We know that every front has a back, and that something as big as macrobiotics must have an equally big backside to it.
What is your personal macrobiotic stumbling block? What makes it hard for you to tow the line and keep with the program?
If you could make one wish for your macrobiotic practice what would it be?
Let's chat, console and mutually inspire. Tell us your favorite resistance excuse. 

[Sun Feb 26 11:01:53 PST 2006] chick

I wish I could give up butter. 

[Sun Feb 26 11:02:20 PST 2006] RebeccaG

Yes, I love it so much- and I wish that the day to day planning and cooking could flow more easily

[Sun Feb 26 11:02:51 PST 2006] sheldon

You don't have to give up butter.  Just make your own with onions or carrots or squash or cabbage.

[Sun Feb 26 11:03:22 PST 2006] chick

That isn't the kind of butter I crave.

[Sun Feb 26 11:04:29 PST 2006] sheldon

Cravings can change if you want to try. When my daughter gave up ketchup sandwiches, I knew that anything could change.

[Sun Feb 26 11:04:40 PST 2006] leigh(C)

that question about what we'd most like to see in our life to make macrobiotics make more sense for us…well, it’s to have other macrobiotic people in my daily life

[Sun Feb 26 11:05:05 PST 2006] RebeccaG

I went through a terribly excessive almond /tahini craze..

[Sun Feb 26 11:06:05 PST 2006] sheldon

Create macrobiotic people in your life! One woman in our community invites her neighbors for a macro breakfast to get them interested in eating better. It works. Be creative; expand your social horizons and don't give up.

[Sun Feb 26 11:06:38 PST 2006] Ginat

I see that the first subject tonight is cravings. Can you understand in terms of yin and yang what you are craving and why?

[Sun Feb 26 11:07:14 PST 2006] sheldon

Rebecca, often tehini or almonds are craved by people not eating enough beans or bean products such as tempeh or tofu or seitan. Think if that is what is happening to you.

[Sun Feb 26 11:08:48 PST 2006] RebeccaG

ahh- this is my newest understandings- the balance of protein to everything- and planning it in

[Sun Feb 26 11:07:38 PST 2006] klara(Q)

My wish would be that I were so focused that the meal would almost cook itself (like the magic wand) and most important, that I would never run out of new ideas.

[Sun Feb 26 11:07:38 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Klara, are you looking for magic answers, or are you lazy? (That's ok!)

[Sun Feb 26 11:10:26 PST 2006] klara(Q)

No, I want to work more on focus, then I know things will flow better.

[Sun Feb 26 11:10:26 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

What kind of person can be focused--yin or yang?

[Sun Feb 26 11:12:38 PST 2006] klara(Q)

yang would be more focused as it's bringing energies inward

[Sun Feb 26 11:12:38 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

And what does it take to become yang in this respect?

[Sun Feb 26 11:10:05 PST 2006] Sheldon

Rebecca, start planning by making the following list. grain/bean/long cooked veg/short cooked veg (one or two different kinds). Then fill in the missing boxes. Do it at night but not when you are hungry and have to cook in a hurry.

[Sun Feb 26 11:11:04 PST 2006] joana(Q)

i sometimes dont eat enough in the morning and lunch because i tend to oversleep, and that limits the time i have to cook, than even with a great dinner i will still be very hungry at night

[Sun Feb 26 11:11:04 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Why do you oversleep? Too much yin? Bad habit? Avoidance?...

[Sun Feb 26 11:11:35 PST 2006] joana

I’m not sure, it's been a problem for years

[Sun Feb 26 11:11:46 PST 2006] leigh(C)

when i think what do I really feel like eating, and tune into myself on that day , at that hour- its an approach with more ease

[Sun Feb 26 11:12:09 PST 2006] Ginat

What things are you able to get up on time for?

Ginat

We have cravings and time management as two issues. What else is difficult?
How about social considerations. No problem there?

[Sun Feb 26 11:15:46 PST 2006] RebeccaG

KI Summer Conference has been the best thing in my life!

