Macrobiotic Life

I am resolved to stop overeating and especially to stop eating all the junk foods I was stuffing into myself the last 3 weeks. I had eaten the worst foods yesterday night, like sausages, cheese, eggs, lard, lot of salt, lot of the cheepest chocolate, ton of honey, all mixed with white bread. I was eating till 23:00.
No I want to eat really strict again. Today I want to eat very small portion of MB meals. Chew very well and not to take anything else than MB foods. Control the yin side (barley malt).
But I have nothing else sweety than barley malt at home now. It would be good to go shoping and have some fruits (raisins, apples), dried soya milk, 100% fruit concentrates etc.
I start to dislike the barley malt more and more. And it’s not satisfiing me enought with the sweet cravings. I crave for honey, but when I start to eat honey, I crave for something stronger, chocolate.. it’s really vicious cycle, that’s not clever to start/open at the first place at all!! And I am really stupid to leting myself to eat honey the last days.
Also I crave for baked products. I should prepare sourdough leaven and do my bread instead of eating the salty graham bread.

Day progress:
It’s 21:00 when I am writing this. The day progressed very very well since far. The first meal I had at 14:00 and only small portion. It was even not salty at all, bland and very watery barley grains. I was whole day consciously observing everything, every thought and watching my hunger like it wasn’t happening to me, but to somebody else. I was trying to observe without the “me, myself” thoughts and tried to enjoy the hungry state. I would like to learn what real hunger really is. Because I am afraid I wasn’t really hungry for a long time. The feeling I consider hunger, is just little voice of my stomach. Another problem I have is to know, when I am full, not even to find out when I am full from 80% only. I am not sure what full (satisfied) for me does mean.
Anyway, I found out perfect, but very simple thing, important for my “home working” life. I don’t understand why it took me so long to connect all the puzzle pieces and realize this. I need movement/exercise/be active to stop the lazy, tired, unconcentrated vicious cycle! Yeah, sounds simple. But I needed to connect it all with the food and yin/yang theories. The physical action is making whole body more yang. It seems in another way than salt/shoyu, because I have no sweet cravings after finished running. Quite the opposite. The digestive system start to assimilate more nutrients into the blood and even when I felt hungry, I feel satisfied after a short intensive physical exercise. So I can prolong my eating and I have even more energy. I can start to concentrate and my brain is freed from the lazy/tired cage.
The perfect concentration and active lifestyle I had around the New Year seems to be not only because of the good quality macrobiotic I was eating, but mainly because I was going to weight-lift to gym (3 times a week) and run (3 times a week). It made my body/thinking active.
I need to incorporate any physical activity as my daily habit. Otherwise I will get stuck in the very bad, lazy state and doing nothing important. Only dreaming and wishing to do something, but without real power to launch things.
For today I was biking quickly for 15 minutes uphill. It started me to feel perfect. And for the dinner I ate small portion of spagheti, with leek+broccoli fried on oil, chickpea paste with little shoyu.

I have new simple quick spagheti recipe also:
- pressure cook chick pea with lot more water (I will use the water as a broth but it’s very tasty for drinking
also)
- saute vegetable for few minutes, add prepared spagheti and saute for few minutes, add broth and boil for a while, add shoyu to taste
- I have crushed hot chick peas to a paste before and I put this paste on top of the spagheti
- something green for a perfect look on top of that

I finished the dinner at 19:30 and because I was having small thoughts about what to eat now, even when I wasn’t hungry at all, I took a walk into the forest. I started to run there and in the end I pushed myself very well and was running really intensive. When came home, no taste other than thirsty. Well done.

Start moving every day.
Simple walking will do.
Walk very fast.
30 minutes daily.

But any moving is ok.
Run, bike, swim, housework.

Stop eating white sugar!
Change to fruits, honey, malts and sirups from cereals.
Eat small portions more often.

Concentrate on everything you do.
When eating, just eat.
When reading, just read.
When walking, just…
Ability to concentrate will build up like muscles do.

These three things – physical activity, healthier diet, concentration development – leads to more active lifestyle.

American breakfast foods are generally high in fat, protein, and sugar. They jolt the body into a hyper-alert but artificial state of awareness, shock sleepy nerves, and stress a digestive system that’s been snoozing for 8 or more hours. Foods that are difficult to digest make us feel irritable, sluggish, and lethargic—not the way I want to start my day!

The Japanese gently awaken their digestive system with a bowl of clear broth or miso soup. For Americans, soup for breakfast is definitely an acquired taste but its benefits make it worth considering. Miso soup energizes and warms the body, is a good source of protein and B vitamins, contains friendly microorganisms that replenish intestinal flora, aids digestion, and may even strengthen the blood.

