journal features

93 kilos

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Tokyo, 2008.09.23

On July 21, I reported that I weighed in at 98kg. Today I weigh 93kg. I lost 5kg in two months. Not bad.

It wasn't easy.

The trick was in dieting, of course. I gave up eating bread (with its margarines, honey and jam) in the morning and switched back to brown rice with raw egg and natto (fermented soy beans) and a bit of green onion. I kept at the mid-morning apple, but stopped buying bento lunches (which have white rice and fatty meats) -- instead I'd buy a $2 salad and eat that with more brown rice. Then I'd skip any afternoon snack and simple eat my wife's fine home-made dinner (again, largely based on brown rice). Again, no more snacking after dinner.

My goal now is to get back to 90kg, the weight I was at when I arrived in Japan (or "food heaven" as it's become to me, with its gluten- and dairy-free cuisine). Ganbarimasu!

rand()m quote

One day you will take a fork in the road, and you're going to have to make a decision about which direction you want to go. If you go one way, you can be somebody. You will have to make compromises and you will have to turn your back on your friends. But you will be a member of the club and you will get promoted and get good assignments. Or you can go the other way and you can do something [...] for yourself. If you decide to do something, you may not get promoted and get good assignments and you certainly will not be a favorite of your superiors. But you won't have to compromise yourself. To be somebody or to do something. In life there is often a roll call. That's when you have to make a decision. To be or to do.

—John Boyd, US Air Force