Unrelated to a “new year’s resolution”, I started an elimination diet on January 1. The timing was purely coincidental – based on recent travel and of course the deliciousness of holiday food. The goal of this “diet” was not to lose weight. It was to understand if certain foods were impacting my body in a way I didn’t like – whether physically or mentally. I had a goal of removing dairy, gluten, alcohol and many other categories of foods for 2 weeks, and then slowly reintroduce them into my diet.

On January 2, I unexpectedly booked a flight to see my uncle, who I was told didn’t have much time. As shared in my last post, he passed away on January 3 from stomach / esophageal cancer. On one hand, this made timing the worst possible to begin a diet such as this. I didn’t have my own kitchen as I was traveling, and sometimes tragedy can make you yearn comfort food.

Instead, that sad experience completely awakened me and reshaped my reason for beginning this plan in the first place. I wanted to take better care of myself. I didn’t want to feel sick. I wanted to be cognizant of what was going into my body. Cancer is common on my mom’s side of the family – my uncle was her brother. I decided to take back my life. 

There is much we are not in control of, even if we believe we are. When our time has come, that will not be in our hands. But, we can control how we take care of ourselves…how we treat our bodies and our minds.

6 weeks later and I feel world’s better. Rare headaches, infrequent stomach aches, better skin, extra energy, improved mental health. And as an added bonus? I lost more than 10 pounds.

We only get one life – one body and one mind – and it is up to us to take care of them. What you eat and drink can completely change your life, as dramatic as it sounds. We often don’t realize what a difference our diet can make. Diet doesn’t have to be something you do on and off to lose a few pounds. Our diet is what we put into our bodies that fuels it or drains it.

Do you want to feel better? Whatever you may be hoping to improve, reconsidering your diet doesn’t just have to be about weight. As one of my client’s says, you can “be on your way to a happier, healthier you.” Today is the day.