[Vyk]

re: diet -cook for yourself as often as possible. -try to avoid overly processed foods. -check ingredient lists on foods you buy and try foods with fewer additives. -do elimination trials with things like gluten and high fructose corn syrup.

It's easy to fall into a diet that's really heavy on wheat and corn, so diversify as much as possible.

I've tried all of these, and my health and energy levels have improved because of them. It's hard to stay 100% on healthy foods and cutting gluten is a huge pain (probably not worth it if you don't have celiac disease).

[tooembarrased]

There is the annoying side effect that if I make my own food instead of grabbing a take-out at lunch/dinner, I've now lost even more of my precious time on cooking :(

As motivation, is there a way you could describe/quantify the increase in energy levels that you were able to achieve by eating healthy foods?

[Vyk]

It was more of waking-day energy increase than something that reduced my sleep times (6-7 hours most nights).

Mostly I noticed that I was getting through the day without feeling run down or getting tired in the middle of the day. It was a little easier to get up in the morning. I still wasn't getting enough sleep, but I'm convinced that eating healthy kept that from catching up to me in terms of getting sick (at least for a while - we all have limits).

Ramit Sethi (iwillteachyoutoberich.com - no affiliation) wrote a blog post a while back about how he hired a personal chef to pre-make meals to his specifications for less than the cost of eating out; something like this might save you the time but still give you some control over what goes into your food.

[tooembarrased]

Thanks, this is motivating. I'll try this.