CM Exercising

The main purpose of dieting is to reduce weight beautifully. This requires well balanced meals and proper exercise. However, meals tend to have priority over exercise. The Japan Diet Academy recommends CM (commercial) exercises which can be done at anytime, anywhere, for you. These are quick exercises that you can do during the commercial break of TV programs.

During CM time, you can do 10 push-ups, 20 sit-ups or 20 squats. By doing each exercise in short increments, we can gain muscle, increase metabolism, and as a result we can develop a body that does not gain weight easily.

The DietMaster method’s goal is for you to diet with beautiful skin and a shining smile. The main factors include:

1. The right theory of dieting
2. Well balanced meals
3. Proper exercise

These three should be the main factors people who want to diet should learn. The Japan Diet Academy offers DietMaster certificates for those who acquire full knowledge on proper dieting.

Please feel free to contact us for more information.

The Importance of Exercise

It is important to exercise as well as develop good eating habits when dieting. However, exercising does not work to reduce weight. For example, walking for 30 minutes is almost equal to burning the calories for one banana. Nevertheless, exercise is a very important element of any diet plan.

Some research was conducted on measuring the effects of dieting without exercise and dieting with exercise. It was found that those who dieted while exercising were able to reduce their body fat more easily. In other words, exercising reduces your body fat percentage.

In contrast, if you do not exercise while dieting, you might lose some of your muscle mass. If you regain your weight, you will end up with a higher body fat percentage.

Let’s work towards keeping a good figure! If you would like to learn more, please contact us.

Diet Communication

If you are in Japan, knowledge about dieting is very useful. Whether you are in Japan for business or even for personal travel, knowing basic topics that appeal to the Japanese are really useful to make your conversations go more smoothly.

Did you know about 70% of people in Japan are interested in dieting? If you have enough knowledge about proper dieting, you will gain popularity among the people you speak with. If you work in sales, gaining popularity and supports is very crucial in making your business successful. In order to get supporters, it is necessary to take these steps:

1. Gain supporters for yourself
2. Convert these supporters for your business
3. Get them to purchase your company’s products

These are the basic steps for a successful salesman. You may be wondering how knowledge on proper and healthy dieting techniques can help you. Dieting knowledge can work as a “break the ice” topic, something that is easy for everyone to understand and easy for you to learn as well. People will be especially impressed if you are an American outside of the US since Americans tend to have a bad reputation for poor eating habits. Not to say all Americans have poor eating habits, this is just how we are generally perceived outside of the US.

About one week should be enough for you to gain the knowledge and theories of healthy dieting. In Japan, such should be required teaching in Junior High School in a 5-6 hour lesson. Unfortunately, it will be difficult to impose such a requirement because it can create conflict with the food industry.

While discussing this topic in our office, we were talking about the differences in diet education in primary school in Japan and the US. How did your school treat nutrition and diet education? Let me know and feel free to discuss no matter what country you are from.

When I was in Junior High in the US, I took Home Economics which taught some diet and nutrition. Although, it was an elective and the only reason why I took it was because I had transferred schools and so was late in registering. It was the only course available so I had the impression it was not a very popular course. I wasn’t required to learn about nutrition until High School and it was something I could have taken at any time as long as it was before graduation. I’m not sure how the school systems are like now.

Global Poll: A Look at Weight Around the World

Last year, Reader’s Digest published an article detailing a global diet poll they commissioned. Such information is very valuable in letting us know how people in other countries think about dieting.

To summarize:

• Reader’s digest reported that Americans have the hardest time in dieting than any other country after surveying 16,000 people in 16 countries. In addition, Americans feel overweight women are stigmatized the most for their weight.
• Brazilians feel the biggest pressure to reduce their weight while people in Finland are the most aware of obesity risks due to previously having a high rate of heart disease.
• Hungarians are the most accepting of weight, even in spouses.
• People in Russia still tend to smoke to reduce weight and that that obesity mainly results from genetics.
• Almost 75% of Americans believe the American diet leads to obesity.
• There are more people in Mexico that know the proper and healthy way to diet. Most of them understand that the key to improving weight is a healthy diet and increasing physical activity.

No matter what country you live in, unless you’re from Hungary, people everywhere are feeling pressure to maintain their weight. In modern society, especially developed nations, food is very abundant and easily accessible, leading us to overeating and lowered activity. Let’s try to reduce our habits of eating too much food and eat until we feel 80% full. Practicing this also keeps us from feeling over-stuffed.

