Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.

- Lao Tzu in The Tao Te Ching

Our greatest life lessons come to us through our challenges, don’t they? Sometimes taking a step back and looking at the big picture is comforting when you face big decisions.

It gives perspective and clarity that otherwise you would simply miss or never be on the same wavelength of.

We had this opportunity recently at Live Well 360.

Many of you know that our vision for our brand is to design and offer the best fitness and yoga bags available. We want to give people like you the best of the best in terms of quality, design, and function.

We are a little guy, being that it is just the two of us plus a small team of helpers, behind the scenes growing our company and spreading the word about our bags.

Over the past several months we have been secretly working to move our manufacturing from China to the US.

We had hopes that this would allow us to keep up with the demand for our bags more efficiently, meaning that we could place smaller orders and receive them in shorter time frames than our current 90 day lead time.

For many reasons, things didn’t pan out. This was a big disappointment for us at first, because on the surface it seemed as if US manufacturing was “the answer” to all our prayers.

In the past when things didn’t work out, our tendency would be to try to force it work out through action, pressure, and sheer will but… we’ve learned better.

As Lao Tzu explains above, ultimately force negates and so does taking action out of fear. Inspired action, on the other hand, is a different ballgame. So rather than force and pressure, we put our inspired-thinking caps on and have a different plan.

For the time being, we are switching over to a more streamlined approach and will be bringing in inventory one bag style at a time, in 1-2 color options, according to which bag is in demand most at that moment.

In other words, there is a good chance that we will only have one bag style in stock at any particular time versus having all three bags in stock all of the time.

In order to understand what Live Well 360 bag you (our customers) want most, we’ve created email sign up lists for each individual bag.

So, if you are interested in getting the Core or the Luxx, for example, you can sign up on that bag’s list and you will be the first to know when that particular bag is available. This allows us to gauge which bag style to bring into inventory next.

Our next order of inventory coming in will be for the Luxx, in Eggplant Purple and in our newest color option, Onyx Black!

We are expecting delivery late April early May.

If you are interested in getting yourself a Luxx in either of these colors, get on the list… or if you want to stay in the loop if/when the Luxx will be available in Graphite Gray again… get on the list!

If you are interested in the Core, make sure you sign up for the Core list, and we’ll let you know as soon as we have more coming in.

We want to keep all of our customers happy and we want to be able to offer all of the bag styles in various colors once again very soon, but until we’ve grown to that point, we are doing the best that we can.

We are committed to doing what it takes to continue to serve you best and to promise the best quality, design, function, and customer experience that we can give.

This is us being soft and yielding.

Our point in sharing this isn’t to bore you with the details of running a business…

Our intent is to share so that you can see how we handle the sometimes stressful situations of life that at the time feel like a big deal, yet in the end can turn out to be the best thing for you.

We all have our challenges—stress and challenges never disappear—but we always have a choice in how we decide to look at them.

We hope that this helps you to understand us a little better and also to perhaps see your own challenging situations in a different light. Being rigid and trying to force things isn’t the answer.

These moments of bending and allowing ourselves to go with the flow rather than pushing against it are what are going to allow us all to thrive the most.

A few weeks ago we put out a call to action, asking if YOU would like to be featured on Live Well 360.

It makes us so happy to help share your stories of triumph – your journey to health and fitness, how you live well 360, how you make fitness fun, the type of fitness/activity you love most and why, or the details on your ever evolving relationship with fitness.

(If you’d like to be featured, send us your story here.)

Our first LW360-er to be featured is Liz. I’ve known Liz since the early days of Live Well 360… in other words, for about 4 years, which in Internet years feels like a lifetime.

I’ve watched her growth and celebrated alongside her (from afar) as I saw her come to life like a beautiful flower. Liz is such a great example of what it means to reconnect with your own inner wisdom.

A special friend came into her life, in the exact moment that she was ready (even though she didn’t mentally know it at the time), and led her to remembering the worthiness and beauty that was inside of her all along.

