How do J-idols stay so tiny?

Natsu-chan · Post by **Natsu-chan** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:09

Misaki Itoh, Keiko Kitagawa (sailor mars & seventeen magazine model), Aya Ueto, Ayumi Hamazaki, Mika Nakashima, Aio Miyazaki, Ichikawa Yui... (& the list continues)

How do these idols stay so tiny? They are more than just thin. Te be healthy & thin , you eat mostly fruits, veggies & healthy protein and exercise (or at least that's what most of us know) but these Idols are more than just thin, they're boney but they don't seem to be starving themselves or taking some drugs to stay thin (like Hollywood celebs). J-idols have healthy skin so it reflects their health.
I know that the Japanese diet is healthy and low in calories (mostly vegetables & seafood) & Japanese people eat tiny portions, but idol-thinness is different.
So, what to J-idols do? Does anyone here know anything about their diets? (it doesn't have to be one of the idols in the list, I'm talking about idols in general)

EDIT: What I meant is:
1-I am not saying that I'll do what they're doing cuz everyone knows how to lose weight, I'm just curious.
2-How can idols stay very tiny (thin).
3-how do they have glowing skin despite being tiny (I know people who lost weight & some have become very skinny but their skin isn't glowing like idols".
Sorry for the confusion (hontoni gomennasai)

Néa Vanille · Post by **Néa Vanille** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:18

J-Idols aren't actually that tiny compared to other Japanese women. Most of the celebrities have bigger boobs, at least.

Well, they are a tiny lot.

lailoken · Post by **lailoken** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:18

Well asian girls are usually tiny =)

Néa Vanille · Post by **Néa Vanille** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:20

lailoken wrote:Well asian girls are usually tiny =)

Korean girls aren't that tiny - they are tall and a lot are well-endowed - but Japanese girls are.

And to the original starter of the thread - are you sure you want to be as thin as them? Are you sure you REALLY think it's attractive and are you willing to change your whole life for a new body? Maintaining a new figure is a LOT of work, work that might not even be worth it in the end.

There are J-Idols who aren't that thin. Fukada Kyoko, Sawajiri Erika (good hips) and that girl who played Nobuta come to mind - as long as you aren't overweight, I think girls tend to worry too much about weight.

Takekaze · Post by **Takekaze** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:24

Keep in mind that Asian people are usually smaller than Europeans -there are exceptions, of course; one of the most prominent ones, historically, would be Miyamoto Musashi, who is said to have been 185 cm (and no, even Korean women are small compared to European women). Ueto Aya is not even 165 cm tall (which seems to be somewhat average, between 155 and 165). The Maeda Sisters both barely scrape 155 cm (actually, they both don't even reach that). Certainly, with McD and similar crap appearing on the Asian market, there are more cases of obesity than before the invasion of crap, but even today, look at the normal people in Japan, Korea or China, the percentage of obesity there is a lot smaller than in Europe or America. And well, the traditional Asian cuisine is extremely healthy (especially the Japanese with all the fish and vegetables). Remember, pigs and cows for meat production were definitely not common in Japan prior to the arrival of the West and the Meiji restoration (bulls were usually used at the imperial court to pull coaches -with the court being the only one allowed to use coaches-, and meat was, usually, only on the table of the ruling caste after a hunt) .

Now, in comparison, if we take the Netherlands, they have the largest percentage of people above 190 cm. During the past ~100 years, the Europeans have turned out to have grown ~10 cm (that was based on simple research, comparing military recruits from ~1900 with recruits today). A woman being 180+ in Europe is nothing uncommon.

And I don't think I have to comment on obesity in the west.

Néa Vanille · Post by **Néa Vanille** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:30

Do you know, Takezake, that your posts give off a distinctly anti-European air?

And I don''t mean just this one. A woman taller than 180 cm might be nothing unusual up in the North, but I've RARELY seen any here in Southern Europe. Italians are rather tiny people, too, especially the young generation.

Edit: to actually stay on-topic.. another reason why Japanese people are thin might be because Japanese society - and, to an extent, most other Asian societies as well - tend to judge weight much harsher than people in the West would do. I've personally been told by a doctor in Korea that I was "chubby, but in a good way" and when my boyfriend was a bit fatter a few years back, most of his friends and even just distant comrades, sometimes even strangers, openly told him that he was fat and advised him to lose weight. Most Westerners would probably make a huge fuss out of the fact that they had just been called fat and wouldn't tolerate it, much less take it to heart and act upon it like Asians apparently do. Interestingly, Italians seem to be among the more 'weight-critical' Europeans, so it actually be a larger factor than previously assumed.

