The Show Up Fitness Podcast

Why Is America So Fat While Japan Stays Lean?

• Chris Hitchko, CEO Show Up Fitness • Season 3 • Episode 286

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Step off a plane in Tokyo and you notice it immediately: people are moving, portions look different, and even a “small” soda is actually small. We unpack why Japan stays leaner without fad diets or gym‑centric lifestyles, and what parts of that system you can borrow without booking a flight. From broth‑based ramen to bento boxes, from 20,000‑step days to transit that makes walking the default, we explore how design, culture, and habits quietly cut calories and add movement.

Adam, our instructor of programming, shares on‑the‑ground observations from Okinawa, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tokyo. He breaks down portion density, how convenience stores stock cheap protein and fiber next to sweets, and why intentional eating norms—like not snacking while walking—reduce mindless calories. We dig into conveyor‑belt sushi “micro‑ordering,” the value of half‑rice options, and the power of smaller drink sizes. We also talk fiber intake, affordable on‑the‑go protein, and simple swaps that make a noticeable dent in daily calories.

There’s another side to consider. Corporate health policies that target waist circumference can improve population metrics but raise serious ethical and mental health questions. We discuss kids’ independence, social accountability around vices, and how pressure at work intersects with alcohol use and Japan’s high male suicide rates. Health isn’t just weight; it’s movement, food, and mental wellbeing working together. Our takeaways focus on environment over willpower: build steps into your day, choose broth over cream, keep a cheap protein snack on hand, sit to eat, and start with a truly small sugary drink.

If this conversation gets you thinking about your own environment, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review with the one habit you’ll try this week. Your tip might be the nudge someone else needs.

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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome to the Show Up Fitness podcast, where great personal trainers are made. We are changing the fitness industry one qualified trainer at a time with our in-person and online personal training certification. If you want to become an elite personal trainer, head on over to showupfitness.com. Also make sure to check out my book, How to Become a Successful Personal Trainer. Don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review. Have a great day and keep showing up. Howdy, welcome back to the Show Up Fitness Podcast. 30 days of podcasting. Today we have Big Hunk Mr. Adam, instructor of programming, and he is going to be talking about his recent travel experience overseas in Japan. Why are Japanese so damn healthy and Americans are so freaking fat? Let's talk about that.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, the obvious answer, Chris, is it's it's seed oils. Uh I always like kind of joking around with that a little bit because, well, that's the that's what they use in a lot of their cooking and a lot of their you know stuff. And uh, you know, I always like to poke, you know, poke the bear, have a little you know, fun with it. But that is one of the things when you go over there that I mean it was an incredible trip, had so much fun. But I mean, as soon as we got over there, it's pretty evident that just from an observational standpoint, in walking around, even just getting off the plane, walking around the airport, you kind of get in the city, it's you know, I mean, I at worst, one out of ten adults that I saw there were overweight and not even obese, it would be like maybe overweight. And you kind of hear it, but then like seeing it and what you kind of like start looking around, you're like, okay, like yeah, everyone here is just healthy in terms of you know their their weight and just you know the activity. You see a lot of older people walking around and still like out and about, and you know, some that are using canes or walkers, but they're still moving, they're still out there and they're still active and living healthy lifestyles. And it is a pretty stark contrast to what you see at least portrayed on social media and you know, things you see on the news. And obviously, we know a lot of the numbers with you know how large the um you know the overweight and the obesity crisis is in this country. And so it's I know I've kind of looked at it before, I know you have, but it's like actually being there. I just feel it kind of gave me uh kind of fun and unique perspective to kind of actually observe and pay attention, even though I was there for vacation and um and dulged in stuff out there.

