Japanese Women Don't Get Fat or Old?

As I was lazing around my house Sunday after a gluttonous wedding weekend as a Matron of Honor I was perusing the health and fitness videos on MSN.com and came across a clip from the Today show where Katie Couric interviews the author of Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen.

I'm Chinese, I buy into the idea that the average Asian diet is healthier than the average American diet so of course, I kept watching. Apparently there are 7 basic guidelines.

Here's the gist with my own little spin:

1. Healthy ingredients make for healthy food. Eat homemmade meals preferably using fish, soy, vegetables and fruit. She made a point in the interview of noting that chicken is fine, the key is less red meat.

2. Get Closer to the Grain. Use rice instead of bread. Brown rice is preferred.

3. Small Plates, Smaller Body. Eat smaller portions by serving your food separately on small plates. The sample meal in the video included a small bowl of miso soup, a small bowl of mixed green salad, a small plate of chicken, a small bowl of rice, a small plate of multicolored vegetables and a pot of green tea with cup. Visually it looked like a lot and full of healthy and appetizing foods.

4. Miso Happy Day. Have a bowl of miso soup for breakfast, which is traditional in Japan because of ease and quickness of preparation, it's high nutrient, protein and fiber values and because it's just plain delicious.

5. Small Desserts. No really, that pazookie is not small enough.

6. Light and Gentle Cooking. I'm a big proponent of raw fish and other sea life but this concept lends itself to general Japanese cooking. Steaming, brief boiling, anything that doesn't impact the original ingredient too far from it's original flavors is preferred. Yes, I am talking to you Broccoli Casserole.

7. Hari Hachi Bunme. This is the Japanese art of not stuffing your face until you're full ala some pizza buffet. The author more tactifully put it as eating small amounts of food whenever you like until you are 80 percent full.

Pretty solid ideas except I like foods from other cultures. There's got to be easier, wider guidelines. I'll think on it and get back to you soon.

Image courtesy of Finnair.com.

The Diet Derailer: Weekends

What is it about weekends that make them such a huge diet derailer? Is it the lack of routine? The copious amounts of partying and meals with friends? The idea that it's a minivacation amid the week of responsible behavior?

All I know is that come Monday I'm struggling to get back to my healthy lifestyle changes, find that I'm at least a lb heavier than I was Friday morning, and sometimes nursing a hazy post weekend buzzy headache. Am I alone here?

On Mondays, I try to go back and enter everything I can remember consuming into my diet journal because despite the fact that I have a program that will wirelessly sync the data from my cellphone to the website, on weekends I just can't seem to find the concentration to even think about calories. Even with the memory blocks that might have occured in a retrospective calorie count, I still blow my caloric intake off the rails! (Read: 1000 calories over par.) Partner that with the fact that I RARELY make it to the gym on the weekends and I'm basically reversing my entire weeks progress in the matter of 2 days!

Here's what I'm going to do to get my train on track this weekend:

1. Drink More. Water that is. Between every glass of beer while bowling, every drink while bar hopping, every wine glass at dinner there will be a glass of water instead. I don't care if it doesn't look cool, I'm starting to think that I'm imbibing more alcohol than I have use for just because it's something to do between gutter balls, funny stories and courses respectively.

2. Eat More. Leafy green vegetables I mean. I will sneak some spinach into a breakfast omelette, a salad before every gluttonous meal just to take up space in this cavernous pit I call a stomach. More goodness in my stomach means less room for that cheesecake that keeps giving me the eye.

3. Play More. If I'm not going to get to the gym because I'm too busy socializing, then I can play while I entertain my friends. A game of tennis here, frisbee golf there, maybe even a bike ride to the beach. The possibilities: endless.

4. Pamper myself. Ok, this is more of a perspective shift. For most of the week, because I workout early in the morning before work, I never get a chance to sit in the steam room or sauna or hang out in the spa. I think if I make it the first thing I do on Sunday with the purpose of relaxation versus working out I could actually convince myself to get into the gym on... wait for it... a weekend. *gasp*

Yourself Fitness: Upper Body Workout

Yesterday I did the Yourself Fitness Upper Body workout (30 minutes) and then Yoga (10 minutes). Who would have guessed that 5 minutes into the workout I would break into a massive full body sweat? It was awesome and I'm thoroughly impressed.

One of my good friends, Anthony, is a personal trainer and did weekly training with Dear Husband and I a few months before our wedding last year. Maya, the Yourself Fitness animated personal trainer, isn't as effective as a human personal trainer but gives a similar feel to personal training sessions. The benefit of Yourself Fitness, so far it seems, is that the trainer is basically guiding through a workout class, like one you would attend in a gym, adding gentle reminders about form to keep the workout as efficient as possible.

Here's the problem: I hate workout classes. I'm not coordinated enough! It takes me a few steps to realize what I'm supposed to be doing in each move and by that time, the repetition of the moves is almost over. That being said, regardless of my lack of hand-eye coordination, I got a good enough workout to have mild muscle soreness this morning.

