The Chinese don’t really do weight loss diets as such - instead they tend to eat as they wish, but are very particular about how the eat and view their food, and they have one of the healthiest populations on the planet. So it suggest they know what they’re talking about.

Chinese cuisine is all about balance and harmony and these are found both in individual dishes and in a whole meal. When preparing ingredients, a Chinese chef considers shape, color, taste and texture. So ingredients for a stir-fry are usually cut in uniform shapes so they cook evenly and that the finished dish looks attractive as well as tastes good.

Sometimes ingredients are put together because they complement each other - crunchy shreds of celery with crisp leaves of a lily bud - or to create a contrast - red tomato pieces with strips of fried egg.

Food is regarded as an integral part of the wider Chinese culture, which is embodied in the philosophy of yin and yang - two opposing forces that together form a whole. In Chinese cuisine, yin and yang are manifested in the cooking methods used to prepare a meal; stir-frying, deep-frying and roasting are yang; whereas boiling, poaching and steaming are yin.

Ingredients are also yin or yang. Most meats and oils are considered yang so they are partnered with yin foods such as mung beans, bean curd or cucumber.

Yin and yang pervade every area of Chinese thought and being - in the human body, the top half is considered to be yang and the bottom yin; the exterior yang, the interior yin. If a person eats too many yang foods (typical of a Western diet), they may have skin problems or food allergies. Increasing the yin foods in the diet will nourish the internal workings of the body and restore the balance.

A Feast of Flavors

But what about sweet and sour pork, or lemon chicken? Actually, these Western favorites have their roots in authentic Chinese cuisine because Chinese meals feature five flavors - sour, sweet, bitter, hot and salty - which nourish the five energy centers of the body, keeping it fit and in balance. But whereas Westernized Chinese cuisine tens to major on rich, stir fried dishes, a more authentic meal would serve strongly seasoned dishes alongside lighter ones, including a soup and unlimited boiled rice as a foil to the strong flavors.

According to Chinese dietary therapy (a branch of holistic traditional Chinese medicine), the Western diet is too bland or sweet and favors the stomach over other parts of the body. The result: expanding waistbands and ill-health. In many cases you can look and feel better by increasing the variety of foods in your diet and using more interesting and different seasonings.

In China, food is seen as something that makes you fit not fat. Where obesity does occur it’s considered to be an imbalance, not a problem in it’s own right. So an overweight person will be told to eat differently, not less. And you can forget punishing diet regimes, they have no place in Chinese food culture.

Chinese people don’t skip meals either. They look forward to them as social occasions and prefer to combine good food with good company. Special occasions are always celebrated with a feast and no one spoils the enjoyment of the occasion by worrying about the fat or calorie content.

Learn to experiment

In China, I learned to eat more but also to eat differently and not to be afraid to experiment with ingredients, flavorings and cooking methods. You can adopt this approach whether or not you cook Chinese-style recipes. You don’t need to give up steak and chicken, just think of them as one element rather than the whole, and don’t use vegetables as a garnish, make them into dishes in their own right.

Also, try serving food the Chinese way. Put all the dishes on the table and let everyone take a little from each. Eat until you’re comfortably full and be encouraged by an old Chinese proverb: “Whilst traveling don’t reckon the distance; whilst eating don’t reckon the quantity.’