Thursday, September 13, 2007

Why Japanese People are Skinny

I was leaving work the other day, and noticed one of my co-workers carrying a small plastic bag.

"Leftovers from lunch?" I inquired.

"Yes, I couldn't finish it."

"Oh, what were you eating?"

"A roll."

I'm suspicious. "Oh, like for a sandwich? Like with meat and lettuce?"

"No. The roll has some butter flavor baked into it, so it's good enough by itself."

I'm finally getting the picture. She ate a roll for lunch. A ROLL. A woman with no discernable eating hang-ups simply eating a normal lunch. And I spied a diet Pepsi in the bag, too.

Ignoring the fact that, nutritionally, this lunch is a disaster, this is why it works:

Total calories: Roll, 300-400. Diet Pepsi, 0.

Body weight: Approx 120.

Approximate minimum calories needed for someone that size: 1200

400 calories x 3 meals = just about right. That is insane to me.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Any exercise for the svelte lass? No, I thought not.

Nate said...

Actually yes, just not every day. Besides, factor in a typical person's workout--something like walking. Walking burns about 100 calories per mile. Most people walk about 3-4 MPH. So even walking for an hour a day (which most people don't do), she'd only need 1500-1600 calories a day to maintain. That's a very liberal estimate, and it's still damn low. I can sense your calorie apologist rhetoric through the intratubes...

Anonymous said...

Maybe we're programmed (supersize me, baby) to eat too much in the US?

Sam said...

I'm definitely programmed to eat too much. It's been hard work trying to reprogram myself. Anyway, the real question here is, "how much of the roll was left over?" Maybe she ate half the roll and was saving the rest for dinner. Then you'd have to divide your caloric calculations by two.
I could save a lot of money if all I ate was a couple rolls a day.

Todd Johnson said...

Ever since Bike and Build I've been programed to eat anything I see, as soon as I see it, and as fast as I can. That way no one else can eat it. Not doing to well for my caloric intake!

Nate said...

Right-- Thank God you live in San Diego,where your bulky winter coat that you wear most of the year can obscure a couple extra pounds--plus, the people are all friendly and non-judgmental and wouldn't care anyway.

Unknown said...

Can I just add how this speaks to our late-night Sci-Li pizza-eating observation?

Todd Johnson said...

Hmmm, maybe I should move...