[Ilanit]

Hi Justin,

thanks for your questions. Sounds like you are taking to macrobiotic ideas like a duck to water. (it must be late at night if I am falling into cliches!)

I am also glad to see you say that you are not rigid (a good sign) or a follower - an even better sign. To me mb is all about thinking for oneself, getting in touch with what you need and being adaptable and happy. Well that makes a good start anyway


Dear Ilanit,

I am new to this forum, and to macrobiotics (not a rigid follower but using it extensively), and I have a question regarding portion sizes at meals.
My meals usually run between 2 3/4 (br. & dinner) to 3-1/4 (lunch),

what tsps? mouthfulls?! I assume you mean cups.

Of couse it varies but at rest the size of your stomach is about the size of your own fist. But it can stretch and does!
I have heard it said that it can hold about 4 cups of food but there are so many factors involved that I think this purely quantative analytical view may not be the best main way of gauging how much you need or want to eat at a time

I know it is an important consideration and it is not easy to determine.

however it is important to consider that you are not the same at every meal or every day. The one thing I love about mb is the idea that everything changes and ot be rigid about anything just keeps us stuck.

Perhaps it is better to go with how you feel. How do you feel when you eat that amount of food? Satisfied? hungry? comfortable?

Some schoold of thought recommend that you only eat till you are 75 or 80% full. I think that is meant as a guideline - there is no one measuring the stomach fill level like when you pump gas into your car!

Many people do find it hard to stop eating at this level. I know I do. I think the trick is to stop eating when you are no longer hungry rather than when you feel full. I think that means satisfied.

of course different foods are going to do that at different rates. One cup of beans is going to be more filling that one cup of cooked greens or raw lettuce leaves. All things being equal it should not - after all - which is heavier - one pound of feathers or one poind of lead?

however when it comes to food volume it seems that the water content of the food (the leaves having more percentage wise) does affect things

so perhaps in your case it would be a good idea to focus on more densely nourishing foods.

with brown rice being my main staple (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups each meal).

that is rather a large proporion. Is there a reason for that?

I should also mention a few things:
1. I eat extremely simply...

is there any reason for that? even on a focused (I dont like the word strict at all) it is counterproductive to eat too simply - and can often cause more problems if sustained for too long. as one of my teachers always says it is easy for many people to cut out the things they are excluding but they often wait too long to know how to include the food they do need in appropriate ways. people often get caught up in a cycle of trying to eat more narrowly when in actuality they would beenfit from eating as widely (in balance) with as much variety as their condition allows.

have you tried other grains? combinations of grains - cooking them together, cooking them with beans etc? with seeds? with vegetables?

brown rice and plain vegetables,

to be more nourishing while still being centered you can try combination dishes which are deeply satisfying and nouirshing. If you are having trouble with being underweight you may be far too yang which comes across in general from you as well. so combination dishes would be a good thing for you - cooking stews with grains and beans and vegetables together - that nourishes the Spleen and relaxes the body.

there are many variations on this.

have you had any mb cooking instruction or any personal instruction from a councelor or local long time mb person?

rarely using miso

any reaosn why?it may be good to include fermented foods more often. Eating the vegan way means you need ot keep an eye on B12 levels and fermented foods like miso, natto, unpasturised soy sauce and tempeh are the best ways as well as homemade pickles. they help your interstines funciton better too which is vital in balancing weight.

and only using beans & seeds for nutrition's sake (see below).

well that is a good start - but what about taste ans satisfaction?

how do you prepare them?


2. I am a strict vegan and have been eating very healthy, though with soem refined/processed foods, for years.


Maybe you want to reflect on the possible oxymoron of husing health with refined/processed (depending on your definition of them) in the same sentence...

3. I am extremely underweight and have been for many years,

the mainstream definitions of weight are pretty far from what could be considered normal and healthy - there is room there. however it depends on how you feel. and hte cause for the weight that you are at.

which has led to some medical conditions,

are you sure that is the cause of them? attributing cause to anything can be a difficult thing. I prefer the term originating factors - because usually there are several - however even then determining causality is tricky!

despite being fairly young (27).

