Per request, here is what I have to say about my lifestyle.

So, I admit, I am totally a geek about certain things. Living healthy is right at the top of the list. I have a fascination with nutrition that you wouldn't believe, well, unless you really know me and then you can just attest to it. I haven't always been this way, it has just slowly developed over time and now living in Seattle, it is pretty much more extreme than it's ever been.

I have been asked lately how I stay so thin and how it's possible for me to be as healthy as I am. My pasttime is reading nutrition magazines, books, websites, watching nutrition/wellness shows, anything that I can get my hands on. In all honesty, I have even gone so far as to look at getting my master's in health/wellness and nutrition. But then I decided that it is a better hobby than a job so I just do it for fun.

But, for all those who have asked lately (whether it's new years resolutions or just plain curiosity), here are some thoughts that I have on the issue and some things that I do or have done in this respect:

1) I completely ban all trans fats. What does that mean? Look at the labels bitches! If it says partially hydrogenated oils (or anything hydrogenated)then throw it out.

2) I shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. Mostly everything I buy is organic. I don't really buy anything that has no nutritional value. And I buy whole foods. Things that are not altered, do not have preservatives added, do not have added sugar or claim to have "reduced" fat.

3) I eat when I am hungry. Sometimes this is many times a day, sometimes it is just a few times a day. And I stop when I am full. Seems pretty basic, right?

4) I don't eat anything refined (aka enriched, processed, anything made solely from white flour, anything with added sugar). This is basically any of the commercial things out there. Processed foods are horrible for you. Stay away from them.

5) I don't drink any caffeine aside from 1-2 cups of tea a day (but even then, I try to make it green tea or a green tea blend). I don't drink any coffee (it is addictive, almost like a drug and doesn't have much of a positive impact on your body, if any, no matter what way you want to look at it or justify it). I also do not drink soda. I drank soda pretty regularly in college even though I was still pretty into nutrition at the time. I drank coffee when I entered the working world right out of college. Evenutally I realized how bad soda and coffee are so I dropped the soda habit at the end of college and dropped coffee quickly after I started. Diet soda is equally as bad, if not more so.

6) The majority of my diet is fruits/veggies.

7) I am a semi-vegetarian. I hate saying that because people have so many different ideas about what this really means and I don't really like to label. No, I am not hard core. No, it is not something I blatantly think about. No, it has nothing to do with some rigid belief in not eating animals. No, I don't care if people eat meat. Yes, I do have meat occasionally. Just not often. Mostly I eat fish if I do eat meat. Occasionally, I eat lean poultry (chicken/turkey). I do not remember the last time I ate red meat (beef, etc). It has been years. You do not have to eat protein in the form of animal meat at every meal to have sufficient protein in your diet. It is a proven fact. One word about chicken: be careful with it! Chickens nowadays are not raised very well and contain many hormones and often bacteria. If possible, buy organic/free range. We do not budge on this.

8) I eat breakfast. Every day. Religiously. Mostly it is whole grain cereal (lately I have loved mixing Kashi U and Kashi Heart to Heart with skim milk (organic) and 1/2 of a banana (also organic)). Sometimes on weekends we will make eggs (with only one whole egg, the rest whites) with a piece of toast and some sort of fruit. All the eggs we buy are organic/free range.

9) Aside from tea, I only drink water. And filtered water at that [a new habit I have picked up since my time in Seattle]. I don't buy bottled water. Some have been found to have chemicals and it's bad for the environment.

10) I rarely drink alcohol. [This was a huge one that has only really materialized in the past year.] Now, I still enjoy the occasional glass of wine. I just decided that I don't like what alcohol does to my body (both how I feel and what I know it does to me internally in my mind and body from what I have read about it). People who say that alcohol is good for your health are probably trying to justify it somehow. I do not believe that it is bad to drink, by any means, I just choose not to do so excessively. That is not to say that I don't still have fun with friends or that I don't go wine tasting. I do.

11) READ LABELS!! My general rule is that if there is something that you can't pronounce, it's probably not good for you. The best foods for you are the foods with the most simple ingredients. Anything with 50 ingredients is probably highly processed and any nutritional value is probably out the window at that point. Also, NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS. I cannot emphasize this enough. I have researched and read about this thoroughly (and have even written on the topic) and all I can say without going into to much detail is just to stay away from them. I used to use splenda to sweeten tea but after all of the research I have done, my best advice is just not to use them. If you HAVE to use something as sweetener, use real sugar. Again, using the whole, natural foods concept. Anything is better than artificial, no justifying it! And, new studies have shown that artificial sweeteners actually have the reverse affect in some people, not to mention all of the other adverse health affects they have been proven to have.

13) Aim for low amounts of saturated fat. Fat in the diet is good... saturated fat is bad. I eat cheese rarely and if I do, it's light cheese. Dairy products I buy (like milk) are skim. I get my fat from natural fats (nuts- lots of walnuts, peanut butter-sometimes, and extra virgin olive oil- when I'm cooking).

14) Whole grains. The way to go. If I make pasta, it's 100% whole wheat (not just enriched whole wheat), no exceptions. Same goes for bread. I also like to experiment with whole grains that are fairly non-traditional (like quinoa).

