Apart from being a dedicated Nichiren Buddhist, I have a science and maths background, and I love to know how and why things work. So I’ve been doing the maths behind my weight loss, and the numbers are almost unbelievable.
In the past three months, to be precise, 82 days, I have lost 13.3kg or 2 stone 1 pound (29lbs) in old money. Now the accepted calorific value of each pound of body fat is 3500 calories, so by multiplying the number of pounds lost, assuming I have lost fat and not bone or muscle, we arrive at a staggering 102620 calories. Dividing the total by the number of days gives us an average of just over 1250 each day, every day, amazing.
Whilst the numbers are pretty staggering, it just shows why it is so difficult for people to lose weight. When you consider that running up stairs burns 30.7 calories per minute, to burn off that number of calories would entail doing that exercise continuously for over 2 days 8 hours. Burning them off on an exercise bike, peddling at a moderate pace (around 10.8 calories per minute), would take over 6 days 12 hours.
The only way I have managed to make this work for me, is by using the hunger pangs and the nagging temptations from my Dark Passenger, to build my determination. I have learned to enjoy the hunger pangs, which sounds a little masochistic. But if I am feeling hungry, my body is burning reserves, which means I am losing weight. This method works for me. Maybe I’m strange? But if you want to do it for yourself, and most people I speak to say that they would like to lose a little, you have to find a way to increase your determination to the point that it overcomes the stream of daily temptations to over eat.
Does it sound sad to say that my Mom is my best friend? I don’t think anyone would describe me as a mommy’s boy, but speaking to her virtually every day, shows me that she is just that, my very best friend.
Nichiren wrote that wrath can be both good and bad. Self-centred anger generates evil, but wrath at social injustice becomes the driving force for reform. Strong language that censures and combats a great evil often attracts adverse reactions from society, but this must not intimidate or deter those who believe they are right.
Today was the day that all motorists dread, the annual MOT test, a day of anxiety and disappointment or elation. Sadly mine was one of disappointment. It’s a strange feeling, handing the keys over to a stranger, not that Tom at Volvo Poole is really that strange. But it’s a bit like leaving your kids with a new babysitter, you just hope that they know what they’re doing and take care of your pride and joy.
I’ve been on this diet since early August, and it’s been going really well. I’ve lost over two stone (13kgs) and I feel terrific, but it’s so easy to get back into bad habits and undo all the good work. Saturday was a perfect example. Being invited to the cafe for breakfast was going to be a treat, teacakes, coffee and all. But it’s all too easy to think, ‘well I’ve had this and that, so I might as well go for it’. Stupid and a big mistake.
Being a member of the SGI (Soka Gakkai International) sometimes raises questions about who we are, what we do, and why. Soka Gakkai is Japanese for Value Creating Society, and the organisation is dedicated to helping communities and individuals to create value and happiness in their lives.
Today has just been one of those days.
Despite my plea yesterday, the blame and counter blame emails started flying this morning, so sad. I understand that everyone wants to put their side of the story, make themselves look like the innocent party, get the family on their side. But isn’t that just the way wars and feuds start?
The Search For Enlightenment 
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