#HARE HAHI BU FULL#

My goal is to be in the best shape of my life by New YearвЂ™s - why wait until then to start? The extra activity will help burn any extra calories I take in (which wonвЂ™t be a huge amount) and I hope lean me out even more. IвЂ™m adding more exercise to these Okinawan diet rules (not to be confused with the commercial Okinawan diet, which I think is unnecessary if you follow these rules). Treats are great in moderation, but moderation is the key word. OK, I also had some pumpkin pie (made it myself) but as I ate mostly healthy and didnвЂ™t overeat, I felt great about it.Д¬an you follow these rules throughout the holidays, and the rest of your life as well? The Okinawans did it (although the younger generation has changed to a more Western lifestyle and has suffered for it) and I think I can too, most of the time. Again, I ate to about 80% full, and loved it. I donвЂ™t eat meat or fish, so I stuck with veggies and sweet potatoes and a mango-ginger tofu dish I made.

I used these guidelines during Thanksgiving. This contradicts low-carb diets such as the Zone, Atkins, Paleo and others - IвЂ™m not saying those donвЂ™t work for whatever your goals are, but I am saying that a mostly plant-based diet has been proven to work well for the Okinawans. They eat very little sugar, and very little meat, dairy or eggs. They eat way more veggies than most people (mostly green and yellow ones), as well as whole grains, tofu, fish and other legumes. Way before Michael Pollan wrote about his simple rules for eating healthy, the Okinawans had this down. Rule 2: Eat healthy foods, mostly plants. If we pair this with the next rule and an active lifestyle, we can actually lose weight during the holidays. The result for the rest of us is that eating fewer calories will keep the extra pounds off. They tend not to gain too much weight as a result, and coupled with their active lifestyles (they farm and garden and generally stay active, even into their 100s), it keeps them very healthy. The result of this rule for Okinawans is that they end up eating fewer calories than most people.

#HARE HAHI BU FULL#

And as our brains are 10-20 minutes behind our stomachs, it usually turns out that when you think youвЂ™re 80% full, youвЂ™re actually full вЂ¦ while when we eat to 100% full, we are usually overstuffing ourselves. Of course, thereвЂ™s no way to know exactly how full you are, but itвЂ™s a guideline. I did this on Thanksgiving - while I usually stuff myself with all the good food, I just ate until I was about 80% full. The Okinawans call this rule вЂњHara Hachi BuвЂќ, and if you havenвЂ™t tried it, you should. So whatвЂ™s their secret? Actually, there are two secrets (and theyвЂ™re not really secrets), and I used these rules to guide my eating on Thanksgiving (and beyond): And while all of these have played a factor, thereвЂ™s no doubt that their traditional diet has played a big part - when they eat a more modern, Western-style diet, they donвЂ™t live as long or as healthy. This single fact has had them studied from every angle, from diet to lifestyle to genetics to environment. The Okinawans (the indiginous people of the Ryukyu islands in Japan) are famous for having the longest life expectancy in the world. IвЂ™ll publish more about this plan after I see the results (3 pounds dropped already).Д«ut the really cool thing I started on Thanksgiving comes from the Okinawan people (who donвЂ™t live too far away from my home, the beautiful island of Guam). IвЂ™m also starting a meal plan and exercise routine that will have me drop some fat while gaining muscle by New Years, I promise. This will be the healthiest holiday season ever for me.

I also got a great workout in the morning after - heavy deadlifts followed by two brutal 10-minute weight circuits and finished with 15 minutes of hard intervals. On Thanksgiving, while I enjoyed time with my family, and while everyone else pigged out, I ate moderately and wisely. ItвЂ™s kinda part of the tradition to consume huge amounts of food, you know?ДЄnd like many others, I also tend to gain weight during the holidays - some people can gain 5 or more pounds (though for most itвЂ™s usually only a couple pounds). Like many people, I tend to overeat during the holidays, from Thanksgiving through New YearвЂ™s.

Hare hahi bu