My Macrobiotic Weight Loss And Health Journey With Photos From 2011 - 2023 + Healing Gut Issues
My Health And Weight Loss Journey - A Brief History
My macrobiotic weight loss and health journey has definitely been a roller coaster ride, with several ups and downs. After years of trial and error, and fluctuating weight loss and gain, I am finally realizing my more ideal body weight composition, and restoring the level of health I believe I should have been experiencing all along.
I believe we ALL ~ with perhaps relatively few exceptions ~ should be experiencing more vibrant health. Our bodies are designed to thrive given the right conditions. We just need the right MAP and compass.
In this post, I share more about my macrobiotic weight loss and health journey, from my earlier health challenges, and from Paleo to plant-based, to low-carb / keto and 'Meats & Sweets' - back home to a whole-foods, macrobiotic diet of our hearts.
My Macrobiotic Weight Loss and Health Journey Brief History
While I still have some deeper healing to do which will take time, I am very encouraged by my current macrobiotic weight loss progress. My weight as of September 6, 2023 was 96.2 pounds! (As of September 10, it dipped below 96 pounds, to 95.9. I'll take it!)
My waist is back to under 25.5 inches; my thighs at the widest part has dropped from 19-19.5 inches at my heaviest to 18 inches. These changes signify fat loss versus loss of lean body mass, visible in the pictures below.
According to Dr. McDougall's height and weight chart, the ideal body weight for a 4 foot, eleven inch tall female is 91 pounds. I can't believe I'm so close!
In addition to reaching the lightest weight I have been in several years, my macrobiotic weight loss journey has had several additional benefits which I'll outline in the next post. For the remainder of this post, I share a brief summary of some of my earlier life health issues (read more about me here) and a few photos taken between 2010, which I believe was my lifetime heaviest, through August, 2023.
There is a theory in macrobiotics about how it takes seven years to renew all our blood and cells. We were so close several years back, when, after around five years of eating a plant-based diet ~ several of those centered around the macrobiotic principal foods of 'grains, greens and beans' ~ we gave it up. We did a 180º and became 'ex vegans.'
In retrospect, the timing was likely caused ~ at least in part ~ by the deeper level of healing that was taking place, which can lead to cravings of previously consumed foods, like meats, dairy foods, or refined baked goods.
As the blood changes, and old stored accumulations discharge, they circulate through the system potentially triggering cravings for those very foods. With awareness, one can ride out this time, knowing it will pass. However, without awareness of this ~ and lacking appropriate social support ~ the temptations to 'jump ship' ~ especially in an animal protein obsessed culture ~ can be strong.
Having already made this error ~ and suffered the consequences ~ I trust that my macrobiotic weight loss and health journey is just beginning as we reset / restart our seven years eating a whole-foods, plant-based macrobiotic diet. I will never jump ship, and go against my heart's deepest values again! Lesson learned!
(Some of my readers may not understand this, and that's ok. It's much bigger and more complex than just the diet to me, which I attempted to express in the Updated Preface of The Macrobiotic Action Plan, Your MAP to Greater Health & Happiness (The MAP), newly revised and republished in both paperback, and on Kindle.)
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| End of August, 2023 |
Early Life Health Issues
Although many friends and acquaintances have always regarded me as 'healthy,' I've actually spent a good part of my life focused on healing myself, naturally, without the aid of pharmaceuticals. I have had many health issues throughout my life, beginning at age 4 with really bad seasonal allergies. Since then, I've always had sinus issues ~ congestion and/or chronic runny nose. Additionally, I experienced a myriad of other health challenges, including anemia (medically diagnosed at age 8), persistent skin break outs around my chin, blood sugar imbalances, extreme dizzy spells, digestive disorders, such as bloating, bouts of abdominal pain, and irregular elimination with constipation, to name a few.
At one point in my life, I took several trips to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Guatemala. Almost every time, I got really sick with diarrhea, and after one particular trip, some bad shrimp caused me to be sicker than I had ever been. I got Hepatitis A (food born) and was unable to keep any food down for several days. I was horribly dehydrated, nauseated, and jaundiced, which didn't immediately show up on my tan skin. I only noticed that when I got a cut on my arm, the scrape appeared yellow, as opposed to the normal red color of blood. The whites of my eyes turned yellow too. Naturally, I lost a lot of weight at this time, whether I needed to, or not.
