How To Eat Sri Lankan Food and Lose Fat SL

About the Author
Gayan Perera is the Founder and Head Coach at Team

New Start. Years of dedication and commitment have
allowed Gayan to achieve his clients most desired fitness
goals and have led him to become one of the most
demanding trainers in Australia.
Gayan is a PICP Strength Coach, Sports Nutrition

Specialist & Bio Signature Practitioner. With his extensive
knowledge in fat loss and muscle development, he is
known for his no - nonsense approach to help his clients
achieve their health, fitness and body Composition goals.
Gayan is specialised in training fitness competitors to win

Elite level fitness competitions and day-to-day individuals
to achieve significantly lower body fat levels, build lean
muscle and shape, improve health and performance. He
also believes in practicing what he preaches. He is no
stranger to fitness competitions.
2 www.gayanperera.com
Competitions
1st Place Fitness Model Overall - Australian National Titles

1st Place Fitness Model Over 30 – Australian National Titles
3rd Place Men’s Physique – Victorian Titles
Disclaimer
All recommendations are made GENERALLY for people

who are looking to improve their physiques, while living a
healthy lifestyle and increasing performance. This
information does not intend to or attempt to, cure,
prevent or treat any disease or illness. We assume that
you are healthy and free of disease as you peruse the
information presented. For any specific dietary
requirements, please see a qualified specialist.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form, for any
reason or by any means, whether re-drawn, enlarged or
otherwise altered including mechanical, photocopy, digital
storage & retrieval or otherwise, without the prior
permission in writing from both the copyright owner and
the publisher. The text, layout and designs presented in
this book, as well as the book in its entirety, are
protected by the copyright laws of Australia and similar
laws in other countries.
Table of contents
WHY SRI LANKANS GAIN WEIGHT EASILY ........................................................ 6
WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR SRI LANKANS TO LOSE FAT .......................... 8
WHERE TO START ............................................................................................................... 9
WHAT IS FOOD .................................................................................................................. 10
NUTRITION INDIVIDUALITY .......................................................................................... 12
WHAT IS GOOD NUTRITION...................................................................................... 14
CALORIES ............................................................................................................................... 15
DIETARY PROTEIN ............................................................................................................. 16
DIETARY FAT ........................................................................................................................ 16
DIETARY CARBOHYDRATE ............................................................................................ 17
HOW DO WE GET FAT? ............................................................................................... 18
I WILL LOSE FAT IF I EAT LESS? .......................................................................... 19
HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR MEALS ....................................................................... 27
MEAL PLAN MADE SIMPLE .......................................................................................... 29
THREE BIGGEST ISSUES WITH THE WAY SRI LANKANS EAT .............. 30
Why Sri Lankans gain weight easily?
We gain weight easily because of poor nutrition practices

and lack of knowledge about nutrition.
it’s not your fault….
You were taught wrong. They told us to eat according to

Food Pyramid right? Well I’m not surprised, they also told
us to get a job and labour for a big cooperation until we
retire. Now we know both of these are not great advice.
USDA Food Pyramid
There are so many issues with the food pyramid, I’m not
going to go through them all, but let’s just look at the
biggest issue here…
• Too much carbohydrate for most average people

and too little protein.
USDA macronutrient recommendation
Carbohydrate 50-55%
Fat 25-30%
Protein 15%-20%
With Sri Lankans these numbers are even scarier.
Carbohydrate – 71%
Fat – 20%
Protein - 9%
Average Energy and Macro nutrient consumption in Urban

Areas (75 Percentile)
Energy* Carbohydrate Fat Protein

Male 2446 Cal 414g 58g 67g
Female 1947 Cal 349g 39g 50g
Source; US National Library of Medicine
*Energy is calculated macronutrient form its calorie
value.
Do you see the problem here?
*If you don’t know what calories and macronutrients are,

don’t worry you will get a better understanding about
them further down in the book.
Why is it so hard for Sri Lankans to Lose Fat?
After training hundreds of Sri Lankan clients and getting

