Intermittent Fasting, which in my case is to skip breakfast and not eating for 16 hours between dinner and the next day’s lunch, seems to be working well. I feel good having this rhythm. I kind of enjoy this feeling of hunger toward the end of 16 hour-fast; the guts are relaxed.
The question is what we should eat for lunch and dinner. When you eat 3 meals a day, you can spread your nutritional intake over breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but now you need to divide it into 2 meals.
The basic principle remains the same; Ichibutsu Zentaishoku, Ma Go Wa Ya Sa Shi I, Ichiju Sansai, and Shindofuji.
You want to cover Ma Go Wa Ya Sa Shi I as much as possible in your 2 meals.
If I were to apply David Sinclair’s concept of avoiding animal protein, I would not include fish in my diet.
For example, the lunch I had yesterday was all plant-based.
50 grams of Natto
A salad containing 20 grams of pecan nuts, 10 grams of cashew nuts, 10 grams of pumpkin seeds, 10 grams of sunflower seeds.
It is a well-balanced plant-based protein since it has both beans and nuts covering different kinds of amino acids.
However, it doesn’t reach the recommended daily intake of protein. To do it, I need to include more high protein foods like meat or dairy products. If I follow conventional views on nutrition, I should include animal-based protein in the 2 meals.
This is something I am not sure about yet. I need to research more about nutrition, and scientifically backed up theories on plant-based diets.
If I were to consider other factors than nutrition such as the environment, and examples of centenarians, the lunch I had seems ideal. Fermented brown rice and barley, Miso soup with Wakame seaweed, Natto, a salad with raw vegetables, nuts and seeds, steamed vegetables including Shiitake. It has plenty of dietary fiber to feed the gut microbiota. Centenarians were not vegetarians but they weren’t eating animal products every day either. They only ate fish or meat once a week or once a month. If you calculate their daily nutritional intake, it probably won’t meet the required amount.
The only thing I felt about the lunch was that it was a bit too much. I can eat less. Maybe skipping the steamed vegetables. I can eat them for dinner instead.
For dinner, you can have something similar. You can have sweet potatoes instead of fermented brown rice if you like to cover I in Ma Go Wa Ya Sa Shi I.
Depending on where you live nuts are not always available locally and it isn’t Shindofuji if you include them in your diet. You need to choose from your priorities, whether you prioritize nutritional balance or being local.
The Ikigai Diet: The Secret Japanese Diet to Health and Longevity
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