​While watching Season Two of The House of Cards
(and yes, I am strangely drawn to the House of Cards,
perhaps by its fast pace and great writing),
I chanced upon, at episode 25, this following phase:

“cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war”

which was uttered by Frank as he got
cornered by opposing forces,
yet continued to put up his fight.

I was intrigued by this phrase and did some reading up.
In English, the dogs of war is a phrase from
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar:

“Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war”.

Based on Wikipedia, in a literal reading, “dogs” are the familiar animals,
trained for warfare. Hence “havoc” is a military order
permitting the seizure of spoil after a victory and “let slip” is to release from the lease.
From another perspective, the “dogs of war” are the
political and societal restraints against war that operator
during the times of peace, and when there is no peace,
and only war, there can only be chaos and havoc 
— and here havoc would mean rape,
pillage and plunder.

You know how overseas trips are like. It disrupts whatever routine that you have back at your home country. Meals are erratic; there is no time for any proper exercise or workout. And you somewhat make it a point to try the local cuisine, or to be more specific, the delicious local cuisine, which consists of foods often laden with lots of carb-heavy or fat-heavy deliciousness.
I went to India in February. To be more specific, I visited several states in the northern area of Rajasthan. Northern Indian food consists of dishes such as butter chicken, aloo matar, kebabs, etc. Lots of fat, ghee, and lots of salt.
​

Hence, after my fantastic trip to India, I brought a few additional kilos back with me to Singapore. Which brings me back to my starting statement — you know how overseas trips are like… they make us resolve to bring ourselves back to shape by getting back to our usual routine.
And sometimes more.
Hence, I decided to move to a diet of chicken and seafood, and to cut down any red meats. More importantly, I decided to buy my own veggies from the local supermarket, and make my own packed salads to work, for my lunch.
So far, I’ve only lost a kilo or two, but as I am a veggie-lover, I adjusted easily to this new diet. As the salad requires no microwaving, this is also an easier alternative to making pasta or chicken stew.
Let’s see how long I can stick to this!