SPEAKER_01:

I actually gave the weight while I was there, but uh well it's funny because as uh trainers, that's one of the things it's like taboo to talk about. But you know, we're constantly looking at people and you just like you're saying observationally. We I've been to you know about 15 different cities this last year with our partnership of Lifetime going to Miami and Denver and even the healthier cities, you would definitely see more like five or six people, but out of 10 in Texas, it's just a shit show, and people are just the foods that we're engaging in. It's interesting because we I like to try out the local foods, and like in Texas, you have a side, and it's always gonna be mac and cheese, it's gonna be beans and and bacon, and just the the quantity is so large. And then you throw in soda and you throw in beer or whatever else you're drinking. It's so easy to get 3,500 calories per day, and that's what the average American's getting. So, what do you what was your your experience when it came to like dining out and the portion sizes and stuff like that?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so uh that honestly was probably the the biggest thing that stood out is probably the ways in which you're talking about and thinking, but also there were times we went out and like the portion sizes were actually pretty large in certain times, but some like the largest meals I had would be like udon or ramen, where it's like you know, you're you're heavy noodles, you're having meat. I mean, even some of the meat wasn't it, it wasn't like necessarily lean, but there's a lot of vegetables. There's there's a lot of like volume to like when they do have larger portions. It's not just, you know, like here when we have large portions, it's you know, things that are more calorically dense, like heavy sauces, um, you know, things that are really like heavy and fat. And obviously we're not here to like you know demonize fat or like any specific foods, but it's just their portion sizes were actually weren't as small on certain things that I thought they would be, but when they were larger, they were larger in things that were lower calorie and just kind of more volume. It's also when, you know, when you go out here and you walk around, you go to these cities, you know, if you go to a you know, a Dallas or you know, LA or you know, like I mean really any city, but like you know, these big cities, you're seeing Starbucks, McDonald's, Carls Jr., you know, like all these fast food and the quick eat places in every single corner. Now they have all of that stuff there. You could go find McDonald's, you can go find all these fast food places, but they're uh I wouldn't say like they're they're sparse in like where it's like it's hard to find them, but they're not everywhere. It's more of the actual like Japanese cuisine dining, which tends to be more vegetables, um, more lean meats. Uh, you know, they're really famous for their either for their wagyu and their kobe beef, but that's not, you know, that's more of a delicacy. It's it's a lot of fish, it's a lot of chicken. Um, they do a decent amount of pork and stuff there, but you're seeing a lot of lean meats, a lot of vegetables. Um, you're still seeing a lot of noodles, but again, like when you're having the noodles and stuff, where it's like I'm Italian, so it's when I grew up, it's Alfredo sauce and marinara and heavy heavy sauces, but their noodles are it's broth. Like you're not getting all this like excess calories when you're eating you know, all that stuff. And so the portion sizes were definitely smaller. Um the the the place I actually noticed it, I did want to try a McDonald's out there one time. So I I told my wife, I was like, I know we're gonna have like all this amazing food and sushi and stuff. I'm like, I want to just go see like what a McDonald's out here looks like. And it feels pretty similar when you walk in, but when we I just got a couple of their different burgers, which because they had things that are slightly different, but it's more or less the same. It's McDonald's. But the one thing that really stood out to me is we ordered one small drink to share. You know, you get a small drink here, it's what like 20, even up to 24 ounces on some of the smalls. There, it's it's a 10 to 12 ounce cup. You know, it's it's literally like this big, which out here is like a you know, kids' water cup is what they give you. And when I go to McDonald's or Burger King or In N Out or whatever, if I you know indulge in fast food every now and then and I get a drink, I'm doing a diet drink. But if you think about someone that's not doing that, it's like, well, I'm just gonna get a small, but they're having a you know full sugar Coca-Cola, and it's like, well, I'm just gonna get a small one. It's like you still might be having three to 350 calories from that one drink. Um, and so it's even if you do that out there, it's like it's half the size. So right there, it's like you're reducing the calories by half. So the portion sizes of things that are really calorically dense are definitely smaller, and they're just not as prevalent. Um, so it's not as convenient to eat a huge amount of calories out there.

SPEAKER_01:

I love watching and following Barstool sports on Instagram, and there's a character that they have on there. He goes around the office and quizzes people on random things, and it's funny because it people are so far off. Kind of like how I like to do it with Tori on math. So I'm gonna quiz you right now. What are the how many can you get in the top 10 healthiest cities in the world?

