#26: Lola Dement Meyers
"Sleep when you are tired. Eat when you are hungry. Socialize when you feel friendly. Stay in when you feel reclusive."
Lola (@loladementmeyers) is an artist, designer, and true minimalist. You can find more of her food pics on her food Instagram, @lolaconsumes.
At a glance…
Location: NYC
Big 3: Scorpio/Sagittarius/Leo
What does health, or being healthy, mean to you?
health = consistency
health = regulation
health = discipline
health = patience
health = strength
health = function
health = growth
health = routine
health = privacy
health = wealth
health = clarity
How would you describe your current lifestyle?
I live fairly healthy.
I make my lunch every day and walk often.
I am careful to maintain 10 - 15k steps a day.
I do this by walking to and from work twice a day, or I walk along the Westside Highway after work.
I have been eating lunch at home to regulate my steps.
I aim to work out 4 - 6 times a week.
Just the same short workout everyday:
70 - 100 push ups
50 - 70 crunches
4 - 6 pull ups (not in succession)
100 squats
2 minute plank
It takes me 20 - 30 minutes or less.
It is perfect to me.
I designed a portable workout to have it wherever I go.
I will spread the push-ups out throughout the day.
I also make work everyday. It is like the gym for me.
No matter how tired or busy I am, I find time to make my work.
How do you start and end your days?
Start
I wake up at 7:20 and drink hot water with lemon or tea.
I put my contacts in and tie back my hair.
I brush my teeth.
I do my portable workout and then get ready for my day.
I shower or wash my face, fix my hair, and get dressed.
I look at my phone.
I take a photo.
I pack my lunch, usually a Perfect Bar, fruit, cottage cheese, and dates.
I walk to work (1 mile).
End
I walk home (1 mile).
I change into my indoor clothing.
I wash my face (no. 1).
I brush my teeth (no. 1).
I check my phone.
I put on music.
I work on personal projects.
I take a walk.
I eat dinner.
I wash my face (no. 2).
I brush my teeth (no. 2).
I brush my hair.
I gua sha (3-4 times a week).
I take out my contacts.
I put on my glasses.
I put in my retainer.
I drink hot water.
I get into bed.
I check my phone.
I journal.
I put on mouth tape.
I set my alarm for 7:20.
I put my phone on DND.
I turn out the light.
I sleep around 11:30-12:00.
What’s your relationship to self-healing?
This is something I am working on.
I tend to believe things are better than they are, letting my symptoms run on too long. I avoid doctors if at all possible. I often work through sickness.
I am sick right now actually and have taken an active attempt to focus on healing.
I took my first sick day this year, although I worked through it.
I drank as much liquid as I could.
I purchased Mucinex.
I had a 10pm hot rock massage.
I took a walk.
In terms of outsourcing, I always call my mom first.
I can count on her homemade solutions.
For instance, I've never purchased a rubber hot compress.
Instead, I fill a sock with rice (and lavender if available) and heat it up.
"Hot sock" is ideal for ear or stomach aches.
Was there a specific moment in life that made you change your approach to health, or become more conscious generally?
I attended boarding high school in Western MA for my senior year. I found independence over my health by living away from my family. I was introduced to cooking, gardening, and farming. This agency helped me understand my health was in my control.
I relearned my relationship to health after experiencing a breakup.
I walked along the Westside Highway every night for months.
I cold plunged at the bathhouse twice a week as it served as a controllable pain.
I found clarity through exercise.
I am now able to use my past restrictive relationship to health as a guideline.
Where do you look to for information or advice?
I try to look internally for advice by journaling. When I am confused, writing gives me the opportunity to see how I feel.
I find truth in writing.
Only the most important thoughts are shared.
Writing is a conversation with yourself.
Who knows your thoughts and intentions better than you?
I also work with the practice of clear vision when looking for advice or information.
Clear vision is defined by Google AI Overview as:
"a state of mind that can lead to clear thinking and the elimination of harmful thoughts. It can also refer to the ability to recognize when your path and purpose are aligned."
It is important to maintain objectivity when seeking advice.
Clear vision has been integral in my understanding of reality.
This practice also protects me from the precarity of learning new information.
Do you have any guiding principles?
Health guiding principles:
Listen to your body.
Even if you do not listen, what is supposed to happen will happen.
By this I mean:
Sleep when you are tired.
Eat when you are hungry.
Socialize when you feel friendly.
Stay in when you feel reclusive.
General guiding principle:
If it takes less than two minutes, do it right away.
This is a guideline to stay organized and efficient. I use this for emails, dishes, cleaning, making work, texting, etc.
F*ck, marry, kill: three health trends of your choice.
Fuck: high-protein diets, marry: kombucha, kill: 0 sugar (I hate aspartame).
What’s your perfect meal? What foods do you find yourself returning to?
I am not a skilled cook, but I make food every day. I keep it pretty raw with minimal heat.
Perfect meal by me:
Turmeric chicken salad or canned mackerel
Cherry tomatoes with salt
Chocolate-based sweet
Herbal or tomato soup
Peppermint tea
Perfect meal by my mom:
Sinigang - Filipino tamarind-based stew
Or runny sunny-side-up eggs and fried garlic rice
What advice would you give to your past self?
If you can't do it good, do it hard.
What advice would you give to the person reading this?
You make it
Pay your dues
Want it forever
Have no doubt
No reason why
Work in silence
Forget the truth
Steal, don’t copy
Speak in images
Purity in posting
Beauty in privacy
Don't do anything
Develop self-control
Talent doesn’t matter
Have discerning taste
Crave common sense
Respect anyone trying
Move without hesitation
What would you like to see or create more of in the world?
I would like to sell nothing.
I would like to own nothing.
My practice is inherently anti-consumption.
My ultimate goal is to help others own less.
Note: this Q&A was originally published via Mailchimp. Read the full issue here.