I felt it yesterday. It’s a mind-shift that happens when I’ve really made up my mind about something, like quitting smoking or taking off the after-stopping weight.

As you know if you read yesterday’s blog, my intention is to eat mindfully. Consciously. I know how to do that, and I’m sure you do, too. Forget dieting.

And so another journey begins.

Our autumn weather is keenly beautiful–the blues seem bluer and the trees seem greener, and out front the aspen leaves are changing color, too. The crisp apple I ate as part of my mid-morning snack was incredibly delicious. I

I’m smart in a lot of ways, and I say that without bragging. I’m not, it would seem, the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to changing my diet.

Here’s what happened. I quit smoking, and I started to put on weight. Since I’d kept my last weight loss off for nearly two years, I wasn’t happy about that. I like wearing little jeans, and not just from vanity–I’m not actually a very big person, bone structure and height-wise. I don’t feel like myself when I’m heavier.

So, okay. The most important thing is, I’m staying a nonsmoker,