SPEAKER_00:

Ooh, healthiest cities. Um let's see. I'll give you a hint.

SPEAKER_01:

Not a single one in the United States.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I wasn't, yeah, I wasn't going there. I mean, I can think of the countries. I'm trying to think of which cities would uh because you know, I'm guessing you're gonna get stuff that's uh you know, up like Nordic countries, so you're gonna get you know, like Sweden, the Netherlands. Um I'm blanking like the city names. I would guess there's gonna be, I don't know if Tokyo would would make it, but maybe some uh is Tokyo up there?

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, number two. I'll give you Netherlands, Amsterdam. That's number three.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Is uh is Naha uh um Naha Okinawa? Is that in there?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know if that was like my American ignorance is gonna mess this one up, but Fukuaka.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, yeah, I think that's the second largest, second or third largest city in the Osaka.

SPEAKER_01:

Is number eight. Okay, and then uh did Kyoto make it? No, okay. So there's two from Japan. I'll give you, like I said, Denmark, but you also uh said Netherlands, so Amsterdam. So Denmark and Amsterdam are both on their Copenhagen. Okay, we have Norway, Oslo, okay, have Oslo, I just said we have uh Zurich, Switzerland, Helsinki, Finland, Taiwan, Auckland, New Zealand, and number one, surprising, is Singapore. And when you look at the common things, it's funny because what you were talking about for Japan, excellent longevity, healthy diet, fish and veggies, built-in movement with transit and walking, advanced health care. And I've been to a few countries, but not a ton. But it's interesting that you know we're not even on the top 20 on there. And it's like you're saying, it's the food. And what else would you say from an activity standpoint? Did you notice people were walking more? Were they uh maybe just their disposition, like when they were eating, did they take more time? What were some observations around that?

SPEAKER_00:

I mean, you you do see like a lot of kind of community eating um out there. I don't know if I really noticed a lot of like habits around like the actual um eating of it. The one thing that we did a couple of times is we went to um was it uh Kara sushi. They have a few places like this out there, but where you you don't order whole meals. You order your sushi or like little like um, so you would order like two or three pieces of sushi at a time. You place your order on a tablet, and then they would almost like this conveyor belt up next to your table, like runs it out to you, which I think is uh kind of a facet. It's one of those really it's just kind of fun and cool. He's like, Oh, I want that sushi, and you press it and then like two minutes later, it just you know, there's no weight or anything, it just gets you conveyor belted right out to you to pull it off. Um and so you could easily just be like, but they only let you place a certain amount of orders at once. You can eat as much as you want and place as much as you want, but when you have to be more intentional about what you're getting and how much, which like, yeah, I'm gonna do a couple pieces of this, couple pieces of this, eat that. You know, it's pretty easy to stay um, you know, really kind of connected with how hungry you actually are and what you really want. We're here, it's you know, we're gonna you know, want drinks, appetizers, dinner, dessert, and you kind of you know, you can order everything and it just you know comes out and it's like, well, I still want to eat all this. We're like there, it's like that was kind of a fun experience just because it was cool to do, but also, and we ate a decent amount of food, but most of what's right there in front of you in the menu is like the sushi. And you know, we're doing a lot of sashimi, so it's just literally uh you know the raw fish and then a little bit of rice. And you can and as soon as you order it, it asks, Do you want half rice? So it allows for you to make a more calorically focused like decision. Um, and that's what you know, we would you know, do and that's what we mostly did. We usually did half rice because we like the rice, but we're like we'd rather eat the fish. Um, and so there's a little more, there's a little more intentionality like in that uh with how people leave as far as uh uh but movement. There's two things that stood out to me in terms of activities that yeah, there's so much walking. I mean, when we were there, obviously we're doing the tourist stuff and we're walking around. When we were in Kyoto, we went to like all the major shrines uh and just kind of walking around the city. Uh that day we did 36,000 steps. Um when we were in Okinawa, we did about 10 to 12,000 because we're mostly with family, so we did more driving. We had a vehicle that we can you know hop into and use. But when we were um when we were in mainland, so we're between Kyoto and Osaka and and Tokyo, we just pretty much took took the train and and walked. And when we were there, we averaged probably about you know 20 to 25,000 steps a day. And that was probably a little bit above what most people do, but I would say, but you do see a lot of walking, there's a lot of public transport. Um, the other thing is that when you're like when people are on the trains or on their phones and are looking at stuff, but when people are walking around, you don't see people looking down on their phones. Um, you know, people don't they they actually really frown upon it's not illegal, but they it's like very, very much like looked down upon and frowned upon is um eating or consuming anything while you walk. So there's not as much mindless eating. Uh so if you want to eat, so if you because they have these little um, they have 7 Eleven's out there, then they have these other marks out there that's called Family Mart and Lawson, uh, which are awesome, which I we went to those every day because you can get you would love this, you can go and get like tall cans of like beer or seltters or like their highball like whiskey, like sodas for like a dollar fifty for like a tall can of it. Um that's fine. So we would sometimes, yeah. So we would sometimes do that, be like, let's just go get a drink, get a snack. Uh, but if you're gonna consume it, you stop and sit and consume it and then you walk. So again, just you're just a lot more intentional. That's what I try to tell all my clients when they're asking about you know nutrition stuff, is like we have to bring an awareness to your like unintentional eating calories because we pick and snack and walk and don't pay attention to what we have. We're there, it's you're never unaware of what you're consuming because you have to make conscious decisions about when you're gonna eat um and all that. So those are kind of the things that mostly stood out in that sense.

