Jan Shepherd

As I have shared before, I've maintained a 200-pound weight loss for over a decade. Self-awareness of my patterns has been one of the most important tools I have used to keep me slim. When I find myself engaging in chaotic eating, I start to free-form write daily in an...

Last time we talked about Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and the need to be "independent of the good advice of others." Some of you suggested I add "or bad advice" to the quote. But being "independent of" does not necessarily mean rejecting out of hand. Some advice is certainly...

After forty years of no contact, I recently re-connected with a close friend from my late teens. He commented on how much confidence I had now. When he used to know me, I was always seeking (and not getting) the approval of my parents. I laughed and said it only...

It is truly a new year. And like every one that preceded it, it began with an old tradition -- a personal resolution for change. An off with the old and on with the new, if you will. We see it everywhere from our world to our country to our...

'Tis the season for Charles Dickens, but not in the way you might think. Sure, we're all familiar with what may be the most famous last line in English literature, "God bless us, everyone." But this year, it maybe the most famous opening line (which also belongs to Dickens) that...

"We're all in this thing together
Walkin' the line between faith and fear
This life don't last forever
When you cry I taste the salt in your tears"
-- Old Crow Medicine Show

I've been out of school long enough not...

What is this thing called love?
This funny thing called love
Just who can solve its mystery
Why should it make a fool of me?
That's why I ask the lord in heaven above
What is this thing called love?

Quick. Take...

"Words! Words! Words!
I'm so sick of words!
I get words all day through;
First from him, now from you!
Is that all you blighters can do?"

Sometimes I know exactly how Eliza Doolittle felt when she sang those lyrics in "My Fair Lady." How appropriate...

When I was 350 pounds I didn't believe it was possible for me to maintain a normal weight. Now, having maintained a two hundred pound plus weight loss for nearly a decade, I am an example that it can be done. Transformation is not only possible, it happens. So whatever...

Recently I seem to be losing patience with people blaming and being so polarized; while at the same time jumping quickly for band-aid answers to complex questions rather than delving deeper for lasting solutions. I have also been watching my own black and white thinking and the difficulty I often...

It has been said by many teachers that outer manifestation is a reflection of inner reality. I know the truth of that statement through personal experience. Inner peace for me was a far off concept when I weighed 350 pounds. Now that I have been of normal weight for nearly...

Years ago I recognized I had a problem with boundaries. As I began to get more centered, I realized that learning to set boundaries for myself was imperative.

As children we supposedly learn to protect and take care of ourselves through defining our space -- physically (sexually), emotionally and...

In order to maintain a 200 pound weight loss for nearly a decade I had to dis-illusion myself about myself. To put it simply, I had to stop living with blinders on. I began by observing my thought processes and watching my body reactions. I discovered that whenever I felt...

Have you ever noticed that when people lose weight they also tend to lighten up? It's as though the shift carries with it a gratitude switch that turns on when we turn from how heavy things are to how light they can be. I wonder if it takes an actual...

I live in Beverly Hills, California where looking good is the number one pastime. I can't imagine a place where more money is spent on hair, makeup, nails and clothing, and that's just on pets. Seriously, though, the amount of time, effort and treasure put into our outsides is nothing...

I have learned much by living with and then overcoming an eating disorder. Such disorders involve amazingly complex behaviors that bring body, mind, emotions and spirit all into play at the same time. And every time you think you have a handle on just what is going on with your...

As long as I avoided experiencing my emotions, I resorted to addictive patterns. And even though I have maintained a 200-pound weight loss for nearly a decade, I still do. The reason is pretty simple - I am human and not perfect. I am not always in touch with my...

Thanks to the many of you who posted or emailed in response to the question, "Which of the distorted thinking patterns is most relevant for you?" As you might expect, there were as many answers as there were patterns. But, many of you had a question for me, "What can...

For most of my life, I was paralyzed by fear and anxiety. Fear of failure, fear of making mistakes and fear of expressing what I really felt and thought. So instead of participating in life, I built up and then hid behind 200 extra pounds. And to make certain I...

Their formal name is Rorschach, but we know them better as ink blots, those nondescript blotches of black ink on white paper that psychiatrists use to delve into our inner thoughts. You look at a series of blots, each truly without form and detail what you see. Since what you...