Monday, January 31, 2005
The official completion of the 21 days...or else...Counting my Blessings!
I had a wonderful Sunday in the marathon. We worked with our bodies so much! It was another proof of how related the body to the soul is. After all the exercises (I got tips for you which I will post soon) all teh therapy work of each and everyone flowed so much more easily. People who had difficulties in opening up and working, people who showed the most resistance and needed 30 minutes to start the real work were doing it in less than 10 minutes!

Needless to say I left the place at 8 in the evening floating. I went by my mom and she told me I was radiant! Angelos told me when he opened the door: "Where you really in the marathon or you secretely went to a beauty spa?" hehehe

Nothing beautifies us more than the feeling of content!!!

I was really tempted to eat lamp chops last night. Angelos wanted some so badly, and was telling me...oh come on...what's the difference if you eat some meat tonight, the detox is almost over in 6 hours! lol

But I needed these 6 more hours to show myself that I really did it. So it was another round of baked veggies for me last night! And this morning, when I got on the scales, the number totally surprised me!

88.8

or

Eighty Eight point Eight!!!!!

I have never loved three 8's more before :) And I am so happy for having lost 7 whole kilos in 3 weeks!

I know that most of it is due to the marathon. We all felt lighter after all these exercises, which were all about releasing all stagnant energy from our bodies. We could all feel our bodies tickling and shivvering, the way you feel after good sex, all alive and free.

On my birthday I always try to count my blessings. I always make lists for the things I am thankful while celebrating life. Because what else is the birthday celebration but an ode to life and a heartfelt thanks to the people who brought us in these world?

So when I wake up, I always call my parents, and thank them for brinking me in this world. For being there for me. For doing the best they could and then some more. For loving me and teaching me how to love too. For holding my hand and showing me how to hold hands. For being strict when strictness was needed and teaching me that strictness sometimes means determination and honour of one's morals. For giving me my morals and allowing me to develop my own seperate ones.

And then I continue with counting my blessings. And one of this year's blessings is that I will not write them in this special notebook I have, but here.

This blog has been a blessing. It has turned the joy of writting in a diary into a loving support group. It has evolved the calmness I had while putting my thoughts into paper into the comforting knowledge that I am not alone in this, that there are many wonderful people fighting the same battle and they are offering wisdom, honesty, care, sentiments, concern, support!

You all are in my list of blessings.

My wonderful, supportive, witty, sexy, loving, honest, gorgeous, funny, sincere, inventive, hard working, organised, calm, strong, and oh so much more husband is my blessing.

My health, my family's health, my friends' health are a blessing.

My wonderful brother and sister in law who not only blessed me with their existance but have also given me my wonderful niece and nephew (and have one more on the way) are in my list.

A roof over our heads and food in our plates are blessings.

The choise I have ever day of what to wear is a blessing.

My work is a blessing because it brings food in our table and boots in my closet. But for no other reason ;)

Therapy is my blessing because it cleansed my soul from the anger and the hurt and the resentment and it shed light to the dark corners and fresh air to the good ole skeleton closet.

On the eve of my 37th year, I am a rich woman, and I can sincerely say, through my happy tears now - yeah, I am a sook sometimes - that you my dear dear frends, are part of my wealth!

Thank you!

Posted by Argy at 9:28 am | 6 comments

Sunday, January 30, 2005
Day Bloody 21!!!!!!
I did it me ladies!!!! I managed to finish this bloody detox!!!! I will call my holistic tomorrow morning and neeerh neeerh him over the phone!!!! He thought it was not possible for me to sustain this eating for 21 days during the cold days of winter...but hey!!! I fucking did it!!!!!

And I have been mighty rewarded too. Because I got on the scales 5 times already. In 5 minutes. I also called Angelos to see for me, in case I was misreading. Yes my sweets! Roll the drums!!! Today, Sunday January 30, at 7.30 am, I weigh 89.6!!!!! Eighty Nine point Six kilos!!!!!!! That is a 6.2 kilos loss during the detox!!!! Oh I could go out in the balcony and scream it out loud!!!!