[Sun Feb 26 11:16:50 PST 2006] sheldon

Rebecca, it was the best thing in my life also for a number of years.

[Sun Feb 26 11:15:46 PST 2006] Ginat

How do you manage social eating?  Colin?  Millimacro?

[Sun Feb 26 11:16:47 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

I’m cooking for a young person with illness and also cooking for healthy older son and his pregnant wife. I’m cooking all the time- glad too- but it feels like too much

[Sun Feb 26 11:16:47 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

It's true.  We need to find ways to cook AND have a life. Do you have some shortcuts?

[Sun Feb 26 11:16:51 PST 2006] colin_larsen

I am confident yet humble about how I eat so as to set a good example with out agitating people

[Sun Feb 26 11:17:11 PST 2006] chick

I go out to eat once a week with friends and I eat the fish and veg. on the menu.

[Sun Feb 26 11:18:30 PST 2006] Ginat

I sometimes go to a cafe, order tea, and don't drink it.  I just want the social contact.

[Sun Feb 26 11:20:08 PST 2006] RebeccaG

hot water and lemon may be okay for you too

[Sun Feb 26 11:18:46 PST 2006] RebeccaG

Millimacro, yes!  And eating mostly a good meal before I go out, and then a little some thing there.  I also bring rice/nori rolls and veggies to a great fish place.

[Sun Feb 26 11:19:20 PST 2006] colin_larsen

There are many options that one can choose from on a regular restaurant menu that are good for occasional and festive times

[Sun Feb 26 11:19:57 PST 2006] Ginat

Social restriction doesn't seem like a big stumbling block. That's so nice to hear. I'm surprised!

[Sun Feb 26 11:20:47 PST 2006] Ginat

Are there any big problems that really make macrobiotics difficult for you? Or is it all cool?

[Sun Feb 26 11:21:28 PST 2006] sheldon

Everything depends on your condition as to what to order at a restaurant. When I was very ill, my kids loved eating at Souen restaurant in New York. I took them to enjoy, but ate my own food that I brought from home. Now I have the freedom to enjoy much broader choices.

[Sun Feb 26 11:22:14 PST 2006] colin_larsen

Macrobiotics is deeper than the ocean. It can be difficult to accurately interpret a situation and know what to do. The solutions are so many!

[Sun Feb 26 11:22:54 PST 2006] Ginat

Do any of you feel left out of the mainstream? Do you feel different and left out?

[Sun Feb 26 11:23:08 PST 2006] Gary

That the social aspects of sharing, even if you don't eat, are its own type of food

[Sun Feb 26 11:23:26 PST 2006] sheldon

When the solutions are many, it is easier to play and not be up tight about every ingredient of each dish on a restaurant menu.

[Sun Feb 26 11:24:12 PST 2006] Ginat

Colin, I think each of us knows what to do on some level. It's getting in touch with that and honoring it.

[Sun Feb 26 11:25:05 PST 2006] colin_larsen

That's the deepest, easiest and also the most difficult aspect of macrobiotics

[Sun Feb 26 11:24:32 PST 2006] klara(C)

Big Problems for me: Eating from boredom or emptiness, eating other foods that are around in my home, eating late

[Sun Feb 26 11:24:49 PST 2006] chick

I have been macrobiotic for over 25 yrs. and i don't think that eating non-macro once a week is going to kill me.

[Sun Feb 26 11:25:18 PST 2006] Ginat

Back up a sec--what is "non-macro?"

[Sun Feb 26 11:25:41 PST 2006] chick

Manicotti, for one

[Sun Feb 26 11:26:05 PST 2006] sheldon

Chick: there are no rules, only guidelines. Your best guide is your feelings; if something feels OK and you don't suffer afterwards, enjoy whatever there is.

[Sun Feb 26 11:26:19 PST 2006] Ginat

What is non-macro (whatever that means) about manicotti?

[Sun Feb 26 11:26:54 PST 2006] chick

It contains cheese.

[Sun Feb 26 11:27:16 PST 2006] Ginat

Chick, is chesse "non-macro?"

