Why Are Japanese People So Skinny? (5 Tips For Weight Loss)

If you have ever walked the streets of Japan or even watched any Japanese television series you may be wondering why they are so skinny. 

Japanese people are some of the healthiest people on the planet due to their particular lifestyle.

So what exactly is it that Japanese people do to stay so skinny? 

Japanese people are naturally very slim due to their food being properly portioned and their active lifestyles. Unlike many other Countries, the Japanese commute requires lots of walking and high activity which promotes a slimmer physique. 

In this article we will be covering five take away tips that will teach you how you can learn from the Japanese lifestyle and how you can incorporate their techniques to make you successful in your weight loss journey. 

TIP 1: Understand How Many Calories Are In The Japanese Diet

TIP 2: How Many Calories Do Japanese People Burn In a Day? 

TIP 3: What Kind of Foods Are In The Japanese Diet 

TIP 4: Healthiest Japanese Foods For Staying Slim 

TIP 5: Delicious and Low Calorie Japanese Foods to Stay Slim

Let’s get started! 

Tip 1: Understand How Many Calories Are In The Japanese Diet 

If you see what Japanese people eat on a typical day, what you notice is that a lot of their foods are light in sauce and almost always have a source of protein in every single meal.

Completely surrounded by water, Japanese cuisine is heavily reliant on seafood which is one of the best foods to incorporate into your diet. 

On average, the typical Japanese person consumes less than 2000 calories per day which is significantly less than the average American which is around 3000 or more calories.

Due to our huge portion sizes and calorie dense ingredients, we are consuming significantly fattier foods that make weight loss difficult. 

By learning about the Japanese diet and the food choices that they make, this can help inspire and motivate you to change into a healthier lifestyle.

Japanese diets are high in protein and contain light sauces which makes their meals lower in calorie and better for body composition.  

In this particular section, we will be talking about how many calories are in the Japanese diet and how their abundance of protein and low calorie foods keeps Japanese people slim. 

You may be wondering why it is important to eat protein when you are trying to lose weight.

Protein is the best macronutrient to increase when you are dieting because it has the nutrients that help you retain muscle and keeps you satiated throughout the day.

Japanese dishes contain a lot of seafood which is one of the best sources of protein that gives you plenty of energy and is absolutely delicious.  

The importance of maintaining or increasing muscle mass and decreasing your overall amount of fat and carbohydrate intake is that this will increase your body’s TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure.

Your Total Daily Energy Expenditure is essentially the amount of calories that you burn on a daily basis from regular activity, from eating and digesting food, and the process of your internal organs at work. 

So how do you know how many calories you are burning every day though?

According to the NASM website, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) can be calculated by adding up three things that all contribute to burning calories. (1)

First would be your RMR, or Resting Metabolic Rate, which are the number of calories your body burns at rest.

Essentially, imagine if for the entire day you just laid in bed and did not move at all, your body still needs to keep your internal bodily functions active so you still burn calories! 

Everyone’s Resting Metabolic Heart Rate is different but the good news is that it can be changed.

This goes back to why it is extremely important to eat protein to help you build and maintain muscle.

The more muscle you have in your body, the higher your Resting Metabolic Heart Rate will be. 

Next, you would add in your TEF, or the Thermic Effect of Food, which is how many calories you burn while eating, which involves the whole process of chewing, biting, swallowing, absorbing, and all the other actions involved while digesting the food. 

Finally, you will add in your daily activity or movement throughout the day or any exercise that you do.

This is why exercising is so important and we will discuss more in the following section!

It seems very complicated, but the good news is that your TDEE can be calculated just by entering it into one of the online calculators that take your gender, height, and weight to calculate your TDEE.

Keep in mind that every individual’s TDEE is different so the number you get from the calculator is a great place to start, but you might need to make adjustments here and there. 

If you are trying to lose weight, start off by making sure you are eating fewer calories than your TDEE but do not cut down too drastically too fast because this could make your diet difficult and unsustainable.

I recommend starting off by cutting out around 300-400 calories for a moderate pace weight loss journey, but it all varies from individual to individual so see what works best for you!

