Cheat day

Baek Seung-yong’s car

I showed the prepared materials.

“Have you seen this photo before?”1)

└Crazy, hahahaha!

└Look at the rice

└So that’s a mountain of rice.

Does all of that fit?

└It’s still amazing to see again.

As expected, the viewers are also amazed.

When I first saw this photo, I even felt it was too much for me.

“This is a scholar’s meal from 200 years ago, and you can tell just by looking at it that there is a lot of rice.” “Of course, just like the people doing mukbangs now, you might think this person eats a lot, but that’s not the case.”

I displayed a photo document summarizing the changes in rice bowl sizes by era on the screen.

The one on the far right is a typical rice bowl from 2012. It takes about 150g. In 2005, it was 230g, and in the 1960s and 70s, it was 450g. In the 1940s, it was a whopping 550g.

└Crazy, lololololol

Isn’t it a bowl?

You ate three times more rice than now?

The Goryeo Dynasty looks bigger, doesn’t it?

└Why did you eat so much?

The Joseon Dynasty was about 690g, the Goryeo Dynasty was 1,040g, and the Goguryeo Dynasty was 1,300g. Right now, it’s an unimaginable amount.2)

Even I, who love rice, wouldn’t have the confidence to eat 1,300 grams.

Right now, it’s about ten times the amount of a bowl of rice, so no matter how delicious the kimchi stew and rolled omelette are, it’s too much.

The reason I had to eat so much rice is manifold. The first reason is that there was a lot of physical activity, and back then, there were no cars. To get from here to there, walking was the only way. Moreover, since it was an agrarian society, most people farmed, so naturally, their activity levels were high.

The first reason is that since the calories consumed in a day are high, it is only natural to intake that much as well.

“The second point is that the rice our ancestors ate was mixed grain rice.” Rice was much more expensive than mixed grains, so only well-off families could afford to eat it. Most farmers mainly consumed coarse grains like barley or millet. And these are not digestible.

This is important.

“The reason I’m eating brown rice now is similar; when our body tries to absorb rice, the rice bran gets in the way.” So, blood sugar levels rise less, and therefore, you gain less weight.

└Did you eat a lot because you weren’t getting enough nutrients?

└Seems like it.

└No way, lol. But you’re still eating too much. That one bowl would be enough for a family of four for a day.

“The third reason is the seasonal characteristics of our country.” The seasons change quickly, and food spoils easily in the summer, so pickling, salted fish, and fermented foods developed, while foods that couldn’t be preserved this way generally didn’t last long. Rather than saving it and then having to throw it away when it goes bad, it was better to eat it all while it was still good. I don’t know when I might go hungry.

I did that.

If I think back carefully to when my food intake started to increase, it was when I was working at my first job.

Since I was always starving, I had to eat a lot whenever I could, and from then on, the amount I ate at once gradually increased.

“Lastly, this is the most important thing.” In the past, it was hard to eat meat. It was really expensive. So, we were always short on protein, and we tried to get that missing part from rice.

Our ancestors couldn’t possibly have known what protein was, but this is a matter of instinct.

The body, sensing a lack of protein, constantly craved food, and our ancestors, having nothing else to eat, had to eat a lot of rice to satisfy their hunger.

“Based on the current data, a bowl of brown rice mixed grain rice contains about 70.38g of carbohydrates and 8.99g of protein.”

To aid understanding, I showed the table.

The recommended protein intake is 0.8g to 1g per kilogram of body weight. The average height of men during the Joseon Dynasty was about 161 cm, and the normal weight according to BMI standards was 48 kg to 59 kg. If we apply this, it means that the minimum amount of protein you should consume in a day is 38.4g.

Displayed four bowls of brown rice mixed grain and two spoons on the screen.

└I see, so I needed to eat a bit more than four bowls to get enough protein.

└Why has the side dish become so smart?

└I always talk nonsense, but when I bring up evidence, I can’t get used to it.

└hahahahahahahahaha

“But one thing here.” Earlier, I mentioned that a Joseon Dynasty rice bowl weighs 690g, right? Right now, it’s about 150g. There is about a 4.6 times difference.

Among those who raised questions, people gradually began to understand my words.

└Crazy, Seriously, it only went up by exactly the amount of protein I consumed.

└Now that I’m eating meat well, I’ve lost that much weight.

└Goosebumps

└Wow

The human body is truly amazing. It’s not like they have precise scientific knowledge, but they just go along with it.

In the Joseon Dynasty, you had to consume 4.2 grams of air, but now that protein intake is easier, has it reduced to about 21%?

“It seems like there is an error, but in fact, there isn’t.” When we consume 40g of protein, our body cannot fully digest all 40g. It comes out as a stool.

