibbs work it out when you set up your plan.

• Clear soups and broths. Penang assam laksa has about 380 kcal and only 3 g of fat. Curry laksa has about 550 kcal and 28 g of fat.
• Grilled and steamed protein. In the MOH calorie list, a whole grilled fish (ikan bakar, 120 g) has about 150 kcal, while a fried chicken breast (127 g) has about 310 kcal.
• Protein at every meal. Our high-protein guide ranks local dishes by protein, so you can pick meals that give you more of it.
• Vegetables and ulam. The Malaysian Healthy Plate fills half the plate with vegetables and fruit, a quarter with protein and a quarter with rice or other carbs.

• Sweet drinks. Two or three a day add up fast. Our kopitiam drinks guide shows how to order them lighter.
• Big rice portions. One scoop (senduk) of white rice is 76 g and about 100 kcal in the MOH calorie list. Many plates come with two or three scoops.
• Coconut milk and deep frying. Both add fat to rice, curries and noodles. A plate of char kway teow, fried in a hot wok, has 38 g of fat.
• Supper and snacks. A late roti canai or a few kuih is an extra meal. Count it.

None of these are banned. Pick the ones you enjoy most, and cut back on the ones you would not miss.

Malaysia's obesity guidelines describe up to 1 kg a week as a realistic goal. Slower is fine. A pace you can keep for months beats a strict month you cannot repeat.

Exercise helps too. The same guidelines encourage at least 150 minutes a week of moderate activity, building up to 300 minutes, or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous activity. An hour of social badminton burns about 315 kcal for a 70 kg person. Our guide to calories burned in Malaysian sports has more.

Take a photo of your meal. Nibbs recognises Malaysian dishes, uses local portion sizes and splits a mixed plate such as nasi campur into each item. Check each portion, edit anything that looks wrong and save. You can also type a description, scan a barcode or save a meal you eat often.

Nibbs sets your daily calorie and macro targets from your TDEE. Log your weigh-ins to see your progress chart, and use streaks and reminders to keep going on busy days.