It is still summer, and in California we have a usually warm Indian summer to look forward to in September and October. Outside my window, tribes of red finches and swirls of hummingbirds zoom around my neighbor’s bird feeders, dabble in the climbing jasmine, the tall tufts of scarlet penstemon. This is a time of abundance and creativity for the Earth. Perhaps a very good time to pay attention to our bodies, our vitality, our health. Many people ask me what in the world I have done this year, to lose almost 40 pounds. To not just be lighter but to shine more light. So in honor of summer, and thinking of how important it is to be strong and healthy, especially in these PrimeTime years, I thought I’d share just seven simple things to begin with which have totally changed me. First, the true backstory.

After a year of dental operations and two titanium implants, my system had gone quite awry with the impact of general anesthetics, weeks and weeks of antibiotics, the sheer trauma of surgeries. Not being able to chew salads for months didn’t help. I was fatigued a lot of the time. In spite of many helpful practices, acupuncture and massage, I began having severe stomach aches. The doctor recommended an endoscopy. “Hmm”, I said. “No way” I thought. And I changed everything about my diet. Not only did I heal my stomach. I shed 40 pounds. And I woke up out of a sludgy sleepy state.

1) No dairy. I switched to goat cheese,  almond milk (unsweetened) and coconut yogurt.

2) No gluten. Also very little rice (brown or wild), no potatoes except sweet potatoes or yams, no pasta. Maybe rice pasta, rarely.

3) Very little sugar. A bit of honey. Check carefully all foods you buy. Packaged and processed foods especially add sugar or corn syrup. Even yogurt. Fruit juices at a minimum. 

4) Limited meat, just chicken or turkey once in awhile. Fish (wild, not farmed). No tuna, swordfish or shark. Scallops and shrimp are great.

5) Green, green, green. A commercial drink I love is Lydia’s green vegetable soup. If you can’t find it, you can make your own version with: Raw cucumber, celery, kale, parsley, avocado, cilantro, basil, lemon juice, dulse seaweed, ginger, a pinch of salt. Plenty of green salads. I add apple, feta, avocado, walnuts to dark greens like romaine and arugula.

6) As much as possible, eat organic and local. The chemicals, additives, hormones in so much of American foods is quite toxic.

7) I eat a lot of lentils, beans, almonds and almond butter, walnuts.

Those are a few eating tips to begin with. There are many more. Call me for details. I exercise a minimum of 30 minutes a day. Do yoga. And run (really more of a trot but good for metabolism.) I get lots of sleep. I love dark chocolate, a small bit. The point is to cleanse your system and your spirit at the same time. To feel your power, awaken and channel your creativity by being grounded well in your earth, your body. As they say in yoga, root to rise.

“When sleeping women wake, mountains move.”  Chinese proverb