Diets are usually a trap since even when they work, you're just gonna gain the weight back if you don't change the rest of your lifestyle to keep your weight where it is afterwards. Diets are designed to make you lose weight, not maintain it; if you stay indefinitely on a diet which works then you'll just slowly kill yourself.
Don't take health advice from Japan, folks xD
They have one of the longest average lifespans of any country. They must be doing something right.
Excuse my interruption, but the hara hachi bu is a really nice thing, you eat until you are about 80% full, then you stop eating, so you don't overeat. It is from Japan and it's pretty reasonable.
On another note, I got to love working out after disastrous diets, letting the scale bring me down (not so much in weight tho), and counting calories and weighed everything that I ate, that was no fun. I much rather work out and eat properly.
Now for the manga, well, she does look like she could use some strength training alright. Don't know about weight but some muscle does well to most people.
PS I thought it'd be yuri, but it's still fun and they have recipes.
