Investigates the Japanese army's mistreatment of New Guinean women and…
Fat Chance
- Description
- Reviews
- Credits
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Winner of the American Library Association Video Round Table's Notable Videos for Adults award.
When single mom and filmmaker Yuka Sekiguchi (Senso Daughters, When Mrs. Hegarty Comes to Japan), overweight at nearly 200 pounds and fast approaching fifty, determines to lose weight in hopes of becoming healthier and happier, she decides to film her struggle, figuring that public humiliation will be a strong incentive to succeed.
FAT CHANCE, by turns serious and humorous, chronicles her six-month effort, involving experiments with fad diets, machines that claim to break down body fat, exercise programs, diet shakes, and consultations with an obesity expert, a psychiatrist, and a plastic surgeon.
Although it should be easy-just eat less and exercise more, right?-Yuka discovers that her love of food, especially her weakness for pizza and chocolate, is hard to overcome, leading to a yo-yo experience of dieting and bingeing. But her health problems, including high blood pressure, difficulty in walking and sleeping, and the possibility of developing diabetes, makes her a desperate woman on a mission.
Although Yuka learns much from experts such as Dr. Gary Egger, founder of GutBusters, and plastic surgeon Dr. Sean Nicklin (on whom she develops a crush, renewing her interest in men after many years), her deepest insights are gained from her sessions with psychotherapist Dr. George Blair-West, a specialist in the psychology of overeating.
Discovering the emotional roots of her overeating, Yuka comes to term with some deeply personal issues and, in the process, learns not just about her body, but also finds herself.
'Enjoyable, educational and entertaining... Production values are first-rate, and this extremely likeable film will fit nicely into academic nutrition and health sciences collections, as well as women's studies, social work and multicultural studies. Recommended.' -Lori Widzinski, Educational Media Reviews Online
'Starts out as a film about weight, but winds up being a film about culture... Recommended.' -K. Fennessy, Video Librarian
'An impressive, intimate documentary... touching and inspiring... bulging with subtle humor.'-The Age
Citation
Main credits
Sekiguchi, Yuka (film producer)
Sekiguchi, Yuka (film director)
Sekiguchi, Yuka (screenwriter)
Sekiguchi, Yuka (narrator)
Roller, Nicki (film producer)
Fox, Mark (screenwriter)
Fox, Mark (editor of moving image work)
Noonan, Chris (screenwriter)
Other credits
Cinematographer, Kim Batterham; editor, Mark Fox; composer, Guy Gross.
Distributor subjects
Biology; Body Image; Food; Health Issues; Psychology; US and Canadian Broadcast Rights; Women's Health; Women's StudiesKeywords
WEBVTT
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[music]
00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:14.999
My name is Yuka Sekiguchi.
00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:19.999
I\'m a 49-year-old single
mom and a filmmaker.
00:00:20.000 --> 00:00:24.999
I have been overweight for most of
my life and I must admit, \"I love
00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:29.999
food.\" I\'m just looking at my big
tummy, that\'s all. But being fat is no
00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.999
fun. I\'ve got high blood
pressure, I can\'t walk properly,
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and I don\'t sleep well at night.
What\'s really sad
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:44.999
is that I can no longer keep up with
my seven-year-old son. I\'ve tried
00:00:45.000 --> 00:00:49.999
everything to get thinner. Oh, yuck.
But I\'ve just got fatter and fatter.
00:00:50.000 --> 00:00:54.999
So in a last-ditch attempt to
downsize, I\'m risking everything
00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.999
and doing the whole thing on camera.
Maybe the fear
00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:04.999
of public shame is the only way
that I will succeed. I\'m determined
00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:10.000
to dump the fat and become
healthier and happier.
00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.999
I was born in Yokohama,
00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.999
Japan. We were an ordinary Japanese family,
00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.999
except I was a fat kid.
Being fat in Japan is no
00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:34.999
joke. I was often teased, and I
was terribly self-conscious.
00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:39.999
In 1981 when I was 23, I
left and came to Australia.
00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.999
This was definitely the
place where I could fit
00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.999
in. Australia was full of fatties.
00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:54.999
Over the next 25 years, I
got married, had a child,
00:01:55.000 --> 00:01:59.999
and I got divorced. I put
on more than 30 kilos and
00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.999
became the fattest I\'ve
ever been in my life.
00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.999
Now, I\'m a desperate woman on a mission.
I know that if I don\'t do it
00:02:10.000 --> 00:02:14.999
now, it will never happen. I\'ve given
myself the next six months, until my 50th
00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:19.999
birthday, to transform myself.
00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.999
Input your age.
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.999
Input your height. I\'m too
embarrassed to go a gym,
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so I come here for a quick fix.
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Starting measurement. Don\'t move or speak, please.
The Slim Lounge caters mostly for overweight
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Asian women. Measurement completed.
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Yeah.
00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.999
Yeah. OK. I\'m seriously obese.
For my height I should be, like,
00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:09.999
57.8 kilo. Wait. I\'m, I\'m
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how many kilo over? What, probably about
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35. Is it 40? Really? I can\'t
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do the math, now. I\'m just so shocked.
00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.999
Ah!
00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:34.999
This wonderful machine is supposed
to break down my body fat
00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:43.000
without doing any exercise. Even this
easy way of losing weight is hard.
00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.999
[music]
00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:09.999
Look at my tummy. It\'s
bigger than when I was
00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:14.999
pregnant. This is exactly why I\'ve no
00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:20.000
exercise for so long.
00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:29.999
I knew I was seriously obese, but I, it\'s,
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kind of, really, really seriously obese.
I feel like
00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:39.999
crying, really. It\'s funny,
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.999
but it\'s also quite serious at the same time. It\'s just, kind
of, for the first time I realize that that\'s as I\'m trying to
00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:49.999
do from now on over six months,
it\'s going to be a quite
00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:54.999
challenge, really, in many aspects.
And I just hope
00:04:55.000 --> 00:05:00.000
I can sustain, you know?
00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:09.999
[music]
00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:14.999
In theory, it should be quite
straight forward. Exercise
00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.999
more and eat less. Actually,
my leg\'s hurting.
00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:24.999
Ah!
00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.999
Ah!
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.999
Exercise was never my strong
00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:39.999
point, but dieting is even worse.
00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.999
And I\'ve tried them all: apple
diet, cabbage soup diet,
00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:49.999
vegetables, Atkins, diet shakes,
and high protein. Every new one I
00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.999
tried I felt, \"This is it\". But
they all ended the same way: in
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failure and despair.
00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.999
If this time is going to be different,
I\'m going to need some expert
00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:09.999
advice. The first thing is it, it\'s got,
it has to be a lifestyle change. And that
00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:14.999
lifestyle change involves reducing
calorific volume that you take in, and
00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:19.999
increasing the calorific volume that you expend.
Yeah. Yeah. There\'s no magic to this. And people who
00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.999
talk about the Atkins Diet and the grapefruit
diet and all that being, having magical
00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:29.999
val-, uh, properties and... Mm... there being negative calories and
all that, are just totally deluded. Mm. It doesn\'t work that way. Mm.
00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.999
It works by the amount of calories that you take in... Mm-hmm... the amount of
calories you ta-, expend. Actually one of the reasons I\'ve put on weight is
00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:39.999
fad diets I did. Always, always
come back and come back more.
00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:44.999
Yeah. Diets don\'t work because you can\'t stay on a diet for
the rest of your life. No. By definition, a diet means going
00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:49.999
on something. That\'s right. That also means coming off it.
That\'s right. Which means, when you come off that your body goes
00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:54.999
back. We have this typical tick shape, uh, return, where
you lose a bit of weight, but then you put on more
00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.999
than what you lost. Yes. And that\'s your body saying, \"Hey,
uh, this was, I went through a famine here. I\'m gonna
00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.999
protect myself next time. So I\'ll give myself a little bit
more fat.\" Mm. Mm. And this is why women actually wind up
00:07:05.000 --> 00:07:09.999
fatter later in life... Mm... as a result of these.
We call it the river method of girth control. Mm. Mm.
00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:14.999
Up and down. Up and down. Mm. And, and eventually
your metabolic rate slows down... Mm-hmm... and you
00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:19.999
put on fat much more
regularly as you get older.
00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.999
[music]
00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:29.999
It\'s no wonder I gave up
dieting so easily. Pizza\'s
00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:34.999
much more fun. Can we have one
large ham and pineapple... Yes.
00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:39.999
With mozz-, mozzarella? With mozzarella?
Mozzarella. Nothing makes me happier
00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.999
than eating pizza with my seven-year-old,
Amol. You\'re not allowed to
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:49.999
have pizza anyway. Why\'s that? Because
you\'ll, because you\'ll get fatter and
00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:54.999
fatter and fatter and fatter. And ready to
die. Gosh. That\'s really nice, isn\'t it?
00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.999
Coming from, you know, my own son. God.
00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.999
The trouble is, though, that
I have no control. I just
00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.999
can\'t stop. It\'s really scary,
and I\'d like to know why.
00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:14.999
How are you, Yuka? Hi, Dr.
00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:19.999
Blair-West. How are you feeling about
coming in to see a psychiatrist to
00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.999
look at these issues? Nervous.
I\'m going to spend time
00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:29.999
not just talking to you about your
weight history... Mm-hmm... but also
00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.999
about your life. How you got to be
where you are now. So when did the
00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:39.999
binging start? I noticed
my binging probably, um...
00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:48.000
probably during a marriage, actually.
Right. I was sadly unhappy.
