I would put laughing and exercising here too, there are 2 very important factors for eliminating stress. At least for me

Dragos Roua´s last blog post..The Productivity Map

@Lsis, if you are the queen, I was the king!

@Jay, great for you! I was on a good diet for a while many years ago when I lost a bunch of weight but I slowly fell off the wagon and into horrible habits. About 6 months ago I decided to go straight again. Then about 3 months ago, I went really healthy and eliminated the refined carbs almost completely.

@Mark, thanks for stopping by. I just read your blog today and so I think I understand. I am trying to change my sedentary life style because I have zero excuse not to. I walk and even stand up and wander around the house when I’m reading. I’m going to start running and lifting weights.

@Robin, I’m glad you watch your health. I wish I would have started years ago.

@Giovanna, I used to NEVER relax. I finally woke up to the fact that stress was killing me and making me ineffective. I don’t know how I could have been so stupid for so long!

@Vin, I’m surprised you have been fatigued. It sucks big time. I feel so much better now, but I’m not complacent. I think I may just be “normal”. I want to go much further.

@Roger, I’ve decided to eat good permanently and start lifting weights soon. I assume as long as I eat healthy and exercise the body fat will disappear. I find that even though I eat a lot of fat in the form of nuts I am still losing weight. I think I’ve lost 30 pounds in six months. I’m eating so good it seems I can’t help but lose weight.

I would like more energy so your article resonated with me! I look forward to the rest of the series.

Mindful eating has helped me reduce how much I eat at one time and I do eat a lower GI foods than I used to. However, there’s still more room for improvement.

I also would like to lose an additional 10 lbs. There are times when I’ve been 10 lbs lighter and I definitely had more energy. Thanks for reminding me of this.

Also, thanks for linking to my article on meditation!

It’s so true that your potential to enjoy life practically disappears when you’re tired, and at least for me, fatigue is a gateway to becoming irritable and depressed. I know this all to well from experience and it’s obviously not a nice way to live which is why I made some major changes.

As you said, you need energy to escape the rat race. In fact, it takes tremendous energy. I know because I’m trying to do it! It usually involves the equivalent of two full time jobs and the need to be very careful with your lifestyle habits to avoid running yourself down (which I’ve made the mistake of coming close to doing a few times).

Thanks for recommending my sugar articles!

This is an excellent list of do(s) and don’t(s) that are so easy to live, I just have to remember them…hence the printed list. Thank you for this Stephen. See? All your past experience, although it was probably hard on you, is now preventing others from making the same mistakes. This is REALLY good timing for me. Fabulous my friend. Just fabulous!!

Great tips! I can definitely relate to the tips with regards to diet. Since I live a sedentary lifestyle, diet plays a huge role. Overeating and too many carbohydrates make me sleepy and shut down my body. I always find I have more energy when I consume less and eat fewer carbohydrates.

Anyway, like Jonathan, I’m looking forward to part 2! (And thanks for the link love.)