I am extemelly happy!!!!! I am also proud and content!!! Because, hey...you know what that means? It means that my blog has the wrong name now!!!! Because I do not have 25 to go!!! I have 19.6 to go!!!!! Do you have any idea how wonderful it is to know you have 19.6 kilos to go, when a few years ago you started by having 60 to go?? Sixty kilos to loose!!! Oh how I wish I had a digital camera now and take a pic of the number in the scales to show you all :)))

I so know I can do it now. And I so know I wouldn't be able to have done it without you all!!! I wouldn't have managed to sustain this without Kimba's virtual hugs! Without DG's sincere "well done's"! Without arlie's compliments! Without Denise's friendship! Withour rebeka's help! Without Lynda's and Leigh's sweet words. Without Angel's support! Without Tracy's energy! Without LBTERA's reminding me all the time that living well is the best revenge! Without Yvonne's sincerity!Without Lee's caring! Without Karen's sweetness!

I am really proud of myself. And I am not holding back on it. I am not embarassed or playing it modest and not saying it! Because during that period back in the holidays, from December 22 to January 1st that I managed to gain the 5.8 kilos I really slipped back. I could not sleep. I was so sad and so worn out with my mother's situation, so discouraged and hurt, that I really slipped back. I became my old bad self. Eating like a maniac, smoking the occasional pot, drinking too much tequila, smoking 3 packs a day!

But it only lasted for so little time. Enough to make me realise I am not woman anymore. Whereas in the past it could go on. Like each and every year since 2001. I would fall during the holidays, and I would use the same old excuses to continue: oh...but if I start a diet now, then I will have to stop on January 7, because it's my brother's nameday! And then on the 18 its Natasha's birthday, and on the 25 its my partner's birthday, and on the 31st its my birthday, and then its Valentine's, and then the Carnival, and then March is full of namedays and birthdays and national holidays! And then April I would resume! And I would gain from 5 to 7 kilos during winter, and would not loose them till it felt that spring was too close, and spring brings summer and summer brings bathin suits!

But not this year! And not only have I taken action towards gaining some weight by loosing it back fast, but I have also cut down on my smoking so much! I smoke 2-3 regular cigarettes in the morning with my coffee, so that I go to the toilette, and then the entire day I smoke 4 - 6 thin cigars, you know the ones in the size of a regular smoke. Which is better than regular smokes because you do not get the nasty chemicals in the paper, since they are rolled in tobacco leaves.

And from February 9, this will be reduced to 2 morning smokes and 3 - 5 cigarillos. And this will go on till March 1, where it will be 2 morning smokes and 2-4 cigarillos.

I got to go get my shower and get dressed for the marathon. I am lookign so forward to it! The day is crspy cold but sunny and I just love me some dry cold with lotsa sun. It is my perfect winter weather! oh...AND!!!!

Sofia and Vangelis who are in Amsterdam since Thursday called us yesterday to tell us that we are soooooo lucky, because the sales end so much earlier this year! They end at February 9, which means that we will be there at the total clearance period. That means sales of 70% to 80% off!!!!!! Same like last year, only that last year we were there from Feb 26 to March 2!!!!!!!

Did you notice I am excited? And happy? And proud? And how blessed I feel for having you and my wonderful man and family and friends and health and a great group of people waiting for me in the marathon? Did you? Because in case you did not, I have to tell you that I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by Argy at 7:40 am | 10 comments

Saturday, January 29, 2005
The Body is a Sanctuary
I am back from my first day in the marathon. And once more, but more than any other time, I stand in awe in front of the Body.

I can tell you with all my sincerity, all my honesty, and with my heart still wide open from today's experience, that the Body knows. The Body feels. The Body reacts. The Body decides. But most of all, the Body remembers.

