a few questions from a newbie!

[carolee]

I'm in the process of reading back through old entries but if there are any that specifically answer my questions and people would be willing to link, I'd be very happy!

Here's my situation: My name's Carolee. I'm a 22 year old woman living in San Diego. I'm brand new to macrobiotics and I've been slowly add more grains, veggies and macro meals to my diet. I was mostly vegetarian prior to starting to study macrobiotics, meaning I would eat animal flesh maybe once or twice a month but would not question things like rennet or broth in my food.

A couple of weeks ago, on a whim, I picked up The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics. Despite my best efforts, for a long time, I've not been very healthy. Mind you, it's been worse. Around the time I turned 20, I suddenly developed severe acid reflux as well as horrible back pain. Cutting out the meat took care of that. Lately, however, my energy's been really lacking, I actually caught a cold frequently and I've been packing on the weight. I was browsing through Hip Chick and read that it could help with my energy levels which is high priority for me. I have a host of health problems in my family history including the gamut of heart problems and I've been trying to improve my life and make sure that I don't fall victim to the same things my aunts and grandparents did.

However, I'm running into a few problems. Firstly, I'm still transitioning but the food tastes very bland to me. I'm sure that, over time, these foods will taste much better to me and I need to get used to the difference. Generally, I crave and love salty foods, along with carb/dairy combinations like pizza or macaroni and cheese. I don't have a sweet tooth at all. Every once in awhile, I'll eat a candy bar or a piece of fruit but it's rare, once a week maybe. Any suggestions for transition foods? If the food doesn't taste good to me, I'll slip back into my old food habits.

Secondly, some of you must work outside of your homes. My boyfriend (who's also working) and I have trouble cooking for lunches and finding energy at the end of the day to cook dinner. We eat out a lot, esp. as the week progresses. I've started cooking macro stuff in advance. Does this alter the food any? Any tips and tricks to fast cooking meals? How do you solve this problem?

Thirdly, like I mentioned, I've been putting on weight, 10 lbs since I moved from the east coast, where I've lived my whole life, to California. I've been doing 20-60 minutes of cardio five to seven days a week and would like to continue to do this even after I lose the weight because I feel better when I do. My energy is up, my posture's better... however, is it easy to be an athlete on a macrobiotic diet? Should I change my plan in any way?

Lastly, what's the best way to cook brown rice? Right now, I only have an electric stove. I do have a pressure cooker, but when I followed the instructions I found in one of the Kushi books it just burned the rice onto the bottom, scenting the whole thing and leaving our pressure cooker permanently charred. The texture of the rice, however, was heavenly. Like the sticky rice you get in Japanese restaurants. I would purchase a gas burner but I want to wait until I make a habit of the macrobiotics. What's the best way to cook rice in the pressure cooker? How about millet? I boiled it and it came out too wet for it to be cooked in other things.