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:54.999
What do those binges look like?
Pizza. Pizza? Pizza.
00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:59.999
Pizza. Pizza. OK. How would that happen?
00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.999
Would you... After he goes to bed and I just, kind
of, you know, just sneaks out of bed and, you know,
00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:09.999
just rings. So you order your
favorite pizza. What size? Uh,
00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:14.999
oof. Large. A large one. How did,
how, wh-, when the delivery guy
00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:19.999
arrived... Yes... how did you avoid him ringing
the doorbell and waking your husband up? Waiting
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:24.999
outside. You wa-, you\'d wait outside for the... Yes...
delivery man. Mm-hmm. And then would you eat the entire pizza?
00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:29.999
Look, while we\'re at it. Are there
any other foods that you binge on?
00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:34.999
Chocolate. Mm-hmm. What would
trigger binging on chocolate?
00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:39.999
Probably something, something,
um, I got through something.
00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.999
You know, it\'s a happy kind of occasion. This is,
OK. So this is quite different from pizza. This is,
00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:49.999
this is a reward, isn\'t it?
So what we\'ve got here, is
00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.999
we\'ve food relating to very
specific emotional states for you.
00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:59.999
Mm-hmm. Negative emotional state
equals pizza. Positive emotional
00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.999
state equals chocolate. Interesting,
isn\'t it? Do we have any other... Foods.
00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.999
Foods that you overeat? Rice.
Rice? And dare I ask?
00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.999
Does that have a particular
emotional state that... My
00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:19.999
goodness. I think it\'s, uh, more than enough. Wh-, when,
when, when, when do we eat rice? When do we... Dad.
00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:24.999
Sorry? My father. How does that work?
My father is a rice
00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:29.999
merchant. Is your father still alive, or is
he dead? Dead. And how long ago did he die?
00:10:30.000 --> 00:10:34.999
7 years. He was...
00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:39.999
probably he was the first one to introduce
us the love of food. He loved food
00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.999
so much. Am I right in saying you had a
very close relationship? Yes, we did.
00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:49.999
We did. Anything goes, you have to
00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.999
cut rice out, unless I die inside.
00:10:55.000 --> 00:11:03.000
Sorry. It just...
00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.999
[music] I was my dad\'s
00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:19.999
favorite and I was always with him
at the rice factory. He was a
00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.999
teenager during World War
II when Japan surrendered.
00:11:25.000 --> 00:11:29.999
This photo of General MacArthur and
the Emperor Hirohito, in 1945,
00:11:30.000 --> 00:11:34.999
changed Japan and my father forever.
Seeing this photo was a
00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:39.999
moment when the Japanese finally
realized that they were defeated.
00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.999
MacArthur, the new American
Emperor, introduced a
00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:49.999
milk, cheese, and meat ration
to the starving population.
00:11:50.000 --> 00:11:54.999
My dad embraced it passionately.
00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:59.999
He became convinced that it was this
Western food that helped the allies
00:12:00.000 --> 00:12:04.999
win the war, and he showed me
how to love it too. We even
00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:09.999
came to dislike the traditional Japanese
food that my mother cooked for us. This
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
really upset her. Me and food,
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:19.999
food and me. It\'s just too complicated.
Changing my eating
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:24.999
habits will not be easy. The next
five months is going to be an uphill
00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:30.000
struggle.
00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:43.000
[music]
00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:49.999
Unfortunately,
00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:54.999
exercise is unavoidable if I\'m going to
succeed in losing weight. Up. Up. Up.
00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:59.999
Oh, make it. C\'mon, you can do it.
OK. Bring yourself up. Go.
00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:04.999
Two. Two. I haven\'t seen the
inside of a gym for ages.
00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:09.999
OK. That means I have absolutely
no muscle in my stomach.
00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:14.999
I\'ve joined a local
women-only fitness club.
00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:19.999
The idea is, \"We, girls, help each other
out.\" Good. All right. You look good. Nice.
00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:24.999
This is Margaret. She\'s nearly 20 years older than I am, and she\'s
the fittest one here. Eight. One, two, three ...You have to be
00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:29.999
serious.
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
See, look at this lady, here. You have to be dedicated. Dedicated.
Dedicated. Dedicated. How long... Three times, three times a
00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
week. At least. At least. At least. At least. At least
three times a week. How much did you lose, your weight?
00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.999
Overall, I\'ve lost 21 kilos in about 11
months. Really? Yeah. Because look at you.
00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:49.999
Can I touch this? Oh, yeah. I wish
mine were like that. But I am a person
00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:54.999
who is ashamed of her body. For
me, this is a big step to take.
00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.999
As much as I like to say that size doesn\'t matter,
but I think size does matter. I don\'t feel
00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:04.999
comfortable. Big parts of my brain
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:09.999
and mind tell me this is not
the size I should be. So,
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
definitely, it doesn\'t make me feel happy.
