5 Japanese Dieting Tricks I Used to Lose 20 Pounds
For people who have exercised for most of their lives, I admit that I have never been able to control parts or perform weight loss exercises.
My teammate is very skinny, as my brother said, I look very short and fat. Build a better relationship with my body, so I want to lose weight and feel better, but I can't find any goals that I can really achieve in the United States. To be honest, the fitness culture of this country scares me. I know I don't want to drink Kombucha every day, nor do I want to take the expensive SoulCycle course for the rest of my life. When I lived in Japan for a few years, I was impressed by the not-so-strong fitness culture. My partner goes to the gym, drinks protein shakes, or eats granola bars. When I learned about their culture, I realized that Japanese health culture focuses more on prevention rather than treatment, which is different from the American philosophy of compensation for overloaded bodies. By eating high-calorie foods, Japanese people have a balanced diet and travel every day.Not many people go to the gym or buy expensive products to maintain a healthy lifestyle because their daily lives are already healthy.
I will share the 5 Japanese eating habits that my family and I learned when we lived in Japan for a few years. All of this is very easy to integrate into my daily life and helped me lose 20 pounds in a year without having to do any serious things like my colleagues in the United States. I also think these techniques are useful for those who are unable to exercise due to physical injuries or those who have been thinking "I never have time to do other things".
1-Take a half bath every other day to relax.
A full bath may seem silly, but it essentially means that only half of our body is immersed in it. The most important thing is to take a relatively long hot bath, which helps to speed up the metabolism.
The recommended bath time is usually 20 to 30 minutes; anything else can overload your body and have the opposite effect. The 20-30 minute immersion is a spa concept and an important part of Eastern culture. ...Long bathing usually makes me sweat after 5-10 minutes, just like in a spa, it may be uncomfortable. For convenience, I put my phone or book in the bathtub to read, so that 30 minutes is not too exciting.
The half bath has become my favorite part of the day to relax and be alone. Americans prefer showering rather than bathing, but the opposite is true in Japan. I used to take a shower every day, but I took a shower several times a week, and on other days-shower.
The trick is to use 100-106 degrees Fahrenheit water instead of the 92 degrees recommended in the user interface, and then submerge half of my body in the water until the water level is just below my chest. The water narrowed my lungs and heart, but a half-length bathtub was comfortable enough to last for half an hour, if not less. The temperature drops when taking a bath, and I like to pour some hot water into the bathtub. Bring the temperature back to the set range.
Japanese bathtubs are usually equipped with a thermometer, and I can use it to easily adjust the water temperature. Not in the United States. I fill the bathtub with water, and then add hot or cold water to adjust it. You may be wondering why this is a common diet in Japan? Well, half a bath can make you stay in it for a longer time. The temperature of the hot water will warm the body and accelerate the calorie content. -Burning process The total amount of calories burned in the bath is very small. It should be effective for weight loss by itself, but on a regular basis (such as every day of the week) will speed up the metabolism, improve skin conditions and eliminate puffiness.
I found that this is a good way to get rid of toxins from the body. After using this method for a few weeks, I started to gradually lose weight. When I started taking a half bath, I felt uncomfortable and dehydrated when I sweated. It is important to drink plenty of water before doing so to stay hydrated and not to pass out in the bathroom!
2-Using konjac instead of rice or pasta
I learned this technique from my Japanese mother and she convinced me to eat konjac, also known as sweet potato pancakes. By adding konjac to two meals a day, she lost more than 15 pounds herself, which is what she did her best to start.
Do not exercise because of asthma. As she grew older, she became shy, and this diet boosted her confidence. So far, my 52-year-old mother is often mistaken for 40 years old, and she attributes this entirely to her konjac diet.
Konjac is almost tasteless or slightly salty, so almost anything can be easily made konjac as a substitute for rice or wheat noodles. It tastes like I am cooking rice. I mix rice grains with konjac and cook it. .. In the rice cooker. This makes it easy for me to incorporate konjac into my daily diet.
