[EcoDharma] ECO-Life

[Tairin]

Hi Meitou

Maybe you could describe the “negative effects” eating plant based has on you. Maybe they aren’t as uncommon or negative as you think.


Tairin
Sat today and lah

[Jakuden]

Shoka, that is amazing, it's so beautiful as well, truly inspiring. I'm definitely going to try harder next year with growing veg in pots and containers.

Talking of vegetables, I've just finished a plant based week of eating as part of a Vegan Society initiative, and today I've just seen another project for three weeks vegan eating in September. I'm being made increasingly and uncomfortably aware of the negative impact on the environment I'm having by eating animal products, and also today an article about vegetarianism and Buddhism ( yes that old chestnut) also pricked my conscience. My problem is that whenever I try plant based eating, it doesn't seem to agree with me, carbs seem to have a bad effect on me. I'm just wondering if anyone here has any advice regarding this - I keep seeing people saying how healthy they feel on a plant based diet, yet there's my experience, not feeling healthy and putting on weight too. Ugh, what am I doing wrong?!

Gassho
Meitou
sattodaylah

I have the same problem, I get digestive discomfort, gain weight from the carbs and generally feel hypoglycemic and yucky if I don’t have at least a small amount of animal protein.

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Doshin]

I have a neighbor who has turned about half of their front yard into the most lovely garden. I love walking by in the evening and seeing all her veggies coming up. It is truly amazing, because I tried for a couple years to grow herbs in my front yard and they kept getting destroyed by stray cats. If I see her out working the garden I always comment on how nice it is, because I know it's an odd type of front yard to have.

Seeing it the other night it reminded me of this family, who turned their house into an urban homestead. They live on a normal size lot in southern California and are able to produce all the vegetables they eat, and have enough extra to sell to people. While I don't think I'm going to quit my day job to do urban homesteading, it is interesting to see what can be accomplished in small places.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5869[/ATTACH]

http://urbanhomestead.org/

Remember "one raindrop raises the sea"; any small step makes a difference.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

Amazing

Doshin
St

[newby_x86]

Shoka, that is amazing, it's so beautiful as well, truly inspiring. I'm definitely going to try harder next year with growing veg in pots and containers.

Talking of vegetables, I've just finished a plant based week of eating as part of a Vegan Society initiative, and today I've just seen another project for three weeks vegan eating in September. I'm being made increasingly and uncomfortably aware of the negative impact on the environment I'm having by eating animal products, and also today an article about vegetarianism and Buddhism ( yes that old chestnut) also pricked my conscience. My problem is that whenever I try plant based eating, it doesn't seem to agree with me, carbs seem to have a bad effect on me. I'm just wondering if anyone here has any advice regarding this - I keep seeing people saying how healthy they feel on a plant based diet, yet there's my experience, not feeling healthy and putting on weight too. Ugh, what am I doing wrong?!

Gassho
Meitou
sattodaylah

Hi Meitou,

If you're cooking beans and lentils, I'd definitely experiment with adding stuff like Asafoetida, Coriander leaves, Cloves, Cumin, Cinnamon etc. With vegetables especially, a little bit of garlic and ginger works great. Post meals, we pop a bit of jaggery around here to help it go down. All great digestive aids (assuming no food allergies of course )

Gassho
Anant
SaT

[Shoka]

Talking of vegetables, I've just finished a plant based week of eating as part of a Vegan Society initiative, and today I've just seen another project for three weeks vegan eating in September. I'm being made increasingly and uncomfortably aware of the negative impact on the environment I'm having by eating animal products, and also today an article about vegetarianism and Buddhism ( yes that old chestnut) also pricked my conscience. My problem is that whenever I try plant based eating, it doesn't seem to agree with me, carbs seem to have a bad effect on me. I'm just wondering if anyone here has any advice regarding this - I keep seeing people saying how healthy they feel on a plant based diet, yet there's my experience, not feeling healthy and putting on weight too. Ugh, what am I doing wrong?!

Meitou,

So I'll tell my story on my GI track and why I can't be vegan or vegetarian. (I'll try to keep it short without all the gross stuff.)

A few years ago, I was sick for months. There was at least a 6 month period, when I was always hungry even after eating a big meal I never felt satisfied. My body wasn't gaining weight but I looked two sizes bigger. And I was deficient in several vitamins. I spent a few months doing tests, tracking what I was eating, and doing some procedures to check my insides. Something was clearly wrong, but we weren't having much luck figuring out what. So on a whim my doctor said to cut gluten and dairy and eat as bland as possible for a week. I had chicken and white rice soup mainly. And I felt amazing! Yippee!

Then we started adding foods back in, fruits and veggies cause they are good for you, right? Suddenly things started to not feel as good anymore. My system was having a hard time again, and I wasn't processing the food correctly.

The end of the story is that I'm gluten intolerant, and allergic to dairy. I also can't handle veggies which are too fibrous like kale and cabbage (even through I love them so). Really any sturdy veggie is hard on my system. Also fruits alone as a bad plan, something with the sugar levels and my body over reacting to it.

For me, I can eat vegan or vegetarian for a day or two; but after that the fiber levels get too high, sugars get out of whack and my body stops processing things correctly. So it's not a sustainable diet for me.

The reason I'm sharing this is because it took months of trail and error to figure out what was wrong. Everything you read or see, says an apple should be good, kale is great for this, eat a banana for for potassium... etc, etc. But I believe that every body is different; a diet that works wonderfully for someone won't necessarily work for everyone.

If switching to veganism is something you really want to do, then talk with your doctor about the side affects and see what they say. You never know there could be something else or they might suggest a better way to transition so your body is happier.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

[Shoka]

I work in construction (as I think most everyone knows by now), so I wear jeans almost all the time and ruin them pretty fast. Earlier this week I had a relatively new pair that got snagged on something at work and split a seam.

I was really close to tossing them out, when I decided to take just a few minutes to stitch them back together. I grabbed my small sewing kit that I have from sewing rakusu and use the exact same stitch to gently close the seam.

They are good as new. Many the three Rs should become four Repair.

Gassho,

Shoka
sat/lah

[Meian]

Meitou,

So I'll tell my story on my GI track and why I can't be vegan or vegetarian. (I'll try to keep it short without all the gross stuff.)

A few years ago, I was sick for months. There was at least a 6 month period, when I was always hungry even after eating a big meal I never felt satisfied. My body wasn't gaining weight but I looked two sizes bigger. And I was deficient in several vitamins. I spent a few months doing tests, tracking what I was eating, and doing some procedures to check my insides. Something was clearly wrong, but we weren't having much luck figuring out what. So on a whim my doctor said to cut gluten and dairy and eat as bland as possible for a week. I had chicken and white rice soup mainly. And I felt amazing! Yippee!

Then we started adding foods back in, fruits and veggies cause they are good for you, right? Suddenly things started to not feel as good anymore. My system was having a hard time again, and I wasn't processing the food correctly.

The end of the story is that I'm gluten intolerant, and allergic to dairy. I also can't handle veggies which are too fibrous like kale and cabbage (even through I love them so). Really any sturdy veggie is hard on my system. Also fruits alone as a bad plan, something with the sugar levels and my body over reacting to it.

For me, I can eat vegan or vegetarian for a day or two; but after that the fiber levels get too high, sugars get out of whack and my body stops processing things correctly. So it's not a sustainable diet for me.

The reason I'm sharing this is because it took months of trail and error to figure out what was wrong. Everything you read or see, says an apple should be good, kale is great for this, eat a banana for for potassium... etc, etc. But I believe that every body is different; a diet that works wonderfully for someone won't necessarily work for everyone.

If switching to veganism is something you really want to do, then talk with your doctor about the side affects and see what they say. You never know there could be something else or they might suggest a better way to transition so your body is happier.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

Thank you, Shoka. Although my diet is mostly vegetarian (I can't handle much meat), I'm glad I'm not alone in food sensitivities. Foods like broccoli, legumes, onions, cabbage, and dairy put me in severe pain. I avoid most gluten by default.

I drink almond or soymilk, and stick with a small range of foods I know are safe, with yogurt and nuts.

Gassho
Kim
St lh

Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk

[Meitou]

Meitou,

So I'll tell my story on my GI track and why I can't be vegan or vegetarian. (I'll try to keep it short without all the gross stuff.)

A few years ago, I was sick for months. There was at least a 6 month period, when I was always hungry even after eating a big meal I never felt satisfied. My body wasn't gaining weight but I looked two sizes bigger. And I was deficient in several vitamins. I spent a few months doing tests, tracking what I was eating, and doing some procedures to check my insides. Something was clearly wrong, but we weren't having much luck figuring out what. So on a whim my doctor said to cut gluten and dairy and eat as bland as possible for a week. I had chicken and white rice soup mainly. And I felt amazing! Yippee!

Then we started adding foods back in, fruits and veggies cause they are good for you, right? Suddenly things started to not feel as good anymore. My system was having a hard time again, and I wasn't processing the food correctly.

The end of the story is that I'm gluten intolerant, and allergic to dairy. I also can't handle veggies which are too fibrous like kale and cabbage (even through I love them so). Really any sturdy veggie is hard on my system. Also fruits alone as a bad plan, something with the sugar levels and my body over reacting to it.

For me, I can eat vegan or vegetarian for a day or two; but after that the fiber levels get too high, sugars get out of whack and my body stops processing things correctly. So it's not a sustainable diet for me.

The reason I'm sharing this is because it took months of trail and error to figure out what was wrong. Everything you read or see, says an apple should be good, kale is great for this, eat a banana for for potassium... etc, etc. But I believe that every body is different; a diet that works wonderfully for someone won't necessarily work for everyone.

If switching to veganism is something you really want to do, then talk with your doctor about the side affects and see what they say. You never know there could be something else or they might suggest a better way to transition so your body is happier.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

Thank you Shoka and everyone who has replied to this. I've been doing some reading and find that I'm really ignorant about recent developments - still living in the 70's I think! I've learned that there's now a perceived difference between vegan and plant based, and I've come around to thinking that in the past my vegan eating wasn't very healthy - I was kind of aware of that anyway, but buried my head in the sand with the thought that I wasn't eating meat or dairy - ergo I was eating better. Wrong. I agree Shoka, it takes a lot of time, trial and flexibility to find what suits, one size doesn't fit all. I'm currently reading Forks Over Knives which is all about whole food and plant based eating which I think may suit me better. Has anyone else read this?

And yes to repairing clothes - the Japanese have made an art form out of it of course!

Gassho
Meitou
satwithyoualltodaylah

[Tairin]

Some thought for you from our friend Susan Moon

https://tricycle.org/magazine/stop-shopping/

Tairin
Sat today and lah

[newby_x86]

Some thought for you from our friend Susan Moon

https://tricycle.org/magazine/stop-shopping/

Tairin
Sat today and lah

This was a delightful read, thank you for sharing Tairin

Gassho
Anant
SaT

[Tai Do]

My friends,
The fires on Siberia and Amazon are constantly on my thoughts these last days. I'm very sad with what is happening and angry (difficult to overcome) with my government's responses to it. The fires in Brazil were probably men made and are a result of many inadequacies in our economy and politics. It is a little common to have fires here where I live, in the cerrado (which is a savannah kind of vegetation) and the caatinga (a semi-arid vegetation), in the Center and Northeast of Brazil, as these are very dry areas. But the Amazon is a rain forest, full of humidity and regular (in some places even daily) rain. It is most unusual that a rain forest burns with fires. A clear sign that something is really wrong with the environment.
I kept thinking “what can I do?”, and the only answer that came is this: stop to by agricultural products from non-sustainable sources. The fires are made in order to create new land, mainly for cattle, soy and cotton. The only thing I can do is to stop financing the agrobusiness, specially the plantation owners that keep these unsustainable practices. It’s even worse when I remember the amount of pesticides that are being used.
So my wife and I have decided to stop buying non organic or non-agroecological vegetables, stop buying meat (I already don’t eat meat, but she does) and find alternatives from trustworthy sources. For us here, in a small town, it will be a lot harder (I still couldn’t find a supplier of onion that met the organic/agroecological criterion). This is easier for you, my American, European and Asian friends, to do, as I simply urge you to stop buying Brazilian agricultural goods. It is a little thing we can do in order to press the Brazilian agrobusiness to stop.
Gassho,
Mateus
Sat today/LAH

[Shoka]

Yesterday my washing machine decided it would be fun to dump gallons of water all over the laundry room and kitchen floor, I'm guessing a washer inside failed. But it was broken. And I had work today, without any clean socks or pants. So I got to experience hand-washing in the bathtub.

It's funny because as I was doing it I thought, "wow, this would be a real pain to do with all the clothes I wear every week." Then I remembered something my grandma had told me about their house (which was an old farmer house). They had built closets in the bedrooms sometime in the 80's. I laughed at that and said, "What did people do with their clothes before that?" She said, "Well we didn't used to have as many clothes as we have today. They just had pegs on the wall, because a woman might only have 2 or 3 dresses, and one nice Sunday dress."

It's seems an oddity in today's society to have so few clothes. But it makes sense since it has become so convenient to wash and dry them, why not have a bunch? This experience might have impressed me to try an experiment.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

[Nanrin]

Yesterday my washing machine decided it would be fun to dump gallons of water all over the laundry room and kitchen floor, I'm guessing a washer inside failed. But it was broken. And I had work today, without any clean socks or pants. So I got to experience hand-washing in the bathtub.

It's funny because as I was doing it I thought, "wow, this would be a real pain to do with all the clothes I wear every week." Then I remembered something my grandma had told me about their house (which was an old farmer house). They had built closets in the bedrooms sometime in the 80's. I laughed at that and said, "What did people do with their clothes before that?" She said, "Well we didn't used to have as many clothes as we have today. They just had pegs on the wall, because a woman might only have 2 or 3 dresses, and one nice Sunday dress."

It's seems an oddity in today's society to have so few clothes. But it makes sense since it has become so convenient to wash and dry them, why not have a bunch? This experience might have impressed me to try an experiment.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

Hello Shoka,

My wife didn't have a washer when I moved in with her. I'd washed things by hand before, but never as my main method of cleaning clothing. At first my hands ached, and I found I could only wash a couple pairs of clothing at a time before it was too painful to continue. We hoped to buy a washer, but money was tight and eventually my hands stopped aching and hand washing everything became normal. I've washed everything by hand in room temperature water since.

I've found I don't need much clothing - although those old farmers had much less than I do. I need three of anything I wear daily in a given season - one to wear while the other two are washed and hung up to dry. Having a couple additional pieces is nice during the rainy months when it's hard to dry clothing. More than five of the same thing is unnecessary surplus for how I live (how many you need really depends on how you live). Since I don't have many items, I wear a few plain colours that all match. Now I never spend more than a moment to decide what to wear.

Everyone will has to find their own balance.

I'm curious to hear more about your experiment.

Gassho,

Nanrin

Sat today

P.S. For anyone considering regularly washing clothes by hand, I'd highly recommend getting a basin for the task. Sinks tend to be too small, bathtubs too big, buckets are too small and too narrow. If you use a non-toxic soap/detergent, the waste water can be used to water plants too.

[Doshin]

My friends,
The fires on Siberia and Amazon are constantly on my thoughts these last days. I'm very sad with what is happening and angry (difficult to overcome) with my government's responses to it. The fires in Brazil were probably men made and are a result of many inadequacies in our economy and politics. It is a little common to have fires here where I live, in the cerrado (which is a savannah kind of vegetation) and the caatinga (a semi-arid vegetation), in the Center and Northeast of Brazil, as these are very dry areas. But the Amazon is a rain forest, full of humidity and regular (in some places even daily) rain. It is most unusual that a rain forest burns with fires. A clear sign that something is really wrong with the environment.
I kept thinking “what can I do?”, and the only answer that came is this: stop to by agricultural products from non-sustainable sources. The fires are made in order to create new land, mainly for cattle, soy and cotton. The only thing I can do is to stop financing the agrobusiness, specially the plantation owners that keep these unsustainable practices. It’s even worse when I remember the amount of pesticides that are being used.
So my wife and I have decided to stop buying non organic or non-agroecological vegetables, stop buying meat (I already don’t eat meat, but she does) and find alternatives from trustworthy sources. For us here, in a small town, it will be a lot harder (I still couldn’t find a supplier of onion that met the organic/agroecological criterion). This is easier for you, my American, European and Asian friends, to do, as I simply urge you to stop buying Brazilian agricultural goods. It is a little thing we can do in order to press the Brazilian agrobusiness to stop.
Gassho,
Mateus
Sat today/LAH

Thank you for your concern and practice for change.

Gassho
Doshin
St

[Nengei]

I am currently in the process of drastically reducing my wardrobe, and am attempting to follow a single, default look. I found information about something called Project333 that got me started. The idea is to wear only 33 articles of clothing for the next 3 months. Your wedding ring, underwear, sleep wear, lounge wear, and workout gear don't count (as long as you actually wear them for those things). But any outerwear, shoes, and accessories do count. Everything else gets put away.

My default look at this point is a plain, dark evergreen T-shirt (I have 4 of them) and a pair of brown cargo pants (I have 2 of them). I have selected one button-up shirt to wear if I need it. It's easy at this point because I am currently job-hunting, so I am not required to wear a particular thing. Once I land a job, I will have to be more selective to keep my wardrobe down to 33 items. The "rules" of the project are that if you truly can't keep to 33, it is okay to choose a number that is realistic for your circumstances. I may add work clothes in as "no-count" items.

Anyway, I have been doing this for two weeks and I like it much, much better than I thought. I thought I would have a hard time letting go of a lot of my differently coloured, logo T shirts, etc., but I don't miss them at all. I like the default look just fine.

Gassho,
然芸 Nengei
Sat today. LAH.

You deserve to be happy.
You deserve to be loved.

Yesterday my washing machine decided it would be fun to dump gallons of water all over the laundry room and kitchen floor, I'm guessing a washer inside failed. But it was broken. And I had work today, without any clean socks or pants. So I got to experience hand-washing in the bathtub.

It's funny because as I was doing it I thought, "wow, this would be a real pain to do with all the clothes I wear every week." Then I remembered something my grandma had told me about their house (which was an old farmer house). They had built closets in the bedrooms sometime in the 80's. I laughed at that and said, "What did people do with their clothes before that?" She said, "Well we didn't used to have as many clothes as we have today. They just had pegs on the wall, because a woman might only have 2 or 3 dresses, and one nice Sunday dress."

It's seems an oddity in today's society to have so few clothes. But it makes sense since it has become so convenient to wash and dry them, why not have a bunch? This experience might have impressed me to try an experiment.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday