Japanese diet | Can I lose 3 pounds in one week?

Do you know that rural Japanese people are some of longest living people in the world? In fact, it is quite common for people living in Okinawa to exceed 100 years without suffering from any mental or physical illness. What makes them live healthy? Is there any secret Japanese diet they follow? Well, that is partially true, but there is no secret. They believe in their ancient health traditions, and diet is just part of that. What if you also followed their diet system? You’ll be leaner, fitter and more active than you currently are. We’ll also talk about a one week diet that can help you lose 3 pounds in a week.

Is ancient Japanese diet effective and practical in today’s world?

In ancient times, people worked in harmony with their bodies and the environment they lived in. This lifestyle helped them maintain their body lean, fit, muscular and strong. It goes without saying that if you are physically and mentally healthy; your ability to work and overall performance goes up. That is the secret of an average Japanese’s good health. Though discovered by chance, Japanese diet has been proven by modern scientists and researchers for its remarkable health benefits, including weight loss.

What is traditional Japanese diet

The traditional diet followed by Japanese people is almost next to a perfect diet that you can imagine. While the emphasis is on vegetables, seafood and rice, you will find a lot of varieties to suit your taste buds. The flavoursome Japanese food is one of the healthiest diets for overall health. Do not be disappointed if you are a chicken or meat lover. You have a lot of varieties such as Chicken Tariyaki or Beef Yakitori. However, you might be slightly disappointed if you are a sweet lover as a Japanese diet does not include desserts, pastries or sweets.

It depends on your preferences. If good health, mental alertness or physical agility is on your mind, then Japanese food is an ideal option. However, those preferring taste over health, should go for standard European diet. We do not mean that traditional Japanese diet is bland, but it usually takes time for westerners to get used to this diet.

Miso- Power of fermented soybean

When it comes to boosting immunity or lowering cholesterol, Japanese rely heavily on Miso. It is essentially made from fermented soybeans. One of the most popular and nutritionally rich foods, Miso works wonders for those looking for highly powerful and protein-rich items. Miso is often eaten in the form of soup, which has many regional varieties. White, red, brown or red miso soups are some of the most popular varieties across Japan, and are available in various parts of the world where Japanese food is popular. In fact, due to many health benefits of Japanese cuisine, it has become highly popular in the western world as well.

Soybean’s religious significance in Japan

It will not be out of context to mention that soybean also has religious significance in the Japanese culture. During Setsubun, it is believed that throwing roasted soybeans can drive out bad spirits. Many people follow this tradition by throwing soybean during this season.

A protein-rich diet, Miso offers many health benefits:

Boosts immunity
Lowers cholesterol and supports heart health
Prevents osteoporosis
Boost memory
Reduces stress
Supports skin health
Amino acid rich diet

Diakon Radish

If you believe that Daikon radish is just like any other vegetable, then read on. It is an important ingredient of Miso soup, mentioned above. It works as a palate cleanser, and is often served with meat. In western kitchens and even in Asians homes, the leaves of radish are often considered as waste, but Japanese know that Daikon radish leaves are a rich source of Vitamin C,therefore they use the leaves in various forms. In fact, health conscious families in Asian countries also eat radish leaves in different forms.

Natto

Another quite popular form of fermented soybean in Japan is Natto. Though its gooey consistency and extreme odour are not liked by western people and those from west and south Japan, its health benefits are many. It is often consumed at breakfast and is known for its ability to reduce IBS or irritable bowel syndrome.

Japanese food, Daikon Radish health benefits

Full of Vitamin C
A rich source of minerals
Helps in lowering cholesterol and blood pressure
Liver and kidney functions are boosted
Relieves respiratory de-congestion
Antiviral and antibacterial properties
Calorie-free food

Japanese love green tea

This is almost part of every Japanese’s daily meal. Green tea has become very popular in the west in recent years, but Japanese people have been consuming green tea for centuries. As green tea is part of their diet, they get all benefits of green tea without putting in any extra effort. Japanese people consume green tea at least once a day, which is good enough for overall health. Green tea contains EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate), which helps in fighting and treating many diseases. Additionally, green tea has many minerals, L-theaninem and caffeine, which is known to mobilise fatty acids. Green tea boosts your metabolic rate, and you burn fat naturally. In fact, it is due to green tea’s fat burning or weight loss capabilities, that it has become highly popular in the western world, where obesity is quite common. It is a no-brainer that getting back in shape is an all-time favourite activity of health conscious population in the west.