C\'mon. Well done,
00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.999
well done. So that\'s three sessions next
week, and you\'ve got to turn up for those
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:28.000
three sessions. OK. OK? All this punishment, and still the weight
won\'t come off. The trouble is, I\'m meeting my psychiatrist in a few
00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:34.999
weeks. Unless I make some
progress, he might dump me.
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:43.000
None of these
00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:49.999
diets will work with me. They\'re all
about saying no, and I hate saying
00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:54.999
no. I can\'t afford to fail. I\'ve got a
00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
camera following me this time,
and I don\'t want to look stupid.
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:08.000
So I\'m embarking on a strict,
00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:19.999
no-frills diet. For quick results,
I\'m drinking diet shakes.
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
Ah, yuck! I\'m eating lots of
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
veggies. I\'ve got rid of anything too
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.999
tempting, and I\'ve even given up rice.
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
I\'ve had to keep a food diary for my
psychiatrist, and I think he\'ll be pretty
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
impressed. Oh, yeah. This looks
a bit scary. Organic carrot-
00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.999
apple-ginger juice, organic
scrambled eggs, mini tomatoes
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
and spinach, you and Popeye. Half a KETO protein
bar. I don\'t even know what that is, but it
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
doesn\'t sound like much fun. Where\'s the
interesting food? Well, let\'s look at the
00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:04.999
next day. Yes. \'Cuz I, you know, this is, this
is a bit too good to be true. I, I can\'t...
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
Oh, look at this, \"3:00.
Getting more tired\". Yeah,
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
well there\'s a reason for that.
You\'re not eating anything.
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
You know, you, you, you\'ve,
you, I\'ll, I\'ll hand it to you.
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
You, you\'ve, uh, absolutely
undertaken a traditional
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
diet. Yes. .That we know has about a five year,
well, forget five years. It has a failure
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
rate of at least 80%. Right.
And I would predict if you
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
keep on doing this, you\'re gonna have to break out
and, and, and binge at some point. Yes. I think
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
I will. I mean, what\'s there to look forward to here?
Nothing. What are you looking forward to out of
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
today? What are you looking forward
to eating today? Actually, as a
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
matter of fact, chocolate. So... Yeah. Because, because
I\'ve done so good. So you, did you, did you...
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.999
I\'m so good. Did you already? Yes. Started to
give yourself permission to give yourself some
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
chocolate? Yeah, because I\'ve been so good. Yeah. I
should be rewarded. That\'s what I\'m thinking. So good,
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
you should be rewarded. Well I\'m going
to plan for you. Let\'s put the reward
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
into the eating lifestyle.
Instead of diet, reward
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
diet. And what I\'d like you to do,
is see if you can have... Mm-hmm.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
Two, or maybe three, squares...
Mm-hmm... for
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
morning tea. Yes. OK? Morning tea? Morning tea. Because that way we\'re gonna spend the day burning
it off, right? Yeah, yeah. The worst time of day to have it is before we go to bed at night.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
Well, actually, you\'re asking me to have a chocolate?
Yeah. I\'m, I\'m not asking you, I\'m telling you.
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
No talking. Mm-hmm. No on the phone,
no television. Mm-hmm. The world
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
stops. Mm-hmm. Where you pay attention... Mm-hmm... and fully
savor it. Mm-hmm. Because the chocolate you\'re going to eat
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
otherwise... Right. How are we gonna feel when
you ate it? What\'s going to be the dominant
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
emotion? Guilt. Guilt, that\'s right.
OK? So we wanna
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
reverse that. Right. When you have this chocolate, it\'s
prescribed chocolate. You\'re supposed to be having it.
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
If I had a script pad with me...
Yes. You would write it,
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
really? That, that\'s how serious it is.
It\'d be like, it\'s like me
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
prescribing a medication to you.
OK? OK. It is important for
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
your, your health that you eat chocolate.
I can\'t believe what I\'m
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
hearing, George.
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
I can tell you I\'m the happiest
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
person right now. I\'m flattered. Wow.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
So this is no-skim business. This is full,
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:45.000
hot chocolate. Sorry, I\'m just so...
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:58.000
[music]
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
George is right. The diet would never have
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
lasted, and I can\'t go back to pizza.
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
I need a completely fresh approach.
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
Maybe it\'s time to get back to my roots.
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
I\'ve come to see my friend,
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:29.999
Etsuko, for a Japanese cooking lesson.
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:38.000
She was overweight herself until
she switched to a Japanese
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:45.000
diet two years ago.
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
You\'d never know it
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
looking at me, but the Japanese have
the lowest rate of obesity and heart
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:08.000
disease in the developed world.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
Healthy food like this always makes me feel
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
depressed.
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
Hm. Look at this portion, not much.
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
That\'s what... Should be for you. Yeah.
