So a couple of weeks ago I went to be assessed by a nutritionist. She basically weighed me, said I was underweight and that I needed to bulk up. I have been keeping the sixth precept and the recommendations she gave are in alignment with it. 

I read the chantings monks do before eating and it recalls eating "not for bulking up" but for the erradication of feelings of hunger that have arised, survival of the body and maximun freedom from disease. 

It has happened quite a bit that I wake up early to meditate, feel really good in my meditation but then I have to interrupt in order to keep up what the nutritionist said. 

My take has been to follow her advice for a few months and see whether it makes me _feel_ better. But then there's the thoughts about monks eating one meal a day lingering in my mind, the fact that I was told to be nutrient deficient simply by weighing me (inferring that some particular weight is conducive to good health while others are not), and also that I have interrupted meditation practice that feels really good simply for keeping up to her advice. 

I have been listening to my body with regards to hunger, though noticing that there's a lot of hunger that comes from simply thinking about food. Another route out of this dilemma has been to search whether underweight monks (by modern standards) actually accomplish a higher freedom from disease than the normal weighing non-spiritually disciplined people. Any thoughts or research on this? 

I think this might wake up interesting debates around here. 

Thank you for reading or responding. 

Hi Juan,

If at all possible, go to a doctor and get actual blood tests done to measure hormones and key nutrient levels. If you have some money and availability, you can also get these tests done privately. 

Depending on what country you are in, the label nutritionist is somewhat arbitrary. It is also an unfortunately reality that nutritional epidemiology is one of the worst sciences we have due to various reasons (hard to have good quality studies, people attach their egos to their diets, lobbyist funded research, too much extrapolation from rodent studies, I could go on and on). For more info on that, Dr. Peter Attia (MD) is a great resource and someone who tends to be pretty rigorous about the science; instead of just being dogmatic and tribal like many (not all) vegan and carnivore obsessed folks are. 

I don't want to start a flame war here but you do need to be concerned about nutrient deficiencies and hormonal issues depending on your diet. Vegtables are loaded with nutrients but the primary issue is that they tend to lack bioavailability and certain key nutrients that tend to be found in meat. Without blood tests though, you are essentially groping in the dark.

For disclosure, I am not an expert but I have tried every god damn diet except full on vegan for the past 12 years. This includes things like clinical ketosis, plant based, sugar/fruit diet, bodybuilding diet (chicken and broccoli), vertical diet, strict carnivore. None of these diets were perfect and the more specialized they tended to be, the more they tended to feel great short term but crappy long term. 

Hi Juan

I am writing to you in good faith and out of a sense of duty.
Buddhism is a major world religion just like christianity,  Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam, Jainism.

At some point you need to decide whether you want to get better and better at being religious or you want awakening. Awakening as described by Uncle Sid, is not the same thing as adherence to a religion prescribed by 'the buddha'.

Uncle Sid was an Arhat and he wanted people to work towards Arhatship. 'The Buddha' was the founder of a religion. They are not the same person ... in a particular way, and in yet another way ... they actually are the same person.

So ... it boils down to you! Do you see that 'precepts' are silly rules established by a silly man? and if yes then can you set these silly things aside and live life like a sensible sane rational person in the 21st century? and pursue awakening ... do very systematic structured methodical formal meditation within the constraints of your life, and let that seep into your off the cushion experience?

If you can do that, and I dont know if you can or cannot ... then what monks do is simply immaterial.

Make sane rational choices about the food you eat, vegeterianism or veganism or eating before 12 PM, or 4 AM, or 3 PM ... these will become silly ideas of silly people.

+1 for what Adi said. I do appreciate the religious systems for what they are, and I do see the wisdom in many of the teachings. I have great respect for the Theravada Buddhists here and elsewhere, but ultimately systems are just maps and not the territory. I wouldn’t want to tell anyone to be unhealthy, but at some point your body will let you know what it needs. You can’t miss it, or second guess it, and you might not even notice it when it happens (because YOU won’t be there). As far as I understand the precepts are for monastics. I can understand the necessity for some discipline and rules in a monastery, because ultimately a monastery (like any other organization) has to be “managed.” It has to be managed by “someone” and it’s easier if there are clear cut rules for that person to manage. A chaotic organization is counterproductive for everyone involved. My advice if you’re a couple pounds underweight would be to not worry about it and eat what you do. If you become dangerously (medically) underweight, seek medical intervention because there is likely an underlying problem be it physical or psychological.

Hi Juan,

I echo Ryan's advice.  Also, it's hard to tell from your post how underweight you are, according to the doctor (five pounds? fifty?).  The issues of feeling hungry, weighing too little, and being nutritionally deficient need to be addressed separately, and in different ways.  From personal experience, I would say the following: 

• A little hunger is indeed conducive to meditation practice.
• One's "correct" weight depends at least in part on one's daily routine, including exercise, amount of physical labor, etc.  If you're not weightlifting, moving pianos, working in the fields, etc., you probably don't need much muscle mass.  That said, it is possible to be underweight due to malnutrition.  (I lived in India for a while, and was anemic due to an iron deficiency.)
• The blood tests are helpful to sort out the nutritional deficiency issue.

Many Southeast Asian monks suffer from diabetes [source].  So I would worry less about the habits of monks and more about conventional self-care habits.  If you're sleeping well, eating balanced meals, and have enough energy to get through the day without feeling exhausted, you're probably okay, though you should still get the blood tests.

What if a person has an eating disorder and is literally unable to control their behavior around and, consumption of, food? It happens. The best advice here, IMHO, came from whoever suggested visiting a medical doctor and getting some relevant testing done.

I love sushi!!! 

You might find the Kalama Sutta a timely read: "Kalamas, don't go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, 'This contemplative is our teacher.'" 

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html

from Thanissaro Bhikku's comment on it: "The ability to question and test one’s beliefs in an appropriate way is called appropriate attention." 

I think you have it spot on when you say you'll just need to try it for yourself for a few months and see what you can discern. Hopefully this helps put the fear of not following monastic orthodoxy out of your mind