thursday thoughts.

so, a couple of weeks ago i mentioned a beauty-cum-lifestyle article in the september issue of marie claire that promised nine days to glowing skin, but in reality was a plan to transition into a healthier lifestyle. i've read it several times since; for your benefit, dear readers, here's a quick summary of the steps that author amy weschler, m.d., suggests.

{ sakura, japanese tea garden II by flickr user heather }

day one: stop drinking caffeine 4-6 hours before bedtime; avoid eating 2-3 hours before bedtime; turn of all electronics and dim the lights 1 hour before bedtime; do something soothing 30 minutes before bedtime; etc.
day two: relax. weschler specifically suggests sex.
day three: go outside and take a walk -- weschler says it lessens our exposure to pollutants and free radicals.
day four: eat clean (berries, nuts, spinach, asparagus and -- my favorite -- dark chocolate are among the foods mc suggests), and drink only water or green tea throughout the day.
day five: exercise -- weschler suggests 30 minutes, three days a week.
day six: spend time with friends.
day seven: meditate before bed to help cope with stress.
day eight: sleep in. (um, yay!)
day nine: re-evaluate -- weschler insists you'll see results.

the thing is, they're pretty simple tips -- not ground-breaking by any means. but earlier this week, when i wasn't feeling well, i went to bed before midnight for the first time in weeks and had a really good night's sleep. the next night, i decided to implement weschler's day one suggestions -- after coming home from a night of reality tv shows and girly-talk at my friend k.'s house, i made a conscious decision to dim the lights and turn the tv off an hour before i crawled into bed, and guess what? i had an even better night's sleep. today i had one cup of coffee in the morning (i'm sorry, i have to), but drank water and green tea throughout the rest of the day -- in fact, i'm sipping on a cup as i type this -- and i have to say, i feel pretty good. plus, my upset stomach earlier this week has sort of made me think twice before eating something rich or weird, and i have to say, making a conscious decision to eat soup, for example, instead of some macaroni and cheese feels good.

so i'm going to keep working my way through weschler's tips and we'll see what happens. i don't care all that much about the glowing skin aspect of it all; it's the feeling-good thing that matters most to me -- glowing from the inside.

{ 235 (scott), by flickr user heather }

what do you guys do to feel good? how do you relieve stress?

p.s. a couple of other listy links for you: first, ocala, fla.-based organic farmers al and erin rosas' 10 easy steps to eating organic. i met al and erin for a work project last year and they are amazing. (also? al cooked for us and i swear i've never eaten so well.) second, here's a post by glamour editor/shape-up blogger margarita bertsos on getting the motivation to work out, even when you really don't want to. genius, both of them. enjoy!

p.p.s even seven years later, i still feel sad/introspective on this day, and i kind of feel like a post on feeling good on the inside is appropriate. we should all take care of ourselves.