The other issue, however, is that Yourself Fitness feels like a series of workout videos rather than an exercise class or sessions with a personal trainer. I possibly could have had Anthony videotaped for a series of our workout sessions and then just followed along and gotten a similar result. But I didn't because I like either being in an environment where everyone is working out or outdoors running with scenery whizzing by. But let's be honest, I wasn't doing either and the convenience of the video game console in my living room is actually getting me up and moving.

It does beat a workout video a little bit though, because of the difficulty checks during the workout, each subsquent workout will customize to the user's difficulty level. And, let's not forget that though a workout video can't track how consistent you are, an animated personal trainer named Maya will.

Add Structure To Your Meals

I've been reading a lot about the Factor 5 diet. Eat meal is supposed to include 5 calorie sources(protein, complex carbohydrates, fiber, fat, and fluids), contain no more than 5 ingredients and take no longer that 5 minutes to cook.

I am a foodie, I cannot do this. I take that back, many foodies can, of course, eat a delicious meal made with 5 fresh and wholesome ingredients that only takes 5 minutes to cook but to me it's just too much work and way too limiting. I mean, you can't make Osso Bucco in 5 minutes!!

Food is an experience for me, from wandering through a farmer's market being entranced by the vibrant and fragant fresh produce, to tasting how a cherry port reduction mingles with a roasted pork loin over a bed of roasted baby vegetables sprinkled with ages parmesean.

That doesn't mean that I don't think my meals shouldn't have any structure. A few guidelines can definitely help keep us eating healthy, regardless of the richness of the meal.

1. Eat every meal on a plate or bowl. My last post mentioned to use utensils, now I am saying pur your food ON something. Yes, even that Big Mac in the little McDonald's box needs to be taken out, placed on a plate along with whatever else you're planning on eating for that meal. This is not an attempt at Fancy Fast Food. It is, however, a clear visual picture of how much food you're planning on putting in your body.

Plus, you always eat with the eyes first. If it isn't looking to appetizing, you might not want to put it in your mouth.

2. Make sure every meal has a veggie portion that accounts for at least a 3rd of your meal or more ideal half. Yes, this particular guidelines is to stop you from thinking, as my Dear Husband is so often prone to do, that the lettuce and tomato on his bacon cheeseburger counts for his vegetables for the day.

I am not saying that if you are eating Dim Sum that you should attempt to destroy the flavor of the Har Gow with some lettuce. I am saying that you should order that side of Chinese Broccoli, steamed and squirted with oyster sauce, and eat enough of it so that your Dumpling to Broccoli ratio is at most 2:1 if not the ideal 1:2.

3. Don't put more than 3 fistfulls of food on your plate or bowl and that's the high side. Portion control Dear Readers. Your stomach is only the size of your fist while empty and keeping it relatively small by not stretching it beyond 3 times it's size and you will it takes less to get full in the first place.

Yes, that's it! 3 guidelines! Easy to remember, sustainable and won't stop you from having a little bit of that aged prime rib you've been eying.

Small Changes That Make A Big Difference

I believe that my body has started to reject dairy products for my own good. I'm probably at my highest weight right now and my body, as long as I'm actually listening to it, is telling me it's hit its max. The current culprit that I've overindulging in might be dairy and my body is not having it. I probably shouldn't have bought that Sam's Club block of Manchego huh?

I actually thought it was alcohol because I have been drinking deeply while entertaining people at our house. Mainly wines, which are fine, as long as we're not downing 5 bottles between 4 people. Oh, the world of lushes.

But I stopped drinking this weekend and the stomach pains continued. So I'm taking dairy out of my diet to see if that's what's causing my digestive issues. If not dairy then I'm going to juice fast for a day or so and slowly start introducing foods starting with vegetables and fruit, then whole grains, then lean meats, then dairy. I'll see if that fixes this pain when I eat.

It got me thinking about how if we really listened to our bodies we would probably get to our ideal weight faster. Making small changes to our eating habits is likely to get ourselves more in tune with what we should and shouldn't do.

1. Eat small thumb sized bites of food. Shoveling big bites into your mouth just makes it harder for your stomach to catch on that it's full and then it's too late: You've already over eaten.

2. Thoroughly chew eat bite and savor the flavor of the food. A lot of time, when something is so delicious, we eat more because we want to keep tasting the flavor that is so pleasant. Eating each bite slowly will allow you to experience the flavors longer without taking more bites.

3. Use utensils. If you make eating something conscious, something civilized and enjoyed, instead of something you shovel in your face between things you're trying to get to, you'll likely eat less and only when your body really needs you to.

4. Put your fork down between bites. Yes, this seems really ... inefficient but so is eating more than you need and then carrying the extra weight on your butt slowing you down. Putting your fork down between bites allows your brain to register that you could possibly be done with this bite and stopping before you eat that bite that puts you over the edge of fullness is something that would help any waistline.

5. Take a sip of water between bites. This serves as a palate cleanser and a way to get that oh so neccessary 8 glasses of daily water supply. Each bite we take actually results in a little less pleasure based on the repetition and the familiarity of the flavors. Taking a sip of water increases repetition of eating, cleanses the palate to get a clear taste of the food and as a result, allows your mind to tell you when the food isn't tasting so good anymore because you're full.

