All the Fruit, All the Time

  In an perfect world, I would be on a low carb Paleo diet with a gluten-free side of everything. I've tried many restrictive diets and I can truly say I was not better off for it. In hindsight, I can see how these diet fads work and are reliable in a test vacuum. But, these diets that forbid certain foods because they are evil, have not been healing or helpful for my over all health and well-being. Was I lazy? Nope. Did I "cheat" and eat naughty things? Nuh uh. As I tell my amazing doctor, 'I would eat dirt everyday if you told me to', and I mean that! 

  I love science and all the new and upcoming data they can provide to us that make our lives better. But, I have come to the conclusion that diets and all ways of eating are probably very unique and individualized, like snowflakes. I am so guilty of being a food snob and telling people what they should and should not being eating because the latest diet craze said so. I wasn't personally getting the results those diets promised, but, it would come around...eventually. When I got tired of being stood-up by these promises, I started going into a feeding frenzy and ate what I wanted. Eventually, I calmed down from the disappointment of diets that wasted my time and money. I decided to go back to eating how my body was used to eating, the innate knowledge my body always had and that I obnoxiously ignored for so long.  

  I started to eat fruits again, especially the high sugar ones. I started eating grains and gluten again (I didn't go ballistic, just in moderation). I brought back the peanut butter. I cut back on animal proteins to only a few times a week. These are just a few of things that my body instinctually wanted and has rewarded me with better health for it. I'm sleeping better and I have actual energy to exercise more days of the week. I feel nourished. I have zero guilt. I'm eating foods made my nature and nothing that comes in a wrapper that calls itself a 'meal'. If I'm honest, I probably eat 8-12 fruit servings a day. Obviously, I would NEVER recommend that people should eat food that they are allergic to (e.g. gluten and peanuts). 

  I am so happy for those people who can eat a Paleo diet or whatever fancy diet that comes along, and get great health benefits. I will be thinking of all the diet books I will no longer be buying as I eat my organic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.