15) Any extreme is not good... you should eat a variety. Eat many colors and many different cultural foods. And use spices! Lately we have LOVED spicy food. We have been using a lot of chili peppers to season things. Also, do NOT starve yourself or gorge yourself. Both extremes are not healthy. As someone who struggled with and overcame anorexia many years ago, I can attest to that. Any fad diets are not healthy (IE: the all protein diets, only cabbage diets, etc). But, don't forget to indulge yourself! I make sure that I have some chocolate on hand, or wine, or whatever makes you happy. Just don't over indulge. One of our favorite things is to eat brownies and ice cream occasionally. But we will put them in a mug and share just a little bit. Also, the brownies and ice cream we buy are from Whole Foods and have nothing bad in them. If we don't eat brownies and ice cream, we will have some whole fruit sorbet as a tasty treat. I have a sweet tooth so indulging myself in this is something that I do because I can and it's ok. I cannot emphasize enough that it is ok to indulge yourself... otherwise you will drive yourself nuts not letting yourself have something that you want.

16) Eating out. I avoid fast food. I do not actually have any recollection of the last time I was in a fast food restaurant for any reason, especially to eat. Again, it's been years. Fast food is just not healthy. Aside from that, restaurants up here are plentiful. We are just careful what we order... no one says that you can't eat out.

17) I always have snacks with me... I usually carry around Z Bars (which are cliff bars for kids). Funny, no? But, they are a perfect quick snack with lots of good nutrients if I need a boost during the middle of the day. Sometimes I will also carry around fruit leathers, whole grain crackers (I like Kashi's TLC originals or Whole Foods version of Triscuits), nuts (pistachios, walnuts, or almonds), yogurt (avoid added sugar), or real fruit.

18) DO NOT FORGET TO EXERCISE REGULARLY. This should also be fun... I hike, I run, I play tennis, I do yoga and pilates, and sometimes I just dance around my house (probably a hysterical sight). Anything to get moving is better than nothing and it should not feel like a chore. Cardio is extremely important and I won't go into it here but it is essential for overall body health and heart health. Yoga, I cannot emphasize enough, is extraordinary for mind/body health (and to just let your body learn to breathe).

19) I don't take any medicines. I believe more in natural treatments and the power of the body. I think that western medicine (and the processed food industry) can be blamed for many ailments in this country. I think that if people didn't eat certain foods and then mask the symptoms of the problems that these foods cause with a drug, we would have many less health issues. Drugs do not allow the body to heal itself, which is what the body was made to do. Of course, there are things that certainly require the hands of western medicine. I am not referring to those things. I am referring to high blood pressure, colds, obesity related issues, etc. All of these things can be helped with a) change in diet/lifestyle and b) natural supplements. There are natural remedies for everything (colds, flu, heart health, cancer prevention, etc). Literally. If you are more interested in this, I can tell you what natural supplements have been shown to work as antioxidants to protect the heart/lower cancer risk, what supplements help with cold/flu symptoms (that I hve tried), etc. As it is cold season right now the one thing I can mention is that if you are getting a cold or have a cold, eat 2-3 cloves of garlic twice a day. I know it sounds ridiculous (and is sometimes tough to taste that garlic-y) but trust me, it works! I didn't believe it either until I tried it. I have heard you can eat parsley after garlic to taste less like garlic but I haven't tried that. You can also take astralgus and echineachea along with 1000mg of vitamin C twice a day. If you do that combined with garlic, I kid you not, you won't get a cold. Well, I don't anyway.

20) I have never smoked.

21) I make sure to get a lot of sleep (7 hours is my sweet spot). If I'm working late or have a late night out, I'll go to bed early the next day.

22) I am green. I recycle, I don't use any commercial cleaners (only all natural stuff), I buy organic and all natural soaps/shampoos/toothpaste/makeup/everything, I sleep on organic sheets. [ok, this has developed during my time in Seattle and I know it is on the extreme end of things but I love it and how it makes me feel].

Eating and exercising should be fun but it should also be a way to treat your body well. I have the mindset that what I put in and how I work out is reflected by the face I put into the world. By eating the way I do and taking care of myself, I feel 110% all of the time. I rarely get sick and I always have energy. I do not count calories. I do not own a scale. I do not know how much I weigh, I don't care. If I feel good, then I know I'm doing all right and, let me tell you, this life that I lead? It feels GOOD. That is the most important thing I can emphasize. I rarely talk about how I live my life (in this respect) because I feel that people get defensive and think that I am just preaching to them. I'm not. They think that buying organic is too expensive. It's not. They think that eating the way that I choose to is not fun. Trust me, it really is. They think I don't eat any variety. I do. They think that I'm just naturally thin and that I'm just lucky. That could be true (I don't know my genetics) but I know that it doesn't matter because the way I choose my life make ME feel awesome.

The most important message that I can emphasize in all of this are these things: 1) I do not do everything right, there is always room for improvement. Just try to live the best life you can and deal with the choices you make. Find what works for you. The above things work for me, but you might find something else that works for you. 2) If you choose to even just make one small change, it will help 3) It should never be something you have to do. Do it because it makes you feel good. That is why I even wrote this post. People kept asking me about my lifestyle as it relates to my weight but I don't care about weight (As a side note, I used to... it's not the way to live). Change your life to FEEL GOOD. I know there are several people who I have told these things to before and they picked up one or two habits. They will tell you and I will tell you, that the weight will follow as an afterthought but the most amazing thing was how good they felt.

To read more about it... look at my links on the side of the page. Also good reads are Whole Living magazine, Nutrition Action magazine (this is more on the scientific end of things but still very informative), Rodney Yee is one of my favorite yoga gurus (he has DVDs and books out), and Dr Weil/Dr Oz are two wellness docs that I have a high respect for and find very informative. Also, find a local natural doctor in you area. I don't actually go to one but I did a fall wellness camp a year or so ago and met a natural doctor there who I talk to about all of this stuff and who I highly respect as well.