Klara,
Thank you for the quick response! Let's see if i can answer all your questions as well as give some personal insight/details...
Getting rid of late night eating for me was just a matter of discipline, and taking control of my urges. The power to look at my food and say 'no' has really helped me. I also take my time eating dinner, eat early, and try to get to bed as early as possible.
Chewing my food is something i'm getting better at. I don't count each chew, but i'm somewhere in the range of 35 to 50 chews per mouthful. I just chew until everything is more or less liquid in my mouth and swallow. This causes my boss great discomfort as he watches me chew my grains like a cow
As for timetables, i'm young (23), and have eaten the modern american diet for 22 years. It was only last april that i started incorporating macrobiotic food into my diet. I went through strange periods: eating completely strict, eating strict but cheating once a day, binging...i'd go through phases with certain foods like macro cookies and popcorn (there was a week where i ate an entire bag of popcorn every night before bed!). The hardest part was refined sugar and overeating, which I now think are related. I havent touched meat since my birthday in June. I've had fish and shellfish, but sparingly.
As for how foods affected me, I never really had any 'food allergies' or foods that affected my digestion (or, at least, that i've noticed). Macrobiotics came to me out of curiosity. I'm young, lean, i exercise often...i have nothing life-threatening. I just enjoy, and have been forever changed by, eating and living in this practice.
As for being relaxed while eating at work, i'd have to say more often that not i'm stressed at work all the time. It's an incredibly negative enviornment (and i'm hoping to rectify that problem very soon) and it causes me worry and agitation constantly. Perhaps if I leave work to eat lunch/dinner, I may be able to digest a little more comfortably?
As for how i've learned, it's been almost completely self-study. I've purchased many books (my cooking bible is Aveline Kushi's complete guide...), have attended a few community dinners, and have gone out to eat at a local Macrobiotic restaurant a few times. I've purchased better quality food, cook constantly (3 to 4 hours a day), and better quality cookware. I've seen my cooking improve every day, and my rice is getting better and better. I think I need to go to some cooking classes, as well as find other Macro people to contrast/compliment cooking with.
Well, i hope that covers everything. Did this help? Did this open up any doors to answers or suggestions? My bowel movements have been getting smaller and smaller in quantity, and this is worrying me. Is this normal? I hope so.
Derek