in terms of strictly weight, yes. but that dude is not healthy and probably felt like **** all the time. its harsh on your body.
You are right in that portion control is half the battle. But just because he lost weight does not make it nutritional. It is really that simple if you are just trying to lose weight -- anyone will if they cut back on their portions, but that still doesn't make their diet healthy. The best way to be healthy is to exercise, eat good portions of lean proteins and complex carbs (vegetables), and eat junk only in moderation. Concentrate on increasing lean muscle and decreasing body fat rather than weight.
It isn't simply how much you eat and how much you exert. That'll just lower your weight. Being healthy depends on what you eat. Brown rice consists of complex sugars whereas white rice is simple sugars. Complex sugars are much healthier for you. Similarly, people say fish is good to eat. You can eat catfish or salmon, but salmon will have the healthier omega-3 fats which are better for your body. You can eat 500 calories of broccoli or 500 calories of gummy bears. It's the same amount of energy, but a rocket scientist doesn't have to tell you which is healthier.
seriously... there is dihydrogen monoxide in practically all fruits and vegetables these days, even those from "natural" sources. And it finds its way into rice and pasta - even brown rice - during the cooking process. Be careful.
White rice is a simple carb just like all fruits. Brown rice is a complex carb. Eating white rice wont necessarily make you fat but it does increase your risk for diabetes. Plenty of asians are skinny yet are diabetics. I'm no health expert but simple carbs are good only at certain times. Simple carbs cause high insulin spikes compared to complex carbs. Look at the glycemic index.
Diabetes mean your body can't make insulin. If simple carbs made your insulin spike wouldn't that be very good for diabetics? Obviously if you have diabetes carbs can be fatal. This is a super interesting read on how they treated diabetes before insulin. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26058/26058-h/26058-h.htm
For most people, if you just cook for yourself using natural (not even organic) ingredients, manage your portions, and exercise moderately, you're probably going to be healthier than most of the american population, without even worrying about your fat, sugar or sodium intake. While it's true that most people are misinformed about what's "good for you," generally speaking the kosher salt we use to season a steak, the fat in the steak itself, sugars in fruit or white rice.. That stuff's definitely NOT what's making us unhealthy. That said, it is a bit discouraging to watch someone order a salad, then slather it in ranch dressing (it's mayonnaise watered down with buttermilk, people!), thinking that they're eating healthy.
All of this Glycemic Index stuff is kinda oversold anyways. If you eat this white rice or white bread with say protein, lettuce, fats etc the total impact on your blood sugar is not much different. Not to mention the insulin effect of weight gain is not exactly the most important factor.
You are thinking of type 1 or juvenile diabetes. Type 2 (the one most associated with eating unhealthy) is caused by your body being unable to respond as efficiently to insulin. TLDR: Type 1/Juvenile Diabetes: No insulin production Type 2: Poor insulin response
