The hardest part about living a healthy lifestyle for most people is the diet change. It’s so difficult transitioning from eating whatever you want to eating nutritious foods. At first it’s a struggle. Getting used to different vegetables, finding ways to make them taste better; saying no to yummy sweets and baked goods; checking labels and nutrition facts… It’s a challenge, especially in this day and age when fast food is everywhere and healthy food, well, isn’t.

But it gets easier. It really does. Have you ever known any clean eater who has ever said they hated it? Nope. After just a few weeks of clean eating, my outlook on my diet has completely changed.

I used to feel like I was missing out on good food. I was only eating a partially clean and healthy diet, so I still gave into foods I knew I shouldn’t eat, but did because they were good and convenient. I still ate bread several times a day, ate lots of sugar, and snacked on things like Cheez Its. But a few months ago I decided to eat as absolutely clean and possible, cut back on my grain intake, and I have stuck to it. My tastebuds have evolved.

I no longer crave sweets. I can’t remember the last time I craved a piece of candy. Now I find myself craving foods I used to hate: steamed carrots, peanut butter, almonds, and mango. I used to hate everything about peanut butter, but now it’s my treat to myself each day. I crave mango the way I used to crave candy. I go through at least one bag of baby carrots a week. I used to have to drench my salads in ranch in order to eat them, and now I eat them with a dash of olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic. Sometimes I don’t even use any dressing, I just use some avocado. Bread, which I used to eat several times a day, is now unappealing. Colorful plates of fruits and vegetables capture my attention so much more than the monochromatic plate of fried foods and breads. I now have to pee almost every 20 minutes because of how much water I guzzle down, and just the very thought of soda makes me ill. The times I’ve given into eating sweets on holidays or special occasions I’ve instantly regretted because I hate the way I feel after eating them.

And, not to mention, the results are fabulous. Since cutting back my bread/pasta intake and significantly increasing my protein intake, I’ve noticed big improvements with my stomach. I used to have a stomach swelling problem where after eating my stomach would puff up like a balloon. That problem is now gone. I wouldn’t go as far as to say I have a gluten intolerance because I still eat gluten, just much, much less of it. I’ve also became extremely aware of sugar in products. It used to be something I ignored on labels, but now it’s what I check before even calories. And since cutting back my sugar intake I have seen insane results with my workouts. For a while I had plateaued, and I was discouraged. But now I’ve noticed my abs starting to show, my hips and thighs getting tighter, and my arms to be more defined. It’s so wonderful to actually see all my hard work.

I promise, guys. It gets easier. You can do it, trust me.

Losing two pounds caused me to lose half an inch on almost every part of my body.

So if you ever think that losing a few pounds isn’t a great feat, think again. :)