For the past week, I've been following Heather as she embarked upon a 7 day cleanse. She's now on Day 7 and has concluded that ultimately it was a successful venture. So, first of all, kudos to Heather for sticking with it. She has a few more hurdles than most of us (and that's not meant to make her sound mentally challenged, just digestively so), and a cleanse is difficult enough under normal circumstances.

Bravo!

Her week has made me think a lot about my diet in the recent months. It has fallen by the wayside as our lives have gotten busier and I feel as though it's time for another overhaul, as was done circa November of 2007, January of 2007, and multiple, multiple times before that.

By keeping a closer eye on my routines and habits, including diet, I've made some very useful observations:

1. I appear to be allergic to dairy. It only took 27 years to nail this one down.

2. Since my reaction to dairy is not very severe, it's easy to "forget" about above-noted allergy when near the local Haagan Dazs store. It is also easy to "forget" that dairy exists in chocolate.

3. When we're making our own meals and have lunches packed for the week, I feel great. I feel organized, efficient, and like I'm making a difference for both of us. I also enjoy knowing exactly what I am putting into my body. Last week, our volleyball team had a pizza dinner and I nearly bit into a cockroach, encased in cheese, hiding under an onion. Not only am I now off pizza, but I'm a little bit off anything not cooked in my own (cockroach-free) house, actually. It was effin' gross.

4. As soon as there is the smallest disruption to our routine (a weekend away, a visitor, etc.), all of the above-noted good feelings fly out the window as we find excuse after excuse to eat restaurant food or cook things that aren't so great for us. Case in point: we actually ate KD for dinner last night. I don't think I've eaten it since approximately 2004, but yes...we had it for dinner. It's just wrong on so many levels.

5. My vice is sweets. I love chocolate and ice cream and, while I was able to ignore them or avoid them easily for years, they find ways to creep into my life now in ways they never did before.

6. Deep fried foods used to make me physically ill. Now that I'm living in a country which actually named mayo as their "national sauce", deep fried foods obviously turn up everywhere, including the unexpected. Like sushi. And I'm not talking about tempura. MUST. STAY. AWAY.

So, the time has come to recommit to my health, as opposed to my schedule. Things aren't going to get any less busy for us as we move into summer, but somehow I have to make myself more adaptable to change. While my running has had to take a backseat for now until my knee can handle it again, there are other ways to get exercise in. Tonight, for example, we're going to the beach after work to go swimming. And, in the near future, I'm going to have access to a fully-equipped gym, which will also solve the problem of what to do with a 1.25 lunch hour in the sweltering heat.

Did I mention that the weather shot up from 21 degree averages to 27, in just a week? We're boiling, and it's not even summer yet. Yikes.

Anyways, whether she likes it or not (and she likes it), I'm joining Heather in her healthful mission to pull things together this summer and head into fall healthier, in better shape, and feeling good.

Now...to find a bamboo steamer on this island...this might be mission impossible.