Test The Technology

This weekend I spent much of my online shopping time focused, which ended up being about 2 hours longer than I expected, on these new Wii Games like EA Active, Outdoor Challenge and Wii Sports Resort. The idea that I could in fact get my lazy butt, which by the way has gained more stones than I'd like to admit after the wedding weight loss, in shape without needing to leave my air conditioned living room is tempting to say the least.

But wait, what of the other nifty gizmos I already have from the Nike+ Ipod set, Yourself Fitness for the PS2 and the most recent purchase: Personal Trainer: Walking for the Nintendo DS? I'll go into a review of each product in later posts, Dear Readers, each of which I believe could benefit someone by motivating them by what hits them to their very core (which in the case of the Nintendo DS Personal Trainer Walking game is avoiding being called a sheep.)

I attempted to purchase the EA Active game for the Wii but something went wrong with my order just in time for me to realize that perhaps the Yourself Fitness game would work just as well without me needing to spend an addition $50. Why would it work now if it didn't work before? Well now I'm going to treat this like an experiment, like I do so many other things I get caught up in, and try Yourself Fitness for 30 days combined with a reasonable eating plan that consists of 5 small meals a day at about 200-300 calories per meal.

If by the end of the experiment I decide that maybe I want to try out the EA Active game instead I'll go ahead and do a giveaway of the Yourself Fitness game.

Cheap Ways to Stay Healthy

With all the crazy talk about the economy and need to start pinching pennies while keeping our weight loss resolutions, what solutions do we have to achieve our money and figure saving goals? Here are a few easy to implement tips that will get you through this penny pinching period. Consider it level one of the lifestyle change.

1. Drink only water that you bottle yourself and drink 3 liters a day. Take 2 - 1.5L bottles of water and refill them with filtered water (I use a faucet Brita) every night before you go to bed. Yes, I am suggesting you reuse your single use bottles. All that stuff about bacteria and toxins in PET 1 bottles, I snoped it and found out as long as you clean the bottles properly, you can reuse them repeatedly.

Analysis:
Monthly cost of buying water bottles daily: $90.00.
Monthly cost of bottling your own: $9.21 (Assuming that you buy 2 water bottles a month and it costs you about $0.07 per liter using a Brita.
Monthly Savings: $80.79.
Estimated extra calories burned per month: 4,500 (If the article on About.com is right.)

2. Cook and eat as many homemade meals as possible. This include packing your own lunch instead of stopping at the local drive through, and making your own dinner instead of popping in a frozen dinner. I could delve into the fact that buying a $10 salad at a restaurant that you can make for less than $2.00 is relatively ludicrous (salad's don't even require turning on a stove Dear Readers) or that you can make a turkey sandwich for under $1.50 that you would buy for about $4.00 at the minimum.

The important thing is that when you're cooking you can be conscious of what you're putting in the food and you'll most likely remind yourself to add in a few more vegetables and cut back on the bacon fat. I have also done a $3 a Day Diet project that tells me quite clearly I can feed myself on merely $3 a day. It was difficult to get in all the veggies so I'll bump it up to $5 a day just for extra produce. Under the $3 a Day Diet Project, the calories for the day came in between 1200-1400 calories.

The average cheap meal eaten outside the home usually comes out to at least $3.00 a meal. The average fast food meal runs over 1200 calories BUT say you're buying only $3.00 worth of food and going with a relatively healthy option. Like Wendy's chili and baked potato w/ side salad. That is probably the healthiest combination I can think of around $3.00 (it's actually slightly over but I'll let that go for the sake of the argument). It comes out to 760 calories. That means about 2,280 calories per day if all the meals average that caloric intake.

Analysis:
Monthly cost of eating all meals outside of homemade: $270 (at the low end)
Monthly cost of eating all meals homemade: $150
Monthly savings: $120
Estimated Calories Uneaten: 26,400.

3. Pack your own vegetable snacks. Snacking is inevitable. I think that most people snack at least once throughout the day, usually something like a bag of chips that costs at minimum $0.99 and about 150 calories. Packing your own veggie snacks would only cost you about $0.25 a day for celery sticks or cucumbers with some dressing, some grapes, etc. for about 100 calories.

Analysis:
Monthly Cost of Average Snacks: $30
Monthly Cost of home packed veggie snacks: $7.50
Monthly Savings: $22.50
Estimate Calories Uneaten: 1,500.

There you go Dear Readers, a theoretical savings of $233.29 and about 9 lbs!

The Basics of Weight Loss One More 'Gain

Ok, so everyone has said this over and over again but I read an article on MSN on Secrets of The Belly Off! Club. Yes, it's from Men's Health Magazine but I don't think that matters Dear Readers, do you?

Here's the gist, no need to thank me for cutting down your reading time.

1. Cut Out Refined sugars and carbs. No candy, chips, soda and if the grain based product doesn't say Whole in it, don't put it in your mouth.

2. Eat more protein, healthy fats, and fiber-rich produce and whole grains.

3. Eat breakfast.

4. Do weight training 3 times a week.

5. Do interval cardio training.

6. Be motivated.

Seems easy enough.