I think that men and women alike can relate to her story in one way or another, because we all have those “not good enough” sabotaging beliefs and behaviors to some extent at one point of our life or another.

And it’s so inspiring to see others that have moved through, past, and well beyond those self-inflicted blockers to our own greatness.

So, with that. Here is Liz’s story. Enjoy…

Enter Liz Stark

There is a familiar saying, “You are your own worst enemy.” While I had heard it many times before, I never fully understood its meaning. Little did I know that, from ages 12 until roughly 22, I would not only learn the meaning of that phrase, but also endure its consequences and powerful wrath.

I was always blessed as a child, having nothing but positivity, support, and care all around me – everyone from my parents and friends, to my peers and mentors, seemed to root for me at everything I did.

And I did everything as a child – I was always busy, happy, and enjoying life. I danced, ice-skated, painted, played sports, traveled, volunteered as part of Girl Scouts, spent time with family and friends, had collections – so much to be thankful for, that I could be a part of.

But when I entered my teen years, something switched in my mind – all of that positivity and undying love seemed to pale in comparison to societal pressures to be absolutely perfect.

I began to stress myself out for no reason at all, and no one could help me to calm down. I also became very sick over the years and was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease and multiple food allergies.

Between physical sickness and emotional distress, I was starting to waste away and the Liz (or Elizabeth) that everyone knew started to fade away – just a shell of insecurities remained on the outside.

A cold, hard, anti-social individual is what I was turning into, and I did not have the full strength to get better – yet.

My health kept getting worse in a downward spiral of restriction, anxiety, and Crohn’s flare-up complications. I had to stop dancing and doing a lot of exercising, and try to get better.

After a few years off from dancing, I decided to return at the age of 20. But I knew that I did not want to reenter the world of ballet, tap, jazz, or even figure-skating – been there, done that, I thought and felt about it all.

I wanted to try something different and also not over-exert myself. My self-consciousness was bad enough at this point, so I wanted to do something I could possibly enjoy and maybe get myself back out there in the world – not hiding away from everyone and getting weaker.

My mom found a ballroom dancing studio a few miles (if that) from home; and even though I was apprehensive at first, I figured I should give it a shot. I missed dancing, and I really wanted to have something to provoke me to take better care of myself.

When my mom and I entered the studio back in June 2008, there was just one person there – his name was Slava. He greeted us as we walked in, and asked if we were interested in some lessons.

Even though I was hiding my frail body and shy, stone-cold persona beneath a baggy sweatshirt and yoga pants, the young dance instructor that greeted us was very warm, kind, and made me feel welcome.

Little did I know that Slava, the dance instructor, (who was just one year older than I was) would end up being my best friend; and not only my best friend, but also the one person who was (and still is) able to unlock my full potential, get through to me, and challenge me in ways that other people do not (or cannot).

In the beginning, we were strictly dance instructor/student and new friends – I still was too independent to express the extent of my ill-health and my “hidden desire” to get better. No one else was able to help me, and I would not let people really do so either; and I still had issues helping myself.

I had to take a year off from dance again, since I continued to relapse with any progress that I made towards reaching better health. But then I returned to dance one year later (July 2010), and my friendship with Slava only grew stronger.

A lot has happened, but let’s just say that it is now 2012 and I am happier, healthier, stronger, and wiser than I have ever been.

My Crohn’s Disease is under control, I nourish myself adequately, I have the stamina and energy for dance, I am more social, and more enjoyable to be around – and Slava was truly the one (even though he does not think he deserves the credit) to tap into my true self and get me to make progress and continue to make progress.

With his challenges, support, and constant care, I was able to trust my body and learn to love myself, instead of being enemies with myself. I am so grateful for Slava – he saved me before it was too late.

While I am less independent now, I think it was worth it – I had to turn to trust and turn to others in order to trust myself and to love myself.

Feeling healthy, strong, confident – that is true beauty. I am finally living life to the fullest and I am so thankful to have my family and friends by my side – especially Slava.

While I now understand the meaning of “You are your own worst enemy,” I am happy to say that I am continuing to move away from having that statement describe my situation. It is a long process, and far from perfect; but such a worthwhile journey to embark on before it is too late.

