Anyway, guess how the sumos get and stay so fat? These warriors have been perfecting their techniques for hundreds of years. Surprise: They do what a lot of my patients do who are trying to lose weight! Oops! Check out these tips from the “Sumo Lifestyle” guidebook:
Sumo tip #1: Get up early and exercise on an empty stomach. This lowers their metabolic rate for the rest of the day, and guarantees they’ll be ravenous when they finally have lunch. Their body thinks it’s starving and converts food energy to stored fat extra efficiently.
Sumo tip #2: Eat two meals per day, and stuff yourself each time. Sumos eat this special soup called chanko, made of broth, meat and vegetables, with lots and lots and lots of rice. Sumo wrestlers eat about 5,000 calories a day in two sittings.
Sumo tip #3: Eat socially. The sumo eat their chanko with the other men in their training “stable.” (Sumo lifestyle is very hierarchical and ritualized, as well as competitive, providing a mental stress which probably also helps make them fat.) It’s a bitter truth that people who eat with friends tend to consume more than when they eat alone.
Sumo tip #4: After you eat, go to sleep. After lunch the sumo take naps. After dinner, they go to bed. Going to bed with a full stomach forces your body to release a lot of insulin to manage the food you’ve just ingested. Elevated insulin levels stimulate fat production.
So that’s the expert recipe for gaining weight. If you feel some days like you could become a contender, try eating breakfast shortly after you get up, having a little something before you exercise, eating more frequently (say, three small meals and two snacks,) and stopping eating a few hours before you go to bed. Be mindful when eating with companions, even if you love them. Simple, non-sumo techniques that your metabolism will really appreciate!