This past January, I decided to make a major life adjustment. Yet, it wasn't the kind of situation where I experienced some "AHA moment" or encountered some huge revelation about life (although I wish I could say that I did.) In fact, I'm still in the midst of working through this transition and I face new and recurring challenges regularly. Adopting this lifestyle (yes, it is an entire lifestyle) of a gluten-free diet has inevitably imposed on me a new relationship with food and an enhanced appreciation for Whole Foods and Wegmans.

Before deciding to eliminate three of the food groups that consistently comprised my diet (pizza, pasta, and bagels), I'll admit that I used to be a tad skeptical of those who restricted themselves of such delicious foods! I often thought that there was no use in dieting, and that those who did were merely dramatic and neurotic about losing weight. I now recognize that sometimes certain diets benefit certain body types and restrictive diets can actually be of aid to your body. For example, a gluten-free diet has been said to help reduce inflammation, promote better digestion, improve energy levels, and sometimes even boost weight loss!

I'm not writing this article to convince you that becoming gluten-free is the be-all and end-all of dieting, because it certainly isn't for everyone. I am merely hoping to stimulate some thought on how people, and specifically my generation, react to dietary restrictions and needs. I've been in too many conversations, and, shamefully, may have even initiated some, where a judgmental joke is made about vegetarians or vegans. And let's face it, we've all probably laughed out loud and/or shared with our friends the classic memes about vegans that populate our Instagram and Twitter feeds. But after tagging along with new friends to a restaurant where they ordered a couple trays of pizza, and awkwardly pretending to check my phone as they chowed down on what used to be my favorite meal, and then receiving pity glances and cheese-filled smiles, I realized how unaccepting of dietary decisions our society really is. The only time people truly expect (and accept) you to restrict yourself of food is when it is a life or death situation!

So, moral of the story is that diets can be useful! And they can be even more beneficial when they're socially accepted! I'll confess, our society has advanced considerably in this area. In fact, I think more than half of the restaurants on Arthur Avenue offer gluten-free options! But as with most things in our society, we've still got some work to do. Feeling embarrassed has been half the battle of my new lifestyle, so I'd like to encourage the rest of the public to have an open mind about dieting and do the research before you diet shame!