After cutting out around 300-400 calories, track your weight to check for any progress.

If after a week or two you see absolutely no results, try subtracting your calories by 100-200 more until you start to see some changes in your weight.

Remember that weight is not everything and fluctuations can happen based on how much water retention you have, what time of the day you eat, when you weigh yourself, and several other factors. 

The most important thing to remember is to stay consistent with your weight loss journey and to be extremely patient.

What you will realize is that your diet should be one that is sustainable and an enjoyable process.

Taking care of your health will teach you several good habits and also force you to make educated and mindful choices when it comes to food. 

TIP 2: How Many Calories Do Japanese People Burn in A Day?

Japan’s city life is always bustling with people who are moving at a fast pace to get from place to place.

The biggest difference we see in their daily life compared to people in the states is that Japanese people heavily rely on walking and subway stations as a main form of transportation.

As a result, their daily activity is much higher than the average person who either works at an office job or drives a car to work.

On average, a Japanese person over the age of 15 years old walks around 7400 steps a day whereas Americans only walk around 5000 steps.

This means that on average Japanese people burn an additional 100 calories just from walking alone. (1)

Since it requires you to burn 3500 additional calories to lose a pound of weight, you can see how Japanese people’s additional exercise has a large impact in the long run.

Increasing your daily activity throughout the day can make a huge difference in your physique and can make your weight loss journey easier.

Try dedicating 20-30 minutes a day to go on an active walk to increase the amount of overall exercise that you do throughout the day.

I recommend purchasing a fitness tracker or watch to help you calculate how many steps you are taking throughout the day and aim for an average of 8000-10,000 steps per day.

By making this a habit you’ll find that not only will you see physical results, but that there are several mental benefits as well.

On top of that, we highly suggest that you also participate in some sort of strength training exercise to help you maintain muscle mass which is essential to boosting your Resting Metabolic Rate and helps with overall body composition.

TIP 3: What Kind of Foods Are in the Japanese Diet? 

Due to the abundance of Japanese restaurants opening up in the states, we all know about the famous sashimis, udon, and ramen noodles.

But is this all Japanese people eat throughout the day, and are these the typical foods in the Japanese diet? 

The Japanese Diet usually contains some sort of light serving of grains, like rice, and is often paired with a large amount of fruits and vegetables.

These vegetables are often steamed or boiled, which makes it a lot healthier and eliminates any unnecessary oils. Their dishes also contain plenty of proteins from fish and meats and are relatively low in excess fat. 

Japanese people still eat the udon and ramen that you see in the state restaurants, but their portion sizes are significantly smaller than the restaurants in America.

There are several great options that you can incorporate into your diet but remember that portion size is key to making you successful in your weight loss journey. 

If you choose to eat a noodle soup dish, like udon noodles or ramen, remember that these foods are high in carbohydrates and calories which can make it difficult for you to eat if you are trying to eat less than your TDEE.

When you crave these delicious Japanese foods, I recommend portioning out a smaller bowl of noodle soup and sticking with more vegetables and meats. 

Sushi also has a lot of rice in it too, so try to reduce the amount of rice and up the amount of raw fish and vegetables.

Ahi tuna, octopus, and squid are all seafoods that are high in protein and low in fat so it is a great way to get in some protein to this meal. 

Tip 4: Healthiest Japanese Foods For Staying Slim 

Now you know the importance of protein and calories, you may be wondering which Japanese foods are high in protein and how they are able to incorporate protein into every meal.

Let us go over common meals that Japanese people eat and why they are great choices to incorporate into your diet.

The typical Japanese meal contains rice, miso soup, salmon, and a couple pickled side dishes.

If you are trying to lose weight this sounds like a huge meal, but in reality, these are light foods that are great to eat for your breakfast. 

First off, I would recommend cutting back on the rice because rice contains a lot of carbohydrates and additional calories to your daily intake.

Reducing your portion size by half can make a huge difference. 

Next, miso soup is a great addition to your meals.

