Changing my Way of Life

When we move into the new house and get settled, I am switching to a macrobiotic diet. I am still going to eat chicken (in moderation) and fish as allowed. I will probably sneak a piece of chocolate and maybe even cheese now and then (lets be realistic). But on the whole, I want to try my hand at eating whole unprocessed foods. Brown rice, fruits and veggies, nuts and grains, tuna, etc. Nothing from a can or in a pre-packaged box.

It’s more or less an experiment, but it’s something I want to try. I don’t plan to be 100% macrobiotic because I do think some other foods are essential as well for certain vitamins I’ll need, like calcium.

I’m actually happy with how much I’ve changed my diet over the last 7 years already. When I moved back in with my father in 2001 I stopped drinking soda almost completely (I’ve snuck MAYBE a dozen in the last 7 years), I stopped eating white bread entirely, stopped adding any salt to anything. Stopped eating processed sugar (for a long time I used Splenda and now am using Stevia or Honey, though Honey is frowned on in a macrobiotic diet because it’s overstimulating), and almost completely stopped eating sugar entirely except for what I’d eat on my own. We stopped carrying sugar in the house when dad was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.

But I’ve been paying attention lately to how my body reacts to certain foods. It may be beneficial for me to even start keeping a food journal just to see how things change over time.

I think a lot of it comes from the fact that I watch the type of food that my Aunt keeps in the house here, and am left wanting the food that I used to eat before we were evicted. I mean I’m not complaining about being fed, and we do donate $200/month to the grocery bill, but there’s just so much bad food here.

They eat a lot of weight watchers food, and they keep a snack drawer filled with sickly sweet “100 calorie snacks”. When my Aunt cooks dinner, she cooks a main dish and at least 3 side dishes. So much food is left to rot in the fridge, and when it’s not it’s just being thrown away. They seem to sacrifice “flavor” for “fat free but still bad for you” chips and butter and sour cream. Instead I’d rather eat full fat sour cream, and just not eat it as often or as much. Or I’d make my own chips out of sweet potatoes and oil and herbs if you want a semi-healthy alternative.

I can feel the affects it’s having on me and I’m very anxious to get back into my regular routine, and slowly adjust to a more healthy diet.

At home I’d make a lot of dishes with brown rice, we’d eat a lot of fruit, I’d cook ONE dish and we were used to eating smaller portions. I’d make green and nettle tea (not all this diet aspartame infused poison that’s here), and our fridge was often-times empty because we’d always eat everything in it and never overload it with food. We wouldn’t eat completely healthy, dad would still eat his cheez-its and goldfish, he’d still buy sugar-free icecream and fix sausage and eggs for breakfast. But we ate a lot healthier than we do here.

Maybe that’s why I am so tired lately.