Will I lose weight in Japan?

I'm usually sarcastic, but I guess when I read this, my 'sarcasm meter' was off.
:-)

Well, I spent 9 weeks in Tokyo. I had a $12 a day food budget, so my daily meals usually consisted of coffee for breakfast, sushi for lunch, and a bento for dinner - only water to drink.

I walked many miles every day, rode a bike, hiked three mountains, and spent many days at the beach.

I arrived in Japan weighting 280lbs, and left weighing 197lbs.

It, of course, depends entirely on your body, but I guess mine just wanted less food and more moving ;)

hey, hailing from japan right now, and guess what. well im not losing weight thats what. they saw that the japanese dont eat alot well thats a lie! ive eaten more here in one day than what i eat in three days in amaerica (if that makes sense). well i also walk around alot, so well see how it goes. (sorry for the all lowercase, im on my host familys computer and for some reason the english only works in either lowercase or uppercase. i thought uppercase was too strong so i went with lowercase)

For 3 meals? It's a wonder you didn't pass out from starvation. No kidding you lost a ton of weight. Why did you only spend $12 for food? Did you only buy food in the convenience store?

I think the main gist of the thread was that food in Japan isn't inherently healthy, but you can eat healthy if you try. If you go to Japan and just eat McDonald's every day, you'll probably gain weight. Eating rice and noodles all the time probably isn't a good idea either.

But, to not at least sample the unique foods here, then you kind of miss out on visiting.

ranguvar: When I go out as a group, there's a ton of food. I think for your average Tokyo, suit wearing, 'business' man, though, eating a quick lunch at a train station restaurant, which isn't bad, also isn't a lot of food. Many of the suits I see packing into restaurants after hours though, I think there's a lot more food.

Try cold soba noodles on a hot day. It's a really nice meal.

lost weight after they returned to Japan.

Only I gain weight after i got back home from Australia .. about 10kgs in the worst time (so far i lost 8kgs - eating properly & excerise).

Food is healthier in Japan.

As someone else said, it always depends on the person.

I lost weight while I was in Japan. My diet in the US is mostly sodas, pre-packaged foods, stuff like pizza... not very healthy. Also I don't get out and walk very much. However in Tokyo I was drinking water (Mountain Dew is pretty hard to find) and eating fruit pretty often. I also walked for hours and hours every day. Even though I had a few crepes and some McDonalds, I still lost about ten pounds.

It might not be a permanent establishment, but if I recall correctly, there was an awesome fruit stand in Shinjuku, not far from the Kabukicho exit. I snacked there a lot.

I spent 3 weeks in Japan in September/October. One week in and around Tokyo and the remaining two weeks in Okinawa.

The week in Tokyo was spent going to places like Hakone, Kamakura, Narita, Nokogiriyama (lots of steps and stairs!), and Asakusa. Lots of walking, hardly any eating. Skipped lunch a lot as we ate a big breakfast.

While in Okinawa, I got my dive certification the first week (in and out of the ocean two to three times a day) and spent some time snorkeling and beach walking the second week.

To make a long story a little longer, I lost 10 pounds (which I gained back within 3 weeks back in the States and back to work). I'm pretty sure the lost weight was due to the increased activity and not the food.