[cecilia]

Hi Carrotnip:

First of all, I apologize for the terrible delay in responding to your post. As you can read in my profile, I am a full-time graduate student, and have been terribly busy this past term.

I wanted to respond to you, though, on your question regarding my growth and memories of my first macrobiotic year. I recently entered my second year, so please forgive me if my memory is not too clear. What I remember most were the first couple of months, as my body was growing accustomed to this heathier way of life. Like I said in my previous post, I had an eating disorder before becoming macrobiotic, so my body reacted rather violently to food. As I detoxed, I suffered not only terrible mood swings, but also several skin conditions, migraines, constipation, hot and cold flashes, and--of course--weight gain. I slowly began to get better, though, and grew into a much more loving, understanding, grounded person. I eventually stabilized, as my condition became balanced and my body was healthier. I found that I had energy as never before in my life to, for example, attend graduate school!

My fondest memory of my first year, however, definitely has to be the change in my perspective. Let me explain. I remember the approximately 10 years of my on-again, off-again eating disorder as a dark time, where (in my mind) there were no sunny days, no happy times. Everything was worry, anxiety, control. By contrast, I can recall the past 2 years to have been filled with days spent with family and friends, breathing fresh air, learning and getting involved in my carreer, participating in seminars and macrobiotic courses, and engaging in intellectual discussions. These years have certainly been an exciting time of personal discovery.

I still remember the day I entered recovery for my eating disorder: I thought I could never overcome the disease. Now, I would never go back to the woman I was before macrobiotics!

I hope this responded to your inquiry.

All the best,
Cecilia