It remembers all the hurt, all the trauma, all the pleasure, all the happiness, all the joy, all the needs, all the love. And unless we get rid of our so called wise and structured thinking, we stand no chance in freeing the body and letting do its wise Job.

The Body remembers when we were 2 weeks old and we were looking at our mother's eyes while breastfeeding for this vital for us then connection. It remembers that her eyes were not there. Or that they were there for us to feel security.

The Body remembers what the mind supresses. And shows all these. In the way it evolves. Or in the way it refuses to evolve.

Because our bodies are destined for one thing and one thing only. Pleasure. Happy cells jumping from free energy do not get sick. Happy cells full of life constantly moving, reacting, exchanging do not succumb to reformation that alters their essence. Happy cells do not know stiffness. Happy cells do not know stress
.
Without the Body we do not exist. Without the mind we continue to live. But the Body is our essence

I am a woman with 20 kilos of excess fat because my body remembers. And asks. And needs. And I have been too scared to give to it. And too reluctant sometimes. Like then. That the body remembers too well. When I was afraid of all the juices running. And supressed. And substituded. But the body is here to remind me. With its nice or tough way.

And I cannot but thank it. And seriously take the decision to honour it! Because I am still in awe. And I am still extremely thankful. For the Body.

Posted by Argy at 8:54 pm | 3 comments

Day 20
Angelos is getting better and that meant a good 6 hrs of uniterrupted sleep for me. Just what I needed, because yesterday I was so tired I could not function properly.

I am excited to go to the marathon. It is always such hard and painful work in its duration, but every sunday evening, when it is over, we all leave the place so much lighter and better. No pain no gain is I think too true in our marathon sessions.

And I am also excited to see the rest of the group, see the new people, we always have a couple of new persons.

I went to the video club to get some dvd's for A last night. I rarely go there if at all, he is the good dvd picker! And I run into an old classmate whom I havent seen in more than 10 years. When he saw me he exclaimed...omg...you look as if you just walked out of the classroom! Your face is exactly the same!! Lol...he was nice enough to not mention the weight, and it also did wonders to my mood, as I was checking for wrinkles in the mirror a litlle while ago. Birthday proximity makes me feel older all of the sudden, and makes me feel oooooo I need eyes cream, anti-wrinkle stuff, and the likes...lol

The scales moved to 90.1. I am so pleased with this. Tomorrow is the last day of this detox, and I am glowing inside from pride of actually doing it without any "mishaps".Even if it stays there till tomorrow, this will mean a loss of 5.7 kilos in 3 weeks, which is great!

I amstill considering what to do after I return, diet-wise. I could go on my own, but I think I need something else. WW was a serious considertaion, but now I am also considering what my partner is doing. She gained about 20 kilos in her pregnancy, and a friend suggested to her a dietician. Her program is based on her blood type, and she sees this woman every two weeks. Yesterday was her first appointment after the completion of her first 2 weeks. She has lost 3.5 kilos, with 2.8 of it being fat! And because she has a different body type of mine, I could see that she has lost cm's from where she needs it most, her stomach and tummy. And my friend Sofia also told me that she will seriously consider my proposal to join a gym together and tell me when she returns from Amsterdam. Wednesday night we are meeting after her return, to get some new tips about shops,etc, and discuss the gym too. If I go for the gym membership, then I will keep on eating on my won, both will be too costy for me right now.

Ok...I am going to get showered and dressed and then go for my marathon. I am soooo looking forward to it!!!

Posted by Argy at 8:18 am | 0 comments

Friday, January 28, 2005
Day 19...Can you believe it?!
I did not sleep well last night again. My baby is so sick and sooooo feverish!!! I was up every hour, changing his clothes, bringing more tea, caressing his forehead. And I have been up since 6 am again. Boy I am tired!

