Big in Japan: Eating zero calorie jelly keeps Japanese women skinny

Ever wonder why it is that Japanese women are so skinny? Ever wonder how Japanese women manage to keep away the pounds even after having a child or two?

What if I told you that there was a simple and cheap remedy for dropping a few sizes while simultaneously trimming up your waistline.

What if I told you that this remedy costs less than US$10 a day, and can be started at any time no matter how overweight you happen to be.

Although the secret is slowly spreading to the Western World, for years Japanese women have been eating zero calorie jelly as a meal supplement.

Yes. You read that correctly.

Some Japanese women, on occasion, eat calorie-free meals in order to stay skinny.

Seriously. I am not making this up!

(Nor do I condone this as a healthy or safe diet!)

Now, I guess at this point in the post you are probably thinking one of the following:

a) This can’t be healthy, can it?
a) Does it work?
c) What does it taste like?
d) Where can I buy some?
e) Some or all of the above.

Well, keep reading and allow me to explain the powers of zero calorie jelly!

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In Tokyo, you can buy 180g gram packages of zero calorie jelly in a variety of flavors including blueberry and peach for the bargain price of 240 yen or US$2.

And remarkably, you don’t even have to go to a health food store to buy the product.

Instead, just simply walk out of your apartment, head into the first convenience store you see, and give into your vanity for the price of a couple of dollars.

Now, I know that it’s easy to be skeptical about health and beauty products, especially since the next big thing is always being touted on late night infomercials across North America.

Also, we all know that the Japanese have incredibly healthy diets that are based on rice and fish, compared with the North America propensity for fatty foods.

And of course, I don’t want to discount their genetic predisposition, especially considering that the Japanese tend to be much skinnier Western counterparts.

But, you have to admit that tricking your body into thinking it’s had a meal is a great way to stave off cravings and reduce your portion size.

Here’s the catch.

People – think about this product for just a second!

Even if your mind and body thinks it just had a meal, it hasn’t. To be blunt, eating three square meals of zero calorie jelly is the same thing as starvation or anorexia.

Let’s be clear – zero calorie jelly is a great way to prevent yourself from eating a calorie-packed snack, but it’s not a meal substitute. Sadly, too many young girls over here in Japan haven’t gotten this message through their tiny little heads.

If you’re still interested in trying the stuff, I’m fairly certain that you can find it in the States, but again, be responsible with the stuff.

With that said, please chime in if you’ve seen this stuff in a health food store near you, or if you’ve had any experience eating it.

And, in case you’re wondering, it actually tastes like Jello, though I ate the stuff purely for scientific research purposes – anyone who’s ever met me already knows that I’m too skinny!

For foods that actually have nutritional value, check out the gallery below:

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Fight global-warming by eating chicken

For someone who is a sacrilegious beef-eating Hindu carnivore, I have many ‘official’ reasons to quit eating meat, but I love my steak and chicken-wings, so that’s not going to happen. (In my caste, we cannot even eat egg).

Which is why I was thrilled to read that eating chicken can help combat global warming drastically!

A recent story on Salon explains in a nutshell: the amount of energy and resources we invest in breeding animals for food, alongside naturally toxic excretions of those animals, is more responsible for global-warming than burning fossil fuels. However, poultry are the least polluting. (Gore, did you know this?).

The story throws in some shocking statistics:

  • “livestock accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector” — why is this not in Al Gore’s film?!
  • “cattle, bison, sheep and goats burp out a lot of methane that traps 23 times more heat per ton than carbon dioxide” — and we’ve been fretting about spraying deodorant?!
  • “the difference between a vegan diet and one that includes cheeseburgers is less than 2 tons of greenhouse gases a year — that’s about the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius” — I wonder what Toyota would have to say about that.

With that in mind, eating beef is the worst; then comes cattle, sheep and goat; and then pork and dairy products are relatively less harmful. Pork and dairy hold the same place in the environment?!

