The initial phase of the record-keeping weight loss method: a natural weight loss strategy without dieting.

… … Huh? … …

Why did I forget? Forgetting to record something I ate half a day ago is understandable, but forgetting something I just ate is too much. Why? … …

Thinking about it, it seems there are many other foods I forgot to record. For example, coffee. Because I thought coffee had no calories, I could drink as much as I wanted without worrying about recording it. But strictly speaking, coffee still has 5 kilocalories.

The nearby coffee shop gives you cookies with your coffee. Although I usually don't eat them, I sometimes have one when I crave something sweet. I didn't record these either.

The snacks provided in the NHK TV station's lounge—I ate them but didn't record them either.

After realizing these things, my notes became more detailed. The rule of "recording everything I eat" was finally fully implemented. Not only the contents of the food, but also the time and amount eaten were recorded.

"At 3:30 PM, I ate two rice crackers, five potato chips, and two biscuits in the break room, and drank 350 ml of cola."

I even hesitated to write down the water I drank.

The more I wrote, the more I realized that besides meals, I was consuming so many snacks and drinks every day, so frequently, that even writing it down was exhausting.

Especially after 9 PM, I would eat something every 30 minutes until 3 AM, even before bed.

I've gained weight…

Shocked! If I hadn't made these notes and had instead started a calorie-restricted diet, I wouldn't have discovered this undeniably painful fact.

After diligently taking notes, all sorts of real-world problems and the statistical facts—all came to light. I used to think of myself as a gourmet, but I'm not really. I just ate the same things every day, following the same pattern.

Every two days, I'd go to the nearby convenience store for a sandwich, usually a ham and cheese sandwich, or a double cheese sandwich, and occasionally a cabbage sandwich.

I couldn't help but ask myself, are they really that delicious? The answer is no. It's not so much that I like them, but rather that I crave different flavors of sandwiches. Picking one from the shelf, I always choose the ham and cheese one. The occasional cabbage sandwich, supposedly a vegetable sandwich, is actually covered in mayonnaise and butter.

This went on for 20 years. If I do the math, I've eaten 365 days × 20 years × 1/2 = 3650 sandwiches. I can't help but feel that my body was created by convenience store sandwiches.