Weight Loss Tips From Herman Aihara

Herman Aihara offers some great information about "why people get fat and how to reduce fat" in his book, Basic Macrobiotics.

Here are his tips for avoiding obesity:

1. Restrict the intake of dairy and fatty animal foods.
2. Use vegetable oils in cooking.
3. Avoid margarine.
4. Avoid refined sugar.
5. Use very little honey, syrups, and other sweeteners — even natural ones.
6. Eat as little fruit as possible.
7. Eat whole grains, vegetables, sea vegetables, and beans. 
8. Reduce animal foods to 10% of total food; fish and shellfish are best.
9. Do not drink alcohol.
10. Use no drugs.
11. Get plenty of exercise, and try to work up a sweat every day.

Starting on page 64, he explains how carbohydrates (sugars and starches), protein, and fat are metabolized into energy, carbon dioxide, and water. Then he talks about pyruvic acid, which is created first when carbohydrates are broken down in the energy cycle.

In obese people, he says, there is a tendency for the pyruvic acid to stop before it can completely metabolize. A buildup of the pyruvic acid then occurs, which in turn inhibits the body from releasing stored fat, and converts the acid into neutral fats or glycerides, which are then stored in the body.

In his opinion, this halt in the energy cycle is caused by overeating simple carbohydrates, protein, and fat — especially processed carbohydrates, refined sugar, and fruit. (Interesting — I never really thought of fruit as being a simple carbohydrate!)

He explains how the only way to induce a change is to exercise. Exercise creates enough energy that changes pyruvic acid and completes the cycle, so that fat can be released. (Well what do you know! I never thought that exercising creates energy — I always thought that it used energy.)

Herman Aihara goes on to explain the two ways that fat is formed in the body (either the liver or the fatty tissue produces it) — but only the liver breaks down fat. So if you have a weak liver, you will tend to accumulate fat.

He also explains how other factors control the metabolism of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats in the body. All of what he says convinces me that his tips for avoiding obesity are very sensible! The bottom line is that exercise is very important. The cool thing is that it will give you more energy!

Related Blog Articles:
Designing My Own Weight Loss Diet
Weight Loss Tips From George Ohsawa
The Benefits Of Unrefined Sea Salt

Weight Loss Tips From George Ohsawa

In his book, Zen Macrobiotics, George Ohsawa includes "Obesity" in the section on "Specific Dietary Suggestions for Disease," page 143:

Obesity
Diet No. 7 with 30 to 60 grams of raw radish, plus a little gomasio (50) for one month or more.

At the beginning of the section, before he gives the directions for obesity, George Ohsawa reminds us — "Don't forget that the following specific, symptomatic directions are not necessary if you are following Diet No. 7 or if your case is not critical."

Well, my case is certainly not critical! But nevertheless, I want to keep the principles of his dietary suggestion for "Obesity" in mind as I design my own weight-loss plan. Diet number seven is one-hundred percent whole grains, which are the most yang of the plant-based foods. Grains are the most central to a balanced diet. Radish (such as the white daikon radish) is more yin than whole grains, but not as much yin as most other vegetables, and it's closer to grains at the center of the diet. Raw radish is more yin than if it were cooked. All of this gives me clues for what foods to choose if I want to lose weight.

Now, I realize that George Ohsawa's dietary suggestion for obesity is a temporary treatment that I would only use as a jump-start for losing a great deal of weight. So now that I'm down to the last twenty pounds of weight that I want to lose, I need something different for my diet plan, something more broader as I become more focused.

Note: 30 to 60 grams of raw radish equals about 1 to 2 liquid ounces, or 2 to 4 tablespoons, or 1/8 to 1/4 cup. Also, for a recipe for gomasio (50) see page 67 of Zen Macrobiotics.

Related Blog Articles:
Designing My Own Weight Loss Diet
My Notes On The Macrobiotic Centering Diet
Diet #7 By George Ohsawa

Designing My Own Weight-Loss Diet

Happy New Year 2013! Today marks the beginning of a new loop around the spiral, promising to be an even better and more interesting year than the last one! 

After reviewing the last two years of eating No More Sugar, I've decided that it's finally time for me to go on a specific weight-loss diet. I intend to custom-design a diet plan that suits my needs personally and I'll follow it for a year and a half, so that it becomes a habit. After I've developed my plan, I think I'll begin the diet sometime next month, perhaps on Valentine's Day!

Over the years of my life, I have gone on several weight-loss plans that were designed by other people to be used by everybody, no matter what their individual situation or condition might be — including a "ketogenic high protein diet," the Weight Watchers Diet, and The Diet Center plan. 

