It’s Not What You Eat

The Japanese people are the healthiest people in the world. And their diet is one of the highest carbohydrate diets in the world as well (explain that Atkins!). But there is more to the Japanese diet than just the food. The Japanese believe the meal should be much more than just something to get through quickly and get on with your life. They believe a meal should be a relaxing and unhurried event for your eyes. It’s not so much what you eat as it is how you eat it.

.

.
.
According to the Japanese belief of eating with the eyes, you'll get more fulfillment per calorie by paying attention to appearance. A small serving of sirloin, for example, will be less apt to leave you hungering for more when sliced and fanned on a appealing plate. A half-cup of frozen yogurt really gratifies you when served in an gorgeous bowl and topped with a strawberry. Even if you don't have time to artfully arrange your meals, at least put your food on a plate rather than eating it out of the take-out carton. According to Japanese practice, a meal should be a significant sensory occurrence. It's not about how swiftly you can get it down so you can go on to the next thing. Feeding your senses and thinking of mealtimes as stress breaks can help make your meal more fulfilling and slow you down enough to munch through fewer calories. Satiety is often missing when people wolf down their food or are very preoccupied. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to respond to increased glucose levels and get the "I'm full" message. If you were to eat a practical amount of food in less than 20 minutes, you may well still be hungry. In other words, if you took more than 20 minutes to eat the similar amount of food, you'd likely feel fuller. Eating on the run is also an proficient way to devour loads of fat and calories without even realizing it. Case in point, consider a McDonald's ham, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel. According to nutritional information furnished by the company, in just a few hurried bites during your morning commute you'll consume roughly 40% of the calories and sodium found in the average 2000-calorie diet and 27% of the allotted saturated fat. American-style speed eating can also leave you empty emotionally. What you're lacking in contentment, you may make up by haphazardly nibbling at different times of the day. With habits like these, it's no wonder the U.S. Department of Agriculture's statistics show that the average daily caloric intake of Americans has risen from 1,854 calories to 2,002 calories during the last 20 years. That significant increase -- 148 calories per day -- works out to an extra 15 pounds a year. Meanwhile, caloric intake in Japan has declined an average of 192 calories per day from 1975 to 1993, says the American Institute for Cancer Research, a nonprofit research organization in Washington, D.C. The typical Japanese diet has also remained comparatively low in fat, weighing in at roughly 9% less than the typical American one. According to the World Health Organization, Japan reports the world's longest healthy life expectancy (the number of years to be lived in "full health") for its population: 74.5 years -- 4-1/2 years longer than for Americans. The Japanese habit of mealtime mindfulness most likely contributes to this stellar statistic. How can you translate their practices to your own life? Here are three thoughts:
1. Allot specific time period -- say at least 20 minutes each -- for meals. Think, as you are going through your day, you need to schedule time for yourself as much as you are scheduling time for others, Go ahead and jot lunch in your calendar if you must. Your mission: to truly experience the food you eat. Consider those 20-minute time-outs as personal self-care breaks that can help you avoid overeating.
2. To get even more fulfillment from meals, eliminate distractions like the television and the phone -- after all, that's what answering machines are for. Light a candle, make it special. Do something that helps you appreciate the moment.
3. Sit down and let the meal nurture your body, mind, and spirit. According to Japanese tradition, less can be so much more if you don't let your meals consume you.


SOURCES: Story; Written by Tramp from various sources including WebMD and the USDA. Graphs; Compiled by Tramp