Fruit is My Candy!

I very much enjoy looking back at where I once was and how far I have come on this lifestyle change. It is empowering to see so much growth. Haley from three years ago would be mind blown at Haley now. Honestly, I think old Haley would not even think that it is possible to be where I am currently. It is amazing what small changes compounded over time can do.

(Queue in “Atomic Habits” that I am currently reading as of posting this. Buuutttt…that will have to be for another time)

One of the biggest differences when comparing myself as “before” and “after” is my diet. I cannot remember the last time I had candy, sweets, or processed foods of any kind. And before everyone gets all defensive…I promise you I am not “restricting” myself in any way. I utilized an elimination diet to determine which foods really do work for my body and which do not…and that covers more than just prepackaged and fast food. Cutting out processed foods has been one of the best decisions for myself that I have ever made; I am very healthy and have never felt better in my entire life.

(If you are interested in hearing about what an elimination diet is and what my experience has been, let me know on Instagram @bits_of_fitness! You can check out when I was undergoing a change in my diet HERE at the very beginning of my elimination diet.)

Regardless, I digress.

Over this time of removing highly palatable foods from my diet, my taste buds have had enough time to “reset”. Because of this, fruit is my candy. Fruit tastes so sweet to me, it blows my mind that I ever wanted candies and chocolate in the first place (I mean…chocolate already does not like me much anyway so I never had any issues saying goodbye there). I can have fruit as dessert and be very satisfied. On top of that, the nutritional value behind it is also wonderful!

It feels like I cracked some big code, however, it is actually a lot simpler and less glamorous than that. I wanted to write this post as a way to get you (whoever you may be reading this) to think about things a little differently. Maybe you have been thinking about an elimination diet and wanting to try it out, or maybe you have never ever heard about it before. Maybe you actually want to take better care of your health and maybe this helps you get the ball rolling for the first time or for the fifteenth time.

Whatever it may be, focus on your health and focus on you. Be consistent and be dedicated. It. Will. Come.

You got it.