Now What?

What do many women/girls have in common? How many of you are on a diet, have been on a diet, or are just currently taking a break from your diet? I can look back at my life and I pretty much consider myself to be on a so called "diet" since I first learned what the word was. It just seemed normal. The type of diet has changed numerous times, but in general I was always analyzing every bite of food. Whether I wrote it down or not. I was constantly crunching numbers in my mind.....calories, protein, carbs, fat etc. Sometimes I would stop and think could I ever just live, just eat and not worry about gaining weight? Now I'm not saying all girls think like this I'm impressed by anyone that does not have these thoughts on a regular basis.
What I found to be the oddest occurance once I had gotten to the point where I had to say I'm thin enough(and trust me this has happened multiple times because I definately have fluctuated in my weight) I didn't know what to do. Being on a diet became such a normal part of my day. When I didn't need to obsess about cutting calories I felt lost. It was almost as if I didn't have that bond with other women/girls anymore. I do still find that I keep a running tally of calories sometimes but that helps to maintain where I am. I have always been interested in nutrition, and I have found that shifting from counting calories to focusing more on counting fruits and vegetables is a much better option. Mainly what I mean is that instead of focusing on what I can't have I try to focus on what I should have trying to make sure I get a good variety of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals through my food. So that is the "now what" and you know what it has really helped me to stay at a steady weight/size.