8 Things I Consider When Choosing Food

1. Do I like it?
2. Is it nutrient dense (i.e., how much nutrition am I getting for the amount of calories in this food)?
3. Does it have things I particularly need: (fiber, vitamin A, folate or other B-vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin C, protein, selenium, iodine, magnesium, potassium)
4. Is it free of chemicals or other things I want to stay away from? (e.g., pesticide residue, hydrogenated fats, high fructose corn syrup, excessively high amount of sugar, excessively high amount of fat, etc.)
5. Do I like it raw or in simple dishes that work well in my small kitchen area and small energy budget?
6. Can I store it at room temperature or does it require a freezer (which I do not have) or refrigeration (I have a very small refrigerator)?
7. Am I likely to eat all of it before it goes bad?
8. Taking into account all the above, is it worth the price I’m paying?

How does this work in real life? Let’s take a look at some very different foods:

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

1. Yes! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!

The Case for Being Ordinary

It's "normal" for people to be bigoted

I am trying to boycott the word “normal” in my writing because the “normal” mind is not what we think it is. When people think of a normal mind, they are likely to think of a mind that thinks rationally and logically under most circumstances. This is not what normal thinking looks like. Thinking rationally and logically takes great effort and doing it well requires training. Even the most analytical and intelligent of us do not do it except in a small percentage of our thinking tasks. Our brain uses shortcuts to make our thinking more efficient, even though this has significant costs in terms of accuracy.

Psychologists and economists have a great deal of fun (and sell a lot of books) showing how innately irrational humans are. We’ll more easily buy something at $999.99 than at $1,000.00 (a difference of 1/10 of one percent), but we’ll buy coffee at Starbucks rather than turn the coffee pot on in the morning (at least a thousand percent difference). We’ll drink twice as much soda with a meal than we would at home because McDonalds is offering any size for a dollar. It doesn’t matter that the 2-liter bottle at home is cheaper per ounce; it doesn’t matter that we know soda is bad for us and that drinking a huge amount is a stupid thing to do. Speaking of food, think about dieting. Even if we have a huge motivation not to gain weight (ex: an extravagant wedding gown and

Diet is a Four-Letter Word . . .

Diets don’t work for ordinary people in the long run, so only a fool would bet on a diet working for someone with bipolar disorder. Appetites of all sorts get amped up by mania and hypomania. The pain of depression is soothed by treats high in fat and sugar, and they are perhaps the least harmful substances with which we might choose to self-medicate. Add to that the psych meds that increase appetite, decrease metabolism, make us thirst for sweet soft drinks, and sedate us to the point where we can’t even be couch potatoes because we don’t have the energy to get out of bed and walk to the couch.

How addictive would meth be if it came in these flavors?

So . . . . FORGET DIETING.

Even if all you do is gradually improve your eating habits, the effects can be dramatic.

I have dramatically improved my eating habits VERY gradually. I started a little more than ten years ago, and I’m still working on it, but within months of my first steps, I had eliminated my IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and decreased my peri-menopausal symptoms.  As my eating habits have improved, the positive effect on my mood disorder have increased. My weight is right where I want it and my overall physical health is great – better than before my mental illness knocked me out of the workforce -- despite