Into the second month.

We are into February and i am still pulling through. The main development since my last post is being able to cut down on the amount of work i am doing in the morning. I am now making sure that i make enough food in the evening so that i have leftovers for lunch the next day. If i am lucky, i get to freeze some of it for another time.

I made a good quantity of meat balls the other week with ground beef, onion and oregano, and a spicy tomato sauce. Another easy fix has become my world famous ratatouille. Prepping all the veg into small dice seems to add much more flavour to the dish. Abundant fresh herbs also help!

Another thing worth mentioning is that over the first 4 weeks i have lost about a stone in weight - according to King of the Scales: AJT. This has taken me out of the 'obese' category and into 'over-weight'. Although i am happy to have lost this amount of weight, there has been no change in my skin; that i have noticed. I am going to keep going till our trip to London, at the end of the month, and rethink things after. I think i am likely to continue on my food regimen but without the particular skin focused issues. I will probably reintroduce some whole-grain carbohydrate but only early in the day so that it burns off during the day.

Kim Jong-Il's Revenge.

I've had a bit of a blog-free zone lately. I felt that i had little to moan about in the food line. I am still sticking to my regimen and i am managing to eat out a little as well. We had a great meal at a posh eatery last weekend. It was a mini celebration of our10 years together. The cod with puy lentils was wonderful and really filled me up - which was a surprise. The dessert menu had improved since our last visit; though sadly remained untouched...

I am off to the future this weekend. First time since Christmas. I expect it to be quirt relaxing, though i do need to look for a new pair of chinos as i split my present pair - even though i am loosing weight! AJT has been swotting up on recipes and i think we will be having a curry one night.

Highlights of my recent food intake: Moroccan chickpea and tomato stew with lamb stakes; Pot au Poulet (without mustard or wine);

I think i have been having a reaction to Kin-chi lately. It is recommended for my condition but i think the fermentation and chilli may be too string for my constitution at this stage. My stomach just churns the next day and my toilet is not great either. Think i will stay clear from overly spicy food for the time being.

Nastrovya!

Managed to get through the weekend without any slip-ups.

After eating at home on Friday night; experimental fish cakes; we headed up to Killer Queen's pad at the North Pole for a few drinks. AJT brought me some wonderful Polish Vodka from the Future so i was all set up for vodka lime sodas. They taste like diet mojitos. The lime is essential; otherwise it's very bland. Killer Queen had present shag-beast in tow, Marty, who seems to becoming a proper boyfriend. Lots of laughs were had by all till Killer Queen decided that although she didn't like spirits, voka was okay. We were home and in bed by 11.

On Saturday we got up early-ish and after a big omelette we headed off to the biggest shopping mall this side of the Past for a nose around. Managed to locate a decent health food store and found some buckwheat (soba) noodles. Not only that, I also got some whole buckwheat for me to experiment with. The main event was actually a South African / Portuguese restaurant that i wanted to try because they do basic grilled chicken and sides; sticky heaven for me! The food was pretty good and i had sides of sweet potato mash and some ratatouille. AJT was naughty (which he is allowed to be) and had some vanilla ice cream with toffee-chilli sauce. After lunch we saw Slumdog Millionaire. See it!

After getting home I spent a considerable amount of time making gallettes: savory buckwheat crepes. After about 3 goes i managed to get the heat and timing right. We had enough for a load of ersatz crespellli filled with meat, peppers and herbs and covered in a pomadoro sauce. The leftover batter went to cinnamon pancakes with berries and yogurt on Sunday morning.

Sunday was spent watching movies and getting the fridge contents ready for my week ahead. I made a pot-au-poulet for dinner giving me enough leftovers for about 4 meals. Luckily, i like chicken. It seems gone are the days of the scrawny organic free range chicken. The bird we bought (from a reputable food hall) was about 2.4kg; much bigger than i am used to buying from our local butcher. I am pleased to say that you do get what you pay for and the bird tasted amazing.