Now, my question is this. I am curious as to any 'standard' meal size in macrobiotics.

there is nothing standard in mb or in life in general...

how can there be - each person is different.

I am usually comfortable with the amounts I eat physically speaking,

that is a very good start - many people are not. so that is good

but sometimes they seem quite large

dont force yourself. I know that when one feesl underweight I always thought you could not be too rich or too thing and I am sure the former is true! but when it hurts to sit down you know the latter is not!)

however the amount that you eat is generally not the only factor involved - there are many including your digestive strength and other metabolic factors. Which I am sure you have investigated. also being too yang which is sound slike your diet is for your condition will prevent you from gaining weight.


Depending on your overall condition which i do not know in detail from your letter you may want to think about a few dietary adjustments.

I would eat with more variety overall.
include some combination dishes
cook with chestnuts
cook with mochi - a highly concentrated strenghtening food made from whole pounded rice
cook with sweet brown rice - either alone or mixed with brown rice or millet or whole oats
eat oats if your condition allows
sourdough wholegrain bread especially spelt and kamut - preferably steamed or added to miso soup
some nuts cooked into grains eg rice and almonds
experiment to see if soaked or toasted nuts work best for you
soak overnight seven almond then drain and allow to dry. Eat seven every day or other day to build ojas the ayruvedic concept of life force and also good for balancing weight
use a little sesame oil or olive oil in cooking.
add a little flax seed oil to cooked foods - dont cook with it - like on green and on salads
use noodles a few times a week - good quality wholegrain noodles topped with thick stew or pumpkin sauce or in broth
make some quick boiled salads
and blanched greens daily to relax and open the body
have some sweet potato once in a while
check your vitamin B12 and vitamin D levels
are you eating any seavegetables?
have you tried using a little tahini in cooking. nice mixed with ume paste or diluted in dressings etc or added to a veggie stew with ume past and kuzu at the last minute for a creamy yet light and digestible sauce

relax and enjoy your meals!

--and take a long time now that I chew more thoroughly (45 minutes!!!).

it is great that you are doing that - it makes an enormous difference to wellbeing and many people struggle to do so. I know how great I feel when I do chew well and always strive to improve my chewing.

however dont become obsessive about it - find a happy medium - too much chewing - is there such a thing? - can also make you too yang.

maybe you want to pick one meal where you really chew a lot more and maybe a little less at the other meals - I am not recommending you inhale your food or rush your meals - far from it - just relax and make sure you taste the food - let it dissolve in your mouth, merge with the taste, allow the taste to nourish you as the food liquifies and releases all its healing properties into your essence. The food's essence becoming your essence - the magic of the alchemy of the food becoming you and healing you deeply. Or rather igniting the intelligence of your Being to heal you.

I am also having a bit of trouble with my digestion, aches & pains,

they are often secondary to digestive issues as undigested molecules pass into the blood stream and cause all the ouches.

fatigue, etc. as I transition to complete whole foods (esp. the brown rice!).

it can take time for the body to turn itself around. sometimes people feel a bit worse before they feel better

These things, together with yet more weight loss, make me concerned because I am making an effort just to get around 1450 calories a day...

I used to count every last calorie but mb works on a very different level. Calories kind of become irrelevent. On a varied mb diet you can get more than enough.

and so the meal size issue becomes more prominent as I try to figure out how to avoid putting myself in the hospital by losing too much more weight.

there is no reason anyone should end up in hospital for weight issues - there is lots you can work with and change. there is no reason to be eating in a way a zen monk would find challenging - one can be on a healing path and still be vital.

I know this is all fairly vague and helter skelter, but if you can address the main gist I would appreciate it SOO much. Thank you in advance.


I hope i have given you some useful ideas...


Ilanit