For those that don’t me, I am Japanese American. Other than my immediate family, all of them are in Japan. I grew up going to Japan every summer. I had my wedding in Japan in 2018 and I gained 10-lbs in 4 days. This past Christmas, I went for 9 days and gained 12-lbs. Why do I gain so much weight when I visit Japan? Here’s how.
Gluttonous food
Carbs. Carbs. Carbs. Rice. Noodles. Rice. You get the idea. Seems like all I ate was carbs. Wake up and eat 3 bowls of rice for breakfast. Eat delicious bread for brunch. Udon noodles for lunch. Then, eat rice again for dinner. Ramen around midnight. No wonder the weight goes up. Here are some foods that I ate during my trip.
There are so many choices for bread. You can literally eat all of them because they’re all delicious!
Ramen! Tastes better when it’s closer to midnight!
Typical “kaiseki,” Multi-course cuisine. I cannot even tell how much I am eating because the hotel person brings a new plate and takes away the empty ones.
Change of routine
When you travel, your routine changes. Wake up later, eat later, and drink. The recipe for gaining weight. My regular routine is to wake up at 5 or 6 AM and work until 8 or 9 PM. Constantly moving, picking up, dropping weights, helping up clients, and moving equipment. So I am constantly MOVING. This all changes when I travel. I don’t use my core much. And sitting and eating more.
Walking ain’t going to undo your terrible eating
The transportation system in Japan is phenomenal. So it makes it very convenient to get around, you just have to walk to the station. So you walk a lot in Japan. I probably averaged about 20,000 steps a day. However, walking ain’t going to undo your terrible eating. A surplus of calories is still a surplus.
Next week I will discuss how I lost the Japan weight. Hope you liked this week’s blog. Stay tuned for more next Wed……….Kei