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Why Willpower is a Myth in the Self-Discipline of Losing Weight
A lesson from the Japanese supermarket on how to successfully eat in moderation
Where is the pint-size ice cream in Japan?
When I first moved to Japan and went grocery shopping, I was confused by what I saw. Or perhaps it’d be more accurate to say by what was lacking:
Where is the pint-size ice cream?
The freezer section was generously large and there were dozens of different flavors and types to choose from, but none of them were in the classic pint-size I was used to seeing in the United States. They had small cups, cones, ice cream bars and sandwiches. They had a wide variety of novel flavors like strawberry panna cotta, affogato, and roasted green tea with brown sugar swirls — but nothing bigger than in a single-serving size.
After a few minutes of searching up and down the aisle, I caught an employee stocking the shelves and asked, “Excuse me mister, do you have any pint-size ice cream?”
“Yes, we do. Please follow me this way.”
So they do! Maybe it’s stored in a different part of the store.
But he led me to where I first began my search, and gestured toward the bottom corner…
