I heart lemons and limes.

Before I get into how awesome citrus fruits are, I wanted to thank Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for mentioning us in a recent post. I am currently on day 15 of their 28 day Elimination Diet. Check it out and find some great new recipes!

Back to lemons and limes. Pretty much, they are the fruit of the gods. Absolutely divine. Being able to eat lemons and limes for the past few days has almost been as good as Christmas and Easter combined. I am finally in Phase 2 of this Elimination Diet I am tackling. I had lemon water last night... so refreshing. I sat down with chamomile tea (with lemon!) this morning to look over my cookbook bible for dressings and sauces I can have now that I can incorporate some citrus. Over the weekend, Jenn made a delicious Lemon and Lentil soup that finally gave us the feeling that we were eating "real" food. As difficult as this trek has been at times, I know that my body loves it. I don't know if its the absence of alcohol, caffeine, processed sugar, wheat or what, but my skin has never looked this good, and I don't think I have ever slept this good in my life.

Prior to this adventure, I would classify myself as a crappy sleeper. It would take me hours to fall asleep at night (too much caffeine perhaps?!) and it was so difficult to get my booty out of bed in the morning. I always felt like I was in a fog, would wake up feeling like arthritis had attacked my hands, and perpetually had dark circles under my eyes. 15 days into this elimination diet and my skin is glowing, the dark circle are gone, I fall asleep moments after my head hits the pillow and able in a great mood in the morning. I don't know if this is all attributed to the change in my diet, but I am experiencing such great results, I am hesitant to go back to my usual ways.

I think that one of the best thing to come of this entire process thus far is I finally know my own strength. My work is littered with junk food. They stock the cupboard with Pop Tarts, chocolate chip cookies, cheese, fun sized candy bars, and my own personal Achilles Heel: peanut M & M's. Even back when I was on track and eating healthy, I was still unable able to resist a handful or two a day. I would rationalize that I ate less calories that day so it was okay. Or I logged an hour on the treadmill rather than my usual 45 minutes. This is all bullshit. An excuses. I was weak. I couldn't say no. I couldn't stop. While on this 28 day journey, I swore to myself I would follow it to the 'T.' No cheating anywhere. I am amazed at how easy it is to bypass the candy.

I have decided that even as this elimination diet runs it course, I am going to stick with a lot of it. I am going to view snacking on candy as cheating - not just cheating my diet, but cheating myself. I am better than that. I am going to limit my alcohol consumption... I think allowing myself a day a week to have some wine or go out and live it up is good. That's enough. I honestly cannot afford to do more than that - monetarily or health-wise. I am going to stick to the tea, maybe allowing myself an Americano every now and then, but by no means will I go back to my 6 or 7 cup a day habit. I am going to try to be dairy free. I am going to incorporate seafood back into my diet, but continue to avoid red meats, chicken and pork.

I am going to change my way of life. This elimination diet has opened my eyes to the way things could be. And they could be pretty damn good.

Are there any changes you could make today that will make life better? Try changing it -- its easier than you think. You may just surprise yourself. I did.