The journey is easier when you leave behind some independence and take the hand of the person you can trust and open up to the most.

Seems like every season or so I come up with a new theme word. It helps to inspire me. It keeps me focused and clear on what I am doing and why.

Contemplative was my word for the end of last year. Before and after creating Eat Well 360, I spent quite a bit of time being introspective.

I truly believe that some of the best answers come by simply figuring out what your question is, and then writing it down in your journal.

For me, the question was, “Am I truly being all of who I am?” And the answer was no.

You see, I have a little secret. I am a double agent. No, just kidding. My secret is that in addition to running Live Well 360 with Ryan, I’ve been coaching women one-on-one for quite some time now, and it’s time for me to put it out there formally.

I help women get the body of their dreams while loving the body that they have now. My specialty is emotional eating and holistic life coaching, meaning mind, body, and spirit.

You see, my message with women is slightly different than our message at Live Well 360. Here, we are all about allowing health and fitness to be fun and providing tools and resources to help with that for both men and women.

My focus when coaching is about teaching the importance of self-love, taking good care of oneself, and releasing old debilitating habits and ways of thinking and replacing them with new empowering ones.

At times, parts of this message does overlap with what we talk about here, but for fear of alienating the dudes and those that aren’t interested in lovey-dovey self-appreciation, I’ve been holding back.

And I suppose my fear with not putting it out there formally was also because I was afraid that if I did that, it would take me away from Live Well 360. But the truth is, that wouldn’t happen at all.

By being more of who I really am and embracing all of the parts of myself fully, I have more to give all around. I feel more creative, inspired, full of energy, focused, and happy. It’s a win-win-WIN!

So this season, my theme word is illuminate because that is the pinnacle of the message that I want to share.

Illuminate your life.

And I’m super proud and excited to let you know that I’m launching

sheilaviers.com

where I’ll be sharing this message, as well as, one-on-one coaching, and some pretty kick-butt dream body and self-love products.

The site is not finished yet, so in the mean time, head over now and sign up for my VIP newsletter so that you’ll be one of the first to know about what I’ve got coming and…

so you can get my 20-page guide, the ROCK Your Dream Body Fast Track.

I’ve been getting some pretty amazing feedback on it, ladies, so grab your copy and dive in! I think you are really going to enjoy it.

It’s time for all of us to illuminate, isn’t it?

What’s the point of only shining half of your light?

It’s time. This is OUR YEAR to shine. Let’s do this together!

Are you ready?

Kitchari (pronounced kitch-a-ree) is an Ayurvedic recipe, prized as a being nourishing and cleansing for the body. It means “food of the gods” in Sanskrit is a staple comfort food in India.

Jam-packed with nutrients, fiber, and vegetable protein, kitchari is great for when you are recovering from an illness, zapped of energy, or having digestive problems.

It’s very hearty and simple to make. Kitchari would be perfect for making a big batch over the weekend and eating it for lunch throughout the week.

Ingredients

• 1 cup of mung beans, dry
• 10 cups water
• 6-7 cups assorted vegetables (celery, carrots, zucchini, green beans, or broccoli)
• 2 tablespoons ghee or cooking oil (olive, coconut)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, minced
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 heaping teaspoon turmeric
• 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1-inch piece kombu
• 1 tablespoon Celtic sea salt or Himalayan pink sea salt

Directions

1. Prep Ahead: Wash the mung beans and soak them in water overnight.
2. In a large stockpot, saute the vegetables in the ghee on medium heat until onions are translucent.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the salt*, bring to a boil. Lower heat, and cook for another 45 to 60 minutes.
4. Stir in the salt at the very end.

Adapted from recipe found in the book, The Way of the Happy Woman

* Some people say that adding the salt when the beans are still uncooked makes them harder to digest. They recommend adding the salt after the beans have been cooked.

How does the saying go… “a new year, a new you”?

We all get excited about a new year, don’t we? It’s a chance for rebirth, for making changes, and for starting over in many cases.