I should be happy with this.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
This is exactly the sort of food
that my mom used to cook for my dad
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
and I. It takes a lot of effort to prepare.
So I can see
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:45.000
why she got upset when we sneaked
away to eat steak and chips.
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:55.000
[Non-English Speech]
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:10.000
It tastes great, but I could go
for a burger and chips right now.
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
[music]
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
Two months have gone and my
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
waistline is still expanding.
Where have I gone wrong?
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
The dieting
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
principles are supposed to be so simple.
And I eat less, more exercise.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
But what I\'m finding out through
myself is, it\'s not that
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
simple. You\'re having a shandy tonight.
A fir-, it\'s an introduction to beer.
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
Having a little shandy. I always seem
to sabotage my own diets, but it\'s
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:05.000
Christmas. How do I say no, just when I\'m
trying to prove that I\'m an Australian.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
I couldn\'t possibly finish all of this.
It\'s so much, Jackie. You shouldn\'t
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
eat so much. Since I\'ve been in Australia,
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
I\'ve always eaten and drunken to fit in.
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
I never wanted to stand out. I
call it, \"My Margaret Mentality\".
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
I wanted to embrace everything
that the west had to offer,
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
just like my dad had done in Japan.
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
I managed to lose six
kilos at the beginning,
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
but now I\'ve
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
let it slide. Yum. My
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
favorite. Wow, pizza.
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
Old habits die hard. The
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
binging is back, as is my weight.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:18.000
But what scares me is that
I\'m still obese, and I\'m a
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
prime candidate for Type 2 Diabetes.
My father was
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
exactly the same. He had no
control, whatsoever, over food,
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
and was diagnosed with Type 2
Diabetes at the age of 42.
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
He was 89 kilos then. The same
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
weight I am now.
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:53.000
I should really go see my
doctor for a blood test,
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
but I don\'t think I can face it.
However, I do have an appointment with
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
another doctor. Please, take a seat.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Thank you very much. Perhaps I can find a
quick way to shed the weight that I\'ve put
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
back on. So, how can I help you? I,
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
I\'ve been working to transform myself.
Yep. But as I
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
lose weight, I find it\'s really, really
hard to get results, you know? In
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
important areas. Is that normal, probably? Uh,
it\'s not uncommon. You generally lose it from
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
places you don\'t want to lose it. Particularly in women, who
might lose more weight from their breast, and keep it on their
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
backside and on their belly. True. Um, and
there\'s differences between different,
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
sort of, families and groups. Mm-hmm. And your own,
sort of, you know, way in which you put fat there.
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
And it might be, yeah, your belly is the place
that you really struggle to get that fat off. Mm.
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
Well, actually, I must say you\'re right, because my, my
father\'s size... Mm-hmm... is always like my body shape.
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
Don\'t have really big thighs
or hips, but his... Yeah...
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
problem. There\'s definitely a certain amount of it you just can\'t
control, and there\'s nothing you can do about it. Right. And there\'s
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
nothing I\'m going to be able to do about it
either. And the area that most concerns you
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
is really ... Yeah. Mid- ... Now
I\'m seeing it. Midriff. Yeah.
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
Now I\'m seeing it just, kind of, everywhere. But...
Yeah. Yeah. OK. But this is your, this is what you\'re
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
talking about mainly, all right.
Yes. Yes. Really, it
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
doesn\'t matter how much weight you lose. It has...
Whatever weight you lose, you\'ll always have
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
what we call the little \"Apron Hip\". And the only
way for that apron to be removed... Yes... will be
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
a tummy tuck operation. You have to do it, yeah.
And I\'m not trying to sell to you here. Yeah.
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
No, no. I mean, you\'re free to make a decision.
But that won\'t go with your weight lose.
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
See, look where that is. You\'re gonna
have a scar that goes from there...
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
Yeah... across to here. Yeah. The maximum
that I would ever, um, undertake as a
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
liposuction procedure would, probably, mean
four kilos of weight loss at the most.
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
Right. And four kilos of weight loss would be about
half a day in, in theatre. Yeah. And many, many
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
weeks getting better. Do... You really feel
bashed about after liposuction. How long? You?
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
I tell people that it\'ll be three months...
Three months?... before starting to feel like
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
they\'re really there. OK. There\'s easier
ways to lose four kilos than liposuction.
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
Cosmetic surgery is no soft option.
If I had the $10,000 it would
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
cost, I\'d be quite tempted.
Mainly because I\'ve got a huge
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
crush on the doctor. Just, yeah. Mm.
I mean, I really like you very much.
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
I think that\'s, that\'s a very
important part. I think that\'s...
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
Isn\'t it?... that\'s a really, really important
part. If you don\'t like me and I don\'t like you,
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
we\'re not going to be happy with the outcome.
Right. There\'s no question about that one.
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
Yeah.
