Hello from the central mountains in Mexico! My name is Mora and one year ago I drove to Mexico with my two dogs to start a new life!

Obviously many things about my life have changed in the last year, but one, and it happened in the first 5 months, really caught my attention. I lost 25 pounds here without even trying!

Of course, in those initial months I could tell that my clothes were getting looser, but I had no idea that it was a loss of 25 pounds until I went to the doctor’s. I went to get a simple prescription and while there they did my vital signs including weight and that’s when it became clear. 25 pounds gone! And that was in Villa del Carbon, the town I was in about 5 months into my journey in Mexico.

Now everybody knows that Americans can tend to be overweight and our car centric and huge portion lifestyles contribute to that. Personally, I tend to gain weight when I’m more sedentary, bored, or stuck in an unhappy routine.  That’s how I was last year when I decided to move to Mexico. 

I was pretty desperately unhappy in the life I had made for myself in Oregon. If you’ve seen some of my other videos I’ve talked more about it, but suffice it to say that I was miserable and my soul sucking job had a lot to do with it. 

After a surprise lay off I made the decision to change everything and move to Mexico and my weight was pretty much the last thing on my mind. But I had gained about 20 pounds in the preceding 2 years, just comforting myself with food, especially in the evenings and it just crept up there. Here are some videos of that time so you can see I’m looking different.

The fact is it’s very easy to gain weight as you get older and I personally think living in the United States is the easiest place to do it! But I’ll get to that in a minute.

I had become exhausted with my job (I was an operating room nurse) both physically and mentally. I would try not to eat much in the daytime because I felt like it zapped my energy and I needed all the energy I could get to make it through the shift. But I was kidding myself because I’d drink sugary coffee and bring in baked treats on a regular basis. So I wasn’t eating a real meal during the day but I was consuming really junky food and drink pretty much every day. Then I would go home and eat some more, dinner, and dessert was (and is) my favorite. I love cakes and cheesecakes!  Also, I wasn’t getting any exercise besides walking the dogs. I was too tired to even think about that. 

During that time I was so unhappy as to be antisocial so I barely ever went out to eat. You kind of have to understand my lifestyle at that point to get why I was about to lose weight in Mexico. 

It seemed that several things I was doing in those 2 years prior were getting me ready for my new life in Mexico, whether I knew it or not!

(I feel like that last remark needs some explanation! In the 2 years prior to everything changing I was pretty depressed. When I wasn’t at work I was just home alone feeling exhausted. I wasn’t interested in dating or even friendships really. This was good, in a way, because I got used to just having my own company and felt very comfortable being alone. Also, not going out allowed me to sock away my money into savings, and when it came time to decide to go to Mexico, that really helped. The other thing was that I got kind of interested in designing and making websites. I had always dreamed of having my own business so I made a website for a nursing care for feet business, and a medical travel business. (I didn’t start either business)  I got good at web design and how all that works. I experimented with AI and image making software. And I learned the big daddy of all website programs: wordpress, which I still use today. This turned out to be great when I wanted to actually put up a website to go with my youtube channel. I didn’t know it but I was getting ready, and the skills I learned then were very valuable.)

I wasn’t  happy that I had gained weight but I had other things on my mind and once I made the decision to move to Mexico I got very busy taking apart my house and preparing to move.

So when I moved to Mexico I was lucky enough to spend the first 6 months driving around, exploring. There were plenty of locations I wanted to see before really settling to start a new life.  I didn’t speak much Spanish when I came and that made me pretty shy. I was embarrassed about my lack of linguistic skills and just kept to myself a lot, because that’s what I had become used to back in Oregon anyway. And I think I was in shock about all the changes in my life!

We, my dogs and I, moved every 1-4 weeks, zigzagging through Mexico and checking everything out. I continued not to eat in the daytime but now I really wasn’t. None of the cookies and cakes that I had been bringing to work and none of the sugary coffee throughout the day.

 I had fallen into intermittent fasting without even intending to. I’d eat a meal around 4-5 pm and that was it. Sometimes I was lucky and found something for dessert on my travels, but most of the food I encountered at markets was simple and I kept my meals simple. Or sometimes I’d get a couple of tacos at the taqueria wherever I was. I didn’t have my kitchen gear or ingredients to whip up some brownies or whatever.  I didn’t go looking, but my usual vices like cheesecake and hamburgers were not to be found around me so I wasn’t even tempted.  

I was experiencing a new life, a new culture, and I was on my own and had become accustomed to just eating at home, to save money. You know when you’re with friends or part of a couple it feels more normal to go to restaurants, and I’ve been to plenty of restaurants on my own, but I wasn’t doing that very often. So naturally the weight came off.

I was truly happy to be on the road and discovering Mexico. Eating or not eating didn’t really enter my mind. I told friends that I was on the happiness diet because when you’re happier you don’t rely so much on the comforts of food. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy some of the regional specialties wherever I am! But you know, that compulsive overeating left me.

So I think it was a combination of low caloric intake (of course) plus all the walking I was doing both to walk the dogs and also just to explore whatever town we were in. For instance, when I go into town here, Patzcuaro, I park my car somewhere and just walk all over town. It’s not a big city and parking can be tricky to find! So it’s fun to just absorb the atmosphere and the life on the streets and stay on foot. 

And the third thing that I really believe added to the ease in which the weight came off is the good food here. And by good food here I mean real food. Whole foods. I don’t eat much processed food and that means in many cases I’m eliminating all the additives and chemicals that you can find in many foods in the States.

Now, I don’t KNOW that the decrease in these chemicals and additives in my diet has made the weight come off, but I have a strong suspicion. 

It’s sad what we’ve allowed to take place with our food supply in the U.S. There are so many added chemicals and preservatives, flavor enhancers, texture improvers, and appearance modifiers. With names you can’t pronounce like BHA (Butylated hydroxyanisole) and Disodium inosinate, not to mention High fructose corn syrup, artificial colors Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1 (artificial colors), and “texture agents” like Carrageenan and Cellulose. 

Of course, if you have the money you can search out special food without these things in the States, but it seems like it’s getting harder and harder. Here, that’s not so much of a problem.

Your local tienda or market has produce literally farm to table. The tortillas you can eat are made fresh right in front of your eyes. The carniceria cuts or grinds your meat right in front of you. No “pink slime” here! Unless you go out of your way to find a Walmart.

It’s true that the Mexican population has its own struggles with obesity and being overweight. The prevalence of Dietary shifts toward ultra-processed foods and sugar-sweetened beverages is here too. Along with fast food and economic factors making calorie-dense processed foods more affordable. It’s out there! You can find these things in Mexico too!  But what I’m saying is that when your environment changes, you change. And for me that was enough that I lost a lot of weight.

When I went to visit family last November in California, I had a couple of meals there I thought were the best ever, thanks to my son Ryan! One was on the way home to Mexico. I had a little wait at the airport in Oakland and I was hungry so I went to an airport restaurant and saw someone eating onion rings. I got some too and they were like the best thing I had ever eaten! I was sure that if they were around me all the time I’d weigh 300 pounds, I just couldn’t stop eating them. I’m convinced that some of these additives they put in modern food are addictive! That would be a real money maker for these big food conglomerates!

They use these additives to make their products cheaper, last longer on the shelf and taste better, and they are approved by the FDA but… not cool!

When I was a kid they used to say that cereal and things like bagels were part of a healthy breakfast, but now I see that kind of simple carb diet as like having dessert for breakfast. Spikes your blood sugar and that’s no good!

Processed foods containing these additives often have:

• Higher calorie density
• Lower fiber content
• Higher palatability (making them easy to overconsume)
• Lower satiety effect (feeling full)

These characteristics, rather than specific additives alone, are more directly responsible for weight gain associated with highly processed foods.

I’ve had other positive health outcomes from living in Mexico too. I haven’t used this inhaler I brought with me even once since I got here. Now that could be due to lack of allergies, or maybe even because of losing weight, or decreased inflammation, but I think that’s great!

My skin seems to be clearer and less puffy in general. My energy level is consistent, and importantly to me: my hair has stopped falling out, the way it was when I was flushed with cortisol every day.  I haven’t had any blood work done but I hope I also have stronger bones and a healthier heart!

It’s true that I was very unhappy and stressed out while living in Oregon, and who’s to say that my more relaxed and happy life isn’t the cause of all these good things happening here? I think it has a lot to do with it.

I think there’s a lot to be said about Mexicans’ approach to food and eating together with other people. Like other places, France, Japan, Mexicans use meal time to come together and I think that’s kind of a lost art in the United States. It’s such a pleasure to break bread with people you like and want to be around!

In other parts of the world it’s more fast paced especially in urban or economically driven societies, time is seen as a commodity. “Time is money,” as they say in the U.S. and just going through the drive through solves the problem of hunger. But this is really missing out! Not only is it a great way to commune with people and have a good time, it’s also a way to really enjoy food and drink, savor it, and therefore be more satisfied when you’re done.

You can even see this in the city design and architecture. Mexican cities often have public squares, plazas, and cafes designed for lingering and people-watching. Compare that to cities built around cars and drive-thrus. It’s just really different.

Having said that, I know that being a homebody and eating simple meals mainly at home, and intermittent fasting is not for everyone. But so much of what we do is a matter of habit, and it’s amazing what you can get used to! You can change your habits when your environment changes, if you allow yourself to.

Just a little Post Script for my friends out there: I had an accident earlier this week. Viggo dragged me off my feet out in the street. I’m ok but it’s been a painful week with an arm injury and a hip problem. I’m thinking it’s not serious but if you heard earlier in this video my voice was a little different than usual, (from second 45 to 8:20) it’s because my voice changes when I’m very tired or in pain. I know it’s weird.  I know you all wish me the best. Thanks for your kindness, and I’ll see you next time!