Another option is to buy konjac rice, which is rice-shaped konjac noodles. Konjac rice contains 97% water and 3% fiber, which can reduce daily carbohydrate intake.Konjac is also an excellent substitute for wheat noodles. Wheat noodles are rich in carbohydrates, which are eventually converted into sugar in the body. My personal favorite is Shirataki noodles, which are very low in carbohydrates and high in glucomannan fiber. Patients with diabetes or high cholesterol.
Konjac is widely used in the Eastern world to lose weight and control cholesterol levels. The reason is that it is rich in soluble fiber, which helps to reduce sugar content. Konjac will also swell in the stomach, which will slowly slow down the emptying speed of the digestive system and keep you full for a long time. This is similar to the feeling of eating vegetables, because they can also help us feel full without increasing sugar and calorie intake. Cheap ($1.69 for 255 g) which means I can skip any expensive sugary dishes.
3-Chew food frequently
This technique is most effective for people who are prone to overeating or who have difficulty controlling parts. If you chew a lot, the "feeling of fullness" will last longer.
Chewing at the right time can promote digestion. If food is chewed improperly, there will be two side effects: 1) the stomach is difficult to digest food, and 2) saliva cannot break down food. Saliva contains amylase and lipase, which help break down food and also has antibacterial effects.
Excessive chewing can make our saliva work, which can be very powerful. In addition, chewing only releases histamine into the brain, giving the impression that we are full.
This is a simple technique, but whenever I remember to continue chewing, I eat a small portion. The trick is to chew at least 30 times per bite, alternating the left and right sides of the mouth.We tend to chew on the "favorite side", but chewing on only one side is more difficult for the chin and is thought to cause imbalances.
In Japan, people generally believe that there are two types of body: 1) a healthy body that can lose weight and 2) an unbalanced body that is more resistant to weight loss. The first step in weight loss is to build a body that can easily lose weight. In addition, Japanese people increase their metabolism by bathing and chewing at least 30 times.
4-Eat vegetables first
This is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture, and your beloved aunt insists that you eat vegetables before ingesting other foods. vegetables. Before enjoying protein and cereals. This technique is partly psychological, because eating vegetables mainly makes us feel full before we consume other foods. This also helped me a lot to control the weight.
The fiber content in vegetables is also high. It is well known that fiber helps digestion. This is not the reason why the Japanese eat vegetables first. In fact, they eat vegetables first because they say there is a strong correlation between insulin and weight loss.
My Japanese mother explained to me this way: When the body absorbs sugar from food, the sugar content rises.The sugar we consume is converted into energy to help us complete tasks and continue our daily lives. Then our pancreas releases insulin into our body. In other words, when your blood sugar rises too fast and releases too much insulin, our body is more likely to store fat.
So when we eat rice, bread or sandwiches on an empty stomach, blood sugar levels rise too fast, and a lot of insulin is excreted from the body. This technique is effective because eating vegetables on an empty stomach before eating other foods can prevent your blood sugar from rising.
The Japanese say that eating vegetables mainly helps build a body that is more resistant to weight gain. Some people find it easier to lose weight, while others find it more difficult. This is an interesting argument for me, because I never told you that people have different body types. Although there are many explanations for this, the Japanese say that our habits determine whether we have a body that is "easy to lose weight", and vice versa.
5-What surprised me most is that these habits are common sense to Japanese people.
None of my friends or colleagues went to the gym; in fact, none of them wasted time to lose weight. He walks a few kilometers every day and learns these simple techniques to stay healthy.
I did not see significant results in the short term because I did not force my body to make drastic changes. A process oriented towards consistency, I feel that I now have a better relationship with my body.
I think diet and exercise are a way of pampering yourself and expressing love for your body. Eating high-protein foods and drinking plenty of water makes my body happy. When I started from 1 mile and gradually reached 5 miles, my body felt good after the race.
I don't want huge changes in my body. And overemphasize it, because it is the only container of our soul.