By the time I was out of college, I had had enough of all dieting! I decided that I wanted to concentrate on eating good, wholesome, and nutritious food and be done with weight-loss diets. And so it was the perfect time for me to find the book, Zen Macrobiotics, on the grocery store shelf!

I have lost a lot of weight slowly ever since I started practicing macrobiotics and now I want to lose the last 20 pounds of stored fat around my middle that was the first to accumulate on my body and will finally be the last to leave. And I am more than ready for it!

Cheers!

Related Blog Articles:
What Is A Macrobiotic Diet, Really?
My Notes On The Macrobiotic Centering Diet
"Fatso"

Two Years Of No More Sugar

Two years ago, I stopped eating sugar. 

By sugar, I mean the white stuff — the granulated, overly processed refined sugarcane or sugar beets that's in a white powdery or crystalline form, also known as table sugar — and that's added to all kinds of food products to sweeten them up. 

I also mean all the variations of sugar, like "brown sugar," which is basically still white sugar only something has been added to color it brown, and "Sucanat" or "Rapadura/Rapunzel's Whole Cane Sugar" — a type of sweet flour made from dehydrated sugarcane juice, which is much less refined than white granulated sugar keeping all of its minerals, vitamins, and molasses, but is still missing all the fiber from the whole sugarcane.

I stopped eating anything that I thought probably had sugar in it, like muffins at the bakery, or cookies someone else made, or anything at a restaurant that was likely to contain sugar in it, whether it was obvious — such as ketchup or pastries — or not so obvious — such as pancakes or sauces.

Over these past two years, I still went on an occasional sweet-food binge (away from my standard macrobiotic fare) but binging no longer means something with sugar in it. Instead, I binged on something like a croissant (white flour and butter) and a cafe latte. Sometimes I sweetened my food with a drizzle of organic maple syrup, brown rice syrup, or agave nectar. I also experimented with other ways to sweeten my food, such as using various kinds of cooked fruit, sweet winter squashes, and even amazake from the grocery store. 

I also stopped eating dry, salty snacks like tortilla corn chips, rice chips, yam chips, potato chips, sesame sticks, etc. so that these overly yang foods couldn't make me crave sugar. 

By stopping the sugar and the salty snacks, I've also saved my poor digestive track from becoming dehydrated! I no longer get congested in my nose and sinuses, and I haven't had a single cold or flu bug!

So, what's next?

As I'm writing this and reviewing the kinds of foods that I've snacked on over the last two years, I'm realizing that the next step I want to take is towards achieving my ideal weight and overall health. I want to stop eating snacks between meals and desserts except for on very special occasions. More specifically, these are my favorite snacks that I'm talking about:

• Chewnami Sesame Bars made by Rising Tide Sea Vegetables (These are my favorite snack bars. They contain sesame seeds, kombu seaweed, brown rice syrup, and maple syrup — pretty simple ingredients — and they're delicious!)

• Jocalat organic chocolate bars made by the Larabar company. (These candy bars are comprised of finely ground raw dates and nuts, and organic chocolate that is cooked during the initial processing. Very very yin!)

• Camel Brand Halvah Natural Sesame Bars made by Noble Foods, Inc. (I first bought these two years ago as an alternative to eating sugar. It says on their label "The only natural halvah in North America. Contains no granulated sugar." Nevertheless, it only took eating a couple of these candy bars to see how extremely yin they are too, with their concentrated amounts of ground sesame seeds and malted corn barley syrup!)

• Organic maple syrup and butter on toast (My favorite toast is made with Vital Vittles "Real Bread.")

• Homemade cookies sweetened with organic maple syrup, organic brown rice syrup or Organic Blue Agave nectar.

• Traditional Spice Windmill Cookies by Heaven Scent Natural Foods (These are my favorite store-bought cookies, made of organic whole wheat flour and fruit-juice sweetened. They're delicious!)

• Amazake Rice Shakes (These delicious drinks are made up of cultured organic brown rice, rice koji, and nuts, such as almonds or pecans. Very sweet. Some day I was thinking of trying them out in my ice cream maker!)

Related Blog Articles:
No More Sugar
One Week Since No More Sugar
Whole Date Cookies With No Added Sugar
German Chocolate Cake, A New Upgrade
Julia's Holiday Fudge
"Fatso"
Trying Out New Cookie Recipes
Hummingbirds and Seaweed
The Acid And Alkaline Dimension Of Food, Part 1
The "New" Old New Leaf Market

Holiday Pumpkin Carrot Onion Soup for Mom

Dear Mom, I made this soup for you twelve years ago while you were visiting us. Do you remember it? I dedicated it to you because you were my inspiration in creating it. At the time, my intention was to use some of the principles I had been studying in Macrobiotics. And the result was a delicious soup that made it into my box of favorite recipes.