SPEAKER_01:

There's a book called The Blue Zones by Dan B-U-E-T-T-N-E-R, and that's Secrets for Living Longer. It talks about these zones, and Okinawa is one of those zones where it has the most centennials in the world, and it highlights right here the power nine of the factors that contribute to this, and it's you know, natural movement, plant-based eating, and strong social connections. And that plant-based eating one's interesting because there's a great post by Dan Gardner. And if you don't follow him, his pages on Instagram, Dan Gardner Nutrition, and he works closely with Doc Alpin. They work with MMA fighters, but he just did a post talking about fiber intake, and the average human on the planet is not even getting 19 grams, and we should be getting about 30 to 40. And he says in here, that's in the UK for Americans, we're not even close to that. So when you look at what we're consuming snack-wise, but also just overall when it comes to fiber, we're not even coming close to that. I mean, I was talking to my client uh yesterday about being in the corporate environment, and this would be really interesting to have a conversation with someone over there because when you are catered in food like clockwork, and this was when I was working at Bank of America 15 years ago, and it's the same today. What's your brown bag consist of? A sandwich, chips, cookie, a soda, and maybe an apple or a banana? And there's literally maybe a gram of fiber in that for lunch. Uh, did you have any conversations or do you know anyone that's part of the corporate environment over there? And what does that food look like in that aspect?

SPEAKER_00:

No, I don't know anyone just like personally, because the people I do know out there are like military. Uh, but I mean, just from an observational standpoint, because we saw a lot of business people that were, you know, eating and you know, there's a lot kind of going on out, but it's yeah, that's not what they're consuming. You know, there's a lot of sushi, there's a lot of uh bento boxes, and this is something you can kind of see too when you go to these little marts, um, or you go, it's it's not just that they have like nutritious, like your nutritious meal options. Well, I've been telling people since I got back, I'm like, they still have all the same shit that we do that we're like, oh, like the ultra-processed stuff. Like, you can go to these, you can find the chips. I mean, their sweets are amazing. Like, I was a ice cream like every single night while I was there because it's really good. All that stuff that we have, they have too, but but they have just as many uh nutrition, um like nutritional, like healthier options in terms of like protein, fiber, just more whole food options. And the thing with that is that they are just as cheap, if not cheaper. Where there's a like right by my gym, there's uh a Maverick, so it was a nicer little convenience store. It's probably like a little bit of a step up from a uh from a 7-Eleven. And you can go in there and it's like they have you know a lot of food options and drink options and stuff, but it's a lot more expensive to get like the uh you know, the healthier options, even the healthier stuff is still pre-colorically dense, where it might be like more protein, you can get some stuff, but it's just it's scarce. We're there, it's they just make it a lot uh more convenient to make a healthier choice. Where for us, everything that's convenient is the is like the higher calorie option. And that's why people I think default to it, is just because we're always looking for that path of the least resistance. And there, I just like they make it a lot easier to make that nutritionist conscious decision for um, and it's just honestly it's good food too. I mean, I I get these for a dollar, I get these little like sushi wraps that were just you know like a decent sized piece of salmon wrapped in rice and seaweed, um, you know, just like a little square part like that big. It was a buck, and it was like that was like a perfect little like midday snack rather than getting a bag of chips or you know, Twinkies or whatever most people are doing here because that was the cheaper option. It tasted better, and it was what was more convenient for my eyes to find. Like it's what was more on the, you know, like where just the path that you would travel would be more of like those types of foods would be what is in front of you. Again, if you want to have the chips and you want to have the other stuff, the ultra-processed things that we always demonize, you can find those. They're very easy to find, but you don't accidentally find them. You know, we're here they're kind of shoved in your face. Um, but kind of even with that, with like the corporate side of it, is like you would see a lot of these like bento boxes and sushi, you know, whereas you can get them easily and and pretty inexpensive. Like you get like a full bento box lunch for like six bucks. So it just they they just make it easier to make those choices. And so you see a lot of people eating more uh, you know, that side. And then kind of without a little bit of a tangent on like the other side of the coin though, uh like you're not gonna see a lot of corporate employees that are going to be eating that type of food because on the kind of the negative side of it, and then this is where interesting words like you can go to a whole different like discussion rabbit hole with this. And I don't know a ton about it. I'm just kind of more like diving into some of this work from what I've heard on, but is you know, they they flag people that have uh waste circumferences that would put them in like a overweight or obese uh demographic. And if enough employees of a business are are flagged, the business gets fined because they're so they're so intentional about like you don't you're not gonna be overweight, we're gonna keep you healthy. However, that can lead to some unethical business practices in terms of things that they implement or even with people getting fired. Again, I don't know all the details on on all that, so I don't want to like go too deep into that without having more knowledge, but I do know that there is some of the ways they structure some of the business and corporate stuff in terms of like their health is not there's good and bad to it. And so where it's like we don't want to, you know, take away people's freedom of choice and like force them to be like, you have to be healthier, you're gone. But at the same time, like they are, you know, they do make a lot more health conscious decisions in terms of of that, especially from a business standpoint.

SPEAKER_01:

That's pretty fascinating. It's almost like a a tax rebate, where you know that would be very beneficial here in the States, where if your employees, if you have a big company or even a small company, but you're given a tax rebate if you hit a certain green zone, yellow, whatever it may be. As you age and you start having a family, your lenses start to change. And something I do now a lot more with a couple of rug rats is go to the park. And I definitely see a lot more kids who are overweight and obese. And it's unfortunate because those little fellows don't really have a choice. They're they're going home and you start yelling you want a snack and you've had a long day and you're stressed out, you're gonna give little Johnny whatever snack he wants. So I'd be interested to see the difference in. Could you tell uh with the younger population, if you saw any younger kids, were they also pretty in shape as well?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, for sure. And one of the big things that's you didn't see like a ton of like parks or outside playing, but even just when we were walking through and kids were you know getting out of school, um, a couple of things that I just thought were you know were pretty fascinating to see and kind of learn about because like you know, my my wife's half Japanese, she didn't grow up. There, but her mom grew up in Okinawa. She's been there a few times, so she understands the culture a little bit more. So I would be able to like observe things and ask her about it. And you know, we'd see a lot of kids just, you know, walking home from school, um, you know, in in groups, kind of on their own. And you know, I kind of observed it. And she gave it kind of pointed out to me, and she was like, It's kind of cool to see all these, you know, kids just be able to walk to school, you know, to and from school on their own. Like, yeah, and she's like, part of that is because they teach the kids how to be really responsible from a young age. Uh they uh they teach the kids to go start running errands, sometimes between like as young as three, more be more closer to like that kind of five to seven range, but they'll like kind of go run their first errands on their own. And where it's uh so when the but when they do that, they're going out, they're walking, they're moving, um, but they're also learning uh, you know, individual and personal responsibility. Uh and so you see a lot of so like when they go to school, like that they'll take public transport on their own. Like they don't have school buses, you'll see them uh you know, like walking to the train station, getting on trains on their own, walking, you know, moving. And so there's just a lot of movement and just their natural day-to-day lifestyle. But I think also with teaching that personal like accountability is that they my guess is just that you're gonna see a lot better like impulse control. Like one of the like one of the things kind of with that that was fun to see is like if you've heard anything about like you know, Japan, you'll always always hear people talk about the vending machines out there because they're the vending machines are everywhere and they got a ton of good food. You can get like hot coffee and plastic bottles out there where um and stuff, but you can also they have vending machines that have cigarettes, alcohol, um, like batteries. Uh we even found like a really old school one that you can get like a like a half a carton of eggs from a vending machine, which that was kind of a kind of a cool weird thing. But I I saw I remember seeing like the the cigarette and like beer vending machines. And of course, you know, I went and got one, but I was like, I I asked uh, you know, I asked my wife in the end, I was like, hey, what what stops a 16-year-old kid from getting this? She was like, the you know, the culture. I was like, that's it. She's like, yeah, they just they just know you don't do it. And the kind of community will help police that a little bit. Well where they're making sure like they're also taking like responsibility for like the community of people around there. If they see a kid that's too young, like they'll call it out. But uh they just kind of learn like you just don't make these uh like impulse, you know, decisions, and they just have a lot of like accountability in everything we do, which like we don't, right? There's no there's not a there's not consequences for a lot of what we do when we make these unhealthy choices, where like they do have some more consequences. Obviously, we talked about with like from the business and corporate standpoint, which might be potentially a little unethical. Uh, but there's also just the the way in which like they're raised out there, just to be like, you're gonna teach from a young age to be responsible for your own you know choices. And um, I think that plays a lot into uh just how they build healthy habits. Uh and as you said, it's like you see a lot of like out here where it's like things are just pushed on cave and they don't know any better because they're just like they're given you know whatever they want and they don't know that what they're consuming or having is potentially building these habits they're gonna have to unlearn and kind of grow out of, you know, which is gonna be a struggle for them later in life. But that's just kind of the the cultural that we have.

SPEAKER_01:

