Hello. It has been quite a while since I have written a health-related article.
For the past three months or so, I have been following a “vegetable-centered diet” as a“diet good for the liver” for a certain reason.
I will write about this experience. I hope it will be helpful for both those who are a little worried about their liver and those who want to lose weight.
First of all, I will disclose the results as a diet.
In a nutshell…
| Date | Weight | Girth |
| March 20 (start of diet improvement) | 62.0 kg | No record, probably about 85 cm |
| June 13, re-examination date | 57.5 kg | 80.5 cm |
| July 1 (today) | 55.8kg | 78.5cm |
… In a little over 100 days, I have lost 6 kg in weight and 6 cm in abdominal circumference.
Please take a look at the graph I made from my notes. It went down like this. (I started taking belly circumference in late April.)
It’s embarrassing, but I took a picture today.
Macckey(I have not developed a belly yet.) I can’t take a picture of my belly before.
I didn’t take a picture of my stomach before so I can’t post it, but it was quite flabby. The photo below is from about 3 years ago, and you can see it’s bulging even over my clothes.
I changed my diet to a vegetable-based diet! From the trigger to the retest.
Before I explain what I did, I would like to briefly summarize the process from the trigger to the re-examination.
I was surprised to find that my liver level suddenly rose during a routine medical checkup!
Hiroshima City offers free health checkups once a year for its citizens, and I have one every February or March. At the checkup I had in February this year, I was informed that some of my liver values exceeded the standard values and that I should be re-examined.
（I was informed that I should have my liver checked again (LDL cholesterol, AST (GOT), ALT (GPT), and γ-GTP).
My physical condition is perfectly normal, but they say that the liver is a “silent organ. I cannot ignore the test results. I also had abnormal cholesterol levels, so I wondered if I might have a fatty liver. I also thought that I might have a fatty liver.
I thought… I may not be allowed to make a layman’s judgment, but when I read the wording of the medical checkup result notification, it often said “work on improving your lifestyle,” and I didn’t feel it was that urgent,
I wanted to retest, but only after I had been eating properly for about three months anyway.
マッキーI wanted to do it to see how much of an impact improving my diet would have on my numbers.
What is a “liver-healthy diet? “ I did some research.
For two weeks after I decided to do so, I read many books about the liver, and on March 20, I started a “diet good for the liver” that I had read in one of the books.
By the way, the book I referred to is this one.
Diet and health are all about the liver.
Written by Satoshi Ogata, liver surgeon and medical doctor, Shinsei Shuppansha Co.
⇒ See on Amazon:“Diet, Health, Liver is Everything” by Tetsu Ogata, Liver Surgeon, M.D., Shinsei Shuppansha Co.
⇒The website of Asama General Hospital, Saku City National Health Insurance, Nagano Prefecture, where Dr. Satoshi Ogata is a member.
I also referred to this book, although it is not a book about the liver.
10 major food additives that destroy the body” by Yuji Watanabe, Gentosha Shinsho
⇒ See on Amazon: “10 Major Food Additives that Destroy the Body” (Japanese only)
So, thistime, Istarted this diet improvementonly toimprove my liver value.
And about 3 months later…what was the result of the retest I took?
Dr. Ogata’s book talks about the importance of the liver and the total care of the liver, but it is also a book about keeping the liver in good condition by eating a “vegetable-centered diet.
I followed his advice and switched to a “vegetable-centered diet” for about three months.
And last month, in mid-June, I took a retest, and the results showed that I cleared all of the problematic items! The doctor told me that my liver was in very good condition!
マッキーThe internist who requested the retest was also surprised at the change in values (laugh).
The doctor was also surprised at the change in the values (the physician who asked for a reexamination was also surprised).
Caution
- I am not sure if the improvement in diet alone led to these results.
- If you have liver problems, please do not judge yourself, but consult with your doctor first.
- I have gallstones, and I was wondering if that might be the reason why my numbers went up.
Thank you for your patience. In the next section, I will tell you what I actually did this time.
What I actually did – 7 habits to care for my liver
Basically, I just did what Dr. Ogata’s book says.
First of all, I will introduce the seven items as they are written in the above book as “Seven Habits to Care for the Liver”. After that, I will give some additional explanations.
- Record your weight once a day: Tusk’s Law (short period of time, quantify, record)
- Drink only tea, water, or black coffee
- Reduce the amount of rice by half
- Double the amount of vegetables
- For protein, give priority to soy, fish, and chicken
- Reduce ultra-processed foods
- Exercise at least 10 minutes a day
Additional explanations and what I did
1. Recording my weight
I had been keeping track of my weight before that and continued to do so. I weighed myself when I took a shower after my morning radio exercises.
Depending on the rhythm of my life, it could be done in the afternoon or at night, but I think it is better to keep the time constant. I myself gain or lose a lot of weight in a day…
2. Drinks
I have always drank coffee black, and this was almost the same as in the past. However, until last year, I used to drink sports drinks when it was hot or vegetable juice because I thought it would be good for my health, but I stopped. I also stopped drinking milk for a while because of its fat content. Instead, I now drink soy milk every day.
3. Amount of rice
As for the amount of rice, I followed the “70g per meal” rule in this book: 70g for rice, 1 slice of bread, 1/2 bag of fresh noodles, 35g for dried noodles, etc. I followed the book’s rule rather strictly.
