I have a plan, and a SWAMI, and I'm ready to go all the way this time...no more yo-yo-ing before I even get near my goal, no more yo-yo ever.

My genotype SWAMI held no surprises. I'll have to give up the mozzarella and the whey protein powder (It knew that without me even having to tell it so). In exchange, chicken eggs are now neutral, so I'll enjoy them occasionally. Also neutral are so many of my old O-nonsecretor standbyes: tomatoes, peppers, sesame seeds and sesame oil, umeboshi plum vinegar, nutritional yeast, flax seeds. I've gotten a good introduction to superfoods by giving up all those neutrals, but I will enjoy a little flexibility. I have just three diamond superfood fruits: acai, prickly pear and pomegranate. I happen to love all three and can usually find some form or another of all of them (well, just juice when it comes to acai). Basically it's pointing me back to the O-non diet, which is no surprise since I did fantastic on it, but adding a plethora of explorer superfoods...so many fruits and vegetables, so little time! I get to keep some sweet juices, like apple and grape juice, but I use them sparingly (except on explorer cleanse day with apple juice).

My new health habit is to eat nothing after dinner, and don't eat dinner after a certain hour. I've been doing really well on eating those fruit and veggie superfoods, as those are top priority. If I get the munchies after dinner, all I'm allowed is unsweetened or glycerine sweetened herbal tea or diluted and unsweetened juice (but not apple or grape, too sweet for that hour). Those late hours have been my downfall, they're when stress gets to me and I get cravings for crazy avoids I'd never be tempted by otherwise.

My newest thing (aside from platefuls of veggies), has been prickly pear lemonade. The whole thing is edible once you peel it, but the seeds are too hard to ever chew on. I've eaten it before, but found the fiber effect too strong, so for now I juice it. I could put it in the juicer, but I've been just running it through the blendtec and straining out the pulp and what's left of the seeds. Add some lemon juice and vegetable glycerine, sparkling or plain water, and you have a lovely bright pink lemonade. There's a somewhat compliant bottled version, but if you make your own then you can determine how sweet, sour, or bubbly you want.

I've also been exercising at least every other day, sometimes more than once in the day. Our taekwondo instructor has been subjecting us to this intense self-defense floor routine that really works all your core in just 20 minutes or so. I was so sore that I could have died after the first round, so I've been doing it as homework, partly so I don't get that sore next time, and also because I've never done a more efficient workout as far as heart rate and muscle building go. I didn't realize how weak some of my lower back and quad muscles were, there's a certain way of getting up from off the ground that I literally could not do right (I had to use an extra hand and push myself up). I'm happy to say that I can now do it and am getting faster. Nothing makes you feel as old as when you can't get up off the ground! I want to jump up like a young thing, so it's time to turn back the clock with that one.

I've been keeping track of my food with a digital voice recorder, as well as weight and fasting glucose level. I've brought down the weight by 3-4 pounds in just a few days, and the glucose level by nine points. Of course, the numbers they were 5 days ago were enough to scare me straight, so we're talking starting from square one here.