I went to the chiropractor yesterday. I have not been there for two years. I had a very stiff neck and some problems there back then, and the superman fixed them all in 8 sessions. But lately I seem to always have a bad back, and Angelos who is seeing him regularly always complains to me that I never go to see the chiro and on Tuesday he said the magic sentense to persuade me. He said "but you don't want to be in pain in Amsterdam and not be able to carry your shopping bags" hehehe....he knows all my buttons too well I'm afraid!

First, it was great to see the chiro, because the instant he saw me his jaw dropped. hehehe. He went out of his office to the waiting room and as soon as he saw me he said...Argyro...what a change....errr...new hair eh? lol There were more people waiting and he was kind enough to not say a thing about weight! But as soon as I got into his office, he got all enthusiastic and congratulatory. Felt good indeed :)

He said I need at least 3 sessions more between yesterday and Amsterdam. So I am seeing him today, and on Mon and Wed. Apparently, my body is trying to find its balance again. My centre of gravity has changed with all the lost weight and I have a tender back after that accident - I had a bad accident when I was 18 - so he needs to stress and extend and flex and push...lol

Since I been up so early, I cooked something for Angelos. He wanted something with lotsa veggies because he ate too much chicken soup and fish soup and meat soup the last two days. Here is what I came up with, because I was a tad bored, and it is heavenly from what I can tell from the smell: (this one is for your scotchman dg...so veggeterian and yummy ;)

Remember the big tupperware with the cut salad? (roman lettuce, kos lettuce, white and purrple cabbage, different colours of peppers, parsley, grated carrots, drill, shallots).

I put some olive oil in the pot, and more shallots (this food wants many shallots) and more drill (cos it likes drill too). Then I put all the salad. Then about a kilo and a half of various mushrooms cut in big pieces, salt and pepper, water, and let it cook till the water was reduced in half and the mushrooms were cooked. Now this is where the "difficult" part comes...lol

You take 2 eggs and whisk them in a plate, don't whisk them too much, just tenderly so that the yolk and the whites mix. Add in the eggs the juice of 2 -3 lemons. Stir it a little. Then take a big spoon (the one that you usually serve soup with) and take 2 such huge spoonfuls and put them gratually in the eggs and lemon mix while stirring constantly, so that the eggs won't cook. Then take your pot off the heat, and add this mixture in the pot slowly while stirring the pot constantly. Then, take 2 Tsp of corn flour in 1/3 of a glass of water, stir it, add it to the pot, bring the pot back to the heat and let it boil for a minute or two till it thickens.

This dish is traditional greek and is usually done only with lotsa lettuce, shallots, drill and lamp. But I brought about 4 kilos of organic mushrooms from a friend who has start an organic mushrooms farm, and had this big quantity of already cut salad, that I thought I'd play with it.

As I was making it, I was counting the points of the whole pot, and it was 4 for the two eggs, 10 for the oil, and 2 for the corn flour. 16 points for a whole pot that has at least 4 generous servings!

So now, don't go thinking I woke up this morning and because it was 6 am and I was way too tired, I did not jump of the bed to go weigh myself. Of course I went! And you won't believe it, but they were even kinder this morning. 90.2!!! And I still got 3 days to go with today :) So that means that I have a great big chance to be in the oh so beloved 89 point summat again :)

Right, now I got to get ready and go work some :) Then there are some appointments, then there is the chiro, then back home, then tomorrow and Sunday the marathon, then Monday is me birthday, then Tuesday is more blogging and more work and my therapy session, then Wednesday is another chiro appointment and more work, then omg...Thursday Feb 3!!! We'll be on a plane at 9 am and in Amsterdam by noon local time!!!!!!!!!

I am getting VERY excited!!!!!!!!!!!!


Posted by Argy at 9:09 am | 3 comments

Thursday, January 27, 2005
Day 18
I feel silly. I really do. I made such a big issue of my gain, while, apparently, Angelos was right. My reasoning was right too. I had a water gain. I was ovulating. Because the scales today are magically back to 90.7. In a day. In less than a day actually. They were 90.8 last evening when I returned home from work. To find my man lying in the sofa like a 5 year old with a fever of 39.3 and achy bones. Aren't men so funny when they get sick?