Another thing is that these people are celebrities and therefore earn their bread with their looks. And what's more, they also earn a lot (granted, not nearly as much as American actors do...). Anyway, if they could afford a personal trainer and diet assistant, anybody could be thin.

cookiesncream · Post by **cookiesncream** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:52

im wondering the same thing....im asian & my family eats a lot of rice and noodle dishes. Im not fat but im definitely not skinny. I usually try to limit my food intake when i notice my stomach start to stick out...sometimes i just eat one meal a day, and the rest of the day i just drink coffee....

what works for me is raw coconut oil. Its great for speeding up your metabolism...i get mine at nutiva.com . i use it to saute -on medium heat only- frozen green beans(french cut) , with a side of frozen shrimp (the pre-cooked, peeled & deveined type), and then i take a heap of rice and let it soak up the rest of the oil. sometimes i also add a side of egg (sunnyside up). that's one meal for me....i ate like that for 2 weeks and lost a lot of weight....u have to b willing to give up junk food and trans fatty foods....I also love to fry soft, ripened plantains in the oil for desert....they r sooo sweet and tangy when ripe...yummm...

. Im sure most of those skinny idols eat healthy and excercise to keep themselves in shape...its probably part of their job to look a certain way. i mean...my mom eats like a pig...fried food, junk food, large meals..she's so boney and looks like a skeleton. even her stomach is thin (she never excercises).....that really deosnt make any sense to me..if i eat a cheeseburger & fries, I look fat as well as feel fat

cookiesncream · Post by **cookiesncream** » Nov 14th, '06, 19:57

another thing is..if your small (like me), gaining just a little weight makes you look fat. taller people can gain a little weight and still look thin.

Natsu-chan · Post by **Natsu-chan** » Nov 14th, '06, 20:09

Nea Vanille- And to the original starter of the thread - are you sure you want to be as thin as them? Are you sure you REALLY think it's attractive and are you willing to change your whole life for a new body? Maintaining a new figure is a LOT of work, work that might not even be worth it in the end.

Yes I'm ready to do that. People have different values in life, it's just like people who want to get PHD degress amaze me because I wouldn't bother to do so much research. Different people have different values.
As for me, I'm 168cm tall & my body proportions are somehow like Erika (except that my arms are slimmer) & I've been working out for about two years now, so adding more changes to my lifestyle in order to be thinner won't affect my life that much. I love fruits & veggies & I don't eat burgers & fries.

cookiesncream- thanks for sharing your story. I don't thinkt hat you have to eat once a day to make your abs flatter, you can do push-ups & other abs exercises, it works ^_~

cookiesncream · Post by **cookiesncream** » Nov 14th, '06, 20:22

natsu-chan..i do excercise my abs and my whole body. Im just saying that eating one large healthy meal during the day instead of three has worked for me better than any amount of excercise ive ever done....but everyones different. & its not like im starving..i feel great!.......so im ok with it.

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Nov 14th, '06, 20:28

yeah but with a PhD you can boost your career, with a J-idol body ... I'm not sure what you can do-as opposed to just having a normal in shape body.

I'm pretty sure that diet and exercise will not give you a J-idol body. I'm pretty sure you need the right genetics for something like that. You might have to accept the fact that if you don't have the genetics for it you will never look like them (unless you change your life drastically and in the world as it is today, even if you have the desire to do it, you won't have the time, unless you truly have nothing else to do with your time like work or study or talk to friends or ... breath?).

Also no celebrity ever looks the same in real life as they do on TV and especially in magazines.

just curious, why is this your passion all of a sudden?

Natsu-chan · Post by **Natsu-chan** » Nov 15th, '06, 09:36

cookies'ncream: sorry sweetie for misunderstanding your post ::feels bad::

Nea Vanille:thanks for the info, it makes sense. (by the way, si that you in your avatar? so pretty)

kotaeshiranaihito: I know about PhD stuff, I just used it as an anecdote to prove how people have different interests. & for the rest of what you've said, I don't blame you for thingking this way, my American professor told us that people at the US are workaholics (thank God I'm not from the US) but still, there's time for anything when you put your mind to it ^_^'
& to satisfy your curiousity (you don't sound like a girl but forgive me if I'm mistaken) it's a girl's thing (being so tiny & stuff) but there are many guys who care about looking good & exercising so I don't think there's anything wrong.

