Hello, friends in this article we are going to cover in detail rice vs roti for weight loss and which one you should prefer if you want to lose weight.
Some people prefer rice over roti and vice versa but if they want to shed some extra weight then they don’t know which food will help them to achieve their goal faster.
Roti and Rice hold a very unique place depending on which part of India is being served, while north Indian households may serve these items in isolation or together, meals in the southern territory of India are usually dominated by rice while roti or chapati is part of heavier meal menu.
While there exist multiple varieties of rice depending on which part of the country or world it grows, Chapati that’s more famously known as Roti is the Indian version of wheat flat round bread very popular in the Indian subcontinent countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar Indonesia, etc.
While rice could be boiled, steamed or pressure cooked, roti is made by turning the wheat flour into a dough using water, small balls are then taken from this dough and converted into round flatbread using a small hand roller stick. Once the round flat bread gets an appropriate size it is baked.
Carbohydrate food particularly Roti and Rice (60-65%part of our meal) provides an enormous amount of energy in the Asian Indian diets. When we compare the consumption of Roti and Rice, Rice consumption is higher in the southern and eastern parts of the country, and Roti or wheat consumption is higher in the northern part.
Roti and Rice are the most inseparable food from the Indian diet. India ranked 2nd on the global Rice Consumption Index and 3rd on the Wheat Consumption Index. These two are the main staples of the diet.
It is not only famous in India but also consumed in many other countries. But when we think about weight loss, we often give up on roti, rice, or both to achieve the target weight goal.
People are always left confused when it comes to choosing between Roti and Rice. But today we will compare their nutritional value and find out which is the right choice when we want to shed a few kg.
Rice Vs Roti Which Is Better For Weight Loss?
First, we will see the nutritional values of both rice and roti as this will help us to determine which food item is giving you more nutrition. This will also help us to determine which is better for weight loss.
Rice Vs Roti Nutritional Value
| Macronutrients | Roti (1 medium size) | Rice (1/3 cup ) |
| Calories | 71 kcal | 80 kcal |
| Protein | 3 gram | 1 gram |
| Carbohydrates | 15 gram including 2-gram fiber | 18 gram |
| Fat | 0.4 gram | 0.1 gram |
| Fiber | More | Less |
| Starch | Less | More |
| Mineral | More | Less |
| Sodium | More | Less |
Nutritional Value of Atta (wheat flour):
A small 6-inch or medium size chapati contains 71 calories, 3 grams of protein, 0.4 grams of fat, and 15 grams of complex carbohydrates, including 2 grams of fiber.
The carbohydrates in atta or wheat flour are called complex carbohydrates because atta or wheat flour is made out of grinding the whole grain wheat that’s a combination of germ, endosperm, and bran of the whole grain. This is also the reason wheat flour has more fiber.
Wheat flour is also rich in minerals like potassium, magnesium, sodium, proteins, and calcium. Atta has gluten protein that provides elasticity to dough made out of wheat flour.
As mentioned above wheat flour are rich in protein and fiber, so it will make you feel fuller for a longer time and prevent you from overeating and weight gain.
Protein presence in wheat flour will improve your metabolism which is inversely linked to belly fat and calorie burning.
Nutritional Value of Rice:
1/3 cup of Rice (around 66-67 grams) contains 80 calories, 1 gram of protein, 0.1 gram of fat, and 18 grams of simple carbohydrates. White rice is made by polishing and removing the outer skin of the grain of rice.
Rice is a better source of Folate (water-soluble vitamin B) than chapati. Rice contains low protein, dietary fiber, and fat when compared to chapatis.
Rice is easily digestible because of its starch content low fiber and protein. So it will not provide the same satiety value that 2 chapatis will give.
Even though rice has less protein and fiber it has some benefits also. The quality of protein and amino acids in rice is much better than that found in roti.
Lots of studies have shown that a combination of rice with lentils and legumes and vegetables provides complete amino acid and other nutrients profile found in dairy products and eggs.
Rice is a good source of resistant starch. Resistant starch foods are those starch that is not digested in the small intestine and ferments in the large intestine that has lots of health benefits.
The benefit of resistant starch is it acts like probiotics that are good for your gut health and immunity. Parboiled rice has a higher resistant starch.
We do not eat rice alone rice is always consumed as a side dish, we always combine rice with vegetables, dal, and legumes so the lack of fiber in rice compensate by fiber present in vegetables and dal and it slows down the release of sugar from rice.
There are varieties of rice available in the market, black rice, red rice, brown rice, white rice, semi-polished rice, parboiled rice, hand pounded rice. You can always switch to different varieties of rice.
Glycemic Index of Roti and Rice:
High and Low Glycemic index affects our blood sugar and blood insulin. Glycemic Index is a rating for food that shows how quickly food is digested and absorbed and affects our blood sugar or glucose level.
Food is said to have a higher glycemic index when it rapidly increases our blood sugar and blood insulin levels and such foods shouldn’t be over-consumed.
Now, Roti has high fiber content so it has a low glycemic index, White rice, on the other hand, has negligible fiber so high glycemic index and it does spike our blood sugar and insulin levels.
Rice or Roti Which is best for weight loss?
Consuming roti and rice both have their pros and cons. Roti has more protein, fiber, micronutrients, and low glycemic index while rice has better quality protein and resistant starch.
So it’s not about roti versus rice it’s all about overeating Roti vs Over eating rice. It is easy to overeat rice while roti is easy to count.
Both Roti and Rice are high-calorie food and both can cause weight gain when eaten in excess so quantity and portion size are more important if you are looking for weight loss.
When you are eating rice make sure you are combining it with dal and lots of vegetables and you can also choose varieties of rice and include them in your diet.
If you are on a controlled sodium diet keep count on your roti portion because wheat has more sodium (120 grams of wheat has 190 mg of sodium).
To burn calories from 1 serving of chapati or Roti we need to do 10 minutes of running, 15-20 minutes of cycling, or 45-50 minutes of normal household cleaning
Conclusion:
Eating Roti or Rice has both advantage and disadvantages. Overeating can cause weight gain. So the key to losing weight is to control your portion size.
Two medium size roti or ½ small bowl of rice with one roti is enough for weight loss with a combination of dal and vegetables. Eliminating any of these from your diet is not a solution. Have a bit of everything.
If you liked this article then please share so that others can know which one is better for your weight loss journey. Also please share which one you prefer to eat in the comment section below.