I have not slept well at all, since he was sweating and changing clothes all night. "Honey, will you bring me another Tshirt?" was ringing in my ears all night. Mind you, the tshirts are just an arm's length away from his side of the bed!

Plus we have been both awake since 6 am. I made him breakfast, fresh orange juice, a power vitamin C drink of 2 propoline tablets, toast with butter and honey, tea with cinammon and honey, warm lemon juice with honey, and a nice extra strong Panadol for the fever. Plus his homeopathy pill. Lotsa pills indeed. lol It always takes a lot more effort in this household to get better, since none of us takes antibiotics or other "western" meds. So I prepared his breakfast tray, sacrifised my one and only red rose from my pot, served him with a smile, bathed him because he was drenched in sweat, changed his clothes, tackled him back to bed, and I can hear him now complaining that I am telling my internet friends of what a cry baby he is when he is sick, instead of lying next to him holding his hand. I tell you, men are such cry babies when they get sick!

So, as you can see, I managed to get on my 18th day. Intact. Besides the hystericl fit I threw the last couple of days. I saw my therapist yesterday and he said that it is part of the process. Deprivation causes this and others too. He also said that when I left the other day from the joined session with my holistic, they were gossiping me. They said that I had picked a very "wrong" season to do this. Detox such hard as I am doing is a spring thing. Not a winter one. But I was so determined to loose the extra holiday kilos that Yannis (the holistic) thought I would better try and do this instead of a low card or any other fad. My therapist told him that I would make it to the end without falling. Yannis were not that sure. I am proud I proved him right and Yannis wrong.

Having 4 more days to go seem like a game now. And it also makes me a bit scared. See I finish on Sunday. This weekend is another marathon in therapy. Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm. My cup of tea. With a great theme too. How to release our hidden potential. I simply cannot wait! When I was leaving my therapist's office yesterday, right when I was in the door, he called me back and said "Argyro...you know you are a completely different woman now, don't you?" The look in his eyes was priceless. Like a proud father.

But I am still a bit scared. Because, although a completely different woman in many aspects, I am still an all or nothing type when it comes to food. I still have to find the equillibrium. Perhaps this is the hidden potential I will be seaking this weekend in the marathon. However it's my birthday on Monday. There will be people over, food will be cooked, and a birthday cake has to be here to host my 36 canddles. And then, 3 days after it will be Amsterdam.

Eating local foods while traveling is such a big part of the whole traveling experience for me. The tastes of different countries tell me so much about the hearts of people, about the geography, the culture, the weather. I always return from trips with spices, recipes, and other local goodies. Last year we brought so many different kinds of cheeses from Amsterdam. And I am not a big cheese lover. But hery, Holland is cheese, and we had to bring some back! Then I cooked a big Dutch dinner for our friends and simblings (yes, Angelos has a brother indeed, single, 34 years old, equally gorgeous - some say they look like twins - and unequally nice when it comes to girls unfortunately) and shared photos and the likes.

I am thinking I will go with the dietgirl's advice for my summer holidays. Eat a healthy breakfast, and have one fancy meal a day, dinner more likely, since we will be shopping all day :) And the hotel we will be staying for the first 4 days is a good 50 minutes walk from downtown, so I have made everyone promise we will walk back.

