Shoku Iku is not actually a type of diet but a Japanese concept of preparing and combining food, a kind of philosophy about how to eat your meals.
It has been found that following your diet the Shoku Iku way could help lose some pounds without actually even trying.
Makiko Sano, who owns and runs the Japanese restaurant Suzu in London, explains that your perspective of eating healthy foods changes automatically when you change the way you eat your meals.
She is the author of “Healthy Japanese Cooking: Simple Recipes for a Long Life, The Shoku-Iku Way,” a book in which she describes how the concept of Shoku Iku boosts your energy through nutrition.
Sano says forget about calorie counting but suggests looking for a balance. “Most Japanese people don’t know how many calories are in a dish,” she says. “But I know that if I had a big breakfast in the morning – if it was quite heavy – to have a light dish like a seaweed salad for lunch. If we go out for burgers and fries in the evening, the next day we have very light meals.”
Japanese people are taught about the concept of Shoku Iku in childhood so they get used to it and do not think about by the time they become adults. This helps them to maintain their weight and overall health. The key is to achieve that effortless balance.
When it comes to losing weight, Western diets often recommend limiting carbs and sugars and going gluten-free. But the Shoku Iku concept emphasizes on eating small dishes at every meal multiple times. It suggests eating multiple small plates that include different colored vegetables, rice, and some protein.
Sano says her parents encouraged her to eat as many as seven different vegetables in a day when she was a child. She explains that a meal containing a lot of vegetables becomes filling and keeps you lighter.
According to Shoku Iku, it is important to take time and honor your food. She explains that it is not easy to maintain a mental balance if you are always eating on the run. You must keep everything in balance. She advises to take some time and appreciate your meal enough so you can remember it later.
Sano says when you are planning or preparing your meals, “eat foods from five food groups that appeal to your five senses, that contain five tastes, and which aim to reflect five colors.” She acknowledges that one may not be able to do this daily. However, she says think about the varieties, which would help you to expand your palate and create well-balanced, healthy meals.
“We eat from our eyes first, so it’s nice to have bright colors on your plate,” Sano says. “It gives you an appetite and helps you enjoy the quality of your meal rather than the quantity.” She encourages people to introduce at least one Japanese dish a day and strive for three to five colors at one meal a day. You can check her book to know more about the Shoku Iku diet plan and its recipes.
