I did some looking around on the forums, and didn't see anything that answered my question, so my apologies if I've missed a thread which explains this.

After working out today, I stopped home and had a whey protein shake. Then I decided to treat myself with a bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). I love pho, and there's only a couple of joints in Rochester here that really bang out quality stuff.

It occurred to me, though, that it's rice noodles. If I'm not mistaken, it's from white rice. Given that most folks shy away from white rice when they're trying to eat clean (it seems that more go for brown rice), is this a bad dish to eat? Would it actually be considered a "cheat meal" in the technical sense?

I'm not going to lose sleep over eating a bowl of soup, mind you -- I'm just looking ahead for planning purposes. If I'm going to cheat, this ain't a bad way to do it, but if it ain't cheating, I'll reward myself with a lot more pho. Highly recommended for those who haven't eaten it.

White rice is ok postworkout. I wouldn't eat it any other time though. :)

I did some looking around on the forums, and didn't see anything that answered my question, so my apologies if I've missed a thread which explains this.

After working out today, I stopped home and had a whey protein shake. Then I decided to treat myself with a bowl of pho (Vietnamese noodle soup). I love pho, and there's only a couple of joints in Rochester here that really bang out quality stuff.

It occurred to me, though, that it's rice noodles. If I'm not mistaken, it's from white rice. Given that most folks shy away from white rice when they're trying to eat clean (it seems that more go for brown rice), is this a bad dish to eat? Would it actually be considered a "cheat meal" in the technical sense?

I'm not going to lose sleep over eating a bowl of soup, mind you -- I'm just looking ahead for planning purposes. If I'm going to cheat, this ain't a bad way to do it, but if it ain't cheating, I'll reward myself with a lot more pho. Highly recommended for those who haven't eaten it.


It depends on you goals. If you are sitting at 10% bodyfat and trying to drop to 8%, then I would say get rid of it.

But...if you're trying to maintain your weight, bulk, or even drop from 20% to 15% bodyfat, then I don't think it matters. It may not be the ideal food, but I love eating pho and think that it's a fairly healthy food. Adding hoisin sauce does increase the sugar content though.

My body is pretty comfortable at a particular level of bodyfat. I have to make some sacrifices to get lower, but with intense workouts and heavy lifting, eating pho once or twice a week probably won't make or break my goals.

Pho isn't perfect, but it sure beats eating a triple serving of sesame chicken. I wouldn't reserve it only for cheat meals, unless you're not satisfied with the progress you are a making, whatever that direction is.

If you're not making gains and are unsatisfied, then I might consider getting rid of it.

I can't say for certain, but I can reasonably assume that pho is loaded with sodium. And if the rochester pho is served in anywhere near the quantities as San Gabriel, CA pho, then you're looking at several grams of salt in a single serving.