The plans have changed so many times! I have booked and cancelled rooms 3 times! The dates are always the same, we leave on the 3rd and return on the 8th. But remember my congress last fall? Well the vice president of the European Association of Body Psychotherapy is dutch and had invited me to stay over his house. Which I accepted.But had to cancel the rooms I had already cancelled once since the first dates cancelled. Then these friends of ours are coming from the 4 to the 6th. And they found this fancy hotel. And insisted on staying together. And Angelos loves hotels and long buffet breakfasts. So he persuaded me to cancel the invite and stay in the hotel. So I booked it for the whole stay. And then I thought that since our friends are leaving on Sunday, we could move to this guy's house, which is totally downtown in Dam Square, which will be easier for the last days shopping escapades. And this is what we are doing. I just got the ok in the amendement I did in our hotel bookings. Oh, check out the hotel if youwant, seems soooooo nice www.Arena.nl

Ok...I think I been bubblier than bubbly. I am going to go play nurse for a little before I get ready for work :)

Thank you for making me hold the last three days with the bad scales and the detox. If it wasn't for you, I would have fallen. I just could not bring myself to eat anything else and let you down. You had faith in me and I wanted you to feel that I honoured this. And I really did!

Posted by Argy at 8:58 am | 7 comments

Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Day 17
I am feeling better today, thanks to you all and not the scales. They have not being nicer to me. Still the same 91.6, Although yesterdays eating consisted of 4 apples and the salad, with a lot less olive oil, and 2 ryr rusks.

I did many things to cheer me up. First, I tried reminding myself that in 16 days, at 91.6 I managed to loose 4.2 kilos (9.2 lb). This is a lot! Then my doggedness replied that last year in 16 days I had lost 7 kilos (15.4 lb) doing the same thing. I tried to tell her that this is only good news. It only means that my body has a lot less toxins than a year ago. She said "Bah". I told her it is so! In the first days I was going to the toilette 3 - 4 times a day, now I am back to my morning routine. She said "BAH". I stopped trying to persuade her.

Then I wore a pair of trousers I have taken in three times. It is a very beloved pair of cargo pants in a wonderfuly thin denim. The last time I took them to the dress maker to take them in, she was so tired of seeing this pants that she took them in a few centimeters more than she should, so when I took them and tried them on in her shop they almost cut my body in half. I was complaining to her and she said "Shut up, you will loose more weight and bring them again. Now you have something to look forward to wearing when you loose more!" (my dress maker is a dictator but I adore her!) I tried them on yesterday and they fitted perfectly. Which made me clamer but not happier.

Then Angelos was such a sweetheart yesterday. He was chasing me all evening, calling me sexy ass, grabbing certain body parts and saying...ohhhh...yuuuummmyyyy.....you are soooo yuuummmyyyy in a funny tune, which made me laugh but did not make me happier. He then sat me down and talked to me seriously. He went back and told me the story of my achievements in weightloss, in therapy, he said how much I have changed, how proud he is of my doings, how important it is for me to having incorporated exercise in my life, he made me wear the same skirt I wore on Sunday to show me again how much weight I have lost since Amsterdam last year, started naming all my favourite shops there and said that I will shop so much more easily this year.

And I was listening to him, fully aware of how right he was, and yet, it was like a big part of me was just not there. Or was in denial of all the good stuff and had stomped her feet and was hanging from the dredfull 91.6. He understood this I think, because he got up, went to the study, and came back with a white paper and a pen.

And he wrote down in big red numbers:

1999: 71
2001: 130
result: 59 +
2001: 130
2005: 91.6
result: 38.4 -
02.01.05: 95.8
25.01.05: 91.6
result: 4.2 -

END OF SILLY DISCUSSION

lol...he cracked me up, then I had tears because he is just so simply perfect.

Of course, in my mind I could still see 23.01.05 90.5 and 25.01.05 91.6, but I realised that I was simply being a bastardious hysterical creature and erased this from my mind.

I also seriously considered ovulation. Not for the gain. But for my mood. I am really having severe PMS moodiness and it can be it. I told him this and he said that lately, I seem to be more pmsing during ovulation than during my period. Poor man the things he sustains...lol

But he also told me that this is the first winter I have actually lost some weight instead of gaining 5-8 kilos. And this is true. Winter is not a good time for me. March to October is my best, with the bestest months being April to July. Then in November I always loose track, then its the holidays, then its january the birthday month, then its February with so many birthdays and valentine chocolate and the carnival, and thn March I resume. This is what has happened since 2001 I started on this weight loss saga.If it wasn't for the winters, I would have been in the 70's by now.