I think I should add some info to prove my point ::edits topic::

Néa Vanille · Post by **Néa Vanille** » Nov 15th, '06, 16:34

It's me, but not because I think I'm that hot or anything, but because I went avatar-less for over a year and felt it was about time my posts ceased to be faceless, but didn't want to hide myself behind the photo of an actress or actor that had nothing to do with me.

I'm not really a vain kind of girl. I take my writing and my studies more seriously than my looks, actually. I have a bit of a lazy nerd in me.

It was quite funny when I lived in Korea and I could see diet ads and DVDs EVERYWHERE, much moreso than here, even though the girls there are mostly good-looking. I felt like I was the only person not dieting in Korea.

zany003 · Post by **zany003** » Nov 16th, '06, 11:29

Natsu-chan wrote:Misaki Itoh, Keiko Kitagawa (sailor mars & seventeen magazine model), Aya Ueto, Ayumi Hamazaki, Mika Nakashima, Aio Miyazaki, Ichikawa Yui... (& the list continues)

How do these idols stay so tiny? They are more than just thin. Te be healthy & thin , you eat mostly fruits, veggies & healthy protein and exercise (or at least that's what most of us know) but these Idols are more than just thin, they're boney but they don't seem to be starving themselves or taking some drugs to stay thin (like Hollywood celebs). J-idols have healthy skin so it reflects their health.
I know that the Japanese diet is healthy and low in calories (mostly vegetables & seafood) & Japanese people eat tiny portions, but idol-thinness is different.
So, what to J-idols do? Does anyone here know anything about their diets? (it doesn't have to be one of the idols in the list, I'm talking about idols in general)

EDIT: What I meant is:
1-I am not saying that I'll do what they're doing cuz everyone knows how to lose weight, I'm just curious.
2-How can idols stay very tiny (thin).
3-how do they have glowing skin despite being tiny (I know people who lost weight & some have become very skinny but their skin isn't glowing like idols".
Sorry for the confusion (hontoni gomennasai)

you should search for an english translation for keiko kitagawa's blog. there was post she made about returning after filming for tokyo drift. from what i remember, she said she gained 16 pounds over the course of filming. (so, just taking from her profile, she's about 90-some pounds, then got to 100-some pounds. let's say 115 pounds). i dunno if she considered herself fat, maybe she wrote that she did, but i thought, "FAT!? what are you talking about?!" she added that she lost the weight by: drinking a lot of water everyday (a liter a day), running three miles everyday for a month, not eating late, not eating too much meat/protein. that's what i remember. and i thought, "how can you find the time to run three miles with such a hectic work schedule?!"

another thing, remember they are idols. so they have the money to buy beauty products that will make them have glowing skin or silky hair or whatever. they also have the money to afford spa treatments and stylists to make them look awesome.

i'm still amazed at how skinny some j-celebrities can be and they still look healthy, even looking at their bmi. i think eri fukatsu had a super low bmi (below a healthy bmi), and i based this on her weight being between 80 to 90 pounds. it's scary!

Natsu-chan · Post by **Natsu-chan** » Nov 17th, '06, 14:55

domo arigatou

Knowing about Keiko makes my day! She is my idol & I have great respect for her (because she's a model & doesn't model swimsuits)

but she remained super skinny even after gaining the 10 pounds!

You're right about the beauty treatments

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Nov 17th, '06, 15:20

well if you really want to do it, at least try doing it the safer way than most.

Drink at least 8 glasses of water everyday,.

make sure to have breakfast (some yogurt and fruit is good)-do not skip it no matter what, not only is it bad for you, it also makes your body want to conserve more energy.

take a dietary supplement-you don't need anything expenseive like centrum, a generic $7 one is ok.

Aside from the supplement also take a calcium/vitamin D pills (this is something I noticed myself. I was always anal about my teeth, I literally had over 30 nightmares about losing all of them, so I skipped classes the next day ran to the nearest rite aid and bought some calcium vitamin D supplements. About a week later I noticed I lost like 6-10 pounds. I did not change anything I did except taking the pills. I read a little later that either vitamin D or calcium-forgot which on-helps lose weight. And even if it doesn't work, at least you'll have strong bones and teeth).

exercise at around 7-8pm. If you exercise too late you'll get an adrenaline rush and won't be able to sleep so well, which in turn will cause weight gain-aside from other problems. Do this around 4 days a week.

