grains and weight

[anneh]

I am resistant to try eating grains because I have heard that they can contribute to weight gain? I am a little overweight (8lbs)and always was able to lose by eating fruit/vegetables and some protein and cutting out all refined stuff like bread etc. Would brown rice etc be a problem? Thanks

[jennifer_t]

I'm a little surprised nobody's replied yet to you..... I saw your post a while ago, but I don't consider myself an expert here, so I was hesistant to reply. I'll give it a shot since nobody else has.

Whole grains provide a lot of dietary fiber, which is good when you want to lose weight. From what I understand, if you want to lose weight, you should follow the following ratios:

50% veggies
30% grains
5-10% soup
5-10% fish
5-10% refreshing treats, such as local fruit, apple or carrot juice, baked yams.

This information is from The Self Healing Cookbook, by Kiristina Turner.

Even though whole grains are high in carbs, they have so much nutrition that you need to eat less of them to get the same amount of nurishment than if you ate refined grains.

I hope that helps.

Jennifer

[brooklyngal]

Hi Jennifer,

I am confused on how to translate the ratios you mentioned into my daily life. Is there an easy way to figure out the correct portion sizes or turn them into cups maybe? ~D


50% veggies
30% grains
5-10% soup
5-10% fish
5-10% refreshing treats, such as local fruit, apple or carrot juice, baked yams.

[anniek]

Hi Jennifer,

I have the same problem with these ratios, so I imagine it as a round plate. On my plate, I try to have half the plate (50%) veggies, 1/3 of the plate grains (30%), and the little space left as protien (10%) like tofu, chickpeas, etc. The soup is usually a cup of miso soup twice a day or two cups of soup per day. Lastly, enjoy a bit of fruit after dinner. Then all your ratios add up.

However, being just 8 pounds overweight, you may be able to follow the standard diet, using more grains, and less veg, which is also more filling. You may find that your local library has Kushi Macrobiotic books available for check out. Reading about it yourself will give you a greater understading of Macrobiotics and the types of foods that are suitable for your situation.