Japanese Diet vs. American Diet

Livestrong features a nice article outlining the key differences between the Japanese diet and the American diet. Some thing I want to point out is that many Japanese eat mostly white rice. For those who want to opt for a healthier meal, they should replace white rice with brown rice, pearl barley, or mix different grains into their white rice, also known as zakkokumai or kokumotsu gohan.

Another thing I want to mention is that after World War II, most Japanese are strictly taught not to waste food. It is considered good manners to completely finish your meal and not leave anything to be wasted. So, when the article mentions that Japanese tend to “stop eating before they’re full” this is not necessarily true. It is true, however, that portion sizes are much smaller in Japan than in the US, so it is much easier to finish a meal set.

One factor the article does not take into account is that the Japanese drink a lot of green tea. Green tea contains polyphenols, which helps in the breakdown of fat. Wine, especially red wine, also contains a lot of polyphenols and is a theory behind the French Paradox. There are other fruits and vegetables that contain polyphenols.

An Irregular Lifestyle Leads You to Obesity

According to statistics surveying when people began gaining weight, most people started to gain weight when the joined the work force after graduating from school. For some people, it began within 1-2 years and others noticed their body’s shape changing between 4-5 years after graduating. These people tend to become conscious of dieting just before reaching 30 and tried many times to reduce their weight but were struggling.

The major reasons for this change are:

1. They may have had more time for healthier lifestyle habits as a student.
2. They sometimes skipped meals.
3. Desk jobs do not require much activity.
4. They regularly drank alcohol which is high in calories.

Irregular meal times, frequent consumption of alcohol and lack of exercise all lead people to obesity. In this modern era, it does not take long for an individual to develop an unhealthy lifestyle.

At some point in our lives, we need to learn proper dieting in order to maintain our health as well as improve upon it.

For more information, feel free to contact us.

Japanese Prison Meals Treat Lifestyle Diseases

Recently in Yahoo Japan’s Science News, it has been reported that meals provided in Japanese prisons improve conditions of diabetes. Meals provided also promote liver health and are great for dieting.

In the past, many people released from prison left with a better figure than when they entered. Currently a certain famous man appears to be dieting in a prison in Nagano prefecture. Most Japanese may know who I am talking about. During his two year sentence, he should lose about 20kg (44lb). This certain man has mentioned in his blog that his current weight is 91kg (200lb).

“Pearl barley [as a substitute for rice], one of the major prison meal components helps improve diabetes.” The doctor who monitors the health conditions of prisoners in the Fukushima prison analyzed the data of those who have diabetes and confirmed that eating pearl helped to improve their diabetes. It is speculated that this is a result of the high fiber contents of barley.

This doctor provides his report on this issue at conferences with nutritionists and doctors to facilitate prevention and improvement of diabetes. In his analysis, 92 people out of 109 were found to have improved conditions.


We at Diet Academy have recognized the health benefits of meals served in Japanese prisons five years ago. We received recipes of menus served in Japanese prisons from the Tokyo Regional Correction Headquarters and developed our own cookbook to share these benefits to those outside of prison. Our Prison Menu Cookbook is designed with a daily caloric intake of 1400-1500 Kcal for men and 1200 Kcal for women in mind. These figures are based on average basal caloric intake needed (the minimum our caloric intake our bodies need). Those with an active lifestyle need to consume addition calories (approx. 1000 kcal to keep your weight consistent) to balance their activities.


The Japanese version of our menu has over 300 single serving recipes which covers a 90 day meal plan. Currently we have 15 of these recipes translated into English which are available in both metric and volume based measurements. You can download a pdf of our translated recipes for free on our Prison Menu site. For those who understand Japanese, more sample recipes can be found on our Japanese site.

The Functions of Parasympathetic Nerves

Autonomic nerves are divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerve. Mainly, the sympathetic nerve works during the daytime and facilitates energy consumption. When night comes, the parasympathetic nerves start working. Energy consumption slows and the body works on fixing damaged cells.

Dr. Shigeki Shibazaki, a Ph. D. of Nippon University has concluded after his investigations that BMAL-1, a sort of protein which takes part in our body's rhythmic clock (circadian rhythm), has a close relation with the accumulation of inner fat.

The BMAL-1 is hardly generated during the daytime but is produced during the night time. Based on this fact, researchers try to conclude that gaining weight can be avoided by not having meals late at night.
It is reported that BMAL-1 is generated most actively between 10pm and 2am, which is 15 to 20 times more than what is produced around 3am (Asahi Newspaper on September 2005).

The level of BMAL at different times 

based on a 24-hour clock. 

There are many areas that have yet to be researched in our body functions as well as diet theory. However, it is evident that going to bed right after eating contributes to gaining weight and more and more researchers tend to think the reason is because of BMAL-1.

