I just thought I'd put this out there for any interested. A few years back I had great success with this very simplified version of the Rice House Diet. Obviously there are many many more choices you can make regarding food, but this is what worked best for me.

I know 'rice diet' sounds like a fad diet but it's really just a very healthy vegetarian way of eating. It's a low fat, low sodium diet and the calories run roughly 1200-1300 per day.

Breakfast -2/3 cup of rice & Beans

2 small fruit OR 3 cups of low carb vegies (raw...half that if cooked) OR 1 fruit and 2 cups vegies (raw)

lunch and dinner are the same thing. I usually would save one of my fruits and eat it mid-meal as a snack. I lost 9 lbs in one week and 5 lbs the following week. I was never hungry, most likely because the beans and rice make a complete Protein. Here's my bean & rice basic recipe:

Saute 1 med. onion and 1-2 cloves of garlic in 2 tsp olive oil. Toss in three 15 oz cans of beans (rinsed) and 3 cups of cooked brown rice. Pour in enough low sodium chicken broth to cover. Add spices and bring to simmer. Turn off and add any additional ingredients you'd like (e.g. cilantro)

From here you can get adventurous depending on your mood of the day. Here are some varieties we've tried:

Southwestern: 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin. Add a handful of chopped cilantro after it comes to a simmer.

Spanish: Before adding chicken broth, toss in a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes (we puree them because my son hates tomato bits). Then add chicken broth to cover and 1 tsp oregano, 2 tsp basil or just a tablespoon of McCormack's Italian seasoning.

We like to mix up the beans as well. I'll use 2-3 different kinds of beans in a batch which might include pinto, red beans, kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans and, when I remember to make them ahead of time because they're dried...Jacob's cattle beans.

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What rice do you use with the band? I really miss rice as I have tried rice and failed with the band.

What rice do you use with the band? I really miss rice as I have tried rice and failed with the band.

I use brown rice. Right now I have something I bought from Trader Joe's that's organic, but I've used regular Uncle Ben's brown rice...not the instant stuff.

I just take small bites, chew well and then put my fork down and wait a minute or so between bites.

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I've followed this diet, too. It's a bit restrictive for a way of living for me, but I agree that it's basically a good way to eat, if you can tolerate its carb-heaviness. I can't, and my doctor would blow a gasket if I tried.

I haven't given it a whirl yet, but every bandit I know who has tried rice has had trouble with it. I hope I'm not one of them; I can see leaning toward this way of eating---with some leeway for more complete sources of protein--when I'm further down the road.

As a diabetic, I was a bit worried about the carbs as well, but surprisingly, they weren't an issue. I didn't get that carb overload feeling that I normally would get after eating this many carbs and I my sugar readings didn't spike like I thought they would.

I think we each have unique nutritional requirements which is why some people do well on a low carb and some don't and why some do well on a high carb and others don't. The trick for each of us is to find a healthy pattern of eating that we can stick with...a lifestyle change rather than diet.

I agree it is very restrictive which is why I didn't last beyond two weeks the last time. The difference for me this time is that I have restriction and couldn't quit and eat out now even if I wanted to. Which brings me to a possible dilemma. I haven't yet tried eating the rice or Beans since my last fill and the only reason I'm considering it at all is because my 17 year old wants to go on it again and won't without a 'buddy'.

Here's hoping I can still eat the rice. Oh and by the way...rice and beans when combined are a complete source of Protein...or so I've read.

wowow, thank you for the recipe.....nice idea. liked the numbers 9lb loss. :rolleyes2:

I decided to start this tonight and am here to say I had 'no problem' eating the rice. What I do is take a slotted spoon and scoop out 2/3 cup of the mixture *without* the broth. The broth is just flavoring.

As I took that last bite, I reached the point where I felt full. Good timing. As I did in the past, I'm not going to eat my vegies or fruit with my meal. Instead, I'll wait for 2.5 hours and have a whole pear (sans skin since I have problem with the skin) which counts as two fruits (which I'm allotted with my meal). We'll see if I'm able to eat the whole thing.

I have to say I'm looking forward to this since I feel so much more energetic even by the 2nd day.

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