Matcha green tea

This is powdered green tea, a highly popular variety of green tea in Japan. Made from stone ground Tencha tea leaves, Matcha tea offers high nutritional value and natural flavour. Unlike most other teas, Matcha tea is used in the form of finely ground powder, which means that you consume tea leaves and not just the liquid the tea leaves have been steeped in. Matcha tea ice-creams, cookies and lattes are some of other forms of this tea popular in Japan. Tencha tea, Sencha tea, Gyokuro green tea and Guricha green teas are other types of teas consumed in Japan.

Secret of Japan’s low obesity rate

Though beef, pork and poultry are eaten in Japan, they are not that popular due to their high price tags. In fact, this high price tag works in their favour as they prefer to eat fish instead. As per Katie Ferraro, RD, MPH, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco and the University of San Diego, snack foods in the US are of low nutritive value, and offer approximately 25% of calorie intake for an average American. In Japan, people rely on plant-based protein, usually soy protein, which helps Japanese people lose weight easily.

Japanese consume 10% of the world’s fish despite the fact that they constitute just 2% of the total world population. As they eat fish on a daily basis, they consume more Omega-3 fatty acid than most people anywhere else in the world. This is one of the most important reasons of their longevity and good health throughout their lives. In addition to their fish consumption, they are also known for making green vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage an important part of their daily meals.

What portion size for ideal weight?

Another important factor behind Japanese people’s good health is small portion sizes as compared to those of Americans. Usually Japanese portion size is approximately one third of an American portion size. As part of Japanese culture, children are taught to enjoy every bite by eating slowly. This serves two purposes. First, the food is chewed properly, which helps in proper digestion. Secondly, while you are eating slowly, you feel the fullness of stomach properly. Usually your mind receives the signals of fullness approximately 20 minutes after your stomach is full. It means that you are very unlikely to overeat, which happens due to fast eating habits. By the time your mind gets the signal of fullness, you have already overeaten, which results in obesity and weight gain.

A Little Known weight loss tip

In many parts of Northeastern India, students are advised to eat only 80% of their hunger to perform good in academics and sports. Brilliant students usually follow it. However, they often do not to stick to this habit once they become adults and start their working life. Japanese people follow this habit throughout their life. The difference is obvious. The idea behind this is that your stomach need not be 100% full to get the nutrition from the food. In fact, 80% is more than enough as it helps your digestive system function properly. On the other hand, overly full stomach slows down the digestion process and may also cause bloating, indigestion and related issues. Once it becomes a daily routine, you start overeating and become overweight or obese.

No Fat burning workouts

If you have already tried rigorous workout or similar fat burning programs without any long-term effects or have you deprived yourself of food without losing any weight? Do you know that your body spends 20 hours every day depositing fat and approximately 4 hours burning it. Even more surprising is the fact that most fat is burned while you are sleeping.

What if someone told you that this cycle can be reversed? Which means, your body is capable of burning fat 20 hours a day naturally, and take rest the rest of the time. It is possible by triggering your natural fat burning process without altering your eating habits or lifestyle.

Japanese wisdom of good health packed in the 1 week diet program

It is all about using your body’s own bio-chemistry to your advantage. Brian Flatt has designed weight loss programs such as 3 Week Diet and the 2 Week Diet. His new systems, the 1 Week Diet, is a pared-down version of the previous two. Based on ancient Japanese health practices, this diet program has been confirmed by modern health practitioners that it delivers remarkable results. If you follow it religiously, then you will be in for a surprise after a week.

Lose 3 pounds of belly fat without

Hours of exercise
Starving yourself
Expensive food
Calorie counting
Any crazy diet
Giving up many of your favourite food

What’s more, 1 week diet program comes with an iron clad risk-free 100% 60-day money back guarantee.

Whether you want to give Japanese diet a try for better health or need a power packed system to shed some weight quickly, the choice is yours. Both will be equally effective. However, switching to Japanese diet if you are not in Japan may be slightly challenging and you’ll crave your regular diet, which is not recommended for the desired effect. Any diet or weight loss system must be in harmony with your body and not against it. That is what 1 week diet is all about, and you can get a fair idea of how effective it is, in just one week.