I always remember a Chinese friend of mine talking about people's perception of her weight both here in Australia and back in her homeland of China. Here, people are always saying, "You are too skinny! Put on some weight!" In China, she is normal.

Sadly though, the Western diet of high sugar and fatty foods, along with massive amounts of food lacking in nutrition, is infiltrating China. And as this happens, the obesity levels are also rising. However to the rest of us, we picture our local Chinese restaurant and wonder how they managed to stay thin on all of that food!

In a quest to show the Western world why the Chinese were so slim, Chinese food expert Lorraine Clissold has written a book called Why the Chinese Don't Count Calories. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Stop counting calories
The Chinese don't have a word for "calories". They view food as nourishment, not potential weight gain, and I love that. When you take this attitude, it means your meals are filled with nutritious foods instead of thinking a Diet Coke and a chocolate bar could be lunch.

2. Think of vegetables as dishes
I was away recently and was finding it hard to get vegetables with my meals. So I headed to a Chinese restaurant and got a plate full of broccoli stir-fried with garlic - it was heaven!
You may also notice that at a Chinese restaurant, the vegetables aren't tucked away as side orders. They are very much a part of the main event, and along with your meat dishes, you will always order vegetable dishes.

3. Eat until you are full
It should be quite simple. You sit down, eat until you are full (which used to mean until you were satisfied) then you do the same at your next meal. Unfortunately, in the Western world, we have confused ourselves. Firstly, we think full is the point where we are completely stuffed. Then, on top of that, we are too busy worrying about feeling guilty or eating light, which means we tend to skip our proper meals in favour of snacking on other foods.

4. Take liquid food
The Chinese tend to add a liquid course like soup into their meals, instead of drinking throughout their meals.

5. Bring yin and yang into your kitchen
There is a wonderful balance of foods eaten in Chinese, especially since more variety is eaten as all the meals are shared. Yin foods cool the body and tend to be wet and moist, while the yang foods heat it up and are usually dry and crisp ingredients. Each meal will have the perfect combination of these foods.

6. Use food to keep fit
Food was always used to benefit our health, but once again, this idea is being replaced by pills and potions from the drug companies. Garlic as an antibiotic, honey and lemon for your throat, beetroot for healthy blood, psyllium for constipation...nature still provides us with incredibly effective medications. The Chinese are very aware of this, and use their food to ensure the body is balanced and healthy.

7. Drink green tea
Green tea is a wonderful antioxidant, and also eliminates toxins from the body. The Chinese drink it using real tea leaves in a pot, and when they want more, they simply fill up the pot with more hot water without changing the leaves. Much more cost effective, and it also ensures you aren't overdosing on the caffeine.

8. Take restorative exercise
Exercise is very much a part of life in China, but they aren't slugging it out in the gym. Tai Chi, gentle walking and just a general expectation that one should be able to squat and move as you get older means the Chinese stay fit without the need for aerobics.