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
1 back, 2, 3, 4, 5. Actually I was a bit
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
surprised with myself. When
he told me that even after I
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
work so hard, I can\'t get rid of, you know,
this part. I understand a little bit, you know?
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
It would be nice to get rid of
the flap here. Are you OK to run
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
back? Yes. I think you are. So for that
aspect I was really interested, but Dr...
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
what\'s his name?
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
Oh, Sean, Sean. Yeah, Sean was gorgeous.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
The gorgeous doctor has got my
heart beating faster. I haven\'t
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
thought about men in that way
for a long time. This is really
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
good. Well done. It wasn\'t
that bad now, was it? Bad.
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
Do you want to go back, again?
You know what? What? What?
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
People will be looking at us.
Well, it\'s OK.
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
As I\'m losing weight I\'m
gaining confidence.
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
I\'ve got men on my
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
mind.
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
I\'ve come to see this premiere
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
dating agency to see what
my chances are. There\'s a
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
prediction that, um, in the year 2020,
25% of hou-, households will be occupied
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
by women on their own. Right. You know, we live
in many ways a lonely society. Can I also say...
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
Well, that\'s a positive start. Let\'s see
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
what chances a fat, middle-aged,
Japanese, single mom has... the
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
values out there that are so superficial.
If we look at your own situation,
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
we need to look at... Yes... um, age.
It becomes increasingly...
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
Hard... hard... Yeah, OK...
for us as we age. Strike
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
one. What about being Japanese?
The majority of people who
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
are seeking a partner are often
seeking commonality. Right. So we
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
certainly would be cutting the database...
Right... around that one. Mm-hmm.
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
Strike two. Again, the fact that you are 50
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
with a seven-year-old... Mm-hmm...
actually, also,
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
would create another barrier.
Strike three. What about,
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
I\'m overweight? The reality is...
Yes?... the majority of men...
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
Don\'t like fat women. And neither do women want fat
men. I think for a lot of people weight reflects,
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
uh, a lack of concern for one\'s health.
Mm. So... For fitness. Mm-hmm.
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
And so on. Quite apart from the aesthetic.
Mm-hmm. Strike four.
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
But Yvonne has some last words of comfort
for me. Do you know, a friend of mine
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
used to say, \"For every Mrs. Hippo,
there\'s a Mr. Hippo somewhere\". Yeah.
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
And it, and it, you know, we need to
hold that... Yes... in mind. So... OK?
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
Yes, it makes sense. Very true.
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
Oh, thanks a lot. Now I feel
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
much more positive.
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
I may improve my chances with
a little work on my wardrobe.
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
It looks a bit loose on you.
I\'m shrinking. If I can\'t
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
lose the weight quickly, maybe
I better learn to hide it.
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
Mm... maybe. What you wanna do
is, probably, accentuate certain
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
areas. Right. Which, I mean, do you feel like you have to hide certain
parts of your body, or you\'re just... Yeah... not happy with your stomach?
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
Yeah, always. You\'ve
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
got to be joking. What
you should do is use the
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
darker colors at the bottom. And always use brighter
colors at the top, because it draws the attention
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
to the face. Right. If you\'re going to wear something
bright on the bottom and dark on top, they\'re going to look
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
straight down here. The bottom, yeah.
And it\'s not very flattering.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
It is an illusion. Mm. You choose where you want people
to look at you. Do you want to see how this fits
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
first? Hm.
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
This is a strapless top. Oh no!
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:28.000
I don\'t think so.
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
Wow.
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
All I want to do now is show my body off.
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
Dating.
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
I\'ve decided to look for a man by myself.
(inaudible)
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:54.999
Speed Dating. This is Glen speaking. Yes, I
want, I\'m actually interested in getting
00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:59.999
some information about speed dating.
Which city do you live in? Uh, Sydney.
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
And how old are you? How old I am?
Yep. Uh, 49.
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
OK. We don\'t currently have any events for
your age group. Um, we, we do sometimes
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.000
hold events for 40\'s, 50\'s, but we don\'t
have any scheduled at the moment. Right.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
Hello? Hi. Is that Peter? Yep.
Peter, it\'s Yuka. Hi,
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
Yuka. Right. What are
you looking for, Peter?
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
Finally, I\'ve had a response from a telephone
dating service. Are you looking for sex?
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
I was hoping to meet somebody and, um...
That\'s pretty upfront.
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
Uh, pretty bold, I guess. How about that?
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
Ah, dear, dear. It\'s a good, great start,
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:55.000
isn\'t it? Uh, God. S**t.
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:08.000
[music] [music]
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
This is, uh, yellow soybean
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
that, um, Etsuko taught me how to cook.
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
It\'s high in protein, but
absolutely no meat at all.
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
This is baby, baby clams
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
that, um, in Japan we often make
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
miso soup
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
with, but the downside of it is it takes a little
time, you know? You have to prepare to do it.