You'll be used to shopping at Harvey Nick's!

I didn't manage to post last night because i went shopping with a friend to a discount supermarket. My first time to this particular store. Not because i am a snob, mainly because i don't have a car so i do most of my shopping locally - how green am i?! Killer Queen, my friend, has a car so she suggested a trip after work. I was amazed at the variety of stuff and found many things to pop in the trolley. I even came away with some quick-fix trays of vegetables with only butter and salt as additives - great emergency rations from the freezer. I told people at 'it that pays the mortgage' where i had been the previous night and even they (who are regular patrons) were amazed that i managed to spend 55 bucks on stuff.

I think i am going to change my eating times. I am going to do this because i can't make it between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner. Roughly 5 hours between meals. Today i had some salmon and quinoa salad at noon then some soup at 2:30pm and i will have the last of the salad before i go home or take it home with me to have there. I think the food i am eating is burning up quicker because it is not full of sugar. Although the quinoa has carbohydrate in it, it seems to burn off quicker. I do feel better but i am still pretty tired and groggy most of the time.

I fantasise about protein these days. Thought i would be desperate for chocolate or bread not lamb chops or steak or roast chicken or grilled fish... I (we) have decided to visit a chain restaurant at the weekend. They do roast chicken marinated in different sauces. I've checked out the menu and it looks do-able. Killer Queen went last weekend so i got all the skinny on it to make sure i wasn't going to die. Die of pleasure that is...

Tonight, I am going to treat myself to a steak from my local butcher; accompanied by baked sweet potatoes and a crunch fennel salad. One has to live.

I feel like chicken tonight...

Today was better than yesterday.

I had an apple for my 11sies and that helped to tide me over till lunch. A cup of real tea also helped. I am trying to stick to a maximum of 2 cups of real tea a day. Apparently i am allowed 4 cups and i know i have to have a cup in the evening, to sooth my troubles, so only one cup at 'it that pays the mortgage'. I think i may get some quality real tea for work like i have at home as i'm not fond of the sawdust they have there.

Had my grilled chicken tonight. Was craving some mayo or ketchup but not allowed...

D-Day

I can't believe how much this has affected me already. Well, I am assuming it's the change in diet. But it could be the lack of caffeine, the Thai curry we had last night or the lack of sleep because of the storm that passed over the Past last night. Then again, Mondays are generally crap because AJT gets up at 4:30am to catch his flight back to our Future.

I managed to get everything done this morning: the juicing; making the breakfast and the pack lunch. I even had time for a cup of weed tea with cyanide before heading off to 'it that pays the mortgage'.

I was fine for the morning till about 12:30pm when the most immense hunger pangs and headache passed over me and I thought I wouldn't make it til 1pm. Even after lunch i was still pretty drowsy with smarting eyes a fuzzy head. However, a sneaky cup of real tea with real milk helped to soften the 'detox' blow. Believe me, I do know how it sounds to confess as my present vice a single cup of tea. The again, I find myself looking back at the vices that I have had over the years and thinking that I have had enough for many lifetimes and a break should do me good.

Dinner was pretty good: Pan seared paprika dusted monk fish with broccolli and quinoa with herbs. Not exactly Hospital Road standards but comforting none the less. The thing about quinoa is that about a gram of the stuff makes enough for 10 people. So, I have leftovers for tomorrow lunch and dinner - yum!

I think it will be chicken tomorrow night. I need something with a good deal of criminalisation so I can pretend it's sugar. On the subject of sugar - no real cravings yet. But i did have the distant memory of a Jaffa cake pass over me in the afternoon. Like a fragrant ectoplasm. Strange, since I haven't had a Jaffa cake for years.

Starting to feel a bit odd again. I am now wondering if it is one (or all) of the meds I am on that is causing this. I would guess it is the pro-biotics, but hey, I'm no expert!

Time for a nice cup of real tea!