Often times this focus is put on fitness and health, which is great. You see a lot of attention in the media being put on what to eat and what exercises to do in order to get fit and healthy.

I just wanted to take a moment to say that this is also a great time to take an inventory of more than just what exercises you are doing in your workouts and what foods you put on your plate.

Give yourself the gift of diving a bit deeper than that.

Are there any habits in your life that are holding you back rather than helping you move forward?

Is there anything that you are currently spending lots of time doing that is zapping your energy and taking you away from getting out and enjoying life?

I often tell people, it’s great to stay educated, read blogs, magazines, and RSS feeds, and to Tweet and Facebook, but it’s helpful to take a step back and ask yourself if technology is sometimes a distraction from being active and present in this very moment of your life.

You could be on your computer or phone Facebooking people OR you could be fully present with someone enjoying their company and connecting on a deeper level in person.

You could also be out playing your favorite sport with lots of friends.

I’m not suggesting technology is right or wrong, just something to consider. And that’s just one example, I don’t know if this example even applies to you. I know it sometimes applies to me!

The same principles of taking an inventory can be applied to other things like relationships, career, and even self-talk as well.

Just remember, you always have the power to point yourself toward the health and fitness that you want or hold yourself back from it, and your ability to do that is about much more than the workouts you do or the food you eat.

Cheers to an amazing year. We’ve got LOTS in store for you!

Around the Web

On a related note, check out a few of my guest blog posts from around the web last week:

How To Live Well 360: 3 Powerful Tips for the Overworked Entrepreneur on LauraRoeder.com (applies to more than just entrepreneurs)

Quick Fix to Beat Office Stress on BetterWorks.com

One of the biggest questions I am asked is how do I start getting mentally and physically healthy? Meaning, how do I take better care of myself?

Incredibly good question!

First, let’s chat about why you aren’t taking good care of yourself now.

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” –Gandhi

Have you ever heard the song by Alabama called I’m in a Hurry to Get Things Done? I used to joke that it was my theme song because I was always in a hurry.

If you had asked me why I was rushing around all the time, I would have told you that it was because I was so busy and had a million things on my to-do list. In truth, the reason was actually deeper than that.

I was rushing around all the time because I was afraid that if I loosened up on my strict rules and rigid to-do list, I’d become a failure.

A failure as an employee, as a wife, as a friend, as a fitness enthusiast.

What I eventually learned (through trial and error) was that once I started letting go of the tightly held reins and taking better care of me, rather than becoming a failure, all aspects of my life actually became better too.

The stress and rigidity was holding me back, not keeping me on track.

I was taking a lot of action, but it wasn’t inspired action. It was fear-based action, and fear-based action doesn’t keep you committed for the long haul.

I had to start taking better care of myself!

Here are 3 UNCOMMON ways that you can let go of fear-based action and be mentally and physically healthy this year.

1. Your Mood Affects Your Food

One area that is particularly sensitive to stress is digestion. When you operate in a consistently stressful environment, digestion can get sluggish or even shut down.

In other words, in order to properly digest food (and absorb nutrients), you need to be relaxed when you eat.

A lot of people think that they are suffering from food allergies when really it may just be that their digestive system is in an uproar because they are constantly eating on the go, while distracted, or under some state of stress.

Check out Eat Well 360 to learn more about this.

How to take better care of yourself:

Slow down while you eat and don’t multitask. Take deep breaths throughout the meal to bring oxygen into your blood, which helps with digestion.

Get on a schedule with eating. Plan regular whole food (preservative-free, unprocessed) meals. Tune into your senses (taste, texture, aroma) while you eat.

2. Listen to Fatigue

When you are go-go-go what’s the only thing that is going to slow you down? When you physically can’t go-go-go.

Fatigue is your body’s way of telling you that it’s time to slow down and rest more. It’s doing it’s best to give you no other option other than to slow down and rest.

How to take better care of yourself:

When you feel really exhausted, listen to that guidance. Take a 15-minute nap. Close your eyes and take some deep breaths. Stop believing the b.s. that you are lazy if you give yourself a break.

