New weight low!

Yes! I hit another, record, all-time weight low! Less than what I remember my weight being when I was 16 (again, I don’t remember if I weighed myself when I had clothes on or not, and the scale back then was not electronic).

I noticed that a few days ago my weight had actually gone up a couple pounds. That was above the previous low I wrote about.

I didn’t anticipate that it would go back down again, because the previous low was after I had been dancing.

But a couple days ago it was low – the new record low.

I do not put a lot of effort into calorie restriction. Mostly I just eat disciplined – only eat what I am allowed to eat and never – ever – eating what is not in my diet.

As far as I can tell this discipline is what is working. Calorie restriction is difficult to calculate anyways and of course the calorie needs of the body are going to fluctuate constantly. What is my baseline maintenance calorie level? Is it 1400? I don’t know exactly but I do know that my body can burn different amounts at different times and also that my appetite changes.

A couple days ago I had a day when I wanted to eat and ate more throughout the day than normal. My body just needed more nourishment. But only a couple days later I hit the new low.

I think my weight fluctuation is like a sine wave that over time decreases very slightly in amplitude.

Yes I do feel sometimes feel like I don’t have a lot of energy, but I actually don’t mind that feeling. I’ve learned to deal with being able to feel that my energy is a little bit low but still remain active and stable. Part of this has been inspired by the Buddhist concept of tranquil abiding.

This concept does not get enough credit. I wish I had known about it when I was younger. I think it would have helped me significantly. I guess there’s no real analog in the West to the teachings of tranquil abiding but it is a very valuable tool in life.

It also kind of fits in with the concept of non-self and also with an existentialist outlook. At each moment one is simply there where one is. Each moment is its own totality so at each moment its best to abide tranquilly even though there are constant fluctuations. Get caught up in or swept away by fluctuations is like losing one’s bearings, yet it happens all the time with people. They lose their center, their stable ground of tranquil abiding.

Other people can react to each others’ ungroundedness, and this can create all kinds of negative dynamics which feed off of and reinforce each other until usually something destructive happens and there is some kind of breakdown or collapse.

I guess its all connected. If you think of the existence of a beautiful, blessed, simple creature like a cow which just abides tranquilly, but then there are people who enslave these creatures, subject them to horrible conditions, and kill them. It creates this stream of negativity that feeds into so many other things, plays into collective dynamics of cultures even.

When you stand outside that stream of ungroundedness and find a true stillness, arrive at a place of peaceful, tranquil abiding it is like freedom and the taste is so good, the state is so precious that its worth more than anything else.

I hope more people will be encouraged to follow the vegan, sattvic, no-refined carbs, whole-grain diet and bring peace and groundedness to the world.