A rainy morning in Kamakura led me to think about something larger than the weather: why people gain weight so easily, and why losing it has become such a constant concern in modern life.
Yesterday, a large rain cloud moved across the Japanese archipelago, and Kamakura welcomed a pleasantly damp morning.
It seems that the forest fire in Iwate Prefecture has eased somewhat as well. Since more rain is expected today, I hope it moves closer to being fully extinguished.
The other day, I wrote that frequent business trips had left me tired. One reason for that fatigue, I realized, is eating out too often.
Restaurant meals usually contain a lot of salt. Salty food tastes better, and even when we know that, we still tend to eat too much. As a result, salt accumulates in the body, and water is retained to dilute it, leaving us swollen and heavier than before.
In theory, losing that extra weight should simply require reversing the process. In reality, however, the body does not respond so quickly.
Even after several days of effort and returning to my usual weight, I may casually step into a soba restaurant and drink too much of the strongly flavored broth. Even though I have stopped mindlessly snacking right after coming home, the benefit becomes limited if I do that.
It is surprisingly hard to lose the weight once gained through eating out.
Still, I sometimes wonder: what exactly is dieting for?
Being thin is not automatically ideal. If you look at fighters or athletes, it is obvious that having greater body weight can be purposeful and advantageous.
In my own case, the issue is more practical. I do not want my clothes—especially my trousers—to stop fitting. I simply want to prevent my waistline from expanding any further.
Then there is blood pressure. Years ago, a cardiologist once told me that slightly high blood pressure was not necessarily a bad thing. But when it gets too high, I develop headaches, so now I prefer to keep it under control.
Since heavier body weight often raises blood pressure, I need to reduce both visceral fat and salt intake. There is no need here to repeat all the risks of hypertension, but weight control is certainly effective, and reducing salt is part of that effort.
I would also like to cut back on eating out, though that is not so easy. Restaurants are part of the economy, and they depend on people dining outside the home.
Modern society has become a rather complicated place—where systems encourage us to overeat while pressures constantly tell us to become thinner.
We live in a world that sells indulgence and discipline at the same time.
・・・
Vocabulary for Learners
- archipelago – 群島、列島 the Japanese archipelago（日本列島）
- extinguished – 消火された、鎮火した The fire was extinguished.
- fatigue – 疲労 Travel can cause fatigue.
- accumulate – 蓄積する Salt accumulates in the body.
- retain / retained – 保持する、貯留する Water is retained.
- in theory / in reality – 理論上は / 現実には In theory it is simple, but in reality it is hard.
- mindlessly snacking – 無意識に間食すること I stopped mindlessly snacking.
- purposeful – 目的にかなった、有意義な Greater weight can be purposeful.
- waistline – ウエスト周り、胴回り My waistline has expanded.
- visceral fat – 内臓脂肪
- hypertension – 高血圧
- cut back on – ～を減らす I should cut back on eating out.
- indulgence – 放縦、ぜいたく、欲望に任せること
- discipline – 節制、自己管理