Since then, every time I make the soup, I remember that wonderful visit in November with you. Thanks, Mom! (P.S. I also remember that we shared a couple of apples with the horse down the road that day!)

Now, each time I make the soup it is a little different than the one before. For example, today when I made it I used a whole large apple (instead of apple juice) and part of a Hokkaido pumpkin both from our garden, and a smaller onion, carrots, and garlic from the New Leaf grocery store. 

Sometimes, I like to allow the onion to brown a little before I add the carrots, for a rich, carmelized flavor. And so, here is what I have written on my recipe card:

HOLIDAY PUMPKIN CARROT ONION SOUP  *during Mom's visit 11/3/2000:

1. Saute in large sauce pan, over medium heat:
 
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 large onion, grated or minced
3 carrots, grated
1 to 3 teaspoons unrefined sesame oil

2. Continue to cook and add:

1/2 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice** (see note below)
dash of cumin
dash of black pepper
3 cups apple juice (or apple sauce) and water

**Note: Ingredients listed in Trader Joe's Non-irradiated, All-Natural "Pumpkin Pie Spice": Cinnamon, Ginger, Lemon Peel, Nutmeg, Cloves, and Cardamom

3. Bring to a boil, then lower heat, and cover. Cook for about 22 minutes longer.

4. Puree in a cuisinart, a blender, or use a hand blender in the pan, and then cook again for a few more minutes. (Add water if needed.)

When I made the soup today, I grated a very large apple from our garden and sauteed it after the onion and the carrots at the beginning. I used a little more pumpkin (about 3/4 cup), and then I used 3 cups of water instead of apple juice. I used only a dash of pumpkin pie spice and a little more of the cumin and pepper. Who knows, maybe next time I'll skip the pumpkin pie spice altogether and use fresh lemon peel from our garden?

Regarding the final step — there's something about pureeing all of the cooked ingredients together that raises the soup up to another, higher level. It makes it more special somehow. And yet, this soup would be equally as delicious, I think, if it were served in its more-chunky state!

Related Blog Articles:
Ohsawa Pumpkin Pie Filling

Guidelines for Classifying in Terms of Yin and Yang (1-3-2011)

Vegetables for Centering

German Chocolate Cake, A New Upgrade

I finally made a new version of my favorite cake of all time — the German Chocolate Cake. Did you know that it is not really a German cake? According to wikipedia, it is a cake that was made with Mr. Sam German's dark sweet chocolate that he developed for the American Baker's Chocolate company. 

I went to the Baker's Chocolate web site and found the recipe for their "Original BAKER'S GERMAN'S Sweet Chocolate Cake." No wonder I loved this cake as a kid — it's LOADED with sugar! There are 2 cups of sugar in the cake, 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the filling/frosting, and there's also sugar, undoubtedly, in the chocolate and in the coconut.

How can I make this cake without the sugar?

I decided to use applesauce made from whole organic apples along with a touch of agave syrup to sweeten the cake and whole, organic dates to sweeten the frosting. I figured the cake part would not be very sweet and taste more like chocolate, and the frosting would be more sweet, with the dates, coconut, and pecans as the stars of the show.

First, I cut the original recipe in half and chose a ten-inch round baking dish to make a single-layer cake. I decided to keep the eggs and the butter, but use whole-grain flour instead of white flour. Then, I made some applesauce.

Applesauce:
I washed and cut up 5 large apples into small dices (leaving the apple peel on). I heated up a large saucepan, added about two teaspoons of sesame oil, and then added the diced apples. They sizzled and crackled as soon as they hit the hot pan. I turned down the flame to very low, covered the pan, and let it cook for about fifteen minutes or so. Thinking I should add some water to it, I was surprised when I lifted the lid and saw the applesauce was done! The apples had become soft and puffy and when I stirred them, they transformed into the perfect sauce. Not too dry, not too watery. And no sign of the apple peels! I don't know if I'll be able to repeat this, the next time I make applesauce for a cake, but for now, I was very lucky!

Okay, here's the recipe that I ended up making for what turned out to be a delicious "German Chocolate Cake." The cake part was light and moist, and faintly sweet, and the frosting was very sweet, rich, and complex. 