To be honest, I thought it was not much at first, but I have never felt hungry by eating those field greens with gusto. I think of the vegetables as the staple and the rice as a side dish. If you are not used to it, why not start with 100 grams of rice?
Caution!
If you reduce the amount of rice, you will lose the dietary fiber that you used to get from the rice, and you will become constipated if you do not eat enough vegetables. I have always had good bowel movements, and even though I increased the amount of vegetables, I was still constipated for a while, which was troubling and surprising. (In my case, it took about 2 weeks for it to come back…)
4. Amount of vegetables
I think that the amount of vegetables I eat now is about three times as much as before, although it is related to the third point. I imagine that I eat less rice but fill my stomach with vegetables (laugh). I buy cheap vegetables, boil or fry them in large quantities, divide them into portions, and freeze them.
I am not particular about the type of vegetables, but potatoes, pumpkin, corn, etc. are high in carbohydrates, so if you eat them, be careful about the quantity.
This is an example of my diet. There is nothing special about it. Only a lot of vegetables, and I can have another serving of vegetables (laughs). Rice and bread are always about this much.
5. Protein
The daily intake of protein is said to be about 65g for adult men and 50g for adult women, and since it cannot be taken in bulk, it is necessary to take at least 22g (17g for women) at each meal…but I have actually looked up foods that can provide that amount, and it is quite difficult to take and remember. So, I have only thought about “taking as much as possible”. Natto, cheese, eggs, chicken, canned tuna… I try to consume as much as possible (but I think it is still not enough…)
6. Ultra-processed foods
I like instant noodles, I used to put bacon on my bread, I love ice cream, I used to pick up cookies while working…. Not all of them were bad, of course, but many of them were quite problematic from the perspective of “ultra-processed foods” and “additives.
Since I made the decision to “change my eating habits,” I have given up instant noodles, bacon, and cookies.
I put sesame oil instead of butter on bread and black vinegar in dressings. I have reduced the amount of sweet foods I eat to only a few, and even then only yokan (bean jelly). I try to avoid foods with a lot of additives (I don’t want to be too picky).
Eating Order and Eating Style
I have changed the order of eating to protein => vegetables => carbohydrates. I also chew my food slowly and repeatedly.
7. Exercise
I continue to exercise by doing radio calisthenics in the morning and walking (and light running) for 20 to 40 minutes in the evening, which I have been doing for some time. Recently, I have also been doing 10 minutes of leg and back exercises after my morning exercises.
That’s about what I’ve been doing for the past 3 months or so.
In my 20’s I was 54-55kg, in my 40’s I was over 60kg, and at my peak I once reached 70kg, although it was instantaneous.
In the last few years, 62 or 3 kg had become the norm, but I still could not believe that I would ever break 60 kg.
But this time, there it was, below 60 kg, and even in the 55 kg range.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, I started this diet with the sole intention of “improving my liver condition,” but I am surprised at the unexpected weight loss, and the fact that I have cleared my liver condition also gives me a kind of success story, or a sense of confidence.
I also feel that running is easier than before because I am lighter.
Compared with my previous article on the night Jell-O diet…
A long time ago, I once did the “Night Jelly Diet. I wrote about it in this blog, so if you are interested, please take a look.
I lost weight on the “Night Jelly Diet” for sure. And I think you can probably lose that much weight if you do it.
However…as I wrote in that article, malnutrition is always a concern.
I would like you to be very careful (eat a good breakfast and lunch) and finish the diet in a certain short period of time.
In comparison, the “vegetable-centered diet” that I tried this time provides vitamins and dietary fiber as well as protein, and since meat and fish are also actively consumed, I do not think that malnutrition will be a problem. So, as for me, I would recommend this one.
Vegetable-centered diet makes you fat? What is the cause of it?
When I was browsing the Internet, I found various stories of people gaining weight despite eating a vegetable-centered diet. I would like to write a little about this.
When I look at each of them, I see that they are doing the “wrong vegetable-centered” diet.
Vegetables may look healthy at first glance, but if you do it wrong, it can be fattening.
- You are consuming a lot of high-sugar vegetables.
As mentioned in the previous section 4, potatoes (potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.), pumpkin, corn, carrots, etc. are high in carbohydrates and can make you fat if eaten in excess, so be careful. - Beware of high-calorie dressings and sauces
Many dressings and sauces are surprisingly high in calories. These may result in calorie overload. As I mentioned earlier, I use diluted black vinegar in place of dressing. - Lack of protein and fat
If you do not take in enough protein and fat at the same time, your basal metabolism may decrease, resulting in reduced energy consumption and weight gain. Note that although the diet is “vegetable-based,” it is not “an extreme diet consisting only of vegetables.”
Of course, it is also important to exercise moderately in order to raise basal metabolism.
At the end – things to keep in mind
Since my weight is approaching what it was when I was in my 20s (54-55 kg), I am not going to actively try to reduce it any further.
It will indeed stop somewhere (laughs).
But I think my current diet is good, and I have gotten used to it… I think I will continue like this for the time being.
Last but not least,
If you are concerned about your liver, please seek medical advice from a specialist before considering a diet.
And
If you are trying to lose weight, please do not overdo it.
Absolutely forbidding sweets or eating out too much can lead to stress. Sometimes, cake, grilled meat, or tempura are fine!
Let’s not overdo it and aim for good health!
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