them in the best possible shape, as well as further
pushing them in achieving elite level competitions. I can
assure you it’s no harder for us to lose that extra fat
hanging around when compared to other raises. The
issue is, we don’t have the proper nutritional education.
Sri Lankan cuisine is one of the healthiest cuisines on
the planet. Period!
Where did we go wrong?
If you look at the table above, you will notice two main
issues:
1. We consume way too much carbohydrates for an

average person who is rarely physically active
2. Way too little Protein.
Where does all these carbohydrates comes from?
If you were to eat 414g of Carbohydrates from Rice you

would have to eat 2kgs (after cook weight) of Rice a day
or 3kgs of sweet potato.
When was the last time you ate 3kgs of sweet potato?
So where does all these extra carbohydrates and calories

come from?
Keep reading, you will find out soon…
Where to Start
Like I mentioned in the first chapter, the root of the

problem is lack of knowledge about nutrition. You don’t
have to be a nutritionist to understand good nutrition,
but you definitely have to understand the basic principles.
We consume food from the day we are born till the day
we leave this world. Yet we only know very little about
what nutrition actually is. It’s a long journey, therefore
constant education is needed to achieve and maintain
long term results.
So buckle up and get ready…...
What is Food?
Seems like a silly question. Food is what we eat for

energy, right?
Yes, but it’s only part of the answer. Food contains

Macronutrients (Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats) break
down to produce energy for cells. Food also contains
micronutrients, zoo chemicals, phyto chemicals, fibre,
water and organic molecules that are yet to be
discovered but does not provide energy yet vital for
optimal health.
What happens inside your body when you eat?
Every time you eat you send a message to your body.

This means that every time you make a food choice you
have the opportunity to send a direct message to your
body to either improve or deteriorate your health,
performance and body composition.
When you consume food, your body interprets it as a

message.
You eat when you feel hungry but your body understands
it as,
• Release this hormone
• Don’t release that one
• Express this protein
• Don’t express that one
Do you see the importance of making smart food

choices?
Your health, performance and body composition depends

on the choices you make.
BE SMART WITH YOUR CHOICES
What’s the best diet?
It has to be the most popular question in the fitness

industry!
The answer is…….
There is none. There’s no one diet that works equally

well for everyone. Sorry to disappoint you, but that’s the
truth.
Nutrition Individuality
All humans share 99.9% same genetic makeup. That

leaves 0.1 genetic difference between each individual.
Human Body process 500 quadrillion (can be a lot more)
chemical responses per second for 24 hours a day. That
0.1% difference equals to 5 quadrillion (quadrillion with
15 zeros) different chemical responses per second.
This small genetic differences, called genetic
polymorphisms is the reason why each individual
responds slightly different to different food.
So;
Is high carbohydrate bad?
Is high fat bad?
Is caffeine bad?
The answer is for Whom?
It’s more about what you bring to the table rather than
what’s good and what’s bad.
For example, we all have genes in our liver that produce

certain enzymes to break down caffeine. Due to genetic
polymorphisms (small genetic differences) some of us
have the ability to break down caffeine faster. Others
breakdown caffeine slower.
• In people with fast enzyme, caffeine is processed
and removed quickly, while the antioxidants found in
coffee can help protect against free radicals.
• However, in people with the slow enzyme, the
caffeine hangs around longer, causing health
problems.
The bottom line is we all have unique biochemistries.

When media tells you to eat high sugary cereal with low
fat milk for breakfast and eliminate fats and red meat, it
may counter to your body’s nutritional needs.
You will understand this better when we look at the case

studies.
So what is good nutrition?
Good nutrition helps us to look, feel and perform better.
Health
Optimal Nutrition
Body
Perfromance Composition
There are no rules when it comes to training and

nutrition, only principals. Good nutrition isn’t about
following the rules and eating food that you don’t enjoy.
It’s about eating in a way that helps you to live a
healthier and happier life.
Calories
What is a calorie?
Calorie is a unit of energy. We use calories as the

measurement unit for energy just like we use kilograms
to measure weight.
Where does calories come from?
In a previous a chapter we discussed food contains many

things.
1. Macronutrients (we need them in large amounts);

Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat
2. Micronutrients (we need them in small quantities);
Vitamins and minerals
3. Fibre
4. Water
Calories only come from Macronutrients (Protein,

Carbohydrate and Fat). Micronutrients, Fibre and Water is
vital for optimal health yet do not provide energy
/Calories. I’m only going to mainly talk about
macronutrients in this book.
Dietary Protein
Protein comes from the Greek word “proteos” meaning

main/most important one.
Body need proteins to

• Make hormones
• Upregulate/Downregulate receptor cites
• Rebuild tissues
• Make neurotransmitters
Protein is essential for DNA & Cellular maintenance and

regulation not just muscle development.
Dietary Fat
Second most important macronutrient.
Why we need Fat

• Make cell membrane
• Protective cushioning
• Myelin sheath
• Hormone production
• Steroid Hormones (adrenalin/noradrenalin); not the
ones people inject, the ones our body make
• Sex Hormone production
Dietary Carbohydrate
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibres found

in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products.
Protein and Fats are essential, in other words, without

those two we die. Carbohydrates is not so essential to
the human body.
We only need about 100g carbohydrates per week to

survive. I am not saying you have to go to that extreme.
If you are some one that trains hard it’s a good idea to
have good amount of carbohydrates with your meals.
When I say training hard I mean weight training at least

4 times a week. Walking on treadmill for one hour is not
training hard.
The point is we over consume carbohydrate most of the

time.
How do we get fat?
Fat storage occurs when energy coming in exceeds

energy expenditure. It’s a basic law of thermodynamics.
Excess energy has to go somewhere. We store fat when
we eat more than we burn through metabolism and other
physical activities. In our body’s preferred storage method
is adipose tissue or fat.
• Excess dietary fat is directly stored as body fat.

• Excess dietary carbohydrates increase body using
carbohydrate as energy impairing fat oxidisation
causing fat to be stored as body fat.
• Excess dietary protein increase protein oxidisation
impairing fat oxidisation causing fat to be stored as
body fat.
This means regardless what combination/ratio of

macronutrient you eat, if you eat more than you expend
you will store excess energy as fat.
There are many other factors affect how your body

process nutrients.
• Body Composition
• Hormone Profile
• Quality of the food we eat
• Age
• Activity level
• Gut health
So I will lose weight if I eat less?
Its more complicated than that. I have seen cases in my

own work where increasing someone’s calories have lead
to fat loss and decreasing calories that have lead to fat
gain. It’s not always as simple as calories in vs calories
out.
Why?
Because our bodies are not combustion engines. With

machines you know exactly how much product you get
when a certain amount of raw material is used. When
you charge your mobile phone you know exactly how
long it’s going to last for.
Your body is different. For example, your body digest

food differently when you are happy compared to when
you are sad. We all have been in a situation that we get
really bad news and feel sick in stomach and lose
appetite.
If you ever tried to work out calorie math you know how
frustrating it can be.
Do I have to count Calories?
No. You don’t have to count calories to get in shape.

Calories are important. But it can be quiet complicated to
understand. The good news is you can get in shape
without counting calories. And calorie math doesn’t work
all the time.
Case Study 1
When Hiran first came for a consultation he was eating

1400 calories with 0 carbohydrates and he couldn’t lose
weight. According to calorie calculation formula he needs
to eat 2400 calories to maintain his body weight. He was
eating 1000 less calories than what his body just need to
survive. If it was always calories in vs calories out, he
should have been losing weight. A year fast forward now
and he is eating more food than he was eating when we
first started working together with moderate amount of
carbohydrates. He continues to get leaner and build lean
muscles.
What about genetics, if I have bad genetics I can’t

achieve my goals right?
Genetics is the blue print of your body. Blue print is

designed when you are born. You cannot change it. Well
not yet, if you are reading this book in 10 years from
the published date it could be different.
Epigenetics is the construction workers that build the

building based on blue prints. If you choose competent
workers, they will build a fine building. If you choose
incompetent workers it could be a disaster.
In other words, epigenetic factors like nutrition, stress,

sleep will strongly affect gene expression.
For example, you may carry some gene variants for

obesity. But you can control what you put in your mouth,
what time you go to bed, how much water you drink,
controlling your stress etc.
Even if you carry some obesity genes, if you eat heathy,
sleep enough and control your stress they may never
express, but on the other hand if you eat junk food, play
video games all night, of course you are going to have
bad effects from it.
Genetics is the Gun. Your Choices pull the trigger.
Big Elephant in the Room
We looked at this table in the first chapter. Now we have

a better understanding about calories and macronutrients
this make better sense.
Energy* Carbohydrate Fat Protein