[Sun Feb 26 11:27:40 PST 2006] chick

Yes

[Sun Feb 26 11:28:05 PST 2006] Ginat

In that case, we are practicing micro-biotics.

[Sun Feb 26 11:28:17 PST 2006] sheldon

Klara: if you have trouble with eating late, try not eating at all in the mornings.  In time you will get used to eating only two meals: then you later binges will be easier to handle.

[Sun Feb 26 11:28:37 PST 2006] millimacro

every food is macrobiotic - sugar can save your life - we need it sometimes

[Sun Feb 26 11:28:41 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

non-macro is mainstream thinking, without questioning within oneself , willing to accept the cultural standard

[Sun Feb 26 11:28:41 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Ooh, dangerous ground there...

[Sun Feb 26 11:29:22 PST 2006] sheldon

Millimacro: when can sugar save your life?

[Sun Feb 26 11:29:30 PST 2006] RebeccaG

for me NOW a stomach ache from cheese is "killing” me—nonmacro would be commercial salt and non-organic veggies !

[Sun Feb 26 11:29:41 PST 2006] klara(Q)

What works is taking the time to create a wonderful dish and savoring it

[Sun Feb 26 11:29:41 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

When do you do this, and how can you encourage it?

[Sun Feb 26 11:29:48 PST 2006] chick

What is micro-biotics about cheese?

[Sun Feb 26 11:30:10 PST 2006] millimacro

a diabetic may need it at a point in time to save their life

[Sun Feb 26 11:31:14 PST 2006] Ginat

If you exclude cheese, or anything, you are limiting your world. This is not large life, but limited life--micro.

[Sun Feb 26 11:30:19 PST 2006] Ginat

We eat non-organic all the time. We just don't get enough variety here to sustain us. So we make that choice

[Sun Feb 26 11:31:25 PST 2006] RebeccaG

actually- I typed too fast- there's not enough good organics here all the time either! Bless all our nurishment!

[Sun Feb 26 11:32:04 PST 2006] chick

Macrobiotics is about limiting-- limiting what is wrong for our bodies.

[Sun Feb 26 11:32:21 PST 2006] millimacro

macrobiotics is also about doing the best you can

[Sun Feb 26 11:32:45 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

how about seeing it as macro being a fresh point of view, rather than a response honed by others

[Sun Feb 26 11:32:45 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Yes, that could be. But is thinking in terms of yin and yang must macrobiotics necessarily mean different? It's the most traditional system there is. All peoples do it, knowingly or not.

[Sun Feb 26 11:33:10 PST 2006] sheldon

chick: macrobiotics is about expanding, not limiting. It is about freedom that comes from understanding balance and working with it within the limits of your condition.

[Sun Feb 26 11:33:13 PST 2006] chick

So then, it's okay to eat meat and dairy and eggs and all the things Michio has said not to eat?

[Sun Feb 26 11:33:15 PST 2006] Ginat

Yes, limitation does indeed allow freedom. But it does not define macrobiotics.

[Sun Feb 26 11:33:37 PST 2006] colin_larsen

Michio eats those things

[Sun Feb 26 11:33:55 PST 2006] Ginat

It's okay if that is what you want to create. We are free. Look at Michio's condition--do you want that for yourself?

[Sun Feb 26 11:34:36 PST 2006] chick

And what is his condition?

[Sun Feb 26 11:36:00 PST 2006] Ginat

Michio recently was diagnosed with colon cancer, and had a major operation. He is free, and created that knowingly. That is macrobiotics, not being a fearful slave.

[Sun Feb 26 11:36:39 PST 2006] chick

Doesn't sound good to me.

[Sun Feb 26 11:37:41 PST 2006] RebeccaG

in July Michio had recovered so well- taught classes and I saw him hurrying around and looking better than before!

[Sun Feb 26 11:34:38 PST 2006] klara(Q)

I can take the time to cook when I have the rest of my life not pressuring me to be doing other things - or other interests wanting to come first

[Sun Feb 26 11:34:38 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Who allows that pressure?  Only you, of course.  If not, who's life are you living?