Eat 4 small meals a day. Eating one or two meals a day causes your body to want to conserve evergy out of fear of starvation. This was proven on a fitness show I saw. The guy had his crew eat 4-5 small meals a day, while the girl had her crew eat one or two meals a day. At first both sides were losing weight equally, but at the end the guy's team had an easier time and ended up being healthier and in better shape. Also I heard some of the members of the girl's team gained a lot of weight back later.

good luck and try not to kill yourself.

ephesus · Post by **ephesus** » Nov 17th, '06, 15:48

Actually, J-Idols use this crazy new diet pill called "genes" to supplement their diet of onigiri.

albertoavena · Post by **albertoavena** » Nov 18th, '06, 07:09

Excuse the ignorant question but what do you refer to when you say "eat small meals"? I always kind of wondered about the size of the meals exactly. Is it just vegetables and fruits or something of that kind? What are some examples of "small meals"

James_yka · Post by **James_yka** » Nov 18th, '06, 10:08

Just as the size of your palm... that should be consider small enough...

Natsu-chan · Post by **Natsu-chan** » Nov 18th, '06, 10:55

kotaeshiranaihito wrote: good luck and try not to kill yourself.

LOL! that's so funny! No I won't ^^
Thankyou sweetie
Um, about the pills, do you mean that you took vitamin D pills and calcium pills? or did you take calcium & vitamin D (mixed) pills? because I only remember seeing calcium pills alone.
Still, I'll look for them.
I also read about it, it's Calcium that makes you lose fat weight. Thanks for reminding me

ephesus but doesn't onigiri mean rice? So they supplement their diet with a rice pill, that makes a low-carb rice supplement?

TofuQueen · Post by **TofuQueen** » Aug 27th, '10, 08:32

atarijen wrote:Get sunlight. Don't wear sunscreen or skin lotions. These products are full of carcinogens and toxins. Getting some sun will give you glowing beautiful skin! Tanning outdoors does not cause skin cancer, rather toxins accumulated in the skin from diet and beauty products.

A lot of the rest of this post seems pretty iffy to me, but this bit is pure BULLS**T.

Exposure to UV rays causes skin cancer. Period, end of story.

It is true that tanning beds are much worse for your skin than natural sunlight, and also true that people need a certain amount of sun exposure to get Vitamin D, but too much natural sunlight DOES also cause skin cancer. Telling people otherwise is dangerous and irresponsible.

For anyone who thinks "natural = safe/healthy", just remember, nightshade & hemlock are both 100% natural~

20centuryboy · Post by **20centuryboy** » Aug 27th, '10, 08:54

well, it also depends on where you live and the capacity of your skin to protect itself from UV. If you're blond or redhead and live in Australia, just under the ozone layer hole, going out without skin lotion is pure suicide.

But if you're black or latino you might make huge savings on lotions

In japan, most people are very careful with the sun rays, many women carry umbrellas during summer and wear hats as they don't want to ruin their skin.

As for the subject, j-idols probably live the japanese way so they don't drink soda all day, they don't eat much junk bars like Mars or sneakers, they have lots of fish, vegetables, tofu and seaweeds and they drink green tea.

I agree that American food is probably the worst in the world.

OpTicaL · Post by **OpTicaL** » Aug 27th, '10, 09:03

20centuryboy wrote:I agree that American food is probably the worst in the world.

So true, it's almost as if American food was designed to kill you.

TofuQueen · Post by **TofuQueen** » Aug 27th, '10, 16:10

OpTicaL wrote:
20centuryboy wrote:I agree that American food is probably the worst in the world.
So true, it's almost as if American food was designed to kill you.

Heh...well not ALL Americans eat like that.

As much as possible I prefer to stay out of the sun rather than wear sunscreen because I think sunscreen feels gross - and I do actually carry an umbrella around small-town-Idaho in the summer to help stay out of the sun.

Of course fair-skinned people have to be more careful, but skin cancer happens to people of all colors & to say that "sunlight doesn't cause skin cancer" is just plain WRONG.

As for the original topic, while I'm sure diet has a lot to do with it & also exercise, genetics also plays a HUGE role as it determines a person's overall body type. I was well over the average height for a Japanese female by the time I was 12 years old & kept growing for a few years after that - no way was I ever intended to be "tiny".

OpTicaL · Post by **OpTicaL** » Aug 27th, '10, 20:19

TofuQueen wrote:Heh...well not ALL Americans eat like that.

As much as possible I prefer to stay out of the sun rather than wear sunscreen because I think sunscreen feels gross - and I do actually carry an umbrella around small-town-Idaho in the summer to help stay out of the sun.

Of course fair-skinned people have to be more careful, but skin cancer happens to people of all colors & to say that "sunlight doesn't cause skin cancer" is just plain WRONG.

