The move to Japan Diet

Yes, I have been studying my ass off. Yes, it has been a number of days since I posted. Yes, I have lost somewhere between 15 and 20 pounds. I haven’t been on a scale since I got here, but I am having trouble keeping my pants from sliding off my hips which usually happens between 15 and 20 pounds.

There is a good reason that I am losing weight. Everything you do in Japan is physically more difficult. Well not everything, 99% of the things you do in Japan are physically more difficult. The train station and the supermarket are about an equal distance from my apartment, about a mile and a half. I always do at least one of these walks, and about half the days of the week I do both of them. That’s 3 to 6 miles a day depending, but that is just the beginning. On my way to the train, I climb up two flights of stairs to use the overpass over the highway. I go down two flights of stairs to get off the overpass, I go down two more flights on this steep slope on my walk. When I get to the station I go up one flight to get to the entrance. I get my train, and if it is busy I strap hang for the 30 minutes it takes to get to Shibuya station. At the station I go down two flights of stairs to get to the street, and walk through two sets of JR rail buildings to get to my bus (about 2 blocks) after I get off my bus it is another two blocks to get to school and then since my class is on the 2nd floor I take the stairs. After class reverse the process which means 4 blocks, up six flights of stairs and down two, and a mile and half back. That is just my usual commute to school. It doesn’t count any day I go to the store and back (about three miles) or run errands (two to six miles depending), and I do almost all of this while wearing a backpack full of either books or groceries.

I literally walk my ass off. It is lying somewhere in the middle of Inokashira Dori right now.

Even the everyday stuff you do to run your life is more taxing. I sleep on a futon so I can’t just roll out of bed, I have to push my butt up off of the floor. About 75% of all the trash is recycled so it has to be sorted and washed and carried to the recycling bins at the supermarket. Nobody uses a dryer so everything has to be hung on the veranda and then taken down later. You spend a lot of time sitting on the floor so there is a lot of getting up and down. Living in Japan is a constant workout.

I am eating. I am eating everything in sight. There are things you will not find in Japan, like fat free potato chips, or low fat low sugar snacks. People here don’t need them. I eat onigiri (rice balls), noodles, sashimi, sushi, vegetables, candy, ice cream pops, rice crackers and drink loads of tea and diet sodas (yes the one thing they do have here that is low sugar). It’s an awesome diet, I eat whatever looks good, whenever I want it.

Well kiddies, I have to put my nose back on the grindstone. I will try to post sooner this time. For those of you who are thinking “where the hell was the hand picture she mentioned last time.” I wrote the post thinking that I had taken a picture of that drawing and I hadn’t. In class on Monday I am going to ask Daisuke Sensei to let me take a picture of it and I will post it soon. I also got an assignment in my humanities class to write a three page essay on my beliefs, I am going to post it soon and hopefully you guys can give me some feedback on it to help me polish it.
I am missing everybody soooo much!