When I first moved to Aspen, Colorado, I got sick with a high fever, four times during my first year. I worked in restaurants and catering, in a ski town, with people visiting from around the world. Bugs traveled fast, and I was especially vulnerable.
I moved to Aspen shortly after recovering from Hepatitis. Try as I may to avoid it, drinking was part of the restaurant culture in Aspen at the time. Since my first job was as a cocktail waitress at an Italian restaurant, I was encouraged to drink by my bartender, who frequently offered me shots. I resisted at first, as I was barely recovered from a major illness! However, I eventually succumbed. I loved my job during regular restaurant hours. Having to stay until 1:00 am, especially as the only sober person was another story. Just sharing because I know some of my health challenges were self-induced, despite my best intentions to the contrary! Plus, the social pull is difficult to withstand without additional support, a theme you'll see repeated as you continue reading.
During one of those times that I had a high fever, I was told by the doctor I went to see that had I waited any longer, I would have had a major kidney infection.
I reached a point where I was sick and tired of getting sick. The Hep A virus took a toll on my liver (as did the alcohol), and I became much more sensitive to everything I ate and drank. I read books, and tried different elimination diets and cleanses, including The Master Cleanse, The Body Ecology Diet, and the 7-Day Diet through the Aspen Wellness Group, organized by Gary Smith, and his wife, Nancy. I eventually found my way to the local acupuncturist.
All of these things helped, but I still had lingering issues, which led to my continuing dietary adventures when I met Don in 2010, where my current macrobiotic weight loss and health journey begin.
My Macrobiotic Weight Loss and Health Journey Begins: Paleo Diet - 2010 / 2011
When Don and I first met in February 2010, he had been following a 'Paleo Diet'. One of the books I stumbled upon prior to our meeting, was The Paleo Diet, by Loren Cordain, PhD. I read through the book while sitting at the book store. His book was not the first I had read suggesting that carbohydrates, specifically grains and beans, which contain 'anti-nutrients' such as lectins, lignins, and phytates may be contributing to many common ailments of modern humans.
Although I really liked whole grains, and had been vegan / vegetarian at different times in my life, I considered it plausible enough to give it a try. Holistic practitioners had previously suggested I consume more animal protein to deal with my reactive hypoglycemic symptoms, and cravings for sweets experienced when waiting too long between meals. So, when I met Don, I joined him in eating a diet devoid of grains, beans and legumes, and a few other foods.
Despite eating grass-fed beef, wild caught salmon, poultry, eggs, and an assortment of greens, veggies, some berries and other fruit, and some nuts, my weight reached around 120 pounds - a lot for my 4 foot, 11 inch frame. In fact, that's about 25 pounds ~ or 25 percent more than I currently weigh at 96 pounds!
My focus on avoiding plant foods high in those alleged 'anti-nutrients' blinded me from seeing the changes happening to my body. I got my first real wake-up call as I stared at the photos Don had taken of me in a bathing suit. Our wedding was fast approaching, and here I was at my life-time heaviest weight! At this point, all I knew was something needed to change, stat!
The photo on the right shows my lovely 'lower belly kangaroo pouch' as I called it, which stuck out further than my breasts, something I always tried to mask with clothing. Pretty chunky for my 'petite' frame.
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| Photos from 2010 old camera (time stamps are incorrect) |
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| Rice Balls with Umeboshi Plum in the center, Tempeh Cutlets & Kale |
High Raw, Fruit & Vegetable Diet
About one year later, in October of 2012, I joined a month long, online fruitarian / raw challenge, mostly out of curiosity of trying a raw foods diet. Being fruit-based seemed appealing. Don joined me, and together, we maintained a high-raw, mostly fruit and vegetable diet (once again free of whole grains and beans) for about 10 - 12 months.
During this time, I experienced a lot of postural hypertension dizzy spells. More alarmingly, I had a return of fibrocystic breast tenderness and lumpiness, albeit much milder. After that, we restored our macrobiotic diet. Again, within no time, my breast condition resolved.
In retrospect, I believe had I added enough essential fatty acids and sodium, plus a little more protein the high-fruit diet would have been more sustainable, at least as we continued to live in a hot desert.
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| Me, age 50 |
Ironically, while living in Scottsdale, AZ, we had pretty bad allergies every year beginning around February, triggered by several mulberry trees growing right outside our apartment.
Just prior to my fiftieth birthday, while barely recovered from spring allergy season, I had a chicken pox like outbreak. My entire torso was covered with red welts, which itched like mad. I had intense chills and fever as well. We were still on our high-raw diet at the time. In hindsight, our high-raw diet may have triggered an intense discharge, which I'll discuss more in an upcoming post.
Once again, I experienced the bright side of a bad sickness ~ weight loss.
At some point during our five and a half or so years vegan, while reading Eat to Live, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman, MD, we began to emphasize a higher protein whole-foods, plant-based diet, consuming a lot of beans and legumes, tofu, and other plant 'meats' with smaller quantities of whole grains.
No surprise, we ended up with major gut distress from our high consumption of beans. (More recently, I tweaked how I prepare beans and legumes to pacify Vata, and minimize gas and bloating.)
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| Seasoned Baked Tofu Salad |
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| Delicious Split Pea Soup |
Ending Vegan Diet / Beginning of Low-Carb / Keto Diet Weight Loss & New Symptoms
Allergies, gas and bloating and other digestive issues, and Don's psoriasis have been among the chief complaints we had over the years, which led to our continuing quest to restore optimal health, through diet and other natural remedies. After extended periods of discomfort, we ultimately made the decision to end our vegan diet in 2017.
We began adding small amounts of lean beef, chicken, fish, and only a few eggs, in lieu of, you guessed it, those 'pesky grains and beans.' Soon after we found ourselves experimenting with a very low carbohydrate / ketogenic and hypercarnivore diet, briefly omitting most plant foods, including oxalate-rich greens.
Initially, I lost several pounds (most people do as water weight from depleted glycogen reserves), and Don's psoriasis seemed to have improved. Plus, we had less gas and bloating. We both wrote books about low-carb / hypercarnivore diet, no longer available.
However, it didn't take long before new symptoms crept in. Increased sweets cravings, poor sleep, constipation, increased irritability, and poor mental focus. And, weight gain. The honeymoon phase lasted about 1-1&1/2 years.
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| L - May 2017 R- July 2017 |
Don was having bouts of extreme abdominal pain and bloating - something he experienced intermittently since young. He would abstain from food for a couple days until he felt better. He also started to wake up nightly with cramps, and his feet would swell by the end of the day.
I developed trigger thumb, where the distal thumb joint would lock up in a flexed position, requiring the use of my other hand to unlock it. The tendon at the palm was also inflamed. This lingered for the entire time we were following a low-carb diet. I definitely knew I did not want to fix it surgically, but wasn't sure what to do, as it was limiting what I could do without being able to fully use my right hand.
The Initial Transition Back to Adding Plant Foods - Meats & Sweets
Upon reading some articles by the late researcher, Ray Peat, we decided to add fruit and honey back into our diet. Within weeks, my thumb healed. It seemed like a miracle. We jokingly dubbed what we were eating a 'Meats and Sweets' diet, with meats including flesh foods, eggs, and dairy ~ liquid meat ~ while sweets primarily referred to fruits, including low-starch vegetables that are technically botanical fruits (cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and squash), and some honey. We co-wrote a book by that title, Meats & Sweets, A High Vitality Diet, which had many positive, 5-star reviews on Amazon.
The next plant foods we re-introduced were sprouted grain breads, namely Manna Organics, and Food for Life brand Ezekiel breads. I was in the process of writing an updated edition of Meats & Sweets to expand upon my 'Tiers of Foods' list to include whole ~ and especially sprouted grains ~ as whole grains are botanically similar to fruits. We now view this period as the beginning of our return to a macrobiotic diet.
(During our low-carb daze, I started The Hypercarnivore Diet blog, while also writing the books shown here. These books were written with the best intentions at the time, and contain some good information, however, we realized how we were on the wrong path, and how the many studies in support of low-carb and keto diets are of poor quality, while many others show the poor long-term health outcomes of following low-carb diets. Case in point, as of 2026, several followers of the Carnivore Diet (spearheaded by Shawn Baker, MD) have had strokes or other health issues, and have since added fruit and some vegetables back into their diet (like Paul Saladino who adopted an approach similar to our 'meats and sweets'). We deeply regret having ever given up our plant-based diet. (None of these books are currently available other than via used sales which is out of our hands.)
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| Our Meats & Sweets diet included local raised beef, fish, poultry, eggs, homemade yogurt and other dairy foods, sourced from Calder Dairy which we visited in 2022, along with fruit and non-starchy vegetables. I made dairy- and coconut milk- based jello desserts with beef collagen. I believe this to be a much healthier approach to eating than Standard American, animal-based diets that include refined foods of poor quality ~ for those unwilling or not ready to eat a plant-based diet ~ however, a macrobiotic diet is far more balanced. Read why we gave up dairy after visiting Calder's Dairy Farm, here. |
It is clear to us now that our Meats & Sweets approach marked the beginning of our transition back into a whole-foods, plant-based diet.
By this point, we had experimented with animal-free diets to nearly plant-free ~ with more or less protein, fat and carbs, raw diets, and diets with and without whole grains and beans and legumes.
Despite how crazy this may seem to outsiders, we were discovering first hand the short and longer-term affects of all these foods on our health, and our ability to achieve and maintain our ideal body composition.
After much self-reflection, we became more aware of several other influences that led to our abandoning our ways as vegans, which I've discussed in part on my YouTube channel, and in my first blog post, Returning Home to Our Hearts.
Below is one of my several videos in my play list sharing why we restored a whole-foods, plant-based diet after several years following a low-carb diet followed by our Meats & Sweets approach.
Don has also shared some of his experiences, here, and on his YouTube channel, and wrote an article, Why People Quit Being Vegan based on a recent study. Here is an update on his psoriasis since restoring a vegan macrobiotic diet, and his Why I Quit Carnivory video, below.
My Macrobiotic Weight Loss and Health Journey Continues... Restoring a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Vegan Diet
During our initial transition back to a whole-foods, plant-based, vegan diet in 2022, we again began eating more beans and legumes. We enjoy them. After years of eating a lower fiber diet, the added fiber seemed to improve my elimination. Dr. Greger reports that beans and legumes may be the single most important dietary predictor for a long lifespan, and this Harvard Health News Briefs review of recent studies indicates that even an incremental increase in plant protein by 3% can lower risk for premature death by at least 5%.
Protein & BMI
Plus, we were still believing that getting around .8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight was the ideal. That amounted to 80`100g of protein daily for myself. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for protein is .8g per kg of body weight, which is .36 grams per pound. According to this online calculator, at my current weight, my body mass index (BMI) is 19.4, and at a low activity level, I only require 1614 calories per day, with only 35 total grams of protein! Less than half what I had been consuming!
Just to compare, if I plug in my age and weight in 2010 of 47 years, and 120 pounds, my BMI was 24.2, my total caloric requirement was 1818, and total protein requirement was 44 grams. Per day. That's all I need, and it is very easy to get much more, even on plant-based diets.
According to the CDC guidelines, a BMI between 18.5 - 24.9 is considered a healthy weight. A BMI of 25 -29.9 is considered overweight, and 30 and above is considered obese. Under 18.5 is underweight. I went from being on the upper end to the lower end of what is considered a healthy weight.
You can read about how excess protein worsened his psoriasis, here.
We were consuming at least one cup per day, and often more of beans and legumes, which includes soy foods. Not surprisingly, we had resurgence of gas and bloating. This time, rather than abandon a plant-based diet, we adopted several suggestions discussed in Ayurvedic medicine for reducing, or pacifying our predominantly Vata constitution, namely, less beans, no raw cruciferous vegetables, and cooking with spices that aid digestion. (Those with a Vata constitution tend to have dry symptoms, including dry constipation or gas, bloating, and other digestive issues more than the other doshas.)
You may be interesting in either of my articles: How to Minimize Gas & Bloating, Our Vata Reducing Dietary Revisions, and Tips for Improving Digestion and Minimizing Gas and Bloating from my website. Or check out my video below, showing our more 'Vata pacifying' meals to reduce the 'wind' and heal our gut rather than once again abandon a vegan diet.
Returning Home to Macrobiotics
In A Macrobiotics Unexpected Gift and Answered Prayer, and Returning Home to My Heart, I share the story about our transition back to a plant-based / vegan diet, then back to a macrobiotic diet, and in My Amazing Macrobiotic Diet Weight Loss, I discuss the main changes I made to my diet which has helped me lose my last 10+ stubborn pounds.
Click here for all Macrobiotics related topics.
My Health and Weight Loss Journey - Going With The Grain
While Paleo, low-carb, keto, and even at times while vegan, we abstained from, or greatly minimized our consumption of whole grains, and beans, believing the ill-informed notion that anti-nutrients like lectins, phytates, phytoestrogens, gluten and oxalates found in whole grains, beans, nuts, and dark leafy greens were the source of many of our health issues. This has become the mainstream paradigm.