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
With all this hard work, I should be losing
more weight and feeling on top of the world.
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
But instead, I\'m feeling
fat, frumpy, and tired.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
I haven\'t been feeling well. I\'ve
been avoiding it, but now I have to
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
go and see my doctor. I want
to know if there\'s a problem.
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
I\'ve been to see, um, my GP Dr. Solomens.
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
So he urged me to have a blood test.
Uh, I went in and did it,
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
and here it says, you know, I
ha-, I have, uh, Type 2 Diabetes
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
now. And really that\'s
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
what I\'ve been dreading, you know?
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:40.000
That\'s it. Oh well.
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
[music]
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
The symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes
develop slowly and may not be noticed
00:34:55.000 --> 00:34:59.999
immediately. It affects almost every
part of the body. The disease
00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.999
can contribute to stroke,
blindness, heart disease,
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
kidney failure, and amputation.
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
Hello?
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
Hello, George. I got, uh,
blood test result today.
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
Oh, yes. Yes. And I\'m officially
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
Diabetes Type 2. So one thing I, I,
I\'m really gonna put front and center
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
with you to start thinking about is,
how long do you wanna live? Right.
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
That was what really struck me as I
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
went through everything we\'ve done today...
Mm-hmm... is that, you know, in all these
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
different areas that people usually use
to define themselves... Mm-hmm. You
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
have really not had a clear path in
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
any of them to look back on. Mm. \'Cuz you\'ve been a
bit displaced really, haven\'t you? Yes. Yes. Yes.
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
You came from Japan. You weren\'t
super keen to go back there. Mm-hmm.
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
And your fitting into Australia, that
hasn\'t been entirely easy for you. Mm-hmm.
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
Your marriage hasn\'t worked out. So relationships
have also been a disjointed journey for you.
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
Very much, very much. And, of course, when we don\'t have a clear sense
of who we are, and what we do, and what we don\'t do, which is a
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
really important part of knowing who
we are and what we do... Sure. Then
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
not much of anything makes sense to us in
terms of wh-, why even bother losing weight?
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
Mm. What is it that I\'m trying to achieve? Mm-hmm. Where am
I going? Mm-hmm. If we\'re not clear on where we going and
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
why we\'re doing it... Mm-hmm. Then... Yes, I understand.
There\'s no good argument to lose weight. Mm.
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
There\'s no good argument. This is really the big idea that I
want you to think about. Mm-hmm. There\'s no good argument,
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
necessarily, to live.
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
Oh.
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
Yeah.
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
What\'s that feel for you when I say that?
Devastating.
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
Why? Uh,
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
you, you know, think that
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
I have something to live for.
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
You\'d like to think that you have
something to live for, but that reaction
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
tells me there\'s a big questions about that there. There\'s a lot
of people out there and a lot of them are overweight, because I
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
see this all the time. Without any great
sense of who they are... Right. And
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
where they\'re going. Right. And eating...
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
Yes... seems a pretty reasonable
alternative. And if it\'s not balanced
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
up against anything else we want
to do, like live a longer life,
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
then at the end of the day
there\'s no great motivation.
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
And we\'re talking the real building blocks of
motivation to lose weight. Mm. We\'ve got to want to
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
live. Mm-hmm. And, you know,
listening to your story,
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
I think you can do it. Mm-hmm.
But there\'s a chance you
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
may not.
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
Mm.
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
[music]
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
The psychotherapy
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
session with George today was pretty, uh,
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
confronting again. I mean,
unless I confront the issues,
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
probably, I\'ll never be
successful in losing weight.
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
That\'s my fear right now. I never
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
thought weight has this depth.
I never, ever
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
thought about that in my life. I mean,
fascinating but it\'s painful at the
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:05.000
same time.
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
My father suffered from Type 2 Diabetes for
30 years. He didn\'t do anything about it.
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:23.000
He didn\'t control his
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
diet, and he even refused
insulin treatment.
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
My mom was always battling
to get him to eat
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
healthy, Japanese food, and they
fought a lot. I never understood the
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
seriousness of the situation, and I used to
think that my mom was the cause of my father\'s
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
unhappiness.
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
When my dad
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
rebelled against her and sneaked
off, it was fun to go with him.
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
We used to go the movies
and eat Western junk food.
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
I saw him for the last
time in 2001, in Japan.
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
A few days after I left, he
died at home of a heart attack.
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
A lot of your life, in one way or another, has
been lived around your relationship with your
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
father. Hmm. And, and the guilt you were carrying about
his death. We didn\'t really get to touch on it too much
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
in here, but I wondered
how much of you, um,
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
slowing killing yourself by getting
overweight and playing Russian Roulette with
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
diabetes, um, is also punishment for
that feeling that you had. That if
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
maybe you\'d been there, because you\'re stronger than your
mother, maybe you could\'ve gotten him out and got help sooner,
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
and you failed him and... Mm.