Conclusion: if you want to change your diet to combat global-warming — eating chicken is the best thing you can do. Chickens don’t “burp” methane and they produce only one-tenth the methane of cattle waste.

Now who would have thought!

GADLING’S TAKE FIVE: Week of July 1

Good, practical travel advice just the way your mother used to give. That’s the theme for this week’s Take Five. Well, maybe not all good and maybe not all advice, but it’s stuff I’m sure more than a handful of you out there reading can use. Why? Because we care…

5. New Blogs: Transitions Abroad and National Geographic Traveler:

Looking for a few new blogs to go in your travel RSS feeds? Give these two a go and keep virtual travel going longer and stronger. (Okay, that was corny.)

4. Shape’s Top 25 Stay-Fit Travel Tips:
If you travel so much you basically live on the road and out of a suitcase you probably already discovered a few tips to staying fit. On the flip-side for those of you haven’t found the perfect way to blend your road trippin’ fun with fitness you may wish to take a peek at this plug here.

3. Traveler’s Phrase Book T-shirt:
Unlike Justin, who points out this nifty phrase book style tee to wear and assist in communication, I think it is a great idea and not so overpriced. I’m a HUGE advocate for learning the local vocab and slang, but sometimes your mind freezes, goes numb or went back packing with the cat that also has your tongue and in such event it never hurts to resort to Plan P by pointing it out!

2. Problems in a Hotel? Complain Immediately for Best Results:

I think the title of this one says it all. Don’t wait until check-out to rant and point out flaws. If the room is seriously painfully bad or unsanitary let the folks behind the front desk know ASAP.

1. What Countries Have Universal Health Care?:
So you’ve seen the movie Sicko and you walked away with a knot in your stomach like the rest of us… Now you wish to plan an escape to a country with Universal Health Care… Where do you go?

Count Calories While You Fly

Thanks to our healthy friends and sister site, That’s Fit, I just stumbled upon this awesome article out of the Seattle Times focusing on the nutritional value of those in-flight snack packs. You would think with cheese, crackers, peanuts and an occasional cookie one wouldn’t shoot their entire diet to hell, but beware!!! (Cue horror music.) If you thought the danger was in flying you were wrong – it’s in the honey roasted nuts! The story in the Seattle Times notes both Delta and U.S. Airways have the lowest health score, for more reasons than high in calories. The system is based on factors like how helpful the airline was in providing information, the cost of the snack pack (if any) and the exercise equivalent to burning off the calories found in each pack. Let’s take the Delta snack pack for example since it ranks the absolute worst. According to their info you’d have to walk 197 minutes to burn off the 766 calories found in Delta’s bag of treats. That’s a lot of walking for so little food.

On the upside, those flying with United need not worry so much as a frequent Delta or U.S. Airways flyer. United Airlines ranks tops. The snack packs offered on board are vegetarian friendly and trans-fat-free. Although the cost is $5, they have the largest selection of snack choices. Surprisingly, you’ll need to do a good amount of walking to burn off the calories found in an United pack (up to 231 minutes for munching on a Smartpack), but at least you’ll know that your balancing it all out.

I highly recommend reading this one if you’re trying to keep track of your diet every step and flight on the way to your holiday destination and beyond.

New Blog Alert: That’s Fit

After much anticipation it brings me joy to announce one of the newest members of the Weblogs, Inc. NetworkThat’s Fit. Our latest and greatest sister-blog is devoted to all things that allow us “to live well and stay well,” according to Kristi Anderson, who provides the official site welcome message. If you’re a fan of the Weblogs, Inc. Network be sure to bookmark That’s Fit and get your fill on fit living for the mind, body and soul. Exercise, diet, alternative therapies, organic living, inner growth, natural beauty and eco-travel are just a few healthy samplings to be found on That’s Fit!

Go on – swing by, check it out and send a warm round-of-sound to the team!