German Chocolate Cake, A New Upgrade
325º F preheated oven
30 minutes
greased 10" round baking dish

THE CAKE PART:  
2 oz. chocolate (unsweetened, organic, Dagoba chocolate for baking)
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup butter, softened (Straus Family Creamery organic butter)
2 eggs, whole, at room temperature
1 or 2 tablespoons organic agave syrup (Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Blue Agave)
1/2 cup thick applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour (I used 1/8 cup gluten flour + 7/8 whole wheat flour) 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, unrefined
1/4 cup soy milk, unsweetened organic
1/4 cup water

Step 1: Melt the chocolate with the water, mix well, and set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with the eggs, add agave syrup, applesauce, and vanilla, and stir thoroughly.
Step 3: Add the melted chocolate/water mixture and stir again.
Step 4: Mix the flour, soda, and sea salt in a separate dish.
Step 5: Mix the soy milk and water in a liquid measuring cup.
Step 6: Alternate adding portions of the flour mixture with the liquid mixture to the large mixing bowl and stir well.
Step 7: Evenly distribute the batter into a buttered, 10-inch-round baking dish, and bake at 325º F for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and place baking dish on a pad or wire rack and allow cake to cool.

THE FROSTING PART:
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped dates (SunRidge Farms Organic Deglet Dates)
3/4 cup (6 ounces) water
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup coconut, unsweetened, finely shredded (Edward & Sons Let's Do Organic)
3/4 cup pecans, chopped

Step 1: Under careful watch, lightly toast the coconut on a baking sheet in the oven for a couple of minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Step 2: Melt butter in a quart-size saucepan on the stove.
Step 3: Add dates, water, and vanilla, and cook on medium-low heat for 12 minutes, stirring continually.
Step 4: Turn off heat, add coconut and pecans, and mix thoroughly. 
Step 5. Spread frosting over cooled cake and eat! 

Notes: 
• I kept the cake in the baking dish, but could've just as easily removed it and placed the cake on a serving plate before frosting it. 
• We ate a couple of pieces right away and froze the rest in a container for later. Defrosting was easy and the cake tasted just as good, if not better for having "mellowed" a few weeks. 
• I shared a couple pieces of the cake with friends who were unaccustomed to eating "unsweetened" cake. I think it may have been a shock to their taste buds. But for my husband and I who have not eaten sugar in such a long time, we were able to taste all of the subtle flavors of chocolate and applesauce, and the date-frosting more than made up for the lack of sweetness in the cake. My sweet-tooth was appeased and my childhood memories of German Chocolate Cake received an excellent upgrade!

Related Blog Articles:
One Week Since No More Sugar
No More Sugar (Saturday, January 1, 2011)
Ohsawa Pumpkin Pie Filling

Chipotle Mexican Grill Serves Brown Rice

During our summer travels this year, we got the chance to try out a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Sacramento. Previously, the restaurant chain had come up in my online search for brown rice in Santa Cruz restaurants, but "brown rice" wasn't showing up in their online menus, and so I was delighted to finally see for myself that yes, indeed, they do serve it!

And their food is good! It's served up cafeteria style, where they ask you for your choices of ingredients and then you watch as they make up the burrito or tacos on the spot. (You can also get the food served on a bowl of lettuce instead of on tortillas or taco shells.) This particular restaurant started to get very crowded just after we sat down with our food, and the line went clear outside the building. Obviously it's a popular place for lunch. 

I ordered soft corn tacos with brown rice and black beans. I ate it all and enjoyed everything with pleasure!

When we got back home, I looked them up again online and this time I found where they actually do mention brown rice — but not in their menus like I expected to see it, instead it's listed in the "Nutrition Calculator." Select one of four choices—Burrito, Burrito Bowl, Tacos, or Salads, and they'll give you a nutritional breakdown of the ingredients. 

I found that for tacos, they offer soft or crispy corn tortillas along with the usual soft flour tortilla, my choice of white rice or brown rice, and black or pinto beans. (At the restaurant, the person serving me confirmed that the black beans are vegetarian, and the pinto beans have bacon in them.)

They also mention brown rice on their "Special Diet Information" page — there in the chart, it says "cilantro-lime rice (white & brown)."

The Santa Cruz Sentinel has an interesting story about Chipotle that explains more about the restaurant(s):  "Chipotle Mexican Grill, Restaurant Review: Fast Food With Santa Cruz Consciousness."

Finally, a fast-food restaurant chain that serves brown rice! And the good news is that it's growing and becoming more available in more new places. Yay!

Related Blog Articles:
Searching For Brown Rice In Restaurants

Whole Grains In Restaurants

Lunch At P.F. Chang's
Lunch At Little Shanghai's
Linda's Seabreeze Cafe 
My Dream Diner
The Benefits Of Whole Foods