Hello and welcome to my newest blog series, The Experiment.  I have written many blog posts on weight loss, nutrition, exercise, the mind-body-spirit connection and healthy habits.  In this new blog series, I will be evaluating food, exercise, meditation and sleep and their direct (and sometimes in-direct) effect on my mood and how I feel, both mentally and physically. I want to be my best self.   I hope to share my stories with you in an effort to help you find your best self as well. 

It’s been 18 months since I started trying to lose weight in earnest and over these 18 months, I’ve discovered this: it’s not just about weight loss.

I like to see the numbers on the scale go down, yes.  I like to fit into smaller sizes, yes.  Sure, I want to live a longer life.  But instead of looking forward into the future at my 80 something self, I want to feel good TODAY.  I want every minute of my day to feel great, mentally, physically and spiritually.  How do I get there in this world of information overload and noise?  I think it will happen when I am listening to my inner voice and to my body.  It means daily mindfulness in eating, movement, thoughts and actions.  It means taking good care of myself and, as my friend Elaine puts it, putting myself on the list.  I think it means simplicity and focus.  The numbers and dress sizes will go down as I find my groove.  But my focus won’t be on that.  It will be on feeling fantastic in every sense of the word.  Energetic, confident, comfortable in my clothes and my skin, happy, peaceful, awake and alive.  These are the things I’m after.

One of the things I find most fascinating to observe is how I feel after eating certain things.  I know for sure that I feel just awful when I eat a ton of carbs or sugar and little protein.  I want to be able to take the knowledge I have of those feelings and convert them to better choices.  There will be days when I don’t do that; when I decide that I’m ok with feeling bad.  But I want to at least try to incorporate the thought “you will feel bad if you eat that” into my thought process.  That’s mindfulness.

A friend recently told me he thinks I am 90% healthy most of the time and that I’m allowed the 10% when I’m not.  That sounds about right to me.  No one can be perfect.  However, if I try to stay true to myself and trust my instincts, my inner voice and, literally, my gut, I think I could get up to 95%, maybe 98%.

So, today I’m going to experiment with mindfulness.  I’m going to be aware and conscious of everything I eat and drink and log the who, what, why, where and how of all of it.  Then, I’ll see where I felt good or bad and make adjustments for the next day.  Simple.  I like it.

Come along for the ride.  I think it will be fun and hopefully, will help you to better listen to your own inner voice.