Male 2446 Cal 414g 58g 67g
Female 1947 Cal 349g 39g 50g
We know we eat way too much carbohydrates and way

too little protein than what we need. It’s simply the main
reason why we put on weight and we cannot lose weight.
So what can we do about it?
The good news is it’s very easy to fix.
1. First step increases your protein intake. Eat protein

with each meal.
• Lean meats
• Eggs
• Fish
2. Cook with fat.

• Coconut Oil
• Butter
3. Consume most of your carbohydrates around your

workouts and for dinner.
4. Avoid snacks like biscuits, cake, other sweets. These

are calorie dense. They taste great for a reason;
they are packed with sugar. Eat a proper meal
instead.
We never meant to eat them every day. Our

grandparents only made sweets during New Year
period and other special occasions. Now we can buy
them any day.
High Carb Tolerant Individuals
Case Study 2
I am not saying carbohydrate is bad and you shouldn’t

eat it. You should eat what your body can handle.
Thilina is a highly carb tolerant individual. He can eat

420g Carbohydrates and stay lean. Actually I took him to
700g carbs and he still maintained his abs. That’s the
1% though. Most of us will not be able to eat that much
carbs and stay lean.
Hiran from case study 1 eats 150g Carbs a day and
Thilina eats 700g carbs a day.
Do you see the difference? It always come down to each

individual and how much they can tolerate.
Thilina’s Meal Plan
Meal 1
Steak
Eggs
Vegetables
Fried in Coconut Oil & Organic Butter
Meal 2
Chicken Thigh
Vegetables
Fried in Coconut Oil
Meal 3 (Pre Workout Meal)

Lamb curry
Vegetable curry
Basmati Rice
Pre Workout Supplements

Coffee - Caffeine
Electrolytes
Intra Workout Supplements
Dextrose (Carbohydrate supplement)
Whey Protein Isolate
Post Workout Supplements

Dextrose (Carbohydrate supplement)
Whey Protein Isolate
Creatine
Meal 4 (Post Workout Meal)

Chicken Curry
Vegetables Curry
Basmati Rice
Pineapple
Maple Syrup/Honey
Meal 5 (Dinner)
Fish
Sweet Potato
Maple Syrup/Honey
Do not follow Thilina’s meal plan if you want to get lean.

He is the 1%. I have never come across anyone else that
can tolerate that much carbs and stay lean.
How to Organise your meals?
Protein At each meal Red Meat

Lean Steak, Lamb Leg, Kangaroo,
Camel, Goat, Bison, Liver (Organ
meats); Grass Fed Preferred
White Meat
Chicken Breast /Thigh or Mince,
Turkey Breast/Thigh or Mince,
Lean Pork; Free Range Preferred
Fish
Salmon, arramundi, Basa, Calamari,
Crab Meat, Flounder, John Dory,
Ling, Lobster, Prawn, Snapper,
Whiting
Eggs
Whole eggs with yolk
Protein Powder
Whey Protein Isolate, Rice & Pea
Protein
Fat At each meal Nuts (Any kind You prefer),