That’s why if you eat the right amount of calories, it becomes a low-calorie diet. If a low-calorie diet continues, it will lead to a weight that is easy to gain.

“Also, carbohydrates are not only found in grains, so some margin of error will be covered there.”

I have deleted all the materials that were shown so far.

“Alright, then let’s get back to the main topic.” Why should we eat a balanced diet?

Just a moment ago, the uncooperative viewers who were previously not engaging are now responding with comments like “What could it be?” and “Oh, I’m so curious,” even though they don’t really mean it.

It feels like they are fitting in.

“That’s right.” Nutritional imbalance can easily lead to overeating. If a deficiency in certain nutrients continues, physical development doesn’t occur. As the nutritional status of our people has improved, the average height has also significantly increased, and that’s one of the reasons.

The chat window got flooded with ‘lol for real’.

“Moreover, physical issues such as weakened immunity, obesity, or underweight can occur.” Moreover, it also causes mental issues such as depression and attention deficit disorder.3)

I found out about it while studying eating disorders because I was worried about the old kimchi.

Eating disorders and depression are inseparable; mental health management is of utmost urgency.

“Now do you understand why you need to eat a balanced diet?”

Sure! Yes, yes, yes!

└Good children should eat a balanced diet.

Teacher! Why did you fart!

└Why is everyone like this? LOL

└It feels kind of off because Banchan is using a kindergarten teacher’s tone.

“Second.” Eating moderately, well, everyone probably knows without me saying anything. No matter how good something is, eating too much of it is not good. If you eat a lot of garlic because it’s good for you, it can cause cramps and indigestion. Mugwort also causes diarrhea. The only ones who benefit from eating a lot of garlic and mugwort are bears and tigers. Got it, everyone?

└Yes!

Teacher! I told you, he/she was just pretending!

└Duck quack

Teacher, I need to poop.

└You crazy bastards, stop it, lol.

At first, it wasn’t intentional, but the chatroom atmosphere drifted towards kindergarten, and when I went along with it, it became strange.

“Lastly, eat breakfast.” This is really important.

I opened the new document.

“From now on, I’m going to tell you how Formula 1 drivers adapt to time zone changes.”4)

Formula 1 drivers travel around the world, so the way they adapt to time zone changes can lead to differences in their performance.

Let’s look at the experiment conducted by Professor Patrick Fuller at Harvard Medical School. A and B, as Formula 1 drivers, have to adapt to the local time after a 16-hour flight. A eats and sleeps as usual, while B boards the plane deciding not to eat anything except for water.

I helped the viewers understand by flipping through the photos.

Dr. Patrick says that when our body goes without food for more than 16 hours, the food clock starts working. In other words, it means that appetite overwhelms the desire for sleep.

They say you can’t sleep when you’re hungry.

How appropriate and reasonable these words are.

After a 16-hour flight. B, who had only been drinking water and maintaining an empty stomach, said they felt refreshed after finishing their first meal. On the other hand, A, who continued with the meal, felt tired.

After showing that it was a documentary aired on KBS1, they closed the visual materials.

“Why is it important to skip late-night snacks here and have breakfast instead?”

└Is it a 16-hour fast?

└The daily routine will be maintained.

└Regular life

└So Mom always telling me to eat breakfast had a scientific reason behind it;;

└It’s something I know from experience.

“That’s right.” The fact that you need to eat breakfast to feel energized means you are leading a regular lifestyle. On the other hand, if you eat a late-night snack and skip breakfast, you naturally can’t help but feel tired in the morning. The sun has risen, but my body will perceive it as night. After having lunch, it’s also because of that that I gradually start to feel more awake.

There was an article that clearly shows how important diet and sleep are, so I showed it to you.

According to this article, lack of sleep slows down metabolism. The brain perceives this condition as a lack of fat and sugar, which increases appetite.

I’ve emphasized it several times, but the reason for gaining weight is sugar.

“If the brain mistakenly thinks it lacks sugar, it will naturally lead to weight gain.” In fact, according to a study conducted at Stanford University, people who are sleep-deprived experience a 25% increase in appetite. If you use me as a standard, you’ll end up eating one more bowl of rice.

└When you say you’ll eat one more bowl of rice, it really hits home, lol

└No, I’m really amazed. I knew things like not eating late-night snacks, eating breakfast, and eating a balanced diet, but explaining the reasons makes it much more relatable, right?

Knowing the reason and not knowing it are different.

“By having breakfast like this and not eating late-night snacks, our sleep patterns return to normal, which means it’s that important.” Now, children, do you understand why you should go to bed early, wake up early, not complain about side dishes, and always eat breakfast?