Japanese Weight Loss Secrets

Being thin is part of the beauty standard in Japan and other Asian countries. You might be wondering, how do they manage to be so thin? There are several secrets and techniques that Japanese women use to keep their bodies slim and light.

In this article, we will reveal some of these secrets to help you lose weight and slim your waist. We have already written an article discussing the secret of Japanese beauty, but in this article, we will go further and reveal some important techniques for weight loss.

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Table of Contents

Lose weight with the right diet

You should know that the Japanese diet helps a lot in keeping the waist slim. Japanese people drink a lot of tea, have miso soup daily, and consume plenty of vegetables and fish.

Japanese people also use light cooking techniques and low temperatures to preserve the nutrients in food. They usually season food with various ingredients but use little salt.

It is normal to eat rice, even at breakfast, which for some may cause weight gain due to being a large source of carbohydrates. But Japanese rice is richer in fiber than others. Noodles are also a nearly daily dish for the Japanese.

A Japanese meal consists of small portions, various accompaniments of light broths, and a slower and healthier eating pace; they eat more than 5 varieties of vegetables in one meal.

Japanese people also cook in an artistic way, which helps to satisfy and trick the stomach. They use chopsticks, which makes them eat less than a spoonful.

There is also a great Japanese technique for weight loss called Hara hachi bunme. While most people stop eating when they are completely full, those who use this technique stop eating when they are 80% full.

After 20 or 30 minutes, they decide if they are still hungry; if so, they have a small snack. The brain is not regular in indicating whether we are truly full or not, and this pause will help determine that.

Eating slowly also helps the brain in this decision. We recommend you take a look at the Japanese Food Pyramid. Japanese cuisine greatly helps the Japanese stay slim.

Also read: Japanese Food Pyramid – Japan’s dietary guide

Japanese people lose weight by breathing

A Japanese actor named Ryosuke Miki developed a technique that consists of spending two minutes a day focusing on taking long breaths and then exhaling aggressively. He was using this technique to alleviate back pain and noticed he was losing weight.

This long breathing diet should be done in a specific position, inhaling for 3 seconds and exhaling for 7 seconds. There are 2 techniques:

1 – Squeeze your buttocks to create ripples in your rear (check this by placing your fingers on the area formed by the compression), place one foot in front of your body, crossing your legs, putting 90% of your body weight on your back foot. You should inhale with your arms above your head;
2 – Squeeze your buttocks and place one hand on your belly and the other on your lower back;

In both techniques, you should inhale for 3 seconds and exhale for 7 seconds very strongly, tensing all the muscles.

It is believed that the long breathing diet increases muscle strength and speeds up your metabolism, raising oxygen levels in the blood. The results are excellent for the spine and abdomen, resulting in a slimmer waist.

Lose weight and improve posture lying down

There is another famous weight loss technique that is also good for posture, called Fukutsuji. It was created by Toshiki Fukutsuji, a doctor who was developing a method to prevent poor posture.

The technique consists of taking a regular towel, rolling it up, and tying it to create a sausage shape. Then the person should lie on their back on a hard, flat surface and place the towel at the level of their navel, where the spine begins to curve.

When you are straight and in the correct position, you should place your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing towards each other.

Stretch your arms above your head with your palms facing down and your pinky fingers touching each other. You should do this procedure for 5 minutes. It is recommended to do it 3 times a day for better results.

Another similar technique involves lying down and tying your big toes together with a hair elastic. This technique helps to position the pelvis correctly and prevents fat from concentrating in the abdominal area.

Losing weight with Japanese exercises

Another quite famous technique consists of taking a towel and holding each end, then making movements like the infinity symbol (∞) or a sideways 8.

Make 10 movements on each side with your back straight and arms extended. Only your arms should move; hold the towel firmly. It is not recommended for people with back problems. If it hurts, stop!

We notice that most of the exercises here involve contracting the abdomen and keeping the spine straight. Exactly, for weight loss, this is essential. I hope you enjoyed these Japanese techniques. Have you tried any of them? Leave your experiences in the comments.

To conclude the article, I will leave a video from my friend Roberto Pedraça teaching 3 tips on how to lose weight used by the Japanese: