Animal products cause weight increase, to varying degrees. Animal products contain saturated fats and cholesterol. It is these saturated fats combined with cholesterol that are difficult for the body to get rid of, especially if they have been exposed to high temperature such as deep frying or baking.

The vegetal world is completely free of these products. Vegetables, whole grains, fruit and nuts though might be rich in calories, they are completely and naturally free of saturated fats and cholesterol. Excess weight is never made of carbohydrates, it is made up of fats, saturated fats and cholesterol. It is virtually impossible to gain weight if you are a vegetarian and you do not have to count calories.

Reducing carbohydrate consumption is not the answer for a healthy weight loss program. The most common misconception is that carbohydrates are the cause of any weight increase. This is simply not true.

Carbohydrates are a clean source of energy for the body. Nature makes carbohydrates by adding:

1. Energy from sunshine

2. Water from the soil

3. CO2 from the air

A grain of wheat or rice transforms these three elements into carbohydrates. When we eat a rice or bread, a reverse operation gets under way. We digest the grains and break them down in a reverse process:

1. Energy that sustains us

2. Water. Discharged through the kidneys

3. CO2. Exhaled

For this reason, carbohydrates are referred to in macrobiotics as clean-burning fuel. A fuel that produces no toxins when burnt and does do not cause weight increase.

All vegetarians I know rely heavily on carbohydrates as staple energy foods and never suffer from excess weight or obesity, regardless of quantities.

Stopping oil consumption is not the answer for weight loss. Most people have a misconception of what foods cause weight gain and what foods do not.

Many think that oils cause weight increase. This is also not true. All oils are naturally free of saturated fat and cholesterol.

Oils are important for the body in many of its functions. Vegetarians use oils on daily basis and they never suffer from excess weight, obesity or any weight increase.

The Atkins diet which relies heavily on meats and other animal products can cause the body some serious harm.

... One of the main sources of over-acidity is excess protein. The monumental work of the late Francis F. Pottenger, Jr. has proved beyond question the unhealthy nature of cooked animal protein. Cancer may result when the destructive qualities of animal products acids are vicariously eliminated. Can this be the reason why cancer in females is so frequent in the breast and uterus? ...

Dr. Henry G. Bieler in his book food is your best medicine,

Grains and vegetables are foods that leave no toxins behind in the body. These foods help carry toxins out of the body because they are rich in fiber. Also, leafy greens (yin), help eliminate toxins through the kidneys. This is not the case with animal products.

A mostly vegetarian diet is far superior to the Atkins diet in weight loss. Did you know that Dr. Atkins was found to be suffering from the following health disturbances: Overweight, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

Many dieters often complain of a great sense of deprivation when they go on a weight reduction/weight loss diet. They feel that they are hungry, but their calorie-counting consultants allow only so many calories per day. Some people even submit to having a stomach reduction operation or a "stomach balloon" insertion.

We can achieve a stomach reduction (contraction = YANG), and consequently appetite decrease and weight reduction, with only the proper selection of foods. YANG vegetarian foods cause the GI tract (stomach and intestine) to naturally and safely contract. This will cause an appetite decrease. Without a dangerous and expensive stomach reduction operation.

When people lose weight by following an extreme fast weight reduction program like the Atkins diet, one of the common complaints is skin stretch marks.

When following a radical diet like the Atkins diet, the skin begins to suffer. Fats (being YIN) accumulate mostly just under the skin and cause stretch marks.

Stretch marks are extreme yin. We can avoid having stretch marks when following a diet for weight reduction and weight loss,  with the proper selection of our foods. Some YANG vegetables can cause the skin to contract and regain its elasticity. This achieves natural, safe weight loss and weight reduction. without deprivation.

Fasting can be sometimes a helpful tool for weight reduction. However, it is not recommended unless it is done under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

If the excesses a person is suffering from are toxic, large amounts of that bloat would be suddenly released into the blood stream to be discharged during the fast. This large amount of toxic bloat could be dangerous because it overburdens the kidneys and liver.

It is not enough to reduce animal products consumption in order to achieve natural healthy weight loss.

1. Reducing animal products consumption will reduce the amount of saturated fats and cholesterol that is going into the body.

2. The second part is to eat the foods that will help the body burn the fats and cholesterol that are already stored as excess weight. There are actually a few vegetables that do just that. They safely and naturally burn up the body's storage of fats, saturated fats and cholesterol.

Losing excess weight does not require eating Japanese food

Most people believe that macrobiotics means eating exotic Japanese foods. This is a misconception. Macrobiotics is not just a diet. When we understand macrobiotics, we understand the laws of nature that govern our health and our being.

The macrobiotic diet does not work for some people. Why?

If you have excess weight and tried macrobiotics, particularly the #7 diet, but it did not work for you, then the foods you selected are not appropriate for your weight loss. Macrobiotics principles, used correctly, help select the foods to eat and the foods to avoid (some permanently and some temporarily) for treating and curing overweight and obesity. Yin foods for Yang illnesses, Yang foods for Yin illnesses.