This has been a year when I gave up a lot, but I feel as if I’ve gained more than I lost. I don’t miss meat, eggs, or even cheese. I don’t miss white sugar or bleached flour or Mountain Dew. I have no serious cravings that I can’t find a substitute to satisfy, even ice cream (soy or rice) or hamburgers (all kinds of veggie burgers). I admit that on the day after Thanksgiving I was a bit wistful over the impossibility of a cold turkey sandwich on white bread with mayo. Wistful, but not tempted.

Every so often my sweet tooth gets ugly. The thought of never having a glazed doughnut again brings a tear to the eye. There are times when nothing satisfies like a Snickers. But I feel too good physically (and too good about myself) to do any more than think about these things I’ve given up. It wasn’t a resolution, but a lifestyle change. It started as a four-week trial and became a commitment. I have no regrets.

Now for the next phase. If I can commit to such a large scale change in diet, I can certainly find the time to do the little things that would make life easier. I hope that as the next year comes (and before it goes), I can rid my house of the extraneous clutter. And the piles of dust on the shelves. And the grease on the stove, and the stains on the carpet.

With a little work, this could be a much more suitable place for a person to live, even if that person (a) doesn’t get to eat doughnuts, and (2) doesn’t like to clean house.

Every year I go back and forth on whether or not it’s worthwhile to make actual new year’s resolutions. Either way, this is as good a time as any to look ahead and see where improvements can be made. That seems to be what I’m doing. Whether I’ll really do anything about it or not remains to be seen. It’s my intention to try, and my hope lies in the track record I’ve created with the diet change. If I can do that, why not this?