Passport to Healing (and Weight Loss) After 40

Before leaving the US, I had hair loss, anxiety, and obesity. Now I run half marathons. What global living taught me about good health can benefit you right where you are.

Halona Black

Published November 20, 2024

Is there a favorite global cuisine that fits into your healthy eating plan? Mexican salsa? Brazilian fish stew? Jamaican callaloo? Have you ever traveled abroad and later tried a recipe sampled during your trip? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Ami knocked on my door a couple hours later than we had scheduled. It seems that no one really sticks to timetables in Thailand. It didn’t matter though because I was too ill to be bothered with a schedule. I hobbled over to the door and cracked it open. I was greeted by the sweet smell of guavas and Ami’s warm smile. She gave me a soft and sweet, “Sawasdee kha,” along with a slight bow. This tiny Thai woman had two heavy boxes of fresh fruit stacked under her chin. She’d carried them up seven flights of stairs and didn’t appear out of breath—as if this was just her normal workout for the day.

I guided her in to put the boxes down on the living room table. I didn’t speak a word of Thai beyond hello, and Ami’s English was limited. But she was used to working with sick and tired Americans who had showed up in vibrant and mysterious Chiang Mai ready to heal. I’d joined this expat tribe as a digital nomad who could serve my stateside clients from wherever there was broadband.

She gave me a soft and sweet, ‘Sawasdee kha,’ along with a slight bow. This tiny Thai woman had two heavy boxes of fresh fruit stacked under her chin. She’d carried them up seven flights of stairs and didn’t appear out of breath.

“I pick everything fresh from farm yesterday for you!” Ami beamed with pride. The boxes were stuffed with papayas, a hunk of jackfruit, finger bananas, strawberries, limes, rose-apples, and more. Some of the fruit had the supple green leaves still attached. And there was a bit of sweet, sticky nectar that rubbed off on my fingertips.

I paid Ami about ten dollars for both boxes. I knew that the young farmer and single mother had started her organic fruit box delivery business serving city dwellers and tourists shortly after her older sister’s cancer diagnosis. I tried to slide her a little extra as a tip, but she looked embarrassed and ran back down the stairs to her pickup truck.

Related: Get inspired for your next adventure this Travel Tuesday with AARP Travel’s expert tips and suggestions.

At age 41, I was just beginning to understand what love and self-care looked and felt like in action.

One of my favorite ways to discover a new country is through its fruit and vegetable markets. What were the food staples that made each region’s cuisine so flavorful?

Weeks earlier, when I’d arrived in Thailand on a quest for a healthier way of life, I was looking and feeling much older than I should have. Not only was I chronically exhausted, but my hair was thinning, my belly was swollen with fibroids, and I was suffering from crippling anxiety. After a lifetime of fast and convenient food typical of the Standard American Diet (SAD), I felt like my poor eating habits and years spent hunched over a computer keyboard were catching up with me.

It became clear that if I did not seek change, then I would most likely die much earlier than I wanted. I was tired of being unwell. I was fully committed to the process of change, and this included a plant-based diet. Then came Ami’s text message introducing herself—a blessing. She is well-known among Chiang Mai’s vegan community.

Rwanda had some of the freshest produce I’d ever eaten, and I got heavy into a daily 'big salad' routine. I’d add in sweet plantains coated in spice blends from Ethiopia or garlicky oyster mushrooms for extra flavor.

I began working with an herbalist who put me on a 90-day detox regimen. He assured me that the herbs in combination with fresh locally grown fruits would cleanse my digestive system. But the unfamiliar regimen initially left me with no energy and a deeply foggy brain. I wanted to fall into my usual morning breakfast routine of a sausage egg and cheese croissant from the corner store to help me cope. But I resolved to give the cleanse a chance to work. So that morning at 9:00 am, I broke my fast with a bowl of pink pomelo (a citrus fruit similar to grapefruit) topped with sweet and sour passion fruit pulp. Much easier to get used to: lazy, meditative mornings spent sitting at the edge of my bed, waiting for the sun to make its way to my side of the building.

And so, the journey began. But it wouldn’t end in this part of the world.

What I learned in Thailand was much more than just a change in diet. I had learned to increase my movement. I developed a more loving attitude towards myself through meditation and journaling. What I thought would only be a three-month healing process turned into six. And by the end of the program, I'd lost about 60 pounds. I experienced clarity in thought, increased energy, and a new will to go out and be the world traveler I had always wanted to be.

There is no healthier kitchen in the world than the one I control.

I bid my herbalist farewell and spent the next five years collecting new passport stamps in Vietnam, Cambodia, Rwanda, Türkiye—just to name a few. One of my favorite ways to discover a new country is through its fruit and vegetable markets. What were the food staples that made each region’s cuisine so flavorful?

My favorite Asian street foods were heavy on herbs and spices like sweet basil, fresh and dried chilies, lemongrass, and galangal—a close cousin to ginger.

Rwanda had some of the freshest produce I’d ever eaten, and I got heavy into a daily “big salad” routine. A typical salad meal for me included two kinds of lettuce, carrots, red onions, a few pieces of sliced okra, red cabbage, juicy lemons, and avocados as large as my head. I’d add in something special like air fried sweet plantains coated in spice blends from Ethiopia or garlicky oyster mushrooms for extra flavor. The salad was always topped off with a simple dressing or salsa like kachumbari—an East African favorite made of finely diced tomatoes, onions, fresh green chili, lime juice, and salt.

The markets in Istanbul, Türkiye didn’t disappoint either. I opted to live on the Asian side of the city, an area with few tourists and even fewer Black faces. Outings to fresh fruit stands were an adventure. Grapes, figs, strawberries, calabaza, peaches, and my favorite—freshly pressed mandarin orange and pomegranate juices, were on offer. I stored the whole fruits on my kitchen countertop so that their sweet aroma would smack me in the nose every time I returned from a day of sightseeing.

I lost about 60 pounds. I experienced clarity in thought, increased energy, and a new will to go out and be the world traveler I had always wanted to be.

Living overseas for the past 6 years makes it easy for me to have access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. I discovered that a plant-forward diet full of fruits, vegetables, legumes, herbs, nuts, and seeds helped me lose an additional 40 pounds after leaving Thailand. Exploring the diverse selections of edible plants in foreign countries feels like an invitation to a fancy banquet rather than just another task on my wellness to-do-list as it might have back in the U.S.

The major key to my weight loss has been preparing my food at home.

There is no healthier kitchen in the world than the one I control. I make it a priority to visit local markets two to three times per week to ensure that I get the freshest produce and herbs to add to my smoothies, salads, and stir fries.

Today my global adventure continues in Playa del Carmen, Mexico—a quiet beach town about an hour away from Cancun. My work-from-home writer life revolves around seeking out the best fruteria in the neighborhood.

When I started this journey to wellness, all I wanted was to be able to wake up and feel good about being alive. Not only have I achieved that, but I’ve run several 5K and 10K races in Rwanda and Mexico, and I’m training to run my first half marathon by the end of 2024.

Halona Black is a freelance writer, meditative writing teacher, and author coach who travels the world. She writes about food, wellness, and technology for online publications and corporations. Halona has lived in 10 countries since 2018 in South East Asia, East Africa, Europe, and Latin America. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or Facebook.