As a matter of fact, even if a small percentage of the population with celiac disease needs to avoid all gluten containing foods, it doesn't mean that gluten, or the wheat varieties grown in the United States is other wise harmful to health. There are many other confounding factors that may be contributing to the seeming rise in digestive issues and food sensitivities. Blaming it all on gluten, or how the wheat is hybridized or harvested is short sighted.
For many years, I avoided whole wheat, rice, breads, and grains in general, and ultimately found that healing my digestive problems required a multi-pronged approach, including abstention from all animal foods. I now enjoy all these foods in good health. I especially love whole wheat! It turned out that all the grain-based foods I once believed to be the culprit of my digestive problems, and even skin break outs on my chin mentioned earlier, were not the problem.
Our macrobiotic diet centers around the very foods many now love to hate. Each time we add them back after a period of abstaining, we experience improved energy, better moods, and better sleep. (You'd think we would have learned our lesson after avoiding a potential cancer scare!)
Eating whole grains, legumes, dark leafy greens, and a variety of land and sea vegetables ~ while abstaining from all animal foods ~ also helped us both recover from more than one major health scare!
You may enjoy this video of Don and I during a walk at a local park, discussing the fears now circulating around eating some of our native grown products, including whole wheat, which is a super nutritious, and delicious grain. And why eating more quinoa, and other imported 'super foods' comes at a cost.
Pictures of My Macrobiotic Weight Loss
Here are a few more representative photos of my macrobiotic weight loss journey.
In the photos below, pictures on the LEFT were taken early in 2020, prior to relocating back to the Midwest, while still consuming our 'Meats & Sweets' diet outlined above. We were not consuming grains, beans, or legumes at that point. This was not my heaviest, but it does clearly show a lot more body fat, in my back, thighs, buttocks, and abdomen.
The photos on the RIGHT are from August, 2023, after several months of our more dedicated, healing macrobiotic diet, and around one year whole-foods, plant-based vegan.
Just 10 pounds of less body fat, which is 10% of my total body weight, makes a huge difference!
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| 2020 (L) 2023 (R) |
My approach to improving my physical wellbeing involves more than diet. For example, I have a pelvic tilt and slight curve to my spine, which I address through a daily Macrobiotic Do-In and yoga practice, and our weekly strength training. These issues are visible in the photos when you know where to look, such as how my arms and shoulders hang when standing, and my right side waist being straighter, the left side having a more natural curve.
I also have a history of liver congestion ~ from too much alcohol when younger; and from the Hepatitis A mentioned above.
The condition of the liver can be seen in the vertical lines between the eyebrows, in the eyes, and other areas of tenderness on the body. I am very self-conscious about the tension and deep lines between my eyes as I have often been told how angry I look, or how I should 'fix' that with injections. (The face never lies!)
Other issues pertaining to the health of my kidneys, circulation, eye health, and elimination are all areas that I continue to work on, and will discuss in greater detail in a separate post analyzing my internal condition through a Chinese medicine / macrobiotic face reading.
The ABOVE photo was taken September / October 2012, after about one year vegan, plant-based. This was when I began the Banana Girl Diet online challenge. (Unfortunately, I gave away, and now miss my Vegan tee-shirt!)
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To learn more about the evidence behind the amazing benefits of plant-based diets, grab a FREE copy of Don's highly referenced Powered by Plants E-Book while he works at revising a follow-up edition.
READ MORE:
For all Macrobiotics articles, click here.
Here's a Sample of My Macrobiotic Meals for Weight Loss
Plant-Based / Macrobiotic Diet Weight Loss Tips
Download my FREE ebook, How to Feel Great & Improve Your Health with a Macrobiotic Diet, and read more or oder The Macrobiotic Action Plan, Your MAP to Greater Health & Happiness, available in paperback, ebook or Kindle formats.
Make Every Bite Count ~ The SASSY ~ Super Affordable, Simple, Satisfying & Yummy Produce-Rich, Plant-Based Path to Health was my flagship book, published in 2014. I wrote this book after our year-long high-raw, fruit and vegetable-based diet. The updated 2026 2nd edition is now available on Kindle for only $4.99.
Read about all my plant-based / macrobiotic books and cookbooks on my website.
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