For more information, please contact DietMaster New York Inc. We are open to International inquiries as well.

Let's make a proper diet schedule!

It's difficult to reduce your weight by 10-15kg (22-33lb) in a short time, but you will notice that it isn't difficult at all if you take 3-6 months or even a full year to accomplish it. Of course I understand how anxious most of us are to lose weight in a short time. However, skipping meals or taking diet pills will easily result in rebound. Also, it will cause our bodies to become unhealthy. Please remember that reducing your average calorie intake by 300kcal a day should be enough to reduce your weight by 1.25kg in one month.

300kcal × 30 days ÷7200kcal = 1.25kg (2.75lb)

The best way to achieve this is to set up a proper schedule for your diet. We need to expend 72,000kcal in order to reduce our weight by 1kg. Power walking for 20 minutes a day consumes 100kcal. Avoiding drinking one beer or not eating ice cream saves 200kcal. Not drinking 180ml of Japanese sake or not eating one rice ball (onigiri) also saves 200kcal.

Combining power walking for 20 minutes plus reducing the intake of one of the above items will save 300kcal. Continuing the practice for one month should lead to a reduction of your weight by 1.25kg (2.75lb). Three months leads to 3.75kg (8.25lb), six months to 7.5kg (16.5lb), and in one year to 15.2kg (33.5lb).

The calculation is based on someone with a BMI around 30. I hope this information helps you set up a schedule to reduce 2-3kg (4-6.5lb) of your weight.

For more information, please feel free to contact us.

Obesity

Do you know the actual definition of being obese? Don’t you think it means weighing too much for your height? In actuality, being obese is not just about how much you weigh. The fact is that being obese means your fat ratio in comparison to your body weight is abnormally high.

The largest component of our bodies is water, including blood, which amounts from 50-60% of our body. The next biggest element is fat which amounts from 15-25% in the average male body and 20-30% in the average female body. The rest of our body’s components include protein, minerals, fructose, and so on. Our bones also include lots of proteins and minerals such as calcium. We start to gain weight when fat or water increases in our bodies. When fat increases, it can lead to obesity. When water increases, it is only swelling.

If you would like to learn more about the correct theory for dieting, please contact us about our DietMaster products.

Is Sugar Toxic?

NY Times - Is Sugar Toxic?

A very interesting article about research done on the effects of sugar on our bodies. One thing the author mentions is that "we should always keep in mind... that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup might be toxic, as Lustig argues, but so might any substance if it’s consumed in ways or in quantities that are unnatural for humans.”

Another interesting point is how he mentions the effect of the Western diet and compares it to a Japanese diet among other groups who tend to have less occurrences of lifestyle diseases. Such is similar to the philosophy behind DietMaster.

Although the concept that sugar may be toxic to our bodies needs more research, if anything, we should learn that we need to be concerned not just about our size but also our inner health as well. That is why when you think about dieting you shouldn't just think about how much weight you need to lose, but also what lifestyle changes you need to make to keep your body healthy.

Feel free to add comments discussing your viewpoints on the article. Also, if you are interested in learning more about maintaining inner health, please feel free to contact us.

Metabolic Syndrome

The term “metabolic syndrome” has recently become well known in Japan. It is the idea that heart disease, or stroke, is likely the result of arteriosclerosis which is also worsened by conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia, also known as high cholesterol. 

Obesity is the main contributing factor for all these syndromes. In 2005, a Japanese medical symposium announced that obesity is determined by the size of the abdomen, not by BMI, because the size of the abdomen shows how much interior fat exists. It is true that high interior fat contributes to diabetes, high blood pressure, and hyperlipidemia. Men who exceed an abdominal size of 85cm (33.5in) and women who exceed 90cm (35.4in) who also earn 2 out of 3 points in a diagnostic test were diagnosed with metabolic syndrome.

In 2008, a number of people questioned this diagnostic and subsequent research has been done. On February 9, 2010, the Japanese Ministry of Health and the Wealth Metabolism Institute officially announced that the former abdominal size limits cannot be used to determine metabolic syndrome.

In conjunction with this, WHO has indicated that those who have the following abdominal size are likely to develop some related syndromes; men with an abdominal size of 90cm (35.4in), women with a size of 80cm (31.5in), and both with a BMI of 23.

BMI stands for body mass index and is used as a guideline to compare an individual’s size to others and is based on their height and weight ratio. The calculation for BMI in metrics is your weight (kg) divided by your height (m) squared. In the US, it is calculated using your weight (lb) divided by your height (in) squared, times 703.

Feel free to email us if you want more information related to this matter.