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  • Hey guys! So I get a lot of messages from people saying that they're really worried

  • about visiting Japan because of their weight. And I really want to address this issue because

  • I have a lot of things to say about it.

  • A. You should never deprive yourself an experience because of how you look. You don't know what

  • the future holds. You might not ever get another chance.

  • B. People are going to look at you anyway, because you're a foreigner. This will happen

  • less in the bigger cities, but it's still going to happen no matter what.

  • C. I can't say whether someone will say something mean to you, or laugh, but I can say that

  • making fun of someone in Japan is such a bad thing that other Japanese people will go so

  • far as to say that person is not acting Japanese. D. With a little bit of planning you can use

  • Japan to fairly easily lose weight.

  • Rachel, what on earth do you know about losing weight? Well, the first time I went to Japan

  • I was there for 5 months. And despite already being at a low weight, I lost 20 pounds, or

  • 9 kilograms, when I was there. I wasn't even trying to lose weight. It just happened. And

  • despite being skinny, I do have my own struggles with maintaining an active lifestyle and eating

  • healthy

  • But Japan can be a fantastic place for these things, and I will tell you why.

  • 1. The number one reason losing weight is difficult is because it requires a somewhat

  • permanent lifestyle change. And change is hard. Just getting started is hard enough,

  • but even after you get started there is always that day where you come home from work, and

  • you're really tired and you just want to relax so you just say, "I really just want to relax

  • today... Just this one time I'm going to skip going on a run and I'll just throw something

  • in the microwave." And then it happens again. And again. And suddenly you can't remember

  • the last time you went running and you find yourself eating 12 bags of flaming hot potato

  • chips over Christmas break.

  • But Japan is a completely different environment from America. The city structure is different,

  • and the food is different. Moving to Japan is FORCING a lifestyle change on you. You

  • don't HAVE to do anything! It's being changed for you. That is your biggest block to losing

  • weight out of the way right from the beginning. If you keep that in mind when you move to

  • Japan, you can set up your new lifestyle as a healthy one.

  • 2. The 2nd biggest factor in losing weight is your diet. Regardless of what your hormone

  • situation is, if you are taking in less energy than you put out, you will lose weight. Period.

  • That is physics. And it's much easier to eat a healthy lifestyle in Japan than it is in America.

  • Japanese meals are heavy on vegetables, fish, rice, soy products, and noodles. And again,

  • because you're already beginning a lifestyle change, you can start your new life in Japan

  • by using those healthy ingredients. So, here are some quick tips:

  • 1. You should always use the "Bunme" system. ALWAYS. In fact, you should start using it

  • right now and you should be using it for the rest of your life. The "Bunme" system is how

  • full your stomach should feel when you're finished eating, on a scale of 1 to 10. In

  • a healthy lifestyle, you should aim for 7分目 or 8分目, which is 7 or 8/10ths of the way

  • full. That means you should feel fairly satisfied, but you should still be able to eat more.

  • If you have a lot of weight to lose, you can take that down to 6/10ths.

  • 2. Don't drink the soup bases. You can eat your ramen noodles, but don't drink the soup.

  • They're really high in salt, and especially in restaurants, they're not healthy.

  • 3. Restaurant meals are generally not healthy, just the same as anywhere else in the world.

  • So go easy on eating out. 4. In Japan one of the big oils they use for

  • cooking is called perilla. Use perilla oil when you are cooking. It's really high in

  • Omega-3 fatty acids, just like fish oil. 5. Eat your vegetables and fish. Even if you

  • don't like vegetables and fish in your home country, try them in Japan. You might be surprised.

  • I didn't eat them in America, but I love them in Japan. They taste completely differently

  • to me. Some examples of healthy meals are: Salad dishes, fish dishes, nabe pots with

  • vegetables and noodles, and fried rice with vegetables (also called chahan).

  • 6. Of course stay away from deep fried food. Japan unfortunately has a lot of deep-fried

  • food.

  • 3. Okay, and the third and final factor I'll talk about is being active. In America I've

  • never lived in a city that has had decent public transportation. Stores are miles and

  • miles from my house. But not in Japan! Most of you will be living in cities where you

  • can get everywhere you need to go by walking, riding your bike, or taking public transportation,

  • which you will walk or ride your bike to. It's so easy to be active. I also recommend

  • taking up jogging right away once you get there, either right out your front door if

  • you're not in a super busy area, or if you are go to a park or something like that. Jogging

  • in Japan is SO safe; you really don't have much to worry about.

  • Okay, so remember that the hardest part about getting healthy is making that lifestyle change.

  • So keep all of this in mind when you move to Japan, and you can start out your new lifestyle

  • as a healthy one. I personally am SO much healthier when in I'm Japan. I eat healthy,

  • I'm active, and I exercise all the time. And it wasn't difficult for me despite being a

  • lazy person because I wasn't already stuck in an unhealthy routine. I usually gain about

  • ten pounds when I'm in America, and I always lose it when I'm back in Japan.

  • So please don't let your weight hold you back from visiting Japan. Your weight does not

  • define who you are. And while it is certainly less common to see overweight or obese people

  • in Japan, they are still there. You will not be alone. Moving to Japan could potentially

  • be one of the greatest decisions you make about your health. It was for me. Thanks for

  • watching guys!

Hey guys! So I get a lot of messages from people saying that they're really worried

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