Weight Loss Strategies - Lessons From The Sumos!

While most weight loss strategies come from those actively trying to lose weight,another way to learn how to lose pounds is by studying a group of people who, for centuries, have made a science out of gaining weight:

Why Sumos?

Because heavier wrestlers have an advantage, and because there are no weight restrictions in Sumo, rikishi try to keep their body weight at a maximum. All aspects of the rikishis’ daily routine - from their workouts to their meals to their sleep periods - are highly regimented and designed to facilitate the weight gain that will help bring success in the sumo ring.

Sumos have the process of gaining weight down to a science, so weight loss strategies that focus on doing the opposite of what they do can be very effective.

How Do Sumos Gain All That Weight?

Other important aspects of the Sumo weight gain regimen that need to be considered when devising weight loss strategies include:

• Skipping Breakfast. Weight loss research has repeated shown that people who skip breakfast tend to weigh more than those who don't. And Sumos take breakfast-skipping to the extreme.

  They engage in heavy exercise for up to 5 hours before eating their first meal!

  This practice not only creates hunger but may also result in hormonal changes that favor fat preservation rather than fat utilization.

• Eating Just Twice A Day. Dietitians recommend that people with diabetes eat 6 small meals a day in order to reduce the amount of insulin that is released (or that needs to be injected) in response to food consumption.

  To gain weight, Sumos do the opposite.

  Instead of consuming their calories over the course of the day, Sumos eat them in just two sittings. These enormous meals encourage an excess release of insulin a hormone that inhibits the breakdown of fat and promotes fat synthesis.

• Eating Lots of High Carbohydrate Foods. One of the foods Sumos eat is a traditional vegetable soup or stew. But they also consume a great deal of rice and beer.

  Like eating large meals, eating large amounts of these high carbohydrate foods encourages the excessive release of insulin. Alcohol also helps stimulate the appetite and may increase levels of cortisol – another fat building hormone.

• Sleeping After Meals. While scientists debate whether late night eating encourages weight gain, the Sumo regimen suggests that it does. Sumos sleep after eating, napping after their first meal of the day and eating their second meal just before bedtime.

Interestingly, while Sumo wrestlers do accumulate a high percentage of body fat, perhaps because of the large amount of exercise these athletes engage in, they deposit most of this fat under the skin as subcutaneous fat rather than intra-abdominally as visceral fat

Unlike visceral fat, subcutaneous fat is not metabolically active and is not as injurious to health. Still, Sumo wrestlers do suffer adverse health effects from their obesity.

Sumos have a shortened life span compared to other Japanese men with a markedly higher mortality rate between the ages of 35 to 74 years. They also develop diabetes, high blood pressure, gout and elevated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides more often than their non-obese counterparts.

Sumo Weight Loss Strategies

• Eat Breakfast. To avoid the hunger that Sumos generate for their first meal you want to start your day with breakfast. Be sure to include high protein items like eggs, steak or fish. Protein increases satiety and does not induce the large release of insulin that carbohydrates do.

• Eat Before Exercising. If you are an early morning exerciser and can't see yourself consuming a meal before you strap on your sneakers, consider grabbing a quick snack like yogurt before heading out the door.

• Eat Several Small Meals A Day. Eating small amounts of food throughout the day mimics the way our ancestors are thought to have eaten, keeps the demand for insulin low and keeps prevent the hunger that leads to overeating.

  For convenience and to help control overall caloric intake, I usually recommend eating three small regular meals and then using a high protein shake for three additional “snack" meals.

• Avoid High Carbohydrate Foods. These include grains, grain products, and refined sugars. Even whole grain products are fattening and are not the health foods they are made out to be.

• Reduce Alcohol Consumption. Alcohol not only contains a lot of “empty” calories, it is also strong appetite stimulant and may increase release of the fat-building hormone cortisol.

• Don’t Eat Past 7 p.m. Instead of going to bed, napping or immediately sitting in your office chair after a meal, try to get up and move. Even 10-20 minutes of walking after eating may help decrease blood sugar levels and reduce fat synthesis.

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