The lack of drive thrus...

John and I have both dropped weight since arriving in Japan. I think this is almost 98% due to the lack of drive thru's and a lack of food delivery options. We're not unique. Lots of people report a significant weight loss after living in Japan.

Drive thru's are very much a US concept. In order to fit food into our crazy schedules, we have become dependent on the drive thrus. I'm certainly not exempt. After a hard 8 hour work day, it was often easier to pick up food on the way home than make it. In San Diego, we had no lack of options within five minutes of us....all equally terrible for you. Aside from the McDonald's and Taco Bell on the US base, I haven't seen any drive thrus. Japan has it's fair share of fast food options, but you have to park and go inside to order. This is a deterrent to me because I could (and often did) go to drive thrus in my PJ's.

In addition to drive thrus we had many delivery options available to us in San Diego. Our neighborhood in Japan does have pizza delivery, but the pizza costs about $40 and their large is the size of a US medium. Since I don't usually pay $40 for pizza, that's out of the question.

I find myself cooking much more at home. I make breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the weekends and lunch and dinner on the weekdays. It's easier to be a little more health conscious when I actually have some sort of input into what I'm cooking.

Don't get me wrong. Whenever we happen to be on the US base at dinnertime, I always try to talk John into stopping at the McD's drive thru. I'm no saint when it comes to diet. I just find it interesting that cutting out delivery and fast food can be such a significant source of weight loss....even when you think you're ordering healthier options (like skipping the fries).

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