Stop Overeating: Try This 300-Year-Old Japanese Eating Habit

June 30, 2025 | Source: Dr. Mark Hyman

Most of us don’t just overeat on holidays. It happens on ordinary Tuesdays too—at restaurants, in front of the TV, or just because something tastes really good. 

In fact, when researchers asked a group of men to eat Domino’s pizza until they were “comfortably full,” they still consumed, on average, 1,600 calories. When they ate until they “couldn’t eat another bite”? Over 3,100 calories.¹

Enter hara hachi bu—a Japanese phrase that means “eat until you’re 80 percent full.”2,3

It’s a centuries-old practice still common in Japan today, especially in Okinawa, where people have some of the lowest rates of chronic disease and some of the longest lifespans in the world.

But this isn’t just cultural tradition—it’s a practical, doable way to reset your relationship with food. It helps you eat what your body actually needs, not just what your taste buds want in the moment. 

And when practiced consistently, it can improve digestion, reduce mindless overeating, and increase satisfaction from every meal. I’ll show you how.