It’s been a long, long time since I last posted anything to this blog. For the record, I never gave up writing. I just took about a three month long vacation. It has been the longest time, in fact the only real time, I took a break from just about anything I do. An update on how things have gone lately is in order.

For approximately the last four months I’ve been seriously concentrating on getting back into good physical health. As a result of changes in eating habits and exercise routines I have dropped at least 35 pounds. Yes, I still have a long way to go before I get to my final goal weight. I notice a positive difference already, not only in physical health but also mental health. I’m not doing anything really out of the ordinary. I’m not on any fad diet. I’m not exercising several hours a day. I’m not eating organic food as I’m on limited budget as is. And I certainly am not taking any diet pills, powders, etc. I suppose if I was to describe my approach, I’d simply call it cherry picking what works for myself from several different types of diets and discarding what doesn’t work for me. Some may find it odd that I pick and choose rather than follow only one set plan with an almost religious fervor as many people do. My grandparents had a phrase for this tailor making a plan from only the best of everything that works for one person and may not work for someone else. It was ‘using your head.’

As my physical health gradually improved so did my mental health. I really do believe there is a mind-body, body-mind connection. Chinese medicine has innately known this for centuries. Western medicine for the longest time, having no real way to measure this, denied such a connection. This connection was denied even though it completely ignored any real world practical experience. That in itself is not ‘using your head.’

It is completely possible to know something is or is not so even if you can’t completely explain the why. For thousands of years, ancient peoples knew that the constellations in the night sky not only changed over the course of the year but changed at the same times each year. It wasn’t until a relatively recent time in human history that we figured out the why. I can’t offer a functional explanation why I feel better mentally after losing 35 pounds in four months, let alone a scientific one. I know simply that I do. That alone is enough reason to keep me working at losing weight.