Coconut Oil, Organic Butter, Ghee,
Olive Oil (Don’t Cook with olive oil.
Use fresh), Coconut Milk, Avocado
Vegetables At each meal Asparagus, Green Beans, Bok Choy
and other Asian greens, Broccoli,
Brussel sprouts, capsicum, Carrots,
Cauliflower, Celery, Courgettes
(zucchini), Cucumber, Eggplant
(aubergine), Garlic, Herbs, Kale,
Leeks, Lettuce, Onion, Radish,
Rocket, Silver beet, Spinach,
Tomato, Mushrooms, Green Jack
fruit, Any vegetable is okay
Low GI Around your Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Quinoa,
Carbohydrates workout and Brown Rice, Red Rice
(Great for fat dinner
loss)
Hi GI Around your White Potato, Basmati Rice, Arborio
Carbohydrates workout and Rice, Any other white rice variety
(great for dinner
recovery &
Muscle
building)
Herbs and Marinate with Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Ginger, Curry
Spices them. Use as Powder (Sri Lankan/Indian),
much as you Turmeric, Nutmeg, Cardamom,
like. Herbs & Basil, Bay Leaves, Curry Leaves,
Spices are Cayenne Pepper, Celery Seeds,
nutrient dense, Chives, Cinnamon, Cloves,
calorie void and Coriander, Cumin, Dill, Fenugreek,
comes with Kaffir Lime Leaves, Lavender,
various health Lemon, Basil, Thyme, Mustard,
benefits. Oregano, Paprika, Parsley,
Peppermint, Poppy Seeds,
Rosemary, Saffron, Sage, Sesame
Seeds, Spearmint.
Liquids Water, tea (without sugar), Coffee
For more comprehensive Fat Loss Nutrition & Training

Plans Visit: https://gayanperera.com/coaching-with-gayan
Meal plan made simple
Step 1: Pick a Protein from the list.

Red meat, white meat, fish or eggs. (Protein powder
post workout only). You can marinate meat with
anything from herbs and spices list. Any Sri Lankan
curry powder is okay. Not just okay they are great
for your health.
Step 2: Cook your protein with fat.

Eg;
if you want to fry use coconut oil or organic butter.
If you make a curry you can use coconut milk.
No vegetable oil or any other hydrogenated oil.
Step 3: Add Vegetables.

Make a curry, fry or bake.
You can use fats to cook vegetables
Step 4: Carbohydrates.
If you are trying to lose weight, it’s a good idea to
eat carbohydrates around your workout and dinner
only.
How easy is that? I love simplifying things.
“Any fool can make something complicated. It takes a

genius to make it simple”
-Woody Guthrie-
Three biggest Issues with the way Sri Lankans eat
• High Calorie Snacks

• Carbohydrate for breakfast
• Vegetable oil
Snacks = Sneaky Calories
We discussed in a previous chapter fat storage occurs

when energy coming in exceeds energy expenditure. All
the snacks we Sri Lankans eat have high calorie content.
Per 100g Calories Carbohydrates

Cooked Rice 150 30g
Biscuits (average brand) 450 60g
Biscuits contains 3 times more calories than rice, twice

as much carbohydrates. It’s even worst with Sri Lankan
sweets.
You thought rice was the problem huh?
Sweets are festival food. We were never meant to eat
them every day. Of course now we can go to super
markets and buy anything any day. When our
grandmothers were young they only ate them in New
Year seasons and other special occasions.
Carbohydrate for breakfast
Most people will tell you to eat your rice and other
carbohydrates for breakfast. Well I don’t really see the
benefit of eating carbohydrate for breakfast unless you
do weight training after breakfast.
When you wake up first thing in the morning your ghrelin

(hunger hormone) and Cortisol (Stress hormone) are up,
your body is in a fine stage to burn body fat. When you
eat carbohydrate for breakfast, which elevates insulin
levels, disrupt the entire fat burning process. Rice,
Hoppers, Bread, Mung Beans are not smart breakfast
choices unless you do weight training after that meal.
But our ancestors ate so much carbohydrates for

breakfast?
Yes! But what did they do after that? Hard physical work
all day. You can eat carbohydrate for breakfast if you do
heavy physical work, its good idea to avoid them
otherwise.
So if I don’t eat carbohydrates for breakfast, when I can
eat them?
Later in the day.
But I heard I will get fat if I eat carbohydrate after 6?
It’s another myth among many others, in the fitness

industry. Almost all my clients eat carbohydrate for
dinner. I eat my rice right before bed. There is no
scientific evidence that shows eating carbohydrates for
dinner increase fat gain.
What about coconut milk?
Coconut Milk is completely fine. Coconut Milk is super