Macrobiotic breakfast article

Why should we eat less sugar (white granulated sugar or saccharose)?

There are many reasons to use sugar very cautiously. About fifteen years ago, suddenly this sweetener, which had been highly appreciated until then, was strongly criticised : it was said that sugar provided but little energy, that it was a fattener, that it weakened the tissue and caused tooth decay. Suddenly sugar was seen as the cause of all kinds of ailments. And indeed, the use of refined white sugar is certainly to be advised against!

So as to digest and take in sugar, our body uses various minerals and vitamins, which can no longer be found in refined white sugar. When eating sugar, we therefore force our body to draw on its reserves of calcium, magnesium and vitamins B, whereby we risk becoming deficient in these substances. However, these minerals and vitamins play a vital part in various other processes that take place in our body.

But that is not all. Like amylum, saccharose does not have to go through the long digestive process. This substance is taken in very quickly, since it needs only a minimal enzymatic digestion — or none at all. Why is it then that refined white sugar is so detrimental?
The reason is that the quick intake causes a very sudden and considerable increase in the amount of glucose in the blood. The blood sugar level rises and the body produces a large quantity of insulin so that our cells take in the glucose. It will even produce much more insulin than necessary in order to take in the surplus of glucose, which leads to a new imbalance that reveals itself in a lower blood sugar level (this means a deficiency of blood sugar), the result being tiredness, dizziness and nausea.

This surplus of glucose ends up in our cells, which cannot take it in completely, neither by combustion, nor by storage in our reserves (glycogen). The glucose is therefore transformed into fat, which leads to obesity and cardiovascular disorders.

In short :
refined sugars affect our calcium and vitamin B reserves
simple glucosides cause the blood sugar level to rise, and to fall immediately afterwards
simple glucosides lead to obesity
simple glucosides stimulate the formation of fatty acids and as a consequence may lead to cardiovascular disorders

Clearly, preference should always be given to non-refined sugars, which still contain their original level of calcium and vitamin B. However, the ideal solution is to opt for “slow sugars”.

Q : Would you review some of the main points of our discussion?

A : You must examine yourself. Know who you are. Know your body and mind by simply watching. In sitting, in sleeping, in eating, know your limits. Use wisdom. The practice is not to try to achieve anything. Just be mindful of what is. Our whole meditation is looking directly at the mind. You will see suffering, its cause and its end. But you must have patience; much patience and endurance. Gradually you will learn. The Buddha taught his disciples to stay with their teachers for at least five years. You must learn the values of giving, of patience and of devotion.
Don’t practise too strictly. Don’t get caught up with outward form. Watching others is bad practice. Simply be natural and watch that. Our monks’ discipline and monastic rules are very important. They create a simple and harmonious environment. Use them well. But remember, the essence of the monks’ discipline is watching intention, examining the mind. You must have wisdom. Don’t discriminate. Would you get upset at a small tree in the forest for not being tall and straight like some of the other? This is silly. Don’t judge other people. There are all varieties. No need to carry the burden of wishing to change them all.
So, be patient. Practice morality. Live simply and be natural. Watch the mind. This is our practice. It will lead you to unselfishness. To peace.

If you have listened to the Michio Kushi interview you can see the congruences with this buddhism text here: don’t criticize – don’t judge other people.

Q: How about eating? How much should I eat?

A: Eating is the same as sleeping. You must know yourself. Food must be consumed to meet bodily needs. Look at your food as medicine. Are you eating so much that you only feel sleepy after the meal and are you getting fatter every day? Stop! Examine your own body and mind. There is no need to fast. Instead, experiment with the amount of food you take. Find the natural balance for your body. Put all your food together in your bowl following the ascetic practice. Then you can easily judge the amount you take. Watch yourself carefully as you eat. Know yourself. The essence of our practice is just this. There is nothing special you must do. Only watch. Examine yourself. Watch the mind. Then you will know what is the natural balance for your own practice.

If you find yourself sleepy everyday, try to eat less. Examine yourself. As soon as five more spoonfuls will make you full, stop. Then take water until just properly full. Go and sit. Watch your sleepiness and hunger. You must learn to balance your eating. As your practice goes on, you will feel naturally more energetic and eat less. But you must adjust yourself.

http://www.wfb-hq.org/bud22.htm

I have spent my last 17 days at the Kushi Institut of Europe at Amsterdam. Learnt a lot of things – from art of choping, art of dishwashing, art of toilet cleaning to making of sushi, sandwitches, ohagi and a little of cake, sweeties and deserts production. I was also doing some little website improvements.
If you would like to know any informations, just contact me with a comment to this post. They have perfect work & study offer, I will tell you more if you ask. They have also opened some macrobiotic job offers. You can find some informations at their http://www.macrobiotics.nl website.