Societal aspect's pretty interesting. I would be also intrigued to learn more about how they get information and if the news is as fear-based as it is in the States, because very similar to what you're saying, it's like here, you know, parents freak out with their kids getting kidnapped, and so they don't let them out of their sight. It's like we'll always have a leash with them. There is a a post that came out today, an article that came out today in the Washington Post talking about few parents can name a social media influencer they trust for children's health information and advice. And top 10 people who they named, we got Mr. Rogan, there we go. We got Dr. Oz, we have Gary Breca, food babe, RFK Jr. And if you look at five people who you should not be getting information from when it comes from a nutritional standpoint, those are five people right there. And so it's like if you're stuck on social media and this is where you're getting your information from, these aren't science-based individuals, they're just influencers. So I'd be also intrigued to see over there the difference in how they use social media and how the media portrays health. And that's just really fascinating to hear that it's just like, can you imagine you know, walking down the street if I was in high school? Oh, you can get a beer vending machine. I'd be like, oh, okay, that's awesome. I want to go do that. But like there, it's instilled like, no, it's not part of it. I think it's probably similar to you here, at least I've never experienced it. But like in in France and Italy, it's a lot more common for younger kids, like you know, adolescent 13, 14, to have alcohol with their parents at dinner, wine, because it's just socially accepted. But here it's no, don't do that, you can't do it. And then they put those restrictions, and then you get a bunch of pushback.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and so it's yeah, I just think the way like they're they're taught and raised, and I think there's a lot of good, you know, with that. Again, you know, you know me, and you know, people that you know follow me are like my clients, they always know I always like looking at both sides of you know of a coin, you know, from different perspectives. And where I think there's a lot of good that comes from that. There also is, you know, one of the reasons I think is that they just I don't see a lot of like alcohol, like from what I got observed, like consumption in terms of like partying and you know, having a good time. It's but there is a decent amount of alcohol consumption, and you see a lot of it from, you know, I was doing a little research before, you know, for this because I had heard some stuff and looking into it that they do have a really high like depression and even like suicide rate, especially among men out there because of some of the kind of business and corporate practices, and there's a lot of like alcohol consumed just from terms of like trying to cope. Um, and so I think that's one reason like the you maybe you don't see a lot of like underage drinking or like you know kids doing it, because for them, they're not necessarily doing it just like party or have a good time. It's like the alcohol out there is typically consumed because they're trying to, it's like they're almost self-medicating with it. And they're not at a point where they necessarily need to do that from a younger age, but you do see a lot of it in, especially like in the male demographic, that's like the working age and everything. But they actually have, I think, one of the highest suicide rates um in the in the world. So it's like we we can sit here and talk about like all the great things we're doing in terms of health and longevity, but it's like it's never perfect. And that's why it's like I think we always need to look at this stuff, you know, objectively, like what's the good, what's the bad, you know, and how you know, there's not like one picture perfect way that's going to work for all people across the board. And it's but just understanding what those, you know, those habits are looking at health from an overall perspective, it's not just about nutrition, it's also about your activity level, but it's also about like the you know, the mental health aspect of it and you know, just how we're you know, and then I think as trainers, like we have to be able to, that's why I preach to the students all the time. I talk about them, you have to meet your clients where they're at. Um, and because it's not you can't just be like dogmatic, but you have to, you know, I could come back and be like, you need to implement everything that the Japanese are doing because they're healthier than us. It's like, well, that's not gonna work for everybody, but I think there's practices we can definitely take from them and learn from them and implement that are going to, you know, help myself, help them, and you know, I can pass on to my clients.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. That's very interesting to look at the the differences in cultural because we have Devang, he does our podcast from India, and we talk a lot about the the family pressures on being an engineer and being a doctor and a lawyer. And you hear about those societal norms from the Japanese culture, they're very you know, tough on their kids. It's like they have very high expectations, and and ultimately that has a negative effect. And that's interesting to hear about those suicide. Um, that's that's crazy. So I mean to take them like the you put it so perfectly right there, and I can't even conclude it better, but it's just about being, you know, looking through the lens and and taking some stuff in here, but you know, meeting your clients where they're at. That's the best thing. So uh what was your the the best experience that you had over there?