I’ve been in Japan for almost 8 months. My diet has changed, I walk a lot more (or further) on a regular basis, and I don’t drink as regularly as I used in the U.S. with my friends (and the bowling league!), and I’m not doing as much manual labor type of things (casual sports, helping friends move stuff, lifting heavy beers, things like this). And about a week ago I realized I am thinning out! I went to the gym here a few times recently and I’m usually a cardio guy but I didn’t feel satisfied at all. It felt like I was just burning away my body instead of keeping me in shape. I’m usually a solid 34 waist but my pants are fitting loose, as if they’re one size too big. My shirts are a little baggier too.

I wasn’t going to talk about it and I was going to fix the problem, but just two days after I noticed this, my fiancee mentioned that I’m getting skinny. She says she wants me to eat more and either get some extra baggage (aka fat) or bulk up. For now I’ll just eat more and after the wedding I’ll hit the gym. I’m 1.9m (6’2″) and 78kg (172lbs). Within a month I hope to stop tall-skinny trend and start working my way back up to 86kg (190lbs). By the way I was 86.5kg when I moved to Japan.

So… I was watching one of my favorite channels – Shop Channel (It’s like QVC [they have it in Japan too] or Home Shopping Network in the U.S.). People are always working hard and I’ve seen quite a few awkward moments, it’s awesome, I kid you not! What’s the difference of Shop Channel and QVC Japan vs. QVC America? Here’s a quick breakdown.

• QVC America tries to sell you crap you’ll never use and takes calls from old people.
• Shop Channel and QVC Japan tries to sell THE CRAZIEST THINGS I’VE EVER SEEN!

The other day while watching Shop Channel I saw some younger woman wearing a gold moon suit looking plastic bag outfit, reading a book, and relaxing in a bath while sweating her balls off. I’m like WTF! So I took some ghetto pics of my TV and had my fiancee type the words out in Japanese and I hit up Google. Here are my ghetto pictures.

Here are some failed Google Translations:

• Big exercise and sweat bath water-soluble out from the sweat glands, sweat, urine and most of the same component
• After more than 30 km marathon run, sweat glands and milk served with sweat

Here are some details I was able to make out: Read the rest of this entry »