Free Play It Away: A Workaholic's Cure for Anxiety by Charlie Hoehn Page A

eating meals with healthy friends. 31 I picked a few friends of mine who were in undeniably good health (clear glowing skin, bright eyes, high energy, toned muscles 32 ), and asked if they’d be willing to sit down for a few meals together during the week. Then I copied them by eating whatever they were eating. After a few weeks of regularly dining with my healthy friends, I was feeling and looking vigorous again.
    I wanted to eat with my healthy friends as often as possible, so three of my buddies and I organized a weekly dinner night. We’d all bring a dish to share, or one person would cook a full meal for the group. We wouldn’t post pictures of our food on Instagram, or update Facebook to let people know we were eating dinner together. We just focused on enjoying the food and the company.
    Almost every meal consisted of three ingredients: one type of protein, one type of vegetable, and one healthy side (this formula is basically a variation of the Paleo Diet). Here are the foods I was most frequently eating:
    Protein
     
Grass-fed beef
Free range chicken
Cage free pastured eggs
Wild Alaskan salmon
    Vegetable
     
Kale
Spinach
Broccoli
Zucchini
     
Bell peppers
Brussels sprouts
Collard greens
Bok choy
    Side
     
Avocado
Blueberries
Cherries
Black Mission Figs
Sweet potatoes
Black beans
Almonds
Sauerkraut
    For each meal, I consumed a good amount of protein (the portion size was roughly the size of my fist), a ton of vegetables, and a handful or two of the side. I cooked with a couple tablespoons of Kerrygold Irish Butter or coconut oil (healthy sources of fat). I never restricted myself or felt guilty for eating “too much.” I always ate until I was content.
    During the week, I didn’t eat any bread, pasta, or dairy products. I never drank soda, fruit juice, or beverages that contained milk. Instead, I just had water, coconut water, or tea.
    Of course, my diet wasn’t perfect. I would break my own rules on occasion. But I wouldn’t chastise myself if I had some dark chocolate or a couple glasses of wine. Nor would I feel guilty if I ate junk food on the weekend. I was just trying to get in the habit of eating with my healthy friends, and to cut most (but not all) of the toxic crap out of my diet.
    My transition to a healthier diet was gradual and forgiving , rather than abrupt and perfect (which is doomed to fail). But the real key to getting my eating habits back on track was having meals with healthy friends . Eating is a social activity; we have a tendency to go along with whatever foods the people around us are eating. It’s super difficult to have to constantly resist unhealthy foods, so try to eat with healthy people who won’t force you into fighting temptation.
    FREQUENCY:
    Aim for at least 3 meals with healthy friends per week.
     
    COST:
    $5-100+ per meal. Depends on how many people are eating, along with the quality and quantity of the food.
     
    DO IT NOW:
    Schedule dinner with two of your healthiest friends this week.
     
    RESOURCES:
    Slow Carb Diet (playitaway.me/slowcarb) Having a tough time sticking with Paleo? Check out Tim Ferriss’ Slow Carb Diet, which has helped thousands of people (including both of my parents) eat healthier AND lose more than 20+ pounds of fat. Tim’s diet calls for vegetables, meat, and legumes – six days a week. 33 Then there’s a cheat day, where you can eat and drink anything you want for 24 hours.

    30 Sadly, most Americans subsist almost entirely on addictive foods that do not exist in nature — foods that have been chemically altered, processed, refined, and cooked in artery-clogging gunk. The human digestive system cannot process these foods without getting backed up and coated with mucus. And as a result of this Standard American Diet (and our collective lack of play), we have become the most diseased and obese population in the history of mankind… WE’RE NUMBER ONE! The irony, of course, is that when our bodies finally break down from decades of playing