"Mindfulness gives you time. Time gives you choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom."

-Bhante Henepola Gunaratana 

When Tom and I started a daily meditation practice a little over a year ago, we didn't really have expectations for results. Honestly, we did it because- like eating kale- we'd heard it was good for you. 

After about a month of regular sessions we noticed a shift. We both reported experiencing an overall, steady sense of calm. We were less reactive in our jobs.

Like many people in the United States, I spent most of my adult life on a diet. Sometimes the diets would "work" for a little (I would lose weight), but the process sucked. I was always hungry and fixated on my next meal. This lifestyle was so difficult to sustain that I was constantly on the lookout for the true answer to effortless weight maintenance.  Fortunately, in my quest for the next best diet, I found Eat Fat Get Thin and The Primal Blueprint. Thanks to Mark Hyman and Mark Sisson, I learned that fat is actually our body's preferred energy source. The Standard American Diet emphasizes utilizing glucose for energy, which often equates to empty calories that leave you hungry, with your body producing too much insulin. Too much insulin equals inflammation; too much inflammation equals disease. 

Adopting a primal lifestyle transformed my life in countless ways. I solved digestive issues, I felt nourished and satisfied with delicious food, my body learned how to use fat as fuel, I ended a sugar addiction, I stopped dieting and started living my life fully, moment to moment. 

But honestly, this lifestyle change would not have been possible without addressing internal issues as well. I had to look inside to transform my outside. This is how I began my transformation:  

Tom ran out of healthy food on his week long fishing in Yakutat. Upon his return, he sheepishly reported back to his drill sergeant (me) that he had indulged in junk food and was ready for a detox. He'd noticed a few things during his food free for all: once he started in on the sugar his thoughts became controlled by the greedy bacteria in his gut demanding more sugar. It was difficult to stop once he'd started.