healthy.
Vegetable oil
Let me tell you a story…
Proctor & Gamble was the lead player in making Soap

and Candles in early 1900. They used expensive animal
Fat to make candles.
In 1907 Edwin Kayser, a German chemist invented a

process of foaming solid fat from cotton seed. P&G spent
millions of dollars and bought the rights for this
technology for US. This is the time electricity started to
get popular. P&G are smart business people saw they are
going to lose their candles market to electricity and they
have already invested millions in the new technology to
create hydrogenated fat. Guess what they did next?
They formed Crisco in 1911 and started selling cotton

seed oil as food. Cotton seed oil, Vegetable oil, cooking
oil, margarine go through the same hydrogenated
process.
Scared yet?
There are lot of things food companies don’t want you to

know.
What’s the solution?

Use good old Coconut Oil or Butter with your cooking.
But I heard coconut oil increase cholesterol levels?

The truth is, eating coconut oil will improve your
cholesterol values and reduce your risk of heart disease.
Final notes from the Author
“Knowledge isn’t power. Applied Knowledge is power”
You are not going to get any results just reading this
book. Apply what you have learnt. I Sincerely hope you
gained a lot of value from this book.
Online Training With Gayan

https://gayanperera.com/training-with-gayan
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/gayan323/
Join My Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/SLhealthandfitnessgroup
/
You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCha8ZzBliejVehJsGdXM
5Jg/featured
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/gayanpereraPT/
Until next time……….
Gayan Perera

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About the Author

Gayan Perera is the Founder and Head Coach at Team

Gayan is a PICP Strength Coach, Sports Nutrition

Gayan is specialised in training fitness competitors to win

1st Place Fitness Model Overall - Australian National Titles

All recommendations are made GENERALLY for people

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be

WHY SRI LANKANS GAIN WEIGHT EASILY ........................................................ 6

WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR SRI LANKANS TO LOSE FAT .......................... 8

WHERE TO START ............................................................................................................... 9

WHAT IS FOOD .................................................................................................................. 10

NUTRITION INDIVIDUALITY .......................................................................................... 12

WHAT IS GOOD NUTRITION...................................................................................... 14

DIETARY PROTEIN ............................................................................................................. 16

DIETARY FAT ........................................................................................................................ 16

DIETARY CARBOHYDRATE ............................................................................................ 17

HOW DO WE GET FAT? ............................................................................................... 18

I WILL LOSE FAT IF I EAT LESS? .......................................................................... 19

HOW TO ORGANISE YOUR MEALS ....................................................................... 27

MEAL PLAN MADE SIMPLE .......................................................................................... 29

We gain weight easily because of poor nutrition practices

it’s not your fault….

You were taught wrong. They told us to eat according to

USDA Food Pyramid

• Too much carbohydrate for most average people

USDA macronutrient recommendation

With Sri Lankans these numbers are even scarier.

Average Energy and Macro nutrient consumption in Urban

Energy* Carbohydrate Fat Protein

Source; US National Library of Medicine

Do you see the problem here?

*If you don’t know what calories and macronutrients are,

Why is it so hard for Sri Lankans to Lose Fat?

After training hundreds of Sri Lankan clients and getting

Where did we go wrong?

1. We consume way too much carbohydrates for an

Where does all these carbohydrates comes from?

If you were to eat 414g of Carbohydrates from Rice you

So where does all these extra carbohydrates and calories

Keep reading, you will find out soon…

Like I mentioned in the first chapter, the root of the

Seems like a silly question. Food is what we eat for

Yes, but it’s only part of the answer. Food contains

What happens inside your body when you eat?

Every time you eat you send a message to your body.

When you consume food, your body interprets it as a

Do you see the importance of making smart food

Your health, performance and body composition depends

BE SMART WITH YOUR CHOICES

What’s the best diet?

It has to be the most popular question in the fitness

The answer is…….

There is none. There’s no one diet that works equally

All humans share 99.9% same genetic makeup. That

The answer is for Whom?

For example, we all have genes in our liver that produce

The bottom line is we all have unique biochemistries.

You will understand this better when we look at the case

Good nutrition helps us to look, feel and perform better.