Hi,
I feel that if it was just you or your husband, and you both like to take great leaps, then, yes, you could go "cold turkey", clean out the pantry and refrigerator, restocking them with organic macrobiotic staples and vegetables, and you would have little problem.
But, unless you are a family whose kids will jump out an airplane or walk on fire after you, then you might consider a slower transition for them.
Both you and society (through schooling and possibly television and other media) have been programming your children to go in one direction in this early stage of their development.
You could really upset them and be met with a great resistance if your younger family members don't want to change direction midstream while living with you.
I've lived in numerous macrobiotic communities and situations and seen some negative results in children whose family changed "cold turkey" based on the needs and desires of one or both of their parents.
I feel that if you and your spouse just change your diets and achieve great and very visible positive results from a change in your diet and lifestyle then your children my feel more attracted to trying some of the foods and even the diet sometime in the future.
I attended a lecture by Denny Waxman
http://www.strengthenhealth.org/ faculty.htm given at the
Macrobiotic Summer Conference http://www.kushiinstitute.org/confer...ummerconf.html a couple of weeks ago and I'm convinced enough of some of his methods to attend an macrobiotic intensive with him in the near future.
Another teacher I saw at the conference that I would recommend is Lino Stanchich author of
POWER EATING PROGRAM (PEP), You Are How You Eat , and
MACROBIOTIC HEALING SECRETS, VOL. I http://www.macrobioticconsultation.c...Products.shtml.
His story in
PEP on how he came to learn about the importance of chewing is very inspiring and has helped me a lot.
Besides brown rice, what are you eating and what is your daily activity?
I imagine that if you are not getting enough of the right kind of protein foods such as beans and legumes, then you might be suffering from fatique because of that.
Just remember to not make the protein foods the center of your diet.
Recommended quantities are between of 5%-10% of your daily food by weight (bean and bean products)
http://www.kushiinstitute.org/whatismacro.html
Thank you, very much.
Bruce Paine