Anyone here macrobiotic? And do you still count calories?

I am thinking about going macro (mostly using the diet as a skeleton for eating and tweaking it to suit my needs, since I know I would like to eat more fruit than it recommends, etc.) I am a former vegetarian and I still don't eat a ton of meat, so I don't think it will be terribly hard to adjust, but I am still looking to lose about 15 lbs and am wondering if I should keep counting my calories. I know if I stick to the diet and don't eat junk then I should hopefully lose weight, but I know too much of anything can make you gain. I have issues with portion sizes and such, and I feel more comfortable couting and keeping track of what I've eaten, but I'm wondering if it's really necessary. Also any experiences or advice in general from people that are doing the macro thing would be awesome! :-)

Macrobiotic is great, It's a lot of work I thinkw ith the food preparations and all, but from what I know and the books I have read on macrobiotics they don't count calories, not saying that you don't have to. A great book I have on macro is "Hip chicks guide to macrobiotics". Hope this helps :)

Thanks! I actually went out and got that book yesterday after reading some reviews on Amazon.com. I'm thinking about slowly easing into it and just eating 1-2 macro meals a day until I get better at cooking the foods (not one of my strong points!) and can adjust to cutting out dairy. I still have about fifteen pounds to lose after losing 25, and I know people switching to macrobiotic diets can lose a lot if they're switching from cutting out fast food and junk food, but I rarely eat those things anymore and I've already had a significant weight loss, so I think watching my calories might help me (hopefully!) finally get to goal while eating really yummy foods.

What does a macrobiotic diet entail? I will google it but I thought that you could tell me from personal experience!

Macrobiotics is about 40-50% grains such as short grain brown rice is one they highly reccommend. 20-30% veggies 10% beans and legumes then the remainins 5% or so goes to fruit. It definitely requires a lot of preparations, if it's something you want to try I definitely reccommend getting a rice cooker, they are pretty cheap for a small one.

This is actually really funny- a macrobiotic diet is pretty much what I follow right now, with the exception of fish (I don't eat any animal products). I just have to try eating a bit more healthy and I'll be set! Oh- I already have a rice cooker. gluten intolerant/asian live-in boyfriend. :D

That's great skinnyogi, do you count calories as well?

i grew up eating a solid macro diet (and rebelled by eating junk food).  overall, my diet now has macro influences (always whole grain/brown rice, a fair amount of fish, lots of veggies/beans/tofu, etc.)...but i eat a good amount of dairy (especially in the morning) and lots of fruit.

i have the hip chicks guide though and love it.  it rocks. 

I am a strict macro and have been for over a year now and I still count calories (which I did prior to becoming macro).  I think a normal macro person does not need to count as the foods we eat give us the nutrients and energy (i.e. calories) we need without going overboard.  I am, however, extremely OCD and need to count in order to keep everything on track.

Modern Day Macrobiotics is a good book with lots of recipes for someone who would like to become macro, but no necessarily be super strict.

Best of luck!

K

Yes I still count calories- I'm trying to be more strict with a vegan/macro diet but, for the time being I still count calories.