Korean Dieting Trick [Culture]

Water. Does the body good.  We need it.  We drink lots of it.  But should we ever NOT? 

YES!

According to Koreans, anyways.  I was having dinner with my relatives the other day and found it odd that I was the only one at the table who asked for water to drink with my meal.  So of course, I politely offered to get some for everyone else, but they all declined.  

Hmmm...just not thirsty?

Actually, it's a habit!  A rule of thumb.  A dieting trick.  

No wonder Korean girls are so skinny...?

So we all know that good digestion leads to good everything else.  You'll lose weight, trim inches from your waist, etc.  That's why people take probiotics and fiber when dieting to improve digestion.  

Ever seen the Activia commercials? 

[Hahaha so funny, I love this one! Great ad!]

So what's water have to do with it?  When you diet, you're supposed to drink lots and lots of water right?  RIGHT!  Buuuut there's a specific time that you actually SHOULDN'T drink water!

During meals.

I know that sounds really bazaar because logic would tell you that you need the water to wash down your food.  HOWEVER, unless you're eating something like straight up biscuits or saltine crackers [and apparently even then] you're supposed to chew the food in your mouth until your saliva makes it watery enough to swallow without that sandpaper-y feeling as it goes down the chute.  

If you need the water, it means you are:

A)  not chewing enough

B)  stressed (apparently reduces saliva)

C)  in a hurry

D)  dehydrated (I'll get to this)

E)  all of the above

For E)  I know you're thinking, "well that's why you should drink more water during your meal, DUH!" but actually, it just means you should drink more water during the day around your meals.  

So here's the rule:  No water 30 min. before or 2 hours after your meal.

Why?  Because water interrupts the enzymes in your stomach that break down food and disrupts your digestive process.  So instead, you should eat with another form of liquid food, like a soup.

That's why most Korean meals come with a soup.  Look at Japanese meals also...most come with miso soup!   

Don't believe me?  

 Check my post about [ food delivery ]  

It's so important, they found a way to pack it EVEN for delivery!

And if you ever go to a Korean restaurant, they won't have regular American-sized cups.  They are always the size of a little teacup...think espresso sized.  And you have to get up to go and get water...rarely do you get a pitcher unless you're with a group of people.  I found this really uncomfortable at first, because during my meals used to be the ONLY time during the day I'd drink water, but after learning this, I'm going to try it out for a bit and report back on this topic in about a month.

Oh, and I found out my blood type today, so you can kind of expect that to be my next post's topic ;D ... coming soon!

Taking "eating fresh" to a WHOLE NEW LEVEL.

I LOVE ADVENTURE.  I really do.  Getting bored easily leaves the only option of constantly searching for new and exciting experiences to keep a consistant level of exhiliration in my life. 

Over the weekend, my trip to Busan ended up being a great deal more exciting than I had anticipated.  I guess the lack of a plan had something to do with it in part, but never did I think I would be doing anything THIS crazy. 

AND HERE GOES NOTHING!!!

(please excuse the quality of the video...it was taken on my cellphone :] )

Yes. You totally saw right.  I just ATE the MOVING octopus. Why was it moving?  BECAUSE IT WAS STILL ALIVE!!!  but...after all the excitement, it's actually pretty good!

1.  You'll like it if you like sesame oil...because you have to bathe the little piece in it

2.  The texture is really really rubbery...but very tender at the same time.

I made sure to chew all the life out of it before swallowing!

3.  The little suction cup tentacles stick to whatever they can...chopstick, cheek, and tongue

4.  Apparently it's a lot of protein so skip the power bar and eat an octopus! :P

Next to try on my food list...silk worm larvae o.O

Mini Outdoor Petco.

Under the metro and down the street to teach En-g-lish I go (sung with the tune of "to grandmother's house" .... actually I don't even know if that's the name of the song...but you know. over the river...through the woods ladeedadeeda)

K so I was going to work and saw this right before I got to the door of my building.  Twas a mini outdoor Petco!  I haven't really seen anything like this in America before, so I was quite shocked that the bird "box" didn't have a lid...I mean...birds fly. Why aren't they flying away?  Are the shavings they perch on THAT comfortable?  Is the food THAT delicious--and by that I mean seedy?

Here you can see an assortment of little animal pets

So I asked the man, and apparently they can't fly away...he clips their wings so they can only hop around....I found this really sad actually.  When people ask, "If you could be an animal, what would you want to be?"  Many people respond with "a bird so I can fly!" ... I just got sad thinking about it! 

But apparently they like him, because they're more than willing to perch on his hand without pecking at his fingers

and there were HEDGEHOGS!!!!!  If you are my friend, you may know that I've been considering the purchase of a hedgehog...how cool would it be to walk down the street with one of these?!?  I know...and I'd name it Sonic...and then buy a squirrel and name it Tails. PAHA NOT!! But it would be a cool pet to have since it's so unusual. However, after seeing it this close and touching it, they aren't exactly friends to fingers.  those little quills don't hurt...if you stroke the right way.  It's kinda like a guy who keeps a stubble and can scratch your face when you kiss because you're moving against the grain. 

 Annnyways, ooh! look at the pretty red bird!

lol...he kinda looks like one of those creepy hagglers asking if i wanna buy a watch O.O

I pass these every day and I pray that someone buys one and saves them from their itty bitty cages.  I would've...if the guy didn't try to scam me and charge me $130 for a hedgehog when he told all the kids I teach that they're $50 each -__-

Korea's small animal pet market is HUGE!! Especially little kittens and teacup puppies!  I'll soon be heading to Chungmuro...the street lined with all these kinds of adorable little fluff balls :D