Beginning Macrobiotics

[heather lynn]

okay here is my delima. i have been reading up on the mac diet and it sounds like somthing i should try. 1st i need to loose about 15lbs or so. i am not heavy but i do compete in fitness and everyone tells you no carbs no carbs and slam the protien.... i feel awful even though i do see results and lean out. i want to look good as well as feel good. can the mac diet help? secondly i am always on the go. between work, working out, school, the house and husband how do i prepare meals? is there a place to purchace pre made macrobiotic meals? or any other advice.

thanks,
heather cmt

[Johnnyzen]

Heather, there are many following the protein fad. In reality, your body does not need or want that much protein. Plant foods provide high quality protein, all that we need. even broccoli, not a high protein food, contains 11 per-cent protein. If 11 percent of our diet was protein, we would be fine. The macro diet provides plenty of protein.
What these other diets have that you do not need is refined carbs, animal food, etc. which contributes to diabetes, hert problems, etc. Preparing macro meals is easy. To start, get a pressure cooker, and buy some simple books on macro cooking.

Remember, the skinniest people on the planet eat plenty of unrefined carbs. A high starch diet is recommended by others outside of the macro movement, like Dr. McDoughal, who knows what he is talking about. Good luck!

[bckiceman]

Originally Posted by Johnnyzen

Heather, there are many following the protein fad. In reality, your body does not need or want that much protein. Plant foods provide high quality protein, all that we need. even broccoli, not a high protein food, contains 11 per-cent protein. If 11 percent of our diet was protein, we would be fine. The macro diet provides plenty of protein.
What these other diets have that you do not need is refined carbs, animal food, etc. which contributes to diabetes, hert problems, etc. Preparing macro meals is easy. To start, get a pressure cooker, and buy some simple books on macro cooking.

Remember, the skinniest people on the planet eat plenty of unrefined carbs. A high starch diet is recommended by others outside of the macro movement, like Dr. McDoughal, who knows what he is talking about. Good luck!

Johnnyzen, I don't know where you read your information at, but you need to do a little more research and find some studies that substantiate your claims. You are a spreading misinformation. Your body does need protien and fat. Carbohydrates are the only non-essential nutrient. You could live without carbs, but if you stopped eating protien or fat you would die. Secondly, any dietician or doctor will tell you that vegan protien is the lowest quality protien available. Only 15% of the vegetable protien consumed is "bio-available" as compared to eggs 90%, milk 80%, fish, chicken and beef 60%. Which means to get the same amount of usable protien from fish as opposed to vegan sources you would have to eat 120g of vegetable protien as oppposed to 30g of fish to get the same amount of usable protien. Do you have any clue how much protien you would have to eat to meet your RDA for protien? You'd turn green first. If this girl sticks to perdominatly vegetables, some good protien sources like fish, and avoids grains, even whole grains, she should be able to meet her goal for physique performance and mantain a macrobiotic diet.

[umeshoyu]

hmmmm.... actually, she wouldn't be on a macro diet if she didn't eat grains!
Grains are the center of a macro diet and nowhere is it reccomended not to eat grains in regards to practicing a macro diet.
Also, there is plenty of "bio-available" protein in vegetable foods. I don't read studies, I just know from first hand experience doing physical labor on a macro diet with minimal animal food, maybe fish 1x a wk.
non-credo anyone?

[Johnnyzen]

I did not say we do not need protein and fat! I simply mean we do not need animal protein. Soy, by the way, is a highly absorbable protein.

If you need animal protein, I guess I should be pretty sick. I am not, and have been vegetarian for 33 years. I now avoid dairy as well. I get around 50 to 70 grams protein a day from beans, seeds, nuts, soy, whole grains, etc. The diets lilke Atkins have triple what we need, mostly from foods that have the kind of fat we do not need. My cholesterol and blood pressure are very good, and I exercise regularly, and maintain a good body weight and muscle mass, and I am over 50.

MAcro and modified macro diets contain all we need. to worry about carbs is absurd, unless you are eating refined, addicting carbs.

You should read John McDoughall, MD's books, or get his tape series. He explains protein, etc, from the perspective of a plant/ whole grain based diet. He is not strictly macro, but supports that diet, and the fat and protein levels of his plan are very close to macrobiotics.

YOu could also read Kushi, who says that animal foods like fish are optional. this suggests that a whole foods vegan can follow Macrobiotics.

Since fish does contain some good nutrients, you can consider omega 3 oils from flax and hemp seeds, sonce fish today is overly polluted, in most cases.

[Johnnyzen]

Originally Posted by umeshoyu

hmmmm.... actually, she wouldn't be on a macro diet if she didn't eat grains!
Grains are the center of a macro diet and nowhere is it reccomended not to eat grains in regards to practicing a macro diet.
Also, there is plenty of "bio-available" protein in vegetable foods. I don't read studies, I just know from first hand experience doing physical labor on a macro diet with minimal animal food, maybe fish 1x a wk.
non-credo anyone?

A macro diet without grains?

The mis-information coming from these low-carb books is really doing a number on people. Look at Kushi, McDoughall, Ornish, John Robbisn. What do they have in common? they are all on a plant-high starch high carb low fat diet, and they are all thin and fit!!!!