The twin engine driving my success in recovery at mid life was changing the food I eat and lifting weights.

Ninety percent of the time I eat healthful food. One or twice a week I have a treat: a Starbucks brownie or a couple of macaroons; in a pinch the least unhealthful power bar at the gym; or a couple squares of 70 percent cacao dark chocolate.

This constitutes “junk food” for me–no kidding. I won’t eat processed food or chemical-laden food with “natural flavors” that are actually fake chemicals.

Also: I stopped drinking Snapple after I watch a TV show that exposed how sugar causes a myriad of ill health outcomes.

Like I said before I only want to eat food that has come from God’s green Earth.

Greenmarket season has arrived so you’ll find me shopping for produce, cheese, eggs, and seafood outdoors in open air markets throughout the city. If you live in New York City you can find a Greenmarket near you.

Nutrition is thought to have more of an impact than exercise on the health of our bodies. Research studies link depression to poor nutrition. I have for years now written about how food and mood are connected.

Eating well is an act of love. Listening to what your body tells you it needs to do this day is an act of love. One day it will be exercise–another day it will be rest.

Living on autopilot–doing things unconsciously–sets a person up to fail.

My famous war cry is that when I decided to live my life Left of the Dial–in an organic way–I was able to be happier and healthier.

Use your gut or your intuition–whatever comes naturally to you–to sense or to intuit what you should do and how you should live.

The premise of my memoir Left of the Dial is that there’s no one right way to live–only the best lifestyle that is iconic and healthy for you.

My life turned around when I cut the crap out of what I ate.

That’s no big mystery: when I broke a sweat and started to cook for myself I slept better, had more energy, and any minor stress rolled off me like water to a duck.

Try it–Go Green more often and see if you feel rejuvenated and happier.