I had a doughnut yesterday. It was one of those old-fashioned donuts from Starbucks, all cake-y and cinnamon-y and terrifically accompanying my iced decaf soy mocha. But it was still a doughnut, a 400-calorie, fat-and-cholesterol-rich pastry that I’ve held up as the antithesis of healthy living for almost three years.

Oh, sure, there are probably plenty of foods I eat on occasion just as bad if not worse than the doughnut: Pizza. Birthday cake. Grilled cheese. But back when my whole “oh, wait, I have apparently become a fatty and am racing toward a heart attack” thing started, among the other gastronomic pleasures I denied myself in lieu of not spending a life dependent upon Lipitor, the doughnut became something of a dangling carrot for me. I’m fairly certain I declared to Twitter and my girlfriend a few years back that once I came down to my target weight (either 170 or 175 lbs., I don’t recall), I’d reward myself with doughnutty goodness. Well, meeting and beating that goal came and went, but I eschewed the sugary reward.

Even after shedding another 10 or so pounds, I still didn’t pop a doughnut into my face, even when buying dozens of them to cater various events. Oh, sure, I’d nom down on a Retro Bakery cupcake at the drop of a hat, loaded with artery-defying buttercream, but a doughnut? Not once, at least not until a trip to Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland, Ore., but I was on vacation, man — that doesn’t count (also, I had a vegan doughnut, which definitely doesn’t count). But yesterday, knowing I’d be starting a stricter diet today and after getting good cholesterol and triglyceride numbers back from a blood test, I went for it. And felt guilty immediately afterward (also, my tummy hurt a bit).

So, here we are: Day One of System Reboot Week. It used to be called “Detox Week,” but I kind of feel like that has some negative and inferred connotations, so I’m changing it. Because, really, what happens is I get lazy. I do one of these intensive weeks of eating all-vegan, eschewing processed foods, breads, beverages, etc., feel better, maybe drop a few pounds, and then for a few weeks after, I find myself cooking more often, eating generally better, drinking less alcohol, yadda yadda. But then the glow fades, I go out of town, I drink enough to require liquor-soaking greasy fast food, and eventually, I’m at the point that I need to, well, reboot.

Let’s be clear: I’m the lightest I’ve been since my 20s, my cholesterol and blood pressure are ideal, I run five-to-seven miles a week and eat a mostly vegetarian diet (with fish nomz thrown in for Omega-3/protein goodness). So it’s not like it’s that drastic for me to ixnay the peripheral “junk” (except the bread — that’s probably the hardest part). But sometimes you can just tell when it’s time for a refresher, you know? Hence, the next five days, I’m following the usual rules:

• No processed foods
• No dairy, no bread, no pasta
• No soda or alcohol
• Obviously, no meat or animal products — including eggs and foods made with eggs
• Only eating combinations of vegetables, fruits, nuts and legumes, organic and raw whenever possible

I’ll likely not be running this week, as I won’t have the calorie intake to support that, which is fine, because my legs could probably use a week off, and I have a lot of other stuff to get to, including a painting for LVSK8 V, an article for Vegas Seven, and the usual batch of comics/music/stuff.

Here’s today’s menu, for the curious:

• Breakfast: 1 banana + 1 cup Dynamo juice blend
• Morning snack: 1 Apple Pie Larabar (raw/vegan/organic)
• Lunch: Organic Lentil & Vegetable soup
• Afternoon snack: Celery and carrots with organic hummus
• Throughout day: Approx. 2 handfuls of raw sunflower nut meats
• Dinner: Homemade veggie stew (carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, celery, onion)
• Evening snack: Mixed tropical fruit
• Beverages: Aside from the above-listed juice, just water all day, plus a few swigs of Trader Joe’s Green Protein juice.

I found a recipe and bought supplies for raw, vegan pancakes. I’ll let you know how that goes.