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you know, I really my favorite thing, I think, was I mean, there's like there's so many like highlights of just like things that we uh that we did. But my favorite day we had is probably we had like one full day in Kyoto. Um, because we were out there for two weeks, and like I said, we had to spend the first, like we didn't have to, my wife's gonna kill me excuse me. Uh because I I love doing it, but we went to we spent the first week in Okinawa, and so we only got like one week in mainland, that's a way, which was you know, we got a lot done, but uh you know, it was kind of like okay, we're gonna do all this on one day and all this on one day. But we got one full day in Kyoto, and that was a day we kind of like walked around, saw all the different like shrines, and but we just got to see a lot of like uh you know, the history of of Japan and just being outside like in nature and just like I don't know, I I think the one of my favorite things was just kind of I just felt more immersed in the culture uh on that day, and just you know, I love being outside in the activity level, and it's really you know, even like coming back to the States, but there's so much that we do that's keeps us in our little bubble. I mean, the gym that I train at across the street, you know, I do a lot of work, you know, at home, my computer. So it just made me realize like I need to be getting out more, getting outside, getting steps in, checking out new things. And that was a day where I just that was my favorite experience too, because we just saw so many different uh aspects of the culture and kind of in the midst of going uh to these different shrines, we blinking on the name of like the little village that's out there in Kyoto where it's just like a bunch of shops, and like I can't stand crowds. I don't like walking like shoulder to shoulder with people, but we did a lot of that while we were there, but I didn't mind it because you know, people aren't being like rude and aggressive, and people are you know friendly, and it was just like that was probably the day I just really enjoyed the most because it was just it was all new experience. It was really seen like yeah, a different, just a completely different societal way of living and different like side of history. Um, but I mean we liked really doing a lot of like the tourist stuff, but it was probably that isn't just trying to try all the food. Uh there was a you know, definitely had some some things that would not try here, things that actually would probably be uh I'm pretty sure are illegal here. Like we had whale sashimi, uh so had raw whale, also ate horse sashimi. Uh that was one I wasn't expecting to try, but it was actually both were really good. Uh and then you know, there's a they have a lot of really, really good sweets, but that is another thing with like their sweet uh dessert portions are a lot smaller. That was a big thing. But like I said, I I indulged while I was there. So while most people be like, oh, I went on vacation and I lost weight because you know the food quality is so much better. Well, you're talking about what is the one of the healthiest places in the entire world, great food quality, a lot of stuff. I gained like five to seven pounds while I was there just because I enjoyed myself. Um did you guys take gyms? No, I didn't actually. Oh well, like only one day, like, and because we stayed with family and then we kind of bounced around from hotels, and uh most of our hotels didn't have a gym. Only one did, and I went in there, and there was a treadmill and a bosu ball, and that was it. Uh, it was like the size of like the average American bathroom, like it was pretty small. So I did a little like body weight exercise and you know, with the little cardio like intervals, but I didn't want to do too much because we were walking so much, like I don't want my you know legs to be like crazy sore and beat them up. But that was another thing I did observe is like you didn't see a lot of gems out there. Where it's not that you know, obviously, like I'm you know, I carry more muscle than like the average American, but no one would sit here and be like, oh, like I'm you know, I'm not I'm not an Olympian or bodybuilder, uh, but like I was out there like for the most part, like I didn't see hardly anyone that was like more like muscular, yeah. Like there was all those like very just healthy weight ranges, but so I think people out there just more like they're just more active, but you don't see a lot of like intentional workout other than like I'd see people running and riding a lot of bikes. Um, you know, I know there's a lot of hiking out there and they do like outdoor activities and and stuff, but there really weren't a lot of gyms that I saw. I wanted to go check some out, but we were just so busy. Just because I would have loved to see kind of what the gyms out there looked like, but they're not that prevalent out there, um, which uh which is another thing I kind of found fascinating. That's one thing I would love to kind of do a little deeper dive on like what is like the you know amount of gyms out there per capita versus what there is out here, because I would say we for sure have way more gyms than they do, but we're also way fatter.

SPEAKER_01:

So well, I this was a great conversation, my man. And for those that are listening, if you come from a uh city or country outside of the States and you're born there and you have some data for us, love to get you on the podcast and talk about the differences between the United States and other spots, because we definitely, interestingly enough, like you're saying, I mean, there's in Santa Monica, I can literally name 25 gyms within a half mile radius easily, and a lot of them close within a couple of years. But over there, it sounds like it's a lot more few and far between, but they're significantly healthier, and especially when you look at that on a larger scale of Tokyo being 20 plus million people and the concentration of individuals, but yet they're significantly healthier overall, longevity-wise, more centennials than than the states. It's just fascinating to compare and contrast. And it's just observationally, it's it's fun to have this conversation. So if you do come from another country and you want to hop on here and talk about your experiences and love to get you on here. So, my man, we usually end off on big biceps or better than small ones, but what are we gonna end off on today, Adam?

SPEAKER_00:

It's only got to be big biceps, right?

SPEAKER_01:

I love that. Good beard, keep it up, and we'll be talking to you later, my man. Have a good one. All right, thanks, Chris. Appreciate it.