As for the original topic, while I'm sure diet has a lot to do with it & also exercise, genetics also plays a HUGE role as it determines a person's overall body type. I was well over the average height for a Japanese female by the time I was 12 years old & kept growing for a few years after that - no way was I ever intended to be "tiny".

There's always the exception.

What's pathetic in American society is you have to pay more to eat healthy. Just look at "organic" foods. Food is supposed to be organic in the first place! Why must the people pay more to eat healthy?

How is the average American supposed to stay healthy with fast food chains and their $1 menus? Everywhere you go in America you'll see fast food joints. It's more economical to buy from the dollar menu than actually going to a supermarket to buy fresh produce and cook yourself.

American food by design is supposed to be unhealthy, that's why America has the highest obese population in the world. By international standards, over 80% of Americans are obese, and 18% are children.

Do you know how much money fast food chains spent on ad campaigns telling you "you are beautiful the way you are", "don't let anyone tell you different". From news outlets to Hollywood, fast food companies had everyone chanting those slogans. Corporations infused that belief into American masses, "it's OK to continuing consuming our fast food", "it's OK to be overweight".

Not everyone who eats Carl's Jr. has a body like Paris Hilton.

TofuQueen · Post by **TofuQueen** » Aug 28th, '10, 06:45

OpTicaL wrote:There's always the exception.

What's pathetic in American society is you have to pay more to eat healthy. Just look at "organic" foods. Food is supposed to be organic in the first place! Why must the people pay more to eat healthy?

How is the average American supposed to stay healthy with fast food chains and their $1 menus? Everywhere you go in America you'll see fast food joints. It's more economical to buy from the dollar menu than actually going to a supermarket to buy fresh produce and cook yourself.

American food by design is supposed to be unhealthy, that's why America has the highest obese population in the world. By international standards, over 80% of Americans are obese, and 18% are children.

Do you know how much money fast food chains spent on ad campaigns telling you "you are beautiful the way you are", "don't let anyone tell you different". From news outlets to Hollywood, fast food companies had everyone chanting those slogans. Corporations infused that belief into American masses, "it's OK to continuing consuming our fast food", "it's OK to be overweight".

Not everyone who eats Carl's Jr. has a body like Paris Hilton.

Hm....I guess you could say that I've made a conscious decision to opt out of the American "fast food culture" and ignore advertising. I've chosen to live a different kind of lifestyle than most people in the US, and before anyone suggests it, no I'm not wealthy by any standard - we just live simply. Good food can actually be very cheap, but it does take some time & knowledge to prepare it, & not everyone has (or makes) the time & knowledge. Just because fast food joints are there does NOT mean you have to eat there...educate yourself, plan ahead, cook at home, eat better & save money too...

As far as the "you're beautiful the way you are" stuff I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, people *do* naturally come in all shapes & sizes and I don't think it's good for people to obsess about not looking like celebrities, because if they have a different body type then there's no way they ever COULD look like that.

On the other hand, it's very unhealthy to be seriously overweight and while weight shouldn't be the measure of a person's worth (for themselves or others) being at a healthy weight is definitely a good thing & getting to a healthy weight should be encouraged.

20centuryboy · Post by **20centuryboy** » Aug 28th, '10, 10:32

each countries have their own lobbies. Big lobbies force their ways into people's lives.

In france it's the nuclear "nuclear will save the planet", "nuclear is clean", blablabla. Obviously, in the USA it's the agriculture/ Alimentation lobbies who are the leaders.

It's not that easy to change your habbits or walk out of the path that is made for you by industrials.

Spurlock's "super size me" is now a classic but you might also be interested in Robert Kenner " food inc." and Erwin Wagenhofer's "we feed the world" on that subject.

OpTicaL · Post by **OpTicaL** » Aug 28th, '10, 11:56

20centuryboy wrote:each countries have their own lobbies. Big lobbies force their ways into people's lives.

In france it's the nuclear "nuclear will save the planet", "nuclear is clean", blablabla. Obviously, in the USA it's the agriculture/ Alimentation lobbies who are the leaders.

It's not that easy to change your habbits or walk out of the path that is made for you by industrials.

Spurlock's "super size me" is now a classic but you might also be interested in Robert Kenner " food inc." and Erwin Wagenhofer's "we feed the world" on that subject.

Saw Food Inc and Super Size Me, and people ask why America is recalling half a billion eggs? LoL wake up, the average American...

20centuryboy · Post by **20centuryboy** » Aug 28th, '10, 17:57

"food inc." is really scary!

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