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
Possible. Your father didn\'t
help you at all by taking you
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
out to junk food restaurants, and
sneaking you into the movies, and giving
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
you more popcorn and, you know, the rest of it.
Right. While you h-, had this lovely, close, warm
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
relationship with your father, he didn\'t
do you any favors when he did this.
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
OK. You know? Just as we
probably need to, um,
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
accept and embrace the things
that your mother had for you...
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
Mm. And we need to let go of some of the
unhealthy things that your father... Mm...
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
gave you. Ah.
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:35.000
You\'ve got a lot to process.
Yes, that\'s good.
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:48.000
[music]
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
My father died seven years ago
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
during cherry blossom season, and my mom
has asked me to come home to attend his
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
remembrance ceremony.
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
This is a restaurant that Dad and I used to
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
go to when I was girl. I just can\'t believe
it. The restaurant is still there. That\'s,
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
uh, our favorite restaurant.
I must\'ve been about
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
10. Still the same sign, too.
I don\'t believe it.
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
People come to this restaurant
for the greasy American food.
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
I now realize how mom must\'ve felt.
The truth is,
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
I\'m nervous about going home.
I\'ve always felt that I was
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:50.000
never quite good enough for my mom.
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:10.000
Hm.
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
She
00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
really makes me anxious and
doesn\'t let me get away with
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
anything. But for the first
time, I appreciate that.
00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
Mom is the only person who sees me
as I really am, and it makes me
00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:55.000
want to stay on with her.
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:10.000
So then...
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:20.000
Hm.
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:45.000
[Non-English Speech]
00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:30.000
[music]
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:18.000
[music]
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
I\'ve visited
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
Japan many times in the last 25 years,
but I never felt so happy to be here.
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
It\'s been great seeing mom again,
and she\'s never asked me to
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
come home before. I guess
she can see me changing.
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
Though I\'ve made a life in Australia
now, I\'m really embracing
00:46:55.000 --> 00:47:00.000
my Japanese-ness.
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:13.000
[music]
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
Hey, Margaret! Hey!
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
Good morning. It is, isn\'t it?
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
So you\'ve lost now a total of 16? Yeah.
Gosh, that brilliant! That\'s
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
very good, indeed. Yeah. You
have to keep it off. Yes.
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
Through this, uh, film I finally
realized that, uh, the key
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
for me to lose weight, or more
confident about who I am,
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
is I really have to come to terms with
my Japanese-ness. Psychologically,
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
um, I\'m really happy,
probably, happiest, you know,
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
for long, long time, uh, since I
realized: Yes, this is who I am.
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
I am Japanese and I\'m happy with that.
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
Wonderful! Um, so I\'m just
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
eating to be myself. Yeah.
That\'s what it is, really.
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
So eating to be myself. Um, I don\'t
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
have to overeat, and that\'s, kind of,
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
makes sense to me now. That I don\'t, I
haven\'t got really big slip-up even,
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
because I\'m very happy. I think
that\'s the key. 8, 9, 10. 1, 2, 3,
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
Returning to
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
that traditional Japanese
diet is, you know,
00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
begi-, beginning of my life... 50\'s.
00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
Wow. Happy
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
Birthday. Happy Birthday. Thank
you so much. Happy Birthday
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
to me. At the end of six months I\'m
not as thin as I wanted to be,
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
but I\'m less than 80
kilos for the first time
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
in 10 years.
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
My priorities have changed. Food
is still important, but it\'s
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
not everything.
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
I won!
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
I still look forward to chocolate,
but I don\'t have to eat it everyday.
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
It just doesn\'t feel like me. So...
My diabetes is under control.
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
I look forward to talking to my mom
every week. And most importantly,
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
I am at peace with myself.
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
It\'s had an effect on my social life too.
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
The guy I\'m gonna meet today
is the most decent one that
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
I\'ve got ever replied, you know?
And we, we exchanged a couple
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
emails and... um, I\'m so out of practice.
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
God. I don\'t know.
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
I think I\'ll wear this. Look at
that, all black. How about that?
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
This is body conscious, I think.
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
[Non-English Speech]
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
Six months ago I wasn\'t even
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
interested in going out on a date,
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
but now I feel that I
can do anything I want.
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
After all, thin girls
can\'t have all the fun.
00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
Fat chance? We\'ll see.
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
Ah, it\'s getting hot!
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
So, uh... boy, he talks.
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
And,
00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
but he said he really enjoyed my
company, and he\'d like to go out.
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
So I said, \"OK, let\'s do that\".
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
Everybody loves a happy ending,
so I\'ll tell you mine.
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
I found the man I like, and
he likes me as I am. So maybe
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:45.000
for every Mrs. Hippo, there
really is a Mr. Hippo.
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:55.000
[music]