This article reflects information as of 2021. For the latest details, please contact us.
This entry was written for "Gyoza Advent Calendar 2021," hosted by the Grilled Gyoza Association.
Gyoza Advent Calendar 2021
https://adventar.org/calendars/6519
Looking Back on 2021
It's already been more than a year since we started living alongside COVID. What kind of year was 2021 for all of you?
A lot changed for us at tentus, too.
Our staff all shifted to remote work, and the way we communicate with clients and the way we run our projects changed dramatically.
But of everything, the thing that changed most this past year was…
my physique.
Once dubbed "the man most suited to a katsu sandwich" at triathlon venues, I managed to dramatically transform my body through serious training.
What I did to make that change isn't the point of this piece, so please see this entry for that.
Meeting People Who Love Sports
At a fitness gym called b-monster — which I also mentioned in that entry, "How I Got Healthy During the Pandemic" — I met people with extremely high athletic ability.
They pack in so much daily exercise that calling them athletes wouldn't be an overstatement, and they're highly conscious not just about exercise itself but also about diet and daily body maintenance.
(Of course, there are people who aren't like that too. Like me!)
A Sudden Diet Lecture
Have you heard of PFC balance?
PFC balance is the ratio showing what proportion of your total calorie intake comes from the three macronutrients — "P = protein," "F = fat," and "C = carbohydrates." People on diets and athletes pay close attention to these numbers.
The famous low-carb diet, for example, is a method that reduces C (carbohydrates) to promote the production of ketone bodies, which let you draw energy from fat. But athletes who exercise heavily every day don't want to run short on the carbohydrates that fuel their movement.
If you exercise while short on carbs, your body tries to break down muscle and convert it into energy, so the muscle you worked so hard to build steadily wastes away. This muscle breakdown is called catabolism, and people doing bodybuilding, like athletes, generally don't restrict C (carbohydrates) too much in order to prevent catabolism.
P = protein is essential for building muscle, so eat as much as you like!
C = carbohydrates are essential for securing the energy to exercise!
So,
what athletes restrict most is F = fat.
The PFC of Gyoza
The PFC balance of typical gyoza, per 120g (5 pieces), is:
Total calories: 236 kcal P = protein: 34.08 kcal (14.5%) F = fat: 87.48 kcal (37.1%) C = carbohydrates: 114.24 kcal (48.4%)
so gyoza actually isn't a particularly athlete-friendly food. It's clearly high in fat.
Lately, though, even the gyoza world has started offering gyoza that cater to athletes.
A well-known example is Shinei Foods' Muscle Gyoza:
P = protein: 1.5× F = fat: 1/5 C = carbohydrates: half
It's quite an athlete-conscious gyoza. Since it restricts carbohydrates, it might suit bulky bodybuilder types more than anyone.
https://www.sinei-foods.co.jp/muscle-gyoza.html
Then there's the "For ATHLETE" gyoza from Ajinomoto Frozen Foods, which also became famous at the Olympics.
As you'd expect from Ajinomoto, an official Olympic sponsor, they keep the carbohydrates needed for exercise on the higher side and cut the fat right to the limit.
https://shop.ffa.ajinomoto.com/
Then again, the very fact that products like these exist is also proof that gyoza really isn't all that suited to athletes.
And Yet
Just when you'd think athletes don't much care for gyoza, when we held an in-house event later this year called "G-monster" — grilling GYOZA while talking about b-monster — lots of people showed up.
I've always thought of gyoza as a very powerful communication food, but even so, everyone was really into it. (By the way, the person with their fly open in the last photo is me.)
Come to think of it, I wrote about the same kind of thing in the 2019 Gyoza Advent Calendar entry too.
In that entry, I wrote the following:
I think a lot of people like curry and ramen, but the difference between gyoza and other foods is that they're not just delicious — you get talking while you eat. Of course they're tasty on your own, too, but the power of gyoza as a communication food — that's the single biggest reason I love gyoza.
Normally you'd expect people to hesitate to join, thinking
"gyoza is a bit too high in fat…"
but this power as a communication food cleared the hurdle to joining with ease.
In Closing
Considering the fat content, I don't think athletes and gyoza are a particularly good match.
And yet gyoza's pull is amazing enough to clear even that hurdle with ease!
That's the story.
#AdventCalendar2021 #GyozaAdventCalendar