Sleep more. If you have to skip a few workouts or take a week off because you need to catch up on sleep… it’s okay. Give yourself permission to do this.

3. Be Mindful of Your Environment

Have you ever been around someone and acted a certain way only to later think, wow that’s so unlike me. I don’t know why I acted that way? That’s because certain people have a way of pulling certain behavior out of us.

It’s not their fault, it’s just due to their expectations of us, and our expectations of them. In other words, they see us through a certain color lens and treat us a certain way based on that expectation.

Conversely, we see them through a certain color lens, and we treat them a certain way based on our expectation of and beliefs about them.

Sometimes this can be helpful, if the person is helping you to stretch and become more of your awesome self. Other times though, this can hold you back and make you feel bad.

For example:

You fight with your Dad because you always fight with your Dad when you get together.

OR

You rise up and accomplish incredible things when you are with your mentor, because your mentor sees and encourages the best in you.

How to take better care of yourself:

Spend your time with people that bring you up and inspire you. Take an inventory of who you spend your time with and ask yourself if these relationships are helpful or hurtful.

You might not be able to stop spending time with these people right now, but you can decide that from now on you are going to see them through a different colored lens.

From now on, you:

• Choose to focus on only the best in them.
• Aren’t going to let their opinion make you feel bad about yourself.
• Give them the benefit of the doubt and realize that they are just trying to help you in their own way or that they are only treating you a certain way because of their own limiting beliefs and experiences (they just don’t know any better).
• Realize that they can say what they say and be who they are, and they don’t have to change in order for you to be able to change.

Regardless of whether you are able to stop spending time with people, you can make an effort to spend more time with people that make you feel good.

In what ways are you committed to being mentally and physically healthy this year?

This is such a tricky question, isn’t it? Let me first preface this by saying that I know I’m lumping a whole lot into the term “diet” and when I say diet in this case, I’m talking about a calorie restriction plan that tells you exactly what to eat.

A lot of times people will tell you that diets are bad for you or that they don’t work, and I do think there is truth in that (I myself have even said this).

Yet I also think that there is a place for diets and they are not ALL bad.

[video: 2 min 30 sec]

Here’s what I mean. When you first get started getting healthy and fit, you need a starting point. When you have no clue what you’re doing or how to get started, it can be a bit overwhelming.

So, in this case, a diet might get you excited. It might get you feeling inspired and in control of yourself because you finally have a step-by-step actionable plan in front of you and for once you feel like you know what to do in order to start getting your health and your body back on track.

You feel EMPOWERED and, at this particular time in your life… a diet might be exactly what you need to let go of your resistance and go with the flow, moving in a direction that feels a whole lot better than the “I’m out of control and I need to do something about it” place that you are in.

Diets are a bridge not a crutch

I struggled with diet and weight loss for a long time and have tried literally every diet plan and pill on the market. Even though I had many frustrating attempts at trying something new, losing some weight, and then gaining it back…I don’t regret any of it.

Each of those attempts was a bridge to the next, and to the next, and to the next, which eventually led me to the healthy relationship that I have today with my body and with food.

Without each of those experiences, I’m not sure that I would be where I am today. They all taught me things about myself and what I wanted in my life.

The trick is in not seeing the diet as the solution.

The diet is a tool, but the ultimate goal isn’t to be on a structured eating plan for the rest of your life.

The goal is to have the freedom to make food choices solely depending on what you WANT to eat (which by the way is also healthy too) rather than what you think you have to eat.

I think that’s where people get off track — looking for the solution outside of themselves in some sort of magic quick-fix thing.

Learning the basics about what foods are healthy through a diet plan… that’s one thing, but it’s another to go on a never-ending search bouncing from one plan to the next thinking that something outside of you is going to fix all of your problems.

It took me some definite trial and error but I finally realized that I wasn’t fixing the root issue by searching for the magic cure to all of my weight loss issues in a diet. I had to get to the root and the root issue was my relationship with food and with my body.

Once I was able to shift the way I looked at food and the way I treated myself, I was able to shed the weight and have kept it off.

It’s about WHY you eat, not what you eat

It’s so much more about WHY you eat than what you eat. If you build a healthy relationship with food, and the why behind eating is a healthy, positive why, then I think most people will see that they’ll naturally reach for healthier options because they see food as nourishment rather than something they’re using to try to fill a void.

So those are my thoughts. What do you think about diets? Do you agree, disagree…? Share your thoughts below!!

For more on this topic, check out ROCK Your Dream Body.

An ACE-certified personal trainer and AFAA-certified exercise instructor with a degree in health education, Nicole Nichols helps people of all skill levels make working out a fun part of their daily lives.

She is an editor and fitness expert at SparkPeople.com, and one of the most watched exercise instructors on YouTube. Her online workout videos have been viewed more than 16 million times.

Coach Nicole’s newest DVD “28 Day Boot Camp” (available in Target stores starting Dec. 27) features four fat-blasting, calorie-torching workouts that include a variety of high-energy cardio intervals mixed with full-body strengthening exercises for maximum results.

We’re honored to have Nicole as a guest in our Live Well 360 interview series. Let’s learn more about how Nicole lives well in every way.

Stats

Nickname: “Coach”
Birthplace: Columbus, OH
Where you live: Cincinnati, OH
Pets: 2 cats (Lily and Claudia) and a red nose pitbull (Ginger)

Let’s talk

Random fact about you: I have a motorcycle license, but I drive a scooter.

One word to describe you: Passionate

What does the phrase “live well 360” mean to you?
It means that health is holistic and it encompasses all areas of your life. You have to have all of the dimensions covered to truly live well.

What’s the healthiest thing you do on a daily basis?
Move. I have a goal to do something active every single day for at least 10 minutes. So even if it’s just walking the dog or running 10 miles, I want to move daily as much as I can. It keeps me sane, but it also keeps me fit—and motivated.

What healthy thing do you wish you did more often?
Floss. Or maybe relax a little.

What’s the best tip anyone ever gave you related to living well?
Do what you love, but know that your job doesn’t define who you are.

Your interpretation of the word “balance”
Balance to me is something I am always striving for but never fully achieving. It means your priorities are in line with your actions and everything is on an even keel. I think about balance mostly relating to work, home life, social life, and personal time.

Do you meditate and/or journal?
I wish. I know I should and I have the best intentions, but I never stick with it.

How often do you set health and fitness goals?
Daily. Every workout is a goal met. Every healthy choice is a mini goal you can feel good about.

Favorite…

Quote:
If someone has a problem with you, it’s their problem, not yours.

Live Well 360 bag and why:
Luxx: Oodles of pockets, plus room for your mat!

Pandora station, iTunes song list, or band/singer:
My favorite band of all time is Third Eye Blind.

Health and fitness site(s):
SparkPeople.com of course. I also love my fitbottomedgirls.com!

Book:
“The Art of Happiness” changed my life more than once.

Form of exercise:
Too many to choose, but probably running. Pilates is a close second!

City for outdoor activity:
Portland is my favorite city for anything.

Healthy restaurant:
Is Chipotle healthy? I never get tired of it (and I do make my order a healthy one).

Vacation spot:
Any place with weather better than where I’m at now—that’s a lot of places!

Cocktail:
I actually do not drink and have never had a cocktail…

Ice cream flavor:
Goat cheese and tart cherry from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Columbus, OH.

Flower:
Orchids.

Pair of shoes:
I love my Brooks Adrenaline running shoes.

Inspiring word:
Dream.

Sports team:
I’m going to say this just for my dad: The Reds.

Celebrity:
Ellen Degeneres. Someday I WILL be on her show.

Just for fun

What’s your best physical feature?
I like my skin/complexion. I also have a pretty rotund booty.

What 3 things can always be found in your refrigerator?
Eggs, peanut butter (although my dog eats it more than I do) and water.

What’s one article of clothing you can’t live without?
Socks—my feet are always cold!

What color underwear are you wearing right now?
Stripes!

Mac or PC?
Mac

Salty or sweet?
I never met a sweet I didn’t like.

Interesting Tweep(s) you follow and why they are cool?

• @gibblertron is hilarious.
• @dogislandfarm for growing everything they eat on an urban farm (awesome!)
• @TakeBackBeauty for everything they do to improve women’s self-worth
• @Appetite4Profit, @marionnestle and @unhealthytruth for their no-nonsense takes on the food industry
• @acefitness for great exercise information you can trust

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Feeling content across all areas of your life.

What’s your favorite daydream?
Having kids and being a mom.

What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Putting myself through college. My grandma only made it through the 8th grade and my siblings and I were the first in our family to graduate from college. On top of that, I footed the bill myself.

If you had a theme song, what would it be?
Ingrid Michaelson’s “Far Away.” It reminds me of how simple and beautiful life can be, and how important family is.

Your best advice to people who want to live well 360?
You have to choose to make it a priority. I’ve made health, nutrition and fitness some of the top priorities of my life, and that means I’m able to not only live well, but do everything well. Eating right, sleeping well, exercising regularly, reducing stress and caring for yourself—those are just small pieces of the bigger puzzle.

Living well (and healthfully) will impact every area of your life for the better. You’ll be a better employee, friend, parent, citizen, volunteer, etc. if you take time to take care of YOU.

###

Thanks Nicole! Be sure to check out our other interviews with inspiring people, who are living well 360. We’d love to hear from YOU! What are 3 ways you are living well in every way? Share in the comments below and if you enjoyed reading this, please share it on twitter, facebook, google+, etc!

Today I want to share with you 3 game-changing tips that allowed me to stop overeating once and for all and maintain my leanest body-weight to date.

You might think that enjoyment of food is completely separate than the process of fueling your body with nutrients and that it serves no metabolic function.

You might also think that the enjoyment of food is what causes you to overeat.

Neither of these things are true.

The truth is, the enjoyment of food is an integral part of a naturally controlled appetite. It’s what produces a feeling of satisfaction, giving you the signal that you are full and can stop eating.

The problem is that most people don’t allow themselves to enjoy their food, either by rushing through meals, feeling guilty about what they are eating, or eating fake low-quality foods that, whether they admit it or not, are not very satisfying.

When you aren’t getting the satisfaction from food that your body is searching for, you just keep eating and eating. That’s a big part of what causes overeating.

You don’t have a willpower problem you have a lack of enjoyment problem.

So, there are 3 things you can do in order to start enjoying your food more.

And these are the 3 things that I have learned over time and have allowed me to maintain my dream body without even trying anymore.

1) Slow down when you eat

Pay attention to what you are eating. Don’t multitask or mindlessly eat while doing other things like watching TV. Make your meal the main event.

2) Eat high-quality foods

Don’t settle for fake foods that leave you feeling deprived. And don’t be afraid to eat small portions of high-quality foods with full-fat, full-calorie ingredients.

If you are going to eat chocolate, get the best quality chocolate you can find and just eat a small square. Look at the ingredients list, there should only be a few. For an example of a high quality chocolate, go to: eatwell360.com/darkchocolate

If you are going to eat chips, get the highest quality chips that you can find, sit down with a single serving and eat them while enjoying it.

I vividly remember, back when I was yo-yo dieting, sitting down in front of the TV with a bag of BBQ Baked Lays or a tray of fat-free Entenmann’s Coffee Cake and before I knew it, half the bag or tray was gone and I was still hungry!

3) Don’t make food moralistic

Meaning that you don’t make good food and bad food lists. It’s not the sugar, oil, fat, or salt that is the problem. It’s when you eat enormous quantities of those things that is the problem.

And you eat enormous quantities when you don’t feel satisfied and you aren’t paying attention to what you’re eating.

Remember, even water can be bad for you in enormous quantities.

Stop the mental games with food and don’t set yourself up for feelings of guilt by telling yourself its bad to eat something because then if you do eat it, you end up feeling like a failure.

Tell yourself that you can eat all foods, you just choose to fill the majority of your diet with high-quality whole foods, meaning foods that are preservative-free and unprocessed.

So those are my three tips for how to stop overeating for good.

For more tips like this, check out our new book at eatwell360.com or sign up for our FREE newsletter at the top of the right-hand sidebar of this page. Also, if you like this video/blog post, like it, and share it with your friends on twitter and Facebook!

Which one of these three tips resonates most with you?

Thanksgiving is behind us and it is time to get back to the routine.

If you are like most people, there is a good chance that you veered away from your usual healthy diet plan. Maybe you even skipped a workout or two over the holiday weekend (gasp). You are now faced with two options.

1. Beat yourself up

Worry over the shoulda, woulda, couldas, envisioning the fat cells in your thighs plumping, focusing on how puffy or fat or (insert adjective of choice) you feel.

Torment yourself over how you should have known better, planned better, done better.

Blame your Aunt Sally for bringing those damn potatoes she knows you love and pressuring you into having a second helping, when you knew you should have used your intuitive eating skills and stopped when you were full after your first.

OR

2. Leave the past in the past

Whether it was three days ago or even this morning at breakfast, what is done is done and you can’t change what has already happened.

Let go of it.

If you messed up and got off track from your normal healthy eating habits, learn from it. Use your “mistakes” for the opportunities that they are and allow yourself to become a stronger, more educated person because of them.

Think of it this way, you are now more in-tune and better equipped to plan for this next month through Christmas and Hanukkah.

A fear worse than… food

I used to be really scared of the holiday season. I thought that the key to my happiness was sticking to my healthy diet plan, exactly as I had calculated it, and if I slipped up at any point during this season of celebrations and parties, I’d put myself through the proverbial wringer.

I would focus so much energy on how I had to get back to my normal food and normal routine. I’d almost obsess about how I shouldn’t have eaten whatever “bad food” that I ate and how I’d have to workout ten times harder to make up for it.

I’d even make up excuses so that I didn’t have to go out with friends for fear that I’d eat or drink something that I viewed as empty calories because I didn’t trust myself to be around it without eating/drinking it.

I really was just plain scared of food.

What the hell kind of life is that to live??

What I didn’t realize at the time was that the worrying and stress I was causing myself was actually far worse than whatever amount I might have eaten above my “plan.” And that stress was not only jacking up my digestion and my body’s ability to metabolize food properly, but it was also feeding my ongoing cycle of binging and dieting.

But ya know what, it’s okay because I didn’t know then what I know now. And now… I know better.

Remember what the holidays are really about

I was all backwards. I was forgetting what the holidays are supposed to be all about in the first place – appreciation, laughs, hugs, being with those that we love and good food. Since then, I’ve learned that I don’t have to be scared of food, I don’t have to deprive myself of foods that I enjoy eating in order to stick to my healthy eating plan, and when I changed my relationship with food… the way my body was able to metabolize food changed.

So as you proceed into this holiday season, rather than beating yourself up and feeling guilty over that Christmas cookie you ate because your co-worker passes them out each year as gifts, or that extra serving of Grandma’s bourbon bread pudding, keep the big picture in mind.

If you choose to indulge, eat it, enjoy it, and let it go. Be grateful for this time of year and all that it encompasses. Spend time with family and friends that make you happy. Connect with one another. Laugh a lot. Give yourself a break.

You might be surprised at the shifts that happen in those moments of easing up on yourself. It was when I let go of forcing myself to follow the strict guidelines I thought I had to follow that I almost effortlessly began to develop a healthy relationship with food and was able to finally maintain my weight loss for good. I even noticed that my body started naturally craving healthy, whole food options over the high-sugar, “empty calorie” foods I feared in the past.

So worry less. Appreciate more. Love the body that you have. Savor each and every food that you eat. And the next thing ya know, you might find yourself daydreaming about a big colorful salad just as much as that that cookie… and you’ll stop and think…

Ah, I get it. THIS is how healthy eating just becomes a part of who you are.”