One bowl of miso soup has only 40 calories with 2 grams of fat, 3 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein.

This low-calorie soup is an excellent way to satiate you for such little calories and is also absolutely delicious.

Be aware that this is only one serving of miso soup and really watch your portion size because 40 calories can quickly add up to 200-300 calories when you consume too much. 

Another common food that Japanese people eat for breakfast is salmon which is a great source of protein and healthy fats.

100 grams of salmon filet is around 200 calories with 13 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 21 grams of protein.

Salmon is definitely higher in fats compared to most lean sources of protein so be sure not to over-consume.

I recommend not eating the salmon skin and reducing the amount of oil you use to reduce the amount of overall calories and fat in your meal. 

When trying to figure out which lean meat is best for you, use the 1:3 fat-protein ratio to help you determine this.

For every gram of fat, there is 9 calories whereas protein only has 4 calories per gram.

This is why you do not want to eat too much fat throughout the day because this can quickly put you over your TDEE.

Finally, the pickled side dishes are a great low calorie option to help add fiber to your meal and give it more volume.

Fibrous foods are another important nutrient that keeps you full and helps you with your digestion.

Foods high in fiber are usually vegetables which are low calorie options that not only pair really well with other dishes, but are optimal to add into your diet. 

Tip 5: Delicious Low Calorie Japanese Foods for Staying Slim 

If you have seen those super cute bento boxes filled with a delicious arrangement of foods, you can instantly recognize it as a Japanese lunch.

These are not only super appealing but also an absolute joy to make.

Lucky for you, Aspire Fitness has a Youtube channel filled with ways to make healthy and delicious Asian foods.

You can check out our Healthy Bento Box Series  to make your own healthy Japanese-styled bento box. 

A typical bento box usually contains rice, an assortment of vegetables, eggs, and a lean source of meat. 

Similar to the previous section on breakfast, reduce the amount of overall rice in your bento box and feel free to increase the amount of vegetables in your bento box.

Asparagus, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, carrots and lettuce are all great compliments to your bento box and also add a great pop of color. 

A lot of bento boxes also include eggs which are either boiled or fried.

One large egg is around 70 calories with 5 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbohydrates, and 6 grams of protein.

Egg is considered a food high in fats, so try not to eat too many in one meal.

Just eating one egg is a great way to get some protein into your meal but too many can add a lot of calories into your daily consumption. 

Finally, choosing the right source of meat for your bento box is crucial.

Adding lean sources of meat like chicken breast, tuna, or lean beef adds a good amount of protein into your meal which keeps you full.

Reduce the amount of dipping sauce you use for your meats or sauces low in calorie. Soy sauce is a great sauce that is low in calories and also has some protein in it as well.

CONCLUSION 

Remember, although nutrition is a huge factor that influences weight loss, it is important to pair this journey with exercise as well. Especially strength training.

Several years of research on the benefits of weight training have shown that individuals that do some sort of consistent resistance training at least 3-5 times a week have shown not only a great amount of weight loss but are also able to keep the weight off! 

The secret to this phenomena is that strength training leads to a build-up of muscle.

Not only does your body recomposition into a more fitting and athletic-looking aesthetic, but having more muscle also increases your resting metabolic rate which essentially means you burn more calories at rest! 

Now that we know the importance of muscle we need to make sure we stay on track with our workouts.

Consistency and longevity are the two key factors when building muscle so there will be some commitment involved.

We understand that not everyone has access to a gym membership or feels comfortable starting off in such an intimidating environment.

Although I would strongly recommend that everyone should get a gym membership, don’t worry we got your back!

You can either go to the gym or build one for yourself.

It really just comes down to 3 pieces of equipment that you need to do most workouts.

These three are the workout bench, dumbbells, and gym flooring.

Check out our recommended gear page to see our best picks for these pieces of equipment here. 

https://www.aspirefitnesswalnut.com/home-workout-equipment

If a home gym is not for you then getting a membership somewhere works too.

As long as you are starting your muscle-building journey, we’re happy! 

Stick with it for the long run and you’ll see how amazing the results can be. 

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