[Sun Feb 26 11:35:02 PST 2006] RebeccaG

the key is to know the right amount and how to balance it, and having it once a month is so different than every day

[Sun Feb 26 11:36:43 PST 2006] colin_larsen

balancing food is a tool that helps us develop insight into the nature of life and existence, including the fact that all health will fail. It's natural

[Sun Feb 26 11:37:31 PST 2006] Ginat

Back to difficulties--any rebels out there, who just don't want to bother with making the effort? What do you do?

[Sun Feb 26 11:39:38 PST 2006] colin_larsen

I am by nature a rebel and lazy. I persevere.   That is the key to my success

[Sun Feb 26 11:38:56 PST 2006] Ginat

I confess--I'm lazy to garden. It's a weakness. But I want it just not quite enough...

[Sun Feb 26 11:40:17 PST 2006] colin_larsen

(limited) success.  I hope I have been sincere.  I am sure that what ever I experience, I am attracting it

[Sun Feb 26 11:40:15 PST 2006] Ginat

Sheldon's key is relaxing!

[Sun Feb 26 11:40:44 PST 2006] colin_larsen

I do plenty of that

[Sun Feb 26 11:41:03 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

my preference would be to put the attention into sharing cooking, finding a match to that kind of life, rather than getting so very good at it myself

[Sun Feb 26 11:41:03 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Are you attracting this in your life? You have to be sincere in wanting it.

[Sun Feb 26 11:41:25 PST 2006] RebeccaG

Like sprouts on the counter- it has to be a routine- like menu planning- ahh I need to persevere- thanks, Collin!

[Sun Feb 26 11:41:26 PST 2006] klara(C)

Does lazy perhaps mean what I value is not what others value??

[Sun Feb 26 11:42:32 PST 2006] Ginat

Why do you think this, Klara?

[Sun Feb 26 11:46:06 PST 2006] klara(Q)

I enjoy being on the computer, so my time goes there - I don't think I'm lazy about cooking, just putting my energies into what I love more.

[Sun Feb 26 11:43:11 PST 2006] colin_larsen

I see things as simple, such as when I don't eat enough grain I am more likely to slip on the ice

[Sun Feb 26 11:43:24 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

I have inner conflict having lived both in isolation and in a rural macro community with others

[Sun Feb 26 11:43:24 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

What is your conflict then?

[Sun Feb 26 11:44:16 PST 2006] colin_larsen

what do you mean by isolation?

[Sun Feb 26 11:54:22 PST 2006] leigh(C)

Enjoying we have wherever we are, doing our best day to day makes for peace.  Yet in envisioning, there’s a chance for greater joy, just as I believe macrobiotics is about people not just individuals. When energies are joined in harmony, and macrobiotics allow s a terrific chance for harmony, then we really get our juices flowing. My vision is for small groups living in proximity to share growing food, cooking, talking intimately, evolving macrobiotics through a way of life

[Sun Feb 26 11:55:12 PST 2006] colin_larsen

need more be said?

[Sun Feb 26 11:44:08 PST 2006] Ginat

Yes, we do.

[Sun Feb 26 11:46:06 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

Consider those priorities--you go for what you enjoy more that for what is essential, i.e. cooking.

[Sun Feb 26 11:47:29 PST 2006] sheldon

Everything is secondary to cooking, as our first priority is eating. When we don't eat right, everything else we do is affected sooner or later.

[Sun Feb 26 11:47:39 PST 2006] leigh(Q)

conflict means being split, sincere in two directions.  I’m having trouble getting behind a new direction, the old one being making peace with where you are and at the same time holding a vision for how you’d really like to live

[Sun Feb 26 11:47:39 PST 2006] Ginat(A)

"I love myself the way I am and I want to change..." Tell us your vision! Does it conflict with making peace?

[Sun Feb 26 11:48:25 PST 2006] chick

In consideration of what we have been talking about today, tell me what eating right is.

[Sun Feb 26 11:49:25 PST 2006] Ginat

Aha, fingers are flying! Eating right, of course, means balancing for your condition. How can you determine that? By the way you feel...

