No Breakfast, Running Only on Weekends. How My Body Changed at 50-Something

“If you keep living like this, you won’t be able to move.”

That’s what my doctor told me one day in my 40s, sitting on a hospital bed.

I had a herniated disc. The pain left me immobilized, and hospitalization was my only option. If someone had told that version of me that at 56 I’d be running 20 kilometers on my days off, I never would have believed them.

The Herniation Was Where Everything Started

In my 40s, I barely moved my body at all. Work, alcohol, cigarettes. Before I knew it, my body had grown heavy.

The herniation didn’t come out of nowhere—it was the natural result of living that way. I was admitted, treated, discharged. But the doctor’s words kept echoing in my head.

“If you keep this up, you won’t be able to move.”

After leaving the hospital, I started jogging slowly. At first, the distances were really short. My feet hurt. My neck hurt. I even sprained something. Each time I got injured, I’d rest, then get back out there.

I wasn’t getting better at it. I wasn’t getting faster. But I didn’t quit.

Once I Kept Running, My Body Transformed

I’m not doing anything special. I run, I get injured, I rest, I run again. Somewhere in that repetition, I noticed my body had become lighter.

My weight dropped. I tired less easily. My health checkup numbers started improving.

I didn’t change because I decided to change something. I just kept going. That was all.

During the Pandemic, I Discovered Fermented Foods

2019, the pandemic years. When I couldn’t go out much, I started making nukadoko—fermented rice bran—at home. I was 53 or 54 then.

The reason wasn’t anything grand. It was just “I should do something I can do at home.”

When I started pickling vegetables in the nuka bed, they turned out surprisingly delicious. From there, I began making miso. I’d boil soybeans, mix in koji (fermentation starter), and set it in a barrel. After six months, it became miso.

Bacteria, taking their time, transforming food. I found the whole process fascinating.

My Life Now Is Almost Embarrassingly Simple

I don’t eat breakfast. My day starts at noon.

I eat two meals—lunch and dinner. At every meal, I make sure to have something fermented.

What I eat every day:

Miso soup (made with my homemade miso)
Nuka-zuke vegetables (from my homemade fermentation bed)
Kimchi or water kimchi (occasionally)
Natto (occasionally)

I don’t take supplements. I don’t drink protein shakes. Nothing expensive.

I jog only on weekends. Usually about 10 kilometers, sometimes 20 if I’m feeling good. I don’t worry about my time. I just run the distance I can, at the pace that feels right.

Breakfast While Traveling Is My Greatest Joy

Normally I skip breakfast, but when I travel, that changes.

I’ll sit down and properly enjoy the traditional Japanese breakfast at my inn.

Rice, miso soup, natto, egg, pickled vegetables from the nuka bed, dried fish. If I have all of that, it’s more than enough.

As I eat this breakfast full of fermented foods, I think to myself, “All of this was made by bacteria.” That way of looking at the table—I picked that up after I started keeping my nuka bed and making miso.

Building a Body That Doesn’t Depend on Drugs—With Bacteria and Running

I’ve come a long way from that day when the doctor told me I wouldn’t be able to move.

I’m not taking any medication. No supplements. No special diet.

I’m just running. I’m just eating fermented foods.

It’s too ordinary to recommend to anyone. But my body has definitely changed. That much I can say for certain.

If my body at 50-something has transformed while eating no breakfast and running only on weekends, then the reason must lie in this simple, unglamorous accumulation of small choices.

Toshi (56 years old). Currently building a body that doesn’t depend on medication, using fermented foods and jogging.

※ This article is based on personal experience and publicly available information. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease. If you have health concerns, please consult a doctor or registered dietitian. See our Disclaimer.