今年もよろしくお願いします。
As another year ends and the new one begins there’s lots of things out of my control ….. one thing firmly in my control is developing healthier eating habits.
The new “diet” for the want of a better word isn’t a New Years Resolution, it’s a necessity. I’ve smartened my eating habits up considerably in the last few weeks and will continue to refine going forward into 2009.
I don’t think Japan is an overly easy place to eat healthily, not when you love Ramen and eating out every day as much as i do, but stocking the pantry and fridge with some healthy options is a good start.
I’m all ears if you have any suggestions for places to eat and specifically types of food that can be easily bought in Japan that fall into a semi healthy category.
All the best for a happy and healthy 2009 and whatever else you’re striving to achieve.
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Niel check out Yongfook’s Open Food Source, its a place full of great recipes and i am sure you can find something that you can make in Japan.
http://www.opensourcefood.com/
Losing weight?? Maintaining weight?? Lowering cholesterol??
Cholesterol mate, was up last test and up this time round too, need to get on top of it and make some changes.
why don’t you get into tofu, Duck? I hear Japan has some specialty stores that stock it.
Hate the texture Motts, good suggestion though.
I hope the “Hearty Thick” doesn’t work as the name implies.
Hahaha, it does make for a bit more stability, balancing the beer out a bit.
Neil, you should look into a diet called “Zone Diet”, which is a way to get “runners’ high” through food and feel like million bucks while getting into a lean and mean state of body composition, like Brad Pitt in Fight Club. The U.S. swimming team broke all the records back in the 90s Barcelona olympics when they used the diet to prepare.
“Zone” is one of those things in life that you wish you had known from the start, from father-to-son type of heritage, to me at least.
BTW, those small bottles look a lot like the probiotic “yakult” drinks they sell in New Zealand…
I will look into the Zone Diet on your advice … although i don’t want to throw myself in the same group as Brad Pitt and the US Swim Team!. Those small bottles are Yakult, i did some research the day i did a “low cholesterol shop” and realised they were recommended.
I hear ya on Brad and the swim team, but the funny thing is Pitt was on Zone diet during the shooting of Fight Club, which he learned from Jennifer Aniston at the time, who has been on Zone for a long time.
The diet aims for the correct hormonal response from the body, which is very much like the “runners high”, an endorphins fueled boost to the body that you can get, for example, from running half an hour outdoors in the hot weather or through flirting with a model type of girl and getting indications of interest. All in all, Zone is a great way to live a life.
Green tea is supposed to help high cholesterol. One of the beverage companies also sells a tea drink which is supposed to drastically lower cholesterol levels – can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but I’ll keep an eye out for it & will post again if I see it..
I had heard Green Tea was good ….. really find it hard to stomach it though … might have to look elsewhere for answers rather than the devil that is green tea.
There’s always red wine. Probably not by the bottle, but a couple of glasses a week is supposed to be beneficial…
I’m all over that Chris!
I suppose self-cooked foods that you carefully selected and purchased to cook yourself would be considered pretty healthy. But since I am not in Japan I can hardly give you more advice than that.
Happy New Year Neil.
Hm…an easy fix if it was me would to stock up on rice (you’ll need a rice cooker too of course). Then you can just made various side dishes may that be salmon, chicken, pork, or what have you. Then another vegetable side dish (sautee mushrooms with some salt and sugar would be a good start and simple to make). See, that’s basically the entire food triangle thing. Desert can be fruit or a slice of cake since you just ate some healthy stuff before hand (no guilt lol). So that’s basically how my family eat. Hope that helps.
I actually do eat a lot of rice now …. i think my diet isn’t as much what i’m NOT eating as much as a combination of what i AM eating too. Thanks for the tips …. veges are being increased drastically.
Well, fast food is out of the question. Also, steak must be thrown out the window for a while.
Funny, I always thought that it’s easier to eat healthy in Japan, especially with a love of ramen (the real stuff, not instant) & eating out! I mean, compare the kinds of “fast food” available in Japan with the trash available in the U.S. Heck, even convenience store “fast food” in Japan is healthier than just about anything found in any fast food chain here!
Plus, I tend to think exercising is more important than diet.
I lost 30lbs with Atkins. Obviously not what you want..but it had zero effect on my bad cholesterol level.
Anywayz…good luck bro
Good luck with the diet, Neil. If I hear of any really healthy restaurants in the new neighborhood, I’ll introduce you.
Won’t be any radical changes mate, it’s just a matter of introducing some green stuff to the plate when we go to Yakiniku.
I’m reading a book called Eat to Live, which basically encourages much more fruits and vegetables, cut out the red meat and limit fish; it doesn’t recommend chicken because it has the same effect on cholesterol as red meat. I’ve lost a little weight so far, but I feel much better. I’m only 30, but I’m very overweight, and I don’t want to die young, so I’m making the changes now.
I have heard that fresh fruits and vegetables can be quite expensive over there, but maybe the book would give you some ideas. There isn’t a Japanese version yet, but I’m sure some enterprising fellow might translate it some day.
Depending on the season and the fruit the price can vary greatly. i can get most things i want to eat pretty cheap so i can’t use that as an excuse. Will have a look around for that book, thanks.
Absolutely love that purple juice blend you’ve got in the picture there, Neil. Used to drink it all the time.
Now that my back is sort of better, I started back in with the weightlifting routine last week, so I’ll be fighting the fitness fight along with you. Getting back on the weights has shot my hunger through the roof, though — I finished today’s bento (broccoli, green peppers, mushrooms, tofu and chicken chunks) then went out and ate a huge-ass bowl of soba topped with slices of duck.
Needless to say, no dinner for me tonight…