I’m writing this on Day 3 of my 30 days of macrobiotic eating. I’ve been chronicling what I eat and how I feel on Instagram, Twitter, and my blog’s Facebook page. So if you want a play-by-play, that’s where you’ll find it! Here’s a recap.

Day 1

I felt super groggy and sometimes even dizzy. Like I was a in fog. A little headachey. Definitely disoriented, I had trouble coming up with words. I wasn’t really hungry, though. The fog lifted by the evening, helped along by the huge amount of energy generated by teaching a kids yoga birthday party for 20+ children.

Started out the day trying to make rice congee for breakfast, which exploded in the microwave.

Ended up having to make it on the stove. It tastes super bland. Not impressed.

And it didn’t fill me up AT ALL, so I tried snacking but the macrobiotic diet really isn’t build for snacking.

Then, this…

#30daycleanse update, 4.5 hours in: I MISS FRUIT. All this rice is making me bloated already.

— Jenny Bradford (@_conscientious) January 4, 2014

Lunch was a little better but took forever to prep. I didn’t even bother taking a picture of dinner because it was exactly the same. NOT A LOT OF VARIETY IN THIS DIET. Evening is the worst, so far.

I can’t go downstairs because the chocolate is down there and I can hear it calling to me from up here. #30daycleanse #miessence — Jenny Bradford (@_conscientious) January 5, 2014

 

Day 2

I feel much better the second day, not as foggy but I am still forgetting a lot of words. Always a bad thing when you’re a fitness instructor and need to talk descriptively for 50 minutes straight. I experimented with buckwheat pancakes and rice syrup. They tasted a lot like they look: grey. I don’t know if the pancakes filled me up more than the congee or if the lack of sugar was helping, but I am usually starving by the time I finish class on Sundays. This time I wasn’t, and I was even able to do a little workout of my own after all the clients left.

Day 2: Not nearly as hungry as usual, even tho I taught a class & did a 25 min workout myself. #30daycleanse #miessence — Jenny Bradford (@_conscientious) January 5, 2014

I didn’t eat lunch until around 2:30pm, and I was able to make miso soup from scratch (the photo from Day 1 was a mix). Miso paste, dried wakame, tofu noodles, and bella mushrooms. It was pretty yummy! I also made a miso based dressing for my salad.  When they said “mustard” in the recipe, I now realize they probably mean mustard powder and not yellow mustard from a can…

After church, the rest of the family went out for fries and I couldn’t eat any. The fries were in a bag IN THE CAR WITH ME. It was horrible. I had to stay out of the room while they ate or I would have lost my shiz. Seriously.

Again, night time was the worst. Fortunately, my neighbor came over and took my giant bag of chocolate for safe keeping. I get it back when this is over!! I did realize that I can have strawberries, and I eventually had to have some of those plus some apple juice to take care of the severe fruit/sweet cravings.

Going to bed also helps, FYI.

Day 3

It’s the third day and I feel pretty normal so far. I added dates and apple juice to my congee at breakfast and it was slight more tolerable. Same snacks as before. Same miso for lunch. I added aduki beans and rice.

Aduki beans taste like dirt in bean form. HOORAY.

So far, my conclusion is that this diet is not un-substantial — I haven’t been too hungry — but I am super bored. The only flavor in this diet is salt and it gets old fast. Also, it’s very hard to prepare food to eat with the rest of the family. It is best summed up with this tweet.

I had to spend half our dinner time cooking my own food while everyone else ate theirs. #30daycleanse

— Jenny Bradford (@_conscientious) January 6, 2014

I think anyone who maintains this diet long term would not be able to socialize much, or even leave the house. You’re pretty much tied to your kitchen if you want to eat at all.

What I miss most:

• flavor
• eating being enjoyable
• the ability to eat around others
• chocolate and fruit