[Sun Feb 26 11:50:03 PST 2006] colin_larsen

I think that it is more why you eat what you do, not what you eat that is the macrobiotic question.

[Sun Feb 26 11:50:05 PST 2006] chick

After you determine how you feel, what do you eat?

[Sun Feb 26 11:50:55 PST 2006] sheldon

Eating right cannot be easily defined. It includes consideration of climate, condition, mood, understanding, desire to maintain balance. There is no magical answer. I can feel its meaning easier than I can express it.

[Sun Feb 26 11:50:06 PST 2006] RebeccaG

after cooking and eating carefully for a while you may love feeling so well- you'll want to get a timer to buzz you back into the kitchen for a while

[Sun Feb 26 11:52:02 PST 2006] Ginat

I personally enjoy feeling well, so I eat things that support that. For me, it means that I stay pretty macro-centered and don't stray much. It just doesn't tempt me to go "off." Does that help?

[Sun Feb 26 11:52:08 PST 2006] chick

Let us speak in specifics, not high-flown phrases.

[Sun Feb 26 11:52:35 PST 2006] colin_larsen

it is not quantifiable, so we have guidelines to help us learn

[Sun Feb 26 11:52:32 PST 2006] Ginat

I have rice at almost every meal.

[Sun Feb 26 11:52:54 PST 2006] Ginat

I never touch: dairy, sugar, meat, even bread!

[Sun Feb 26 11:53:27 PST 2006] Ginat

I have dessert almost daily, chew my food, and make condiments and pickles.

[Sun Feb 26 11:53:27 PST 2006] chick

But you said manicotti was okay, yet that is dairy.

[Sun Feb 26 11:54:05 PST 2006] Ginat

I didn't say it's okay for me. I said that everything is macrobiotic.

[Sun Feb 26 11:55:26 PST 2006] chick

There are foods that aren't macrobiotic, or else there wouldn't be all the books written about them.

[Sun Feb 26 11:57:23 PST 2006] Ginat

No, Chick. There are foods that are recommended for daily use, occasional use, and to avoid for improved health. Everything, by definition, is macrobiotic.

[Sun Feb 26 11:56:15 PST 2006] Ginat

We still have five minutes....write out your favorite grips. What's hard? What's stopping you and holding you back? Where are you resistant?

[Sun Feb 26 11:57:34 PST 2006] RebeccaG

I am still somehow resistant to menu planning -

[Sun Feb 26 11:57:46 PST 2006] Ginat

Because...

[Sun Feb 26 11:58:37 PST 2006] RebeccaG

Spontaneity has always been my way!

[Sun Feb 26 11:58:47 PST 2006] Ginat

Does it work for you?

[Sun Feb 26 11:59:42 PST 2006] RebeccaG

only partially, cause I tend to miss the pickles or sea greens some days- for me that makes a difference

[Sun Feb 26 12:00:47 PST 2006] sheldon

Y'all need to distinguish between rules and guidelines. Rules are made to be broken; guidelines are always OK and don't need to be monitored.

[Sun Feb 26 12:00:26 PST 2006] Ginat

Let's each determine one step that we want to take, and try it out this week. Everybody make a wish...!

[Sun Feb 26 12:01:18 PST 2006] chick

Thank you Sheldon for the butter substitute. I can do that.

[Sun Feb 26 12:01:53 PST 2006] Ginat

You're great, Chick. Who else has a resolution?

[Sun Feb 26 12:03:23 PST 2006] RebeccaG

we'll see about menus here in CT

[Sun Feb 26 12:02:36 PST 2006] chick

Au revoir, Ginat.

[Sun Feb 26 12:01:53 PST 2006] RebeccaG

Thank you Ginat and everyone!

[Sun Feb 26 12:03:16 PST 2006] Gary

Thank you Ginat and Shledon for sharing all your wisdom with us!

[Sun Feb 26 12:03:22 PST 2006] Ginat

Thanks to you all! Come back next week to chat, and next month for the next time together with me. Good night!