How To Stay Fit Like Japanese?

I am always super impressed with the Japanese people due to their healthy and productive lifestyle. Whether you are looking for 10 tips to stay fit and healthy or making a healthy diet plan to stay fit, Japan and its culture is always there to inspire you.

However, a question pops up in my mind, why is Japan known as a healthy country?

I know that there is so much data to validate this statement, such as Japan being Asia’s healthiest nation in 2019. Also, Japan holds a strong position in the lists such as Healthiest Countries in the World (Bloomberg Global Health Index 2019), Countries with high life expectancy, and Global Obesity Levels.

After learning all these validations, I just wanted to know more about the Japanese lifestyle to adopt the same for myself to stay fit. I searched for Japanese exercises and a healthy diet plan to keep fit. And what I came to know was surprising. There are no modern workouts, no fancy food supplement products, and nothing like expensive exercising equipment in the Japanese lifestyle. Still, they are fit!! 

Here I’m going to show ways to keep fit and healthy that Japanese people follow by default. 

Walk More

Nobody tells you to walk more in Japan; it is in their lifestyle rule book by default. In Japan, people prefer walking to offices, schools, and markets. In some cities, there are very few households that have personal cars. 

Plate Matters Too

Whenever we say “Japan is a fit country,” everyone thinks about the Japanese diet, but the Japanese have some more in-depth concerns. The plate (dish) in which they eat food is also specifically chosen to avail some health benefits. They have some standard sizes for the plates that let people have a balanced portion of all nutrients.

Portion Control

Plate size is essential, but what about portion control? Japanese people follow a particular portion control practice. They divide the entire plate in a balanced way so that the consumer gets sufficient fats, carbs, proteins, and other nutrients. 

More Grains & Veggies

Talking about the traditional Japanese diet, more grains and veggies are included. Another beautiful thing is that the Japanese diet has minimal dairy products and very minute usage of vegetable oils in cooking. 

Hara Hachi Bu

An adage from Okinawa (Japan), Hara Hachi Bu is also a key role player in the fitness of Japanese people. Hara Hachi Bu means stop eating when you are 80% full. Japanese people have followed this methodology since childhood. If you ask whether Hara Hachi Bu works or not, you must be aware that Okinawa is one of the places with high longevity.

Less Processing

Food that Japanese people prefer to have is always less processed. They avoid frozen food and use fresh ingredients with traditional cooking practices such as stewing, steaming, using minimal oil, quickly cooking vegetables to retain their minerals, etc. 

Takeaway!

There is no big deal to follow the above methods to stay fit like the Japanese. Japanese people have been doing it by default for many centuries. Maybe there will be no instant results, but for longevity, you need to plan something in the long term, and the Japanese lifestyle & food is the best path to follow.

-Pankaj Rai