I am so happy to find this support forum. I have been posting macrobiotic questions to other forums... I don't know why I didn't look under Macrobiotci.. Anyway.

It hasn't been easy. I went from eating all types of food to a very strict diet. I went to a naturopath and gave me a cleansing diet for the first 30 days which consists of brown rice, millet, seaweed, a version of miso soup, gomashio, umeboshi plums, 2 cups water, Tamri/shoyu soy sauce, rice drink (substitute for water)
herbal tea (red clover, corn silk, echinacea, Ginger root, Licorice root, dandelion root, black/blue cohosh, uva ursi, yarrow, slippery elm, sarsaparilla root, valerian root, bancha or kukicha... all mixed together in one tea - 4 small cups per day)

and many supplements (Colon cleanse, milk thistle, vitamin bcomplex, kelp, chromium picolinate, co-enzyme q10, zinc, omega 3, Lecithin caps, Vitamin E, Fat Fighter, Cayenne)

Snacks: Rice cakes (only certain ones), Brown Rice crackers, brown rice snaps, millet rice flakes, puffed kashi, cripy brown rice cereal

Oh and I can use only onion, ginger, garlic and scallion in any dishes

... no sugar, no veggies, no fruit, nothing else... for 30 days!

The plan has 4 phases this is the first phase.. the next phase I start added back stuff (veggies, etc.)

I'm a little worried about how it's going to go. I spoken to a number of people on it may b/c they have been diagnosed with cancer or to lose weight to get healthier.

I'm also suppose to do a Ginger compress to my back 3 to 4 times a day.

Anyway. I lost 10 pounds the first 7 days but now I gained back a few pounds. I'm about 50 pounds over weight I don't understand why the weight isn't just falling of me. I feel ok. About day 5 I had a horrible headache and my tongue turned white on top with a bad taste.

I've spoken to many others on this diet and they lost more weight. What's wrong with me? I askend the naturopath and he thinks I must be drinking too much water which is true I've drank more water than prescribed. I have started to try to measure the water and be more accurate.

This is hard. I crave a fillet mignon and just about anything I see. I hope it gets easier. I need support from the support forum :)

and will be a shock to you. Be kind and try and be patient with yourself.. the weight will go.
I have done what you are doing.. but even harder is ten days whole grain and that is all... and well worth the effort.
Part of why you are impatient and needing support is that you are dischaarging tons of old toxins stored in your body... the first thing to go is the garbage. I hope your counselor coached you to expect all kinds of possible detoxing symptoms.
I speak from experience that after they pass you will feel better than you have in ages!! It is work it!!
Best,
LN

Hello kingston!

Congratulations first of all for so much motivation and focus.
And the only reason I didn't reply sooner was that I was thinking this over and waiting to give other people a chance to answer first.
Am I understanding this right, you're taking in 2 cups of water a day? That's a little unique, maybe a bit low especially for summer, but I hesitated to say so in case this is a new finding since I was attending macro school years back.

Anyway, all macro diets are designed for a reason, and I was interested in wondering what the condition was (don't answer that, I wasn't trying to be nosy).
The diet does sound strict all right for a newcomer, and I hope there is lots of support around any interesting cleansing reactions.

Also, weight loss can be nice, but the body is going through big changes right now and perhaps processing excess weight is not the first order of priority. So you deserve to feel great about yourself just for making this change.

Do you have any social support there? Any community dinners or a center where people study? Do you read inspiring macro books? You deserve lots and lots of affirmation for doing this!!!

Keep in touch with us,
Autumn

Kingston,

The diet your naturopath gave you is in some ways true to macrobiotics and in some ways not. Do you have a particular ailment that you are doing a version of #7, the strictest Ohsawa diet for 30 days? It is also recommended by Ohsawa and Naboru Muramoto author of "Healing Ourselves" that one can do an all grain diet for 30 days to lose weight. Most modern day macrobiotic counselors would not advise this. It is extreme, and as a result of that you are experiencing cravings. I personally think the grains and some steamed root vegetables would be better at this stage than no vegetables and would not hurt weight loss.

All the foods you listed are fine, but the tea concoction is entirely your naturopath's recipe and is not macrobiotic. Fundamental macrobiotics does not normally use daily herbs, even in cooking. A true macrobiotic would mostly be drinking, plain and simple, Bancha Tea (Kukicha made from the twigs), with no sweetner added. Few in macrobiotics uses supplement. Vitamin pills and supplements are avoided, preferring instead to let the body take vitamins in their natural state and assimilated better in food.

The symptoms you experienced at day 5, headache and coated tongue are the result of a cleansing fast. The "healing" macrobiotic diet, if adhered to strictly, will provide a rapid, but natural weight loss. It will not be 1 lb. every day, or even 2 lbs. every week, regularly. A person will lose weight surprisingly easily and naturally as the body rebalances itself. You'll get on the scale and be 4 lbs. down one day and it just keeps going like that in jumps and starts, while sticking within the parameters of the "healing" diet. Macrobiotics is not about rushing your body to do what you want it to. And, it is not about measuring yourself against someone else. You are an individual, and your body is also entirely individual. It is about learning about having the utmost respect for your body, how it functions individually, what it tells you about what is good for it and not good for it -- then honoring your body.

Kingston, It's VERY important to realize that ATTITUDE has a lot to do with your health. Worrying about how many pounds your losing, or thinking that your body isn't working as well as others who've done the diet is actually stunting your body's ability to cleanse and repair. Half of the battle is Literally believing in your body's ability to heal itself. And, it will speed up the process. Have faith in your body. Literally imagine your cells and body growing stronger and utilizing all these nutrients your feeding them; imagine your cells pulling toxins out, breaking up the fecal matter in your colon, and chomping away at excess fat. Truly believe in your body and know that what your doing WILL make you healthier, without any doubts in your mind. And try not to let any stress or anxiety, or negative thoughts wreak havoc on your system.
Your Health is an Exciting thing to look forward to !