Let the healthy lifestyle vortex take you for a ride.

Life is a series of subtle encounters and events. Choosing to scope out an out-of-the-way bookstore, you meet someone while standing ha line. After chatting for a few minutes, it turns out that the cozy little bungalow he is renting out is exactly what you have been looking for. A week later, your new neighbor invites you to a party, and the next thing you know you have the part-time job of your dreams. One thing leads to another and your life has changed for the better. You're amazed at what had to happen for all this to take place, and now that you've started noticing these subtle occurrences, they seem to become more frequent.

Call them the laws of attraction, synchronous events, being plugged in, or simply being in the flow of life. Whatever the case, your awareness of these occurences can be used--with intention--to influence how your life looks, and certainly whether it's a healthy one. When you become aware that your health is shaped by your subtle thoughts and decisions, it's the first step to getting "stuck" in the Healthy Lifestyle Vortex. Why not make this the year that you feel better than you ever have in your entire life?

More often than not, we define our experience by what it isn't. We know fullness when we contrast it with hunger, darkness reveals light, feeling awful defines feeling wonderful, and having chaos in life helps us know serenity. Similarly, we come to know the Healthy Lifestyle Vortex by its all-too-common cousin, the Unhealthy Lifestyle Vortex. I know it well because it's the default lifestyle for the human being. My work as a weight loss coach also has given me an inside look at how it operates. Here's how it goes:

1. You work hard at your stressful job and are busy from the start of the day to the end. There is no time to take any breaks other than bathroom breaks and a short lunch.

2. After work, you're pooped. You had planned to go to the gym, but not today.

3. You don't have the time or energy, to make a healthy dinner. It's easier to grab takeout on the way home from work. You think: I've already worked once for my food today.

4. Because you're stressed out, or perhaps because you're bored, you find yourself munching off an evening snack or sweet. It something you look forward to and it makes you feel better. If it's not a-sweet, it may be an alcoholic drink.

5. You don't sleep that well and may rely on medication to help you get your rest.

6. Nonetheless, you wake up feeling tired. You grab a coffee and maybe a doughnut, and you're off to work.

7. You face temptations all day long at work. Somebody brings cake, another person keeps a jar of candy, the group goes out to the all-you-can eat buffet at lunch. You find these temptations hard to resist. By 10:00 am you're officially on the sugar/caffeine roller coaster. You notice that you've gained a few pounds.

8. Having gained weight and feeling sluggish, you've become a little depressed. Your doctor prescribes antidepressants, a side effect of which is increased appetite. Things get worse from here.

You are officially stuck in the Unhealthy Lifestyle Vortex.

When you think of the word vortex, think tornado, and as it relates to lifestyle, imagine a whirling series of thoughts and actions that attract--like a vacuum--similar thoughts and actions (thoughts always precede actions). When you make the decision not to exercise after work, the likelihood of eating an unhealthy dinner and evening snack/drink increases significantly. This, in turn, makes it difficult to get the restful sleep needed to feel good tomorrow. When you wake up tired, exercise is the last thing on your mind and the sugar/ caffeine rollercoaster becomes an essential survival tool. Why not indulge in the cake or candy at work? It's just a drop in the bucket, you think, not remembering that two area cookies every day can add up to ten extra pounds in a year. The Unhealthy Lifestyle Vortex is nothing more than a series of small decisions (thoughts and actions) that attract similar decisions and similar outcomes. Easy to define, hard to escape.

Good intentions, while they may pave the path to hell, also pave the path to the Healthy Lifestyle Vortex. Good intentions set in motion the series of subtle encounters and events that you'll need: A colleague randomly tells you about a gym special; a new friend asks you to walk with her at lunch time; another friend gives you a gift certificate for a spa treatment. Your awareness and intention, as well as the expectation that they will attract positive results, inspires you to make healthier decisions. You ask your boss if you can come in thirty minutes later so that you'll have more time to exercise in the morning. She says: "Well, sure!" The next day, you notice that you don't need to redeem your ticket for the sugar/caffeine rollercoaster. Your day looks like this.

1. You still work hard at your job. You manage your stress by taking a few breaks during the day and Walking around. If it's sunny, you take a five minute sunbath. You drink more water and notice how it helps you feel better throughout the afternoon.

2. You eat a healthy 4 pm snack (a handful of almonds and an organic apple) and aren't starving when you get off work. You swing by the store to pick up some greens and beans for your simple recipe.

3. After dinner, you notice the temptation to eat a snack. You tossed the ice cream earlier this week and decide tonight to stick with a cup of hot tea and a good book. After a few stretches, you go to bed feeling relaxed. You are now happy that you didn't get into any junk food.

4. You sleep like a rock, waking only once to use the bathroom.

5. You wake up feeling good, sit down for an egg, slice of whole grain toast, and a banana, and you take your tea or coffee and snacks for the day and hit the road.

6. There are temptations at work: Somebody brings cake, another person has a jar of candy, and your group goes out to the all-you-can eat buffet. The sweets are surprisingly easy to resist and you find a co-worker that wants to go to the place with the great salad bar. You feel inspired. You're not feeling tired and strung out.

7. Having last weight and feeling energized, you notice that you are happier. You feel the results of the pushups and sit-ups you've been doing. You see your doctor for your annual and she is amazed! Each year thereafter, "It's deja vu allover again"! You are officially stuck in the Healthy Lifestyle Vortex.

Extracting yourself from the sticky unhealthy vortex was the hardest part. Now, that you're there, and realize that it's all connected, all you have to do is fasten your seatbelt 'cause the Healthy Lifestyle Vortex is a good ride!

Greg Hottinger, MPH, RD, is the nutritionist for the Duke University Center for Integrative Medicine, author of The Best Natural Foods an the Market Today: A Yuppie's Guide to Hippie Food, and personal weight loss coach (www. novowellness.com). He is a regular contributor to New Life Journal.