Dieting Advice in Japan, Help!

[aeon]

Hi everyone, I'm a 20 year old female, 5'4, 60 kgs/132 lbs, studying abroad in Japan for a year. I'm a super newbie when it comes to bodybuilding, so please bear with me >_<

It would be very nice for me to get my 6 pack back from when I was 12 (thanks to puberty, I now have a pouch T_T), and I've been trying hard to reduce my calorie intake, and eat healthier foods--but I have a big problem:

Since I'm in Japan right now, I'm stuck with eating a *****load of carbs (such as white rice) from my host family's breakfast, and also due to studying all the time, I've practically been living on coffee (no sugar added, sometimes soymilk) and haven't really been eating that much. I fast alot (due to the lack of time I have), and people tell me that I will gain weight from that...I get my exercising by practicing the Japanese martial arts kendo and naginata.

I'm not really a big rice fan, but I eat it anyway because it would be considered rude to my host family if I didn't finish everything on my plate >_<

Does anyone have any advice for reducing body fat? I'm living in a country where everything is overpriced and everyone practically lives on carbs.

If I ever get my 6packs back, I'm going to celebrate by getting my bellybutton pierced :P

[KingWilder]

what does a normal day of eating look like? As it stands it doesn't sound like you're eating enough to me.

[Sensei]

I don't know what your family eats at home, but many have fish, eggs, soybean products (like tofu, edamame, etc) with most meals.

Make sure you are sleeping enough and eating as well as you can. It can be a stressful adjustment - don't make it harder on yourself by going on fasts and trying to get through by overloading on kan-ko-hi-...

[Unreal]

If your diet is set, and you can't really change it, then the only choice would be to start burning more calories by exercising. Some HIIT and weight training would do wonders. You would have to adjust that to get a caloric deficit since your set eating what you have to.

[Notorious]

Japanese food in general is pretty healthy/low calorie. Notice that there are hardly any fat people in Japan.

I was in Japan for a month with a host family, ate everything they gave me, and still lost 5 lbs. The only exercise I got was from riding a bike to the train station everyday (10-15 minutes each way).

Other than that, just do what everyone else is saying: eat what you have to but get more exercise.

[Sensei]

I almost always gain weight when I'm in Japan... tons of sushi, anpan, donburi, and okonomiyaki will do that to you. ...and if you haven't tried those aeon, WELL WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?