Essay of My Wonderful Life, Unexpected Diet

I was enjoying playing tennis on Sunday last week. I played a good smash with nice sound at the last moment and won the game. With having a very good mood, I sat down on the bench beside the court. I stretched my both arms horizontally and also extended both legs greatly, which are slightly ill-mannered pose in Japan. But this is the most relaxing style just after the hard tennis play. I also projected my belly and was breathing heavily. Then, a manager of a certain big trading company approached to me and said, "Oh! Tony! I think you have reduced your weight. A few months ago, your belly was just like as a pregnancy of 4 month. But now it was 2 months or so." Well, I tried to make an effective counter-punch on him by words; however his body is too slim to attack. Then I changed my policy.

I replied, "Yeah! You are right. I reduced 5 KGs within a half year. Do you know how I have done it? The methods were beer, B.S.E. (the mad cow disease) and the soba noodle. That's all, very simple." As he couldn't catch what I said, I told my story to him.

My proper weight is about 70 KG, using BMI index. I had kept my weight of around 73KG for quite a long time. However since two years ago my weight has been decreasing step by step. And at the end of last year, it was about to reach to 79.5 KG. Strangely it was exactly the same timing as I started fitness.

Of course I noticed that I should make some action to stop putting on weight. Firstly I thought that the menu in a fitness club was not appropriate. So I changed the menu from the muscular man course to the body fat combustion course. I had been executing this new menu for about one year. Secondly I stopped drinking beer. Although until that time, it was my most favorite pastime for me to take beer just after the tennis match. Like this, I thought I had done my best for diet. But my endeavors were in vein. They were almost no effects on reducing my weight.

Frankly speaking, with seeing my swelling belly, I was wondering what I should do. This was the situation at the end of last year. A new year came. Since the beginning of this year, I had been suddenly so busy in my job. As the result, I had no time to go to my fitness club. I also couldn't afford to go to good restaurants during lunch break. The volume of my job was about 50% and I was forced to work until 10 pm in week days and some timed I had to work even on Saturday and Sunday. I had to take a poor lunch at cafeteria, although to take "a graceful lunch in a restaurant" is my daily pleasure. Like this, I had passed very busy and miserable days for three months.

To make the things worse was that a B.S.E. issue forced me not to take beef. Of course as one of consumers, I don't like to take beef, which might be the meat of a mad cow disease. So at lunchtime, I always have taken mainly Soba (the bolting buckwheat) noodles and at my house I was forced the meal based on fish, instead of beef or other meat.　 In short, I had continued the authentic Japanese-style meal about three months. From May, I could afford to go to the fitness club again. I happened to stand of the scale. Then, the needle of the scale had unexpectedly indicated 75KG!.

I noticed that so far I had taken too much food as my lunch. And that I have a custom to take lunch at not so decent restaurants. It means that I have taken an excess calorie as such man as my age, although I have seldom taken so-called first food or easy lunch. In addition, every day I have taken breakfast and supper properly. No wonder why I have put on weight. While I was young, even if I had done such custom, my weight would not increase. But at this moment, I should not keep such custom. Especially until the end of last year, on the day when I went to the fitness, I had taken larger volume of meals by 30% or so, because on that day, I feel meals are especially delicious. However as I said, I have not done this for the last 3 months.

Recently I make it a rule to take a light lunch in a nearby Soba noodle restaurant. Now it is in June, my weight has slightly reduced to 74.5 KG, which is approaching to my best weight. This is very good thing, however I dare to say that I am boring only taking Soba noodle. Of course I have found some good Soba restaurants near my office. But Soba restaurants are not always suitable for me to pass "a fruitful and graceful lunchtime". It means that I might be loosing one of my most favorite times. On the other hand, it is true that I should not get geriatric diseases. Anyway once I started diet unexpectedly and it is successful so far, I try to continue this until my weight will become ideal one. I think it should be a hard way to take.

(May 27, 2004)