How Do the Japanese Stay So Skinny?

Every day in the US, there is something on the radio, TV or paper about how obese Americans area. Let me tell you, the Japanese are not obese and after two weeks in Japan, I think I know why.

First of all, everyone bikes or takes the subway. Which means you are biking or walking all the time. To get everywhere. The subway is fabulous (see previous post about the vast subway system - http://jpmkadventures.blogspot.com/2007/11/getting-around-tokyo.html), and goes everywhere, so cars aren't really necessary. But it also means you are walking and climbing everywhere.

Second, escalators are a rare thing in the subway system, and elevators are tucked away so that you have to really look to find them. While wandering around Tokyo and Kyoto, we walked and climbed and walked and climbed. To get on the Ginza line from Shibuya station, we had to go down and up and up and down several flights of stairs, just to reach the correct platform.

Third, there is virtually no dairy in the Japanese diet. For breakfast, we would have rice, miso soup, fish, fruit, salad. If we opted for a Western breakfast, we might have cereal with milk or yogurt. For lunch and dinner, we would have rice, sushi, fish, dumplings, vegetables - you get the picture. Everywhere we went, there was no butter on the table, and all sauces were soy-based. Yes, Japan is the land of fabulous sweets and pastries, but they are expensive and viewed as treats for the rare occasion or to give away as presents. I was craving cheese by the time we got home.

Fourth, portions in restaurants (the rest of the world, actually) are reasonable, not small, not large. And even when we were doing multi-course meals, many of the courses were fish, rice or soup.

I actually lost weight during our Japan trip, which just amazed me because I felt like we were eating non-stop. I had a huge breakfast and lunch every day, I had a rice ball with umeboshi (salty plum) or salmon every afternoon around 4pm, and we definitely treated ourselves to snacks and sweets when we were in the depato basement food courts.

So I guess Dr. Phil was right when he said that to lose weight, you need "eat less and exercise more."