It is just that I so wanted to be 89 kilos when I step in Amsterdam this year. Because for some peculiar reason only the body knows these 2 kilos seem to go off my lower legs. When I was 89.5 kilos a little tme ago (grrrr now I am getting mad with all the food and alcohol I had during the holidays depression), my boots were zipping so much better and I could wear them with thick woolen tights too! And Amsterdam is boots. And as I was telling him this he was laughing and said...so? Get the boots and wear them easily a couple of weeks after we return!!! Amsterdam is not the end of time you know! Remember how last year you bought stuff that was tight? And remember the joy you had when a few weeks later they were perfect on you? Don't you want to have this feeling again?

I tell you girlfriends, I have gotten me a wise, gorgeous wonderful husband!!!

Now I got to go get dressed and leave for work. In a certainly better mood than last night's. And earlier this morning too!





Posted by Argy at 9:09 am | 9 comments

Tuesday, January 25, 2005
Day 16
During the detox, the one thing that keeps me going, and I really mean the ONE thing that keeps me going, is the scales. I weigh myself when I wake up and see a few hundrends of grammars less. Then I return from work, and take out my clothes to wear something more homey, and I weigh myself again, and see at least a hundrend grammars gone. And that keeps me going.

Yesterday morning, for the third day in a row, the number in the scales was the same. 90.6. I was hungry all day yesterday. Really hungry. The kind of hungry that makes you edgy. The kind of hungry that make people ask...wow....was that your stomach growling? The kind of hungry you sustain only and I mean ONLY because you know you will go back home, strip of your clothes, and before you wear you pj's you will weigh and see another 100 grammars gone.

But last evening, when I came home and got on the scales, I saw 91.5. And I am still trying to figure out why. Because this morning, I got on the scales and there it was again. A tad worse too. 91.6

So yes, I burst into tears this morning. And I am not in the greatest of moods still. The last days it has been cold here. I know that spring is coming. I witnessed it, remember? But it is still cold. The juices might be secretly flowing in the plants, but it will take them at least a couple of months to show. And I have been craving a warm meal for 16 days. When I was eating rice and boiled veggies for lunch, I ate them cold, because I had to cook them in the morning and by the time I ate them at work they were cold. And then, when I had the baked veggies for dinner by the time I ate 1/3 of them, they had been cold too. I mean, how long do you think a thinly sliced zucchini can remain warm?

And then the apples are cold, and the salad is cold, and I have been eating them watching Angelos steaming plate full of freshly cooked warm yummy food, and I sustained because I had seen the fewer grammars before and knew that I will see fewer grammars in the morning, and I had strength because of this.

But seeing a whole kilo more this morning broke me.

If I was not in such a bad mood, I would make myself eggs and bacon to eat right now. Warm fried eggs and crispy hot bacon I would eat without minding burning the tip of my tongue. But I could not be arsed this morning to even make my espresso. I put a spoonfull of disgusting instant coffee in cold water and that was it. See I had seen the number before. I just want to crowl back to bed and hide of this disappointment that fills my heart right now. Because I am hungry. Very very hungry. And apparently I am a kilo heavier than yesterday morning. And I am not retaining water. I had my period 10 days ago. Now I come to think of it, I may be ovulating and my body might be playing with fluids again. But seriously, and very honestly too, I don't give a damn!

Perhaps I am reaching this point in the detox that I can only remember too well from last year. Only that last year it came very early, in the 4th day I recall, where the lack of variety in taste mixed with the hunger brings some depression and leaves you with the true feelings that make you overeat. It sort of bears the memory of this emptiness in your inner child's soul that you been trying to fill with food and lets you deal with it and it only. No way of filling it