Speaking of mental health, whenever I can, I pack up and spend a couple hours at a nearby state forest. I take a pen, paper and chair, and write. There is something about being out in nature for me — that is where I can totally let go & relax. Even if I am truly working, it doesn’t feel like work when I’m at the state forest. Although I much prefer to take no work at all and just totally decompress. :)

Diet — once I figured out that processed carbs were the root of all evil for my metabolism (YMMV!) it’s been a lot easier to regulate my blood sugars, choose smarter fuels and lose weight. I’ve cut potatoes, pasta and bread from my diet. (Well, I will eat bread if it’s on a sandwich I buy, but I don’t have loaves of anything bread-like in the house!) My weak spots are Pepsi and gourmet ice cream. :) I can so easily drink a Pepsi, or eat a 1/2 pint of ice cream, in a day. (It used to be 70-100 oz. of Pepsi a day, so having cut it back to 20 oz. a day, if that, is great) When I want to lose weight or feel TRULY GOOD though, those are a no-no.

After years and years of drinking tons of soda every day, I finally realized that usually when I picked up a Pepsi, it is because I was thirsty… but the Pepsi makes me thirstier! Literally! As I drink it! So I’ve been trying to pay closer attention to my body and figure out if I have a taste for the soda, or if I am actually thirsty. If I’m thirsty, I pour a big glass of ice water. Water can take me a long way through a day. If I am good about drinking plenty of water every time my body sends the “thirsty” signal, pretty soon I’m 3/4 of the way through the day and haven’t even gotten to the point of thinking about a soda!

(Then comes the late-night munchies & carb cravings, which I’ve had since I was a wee little girl… enter ice cream… ugh)

Nice to see I am not the only one who has “woken up” to taking care of herself, and who wrestles with it day to day. :)

There are also many different ways to meditate, so I’m sure there’s a school of thought/technique that you would be comfortable with.

I know for me, things slid gradually. I wasn’t as aware of myself - I didn’t realize I needed to go on a diet, I simply realized I needed to use my noggin more than I was. I found it to be a domino-effect - once I was aware of my diet, I became more aware of my attitude, perceptions, feelings, etc. I think before when I let my diet go, I let exercise go, I let stress-relievers like meditation go, and things slid.

For me, it’s all connected.

But, so little talk of mental health, spirit, and happiness. Being thin and having energy isn’t the same as being happy.

Meditation is the root of all of these life-improving ideas. After all, you have to be awfully body-unaware to suddenly realize that you need to go on a diet. I agree with the above comment that meditation morning and night key!

And I assume that when you say fried chicken, you mean the pan-fried, small amount of fat kind and not the drop it in a big huge tub of fat till it floats kind. ;-)

When I mentioned taking time, it’s not like I’m laboring over things for hours. I just use some weekend time to take the thinking of what to eat out of my busy week, when I know I’ll be far more tempted to go for convenience. Actual food consumption takes me far less time than it should, unfortunately.

eating decent doesn’t have to take up too much time. i’m 5′10″ and 175-180 lbs - here’s a typical working day (my diet can get uglier on weekends due tolack of structure):

before work: a nonfat flavored yogurt and a string cheese (how’s that for fast!). this gets me through to lunch, ~4 hrs, with no hunger pains.

lunch: two spicy chicken soft tacos at taco bell - $2.13 out the door.

2-3 hours later: 1 zone bar.

dinner: lots of options, but typically it is fried chicken w/o the skin and some fruits, veggies less often. it might be some steak or some hamburger. i might eat ONE roll with dinner.

i need to get back into a small handfull of peanuts with every meal - that is actually one of my favorite foods when i’m in the zone. i can *feel* the difference between peanuts and no peanuts (or almonds or guacamole or macadamia nuts).

my other lunch that i eat a lot is two mcdonald’s double cheeseburgers w/o the cheese and pickles. $2.13 out the door.

the visual method actually works quite well…

protein: the size of your palm
carbs: two fists worth of fruits, LOTS of veggies or minimal breads, pastas and the like (to taste, not to fill up on).
fat: small handfull of peanuts or other mfat.

a snack is half of the above.

eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, drink lots of water and get some cardio going…

you will be amazed.

i got a coworker on the zone and…

1. she felt better
2. she wasn’t hungry all the time
3. she lost 3 lbs the first week
4. she still complained she didn’t lose 5 lbs until i reminded her how AMAZING it was to have the first three items in this list AT THE SAME TIME!

you have the knowledge now… use it.

eat to feel good… not to medicate emotions.