Hi DL,
Glad to hear you are doing something good for yourself by taking care of your health! I am a firm believer in healthy diet and lifestyle, after all, our minds and our bodies are not independent of each other, and a healthy body feeds a healthy mind.
Something you may want to try is switching to organic foods. I spent about 6 months eating everything I normally did, same amount, the only change I made was that everything I ate was organic. I lost about 10 pounds (and I didn't even think I had 10 pounds to lose) - and my mood improved. Fell off the wagon after about 6 months, mostly because organic food tends to be a bit more expensive but I still try to eat mostly all natural foods.
And don't worry - organic food isn't all oatmeal and wheatgrass. You can get pretty much all of your favourite, tasty foods in organic form these days. Even if you don't go all organic, you could substitute some of your guilty pleasures with organic versions. Mine was nacho chips and chocolate bars. Lots of all natural foods actually taste better than processed foods because they actually taste like the food they're supposed to be!
The reasoning behind this is that all of the chemicals and additives in food contribute to weight gain and poor health. Our bodies are designed to work perfectly if we just feed them what they need. They don't need all of the stuff on the label that you can't pronounce. So our bodies store this gunk and all this gunk screws up our body chemistry and next thing you know, we're plagued by weight gain and disease.
An excellent book I would recommend is "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About" by Kevin Trudeau. You'll never look at food the same way again after reading that book.
You could also consult a natural health practisioner or visit your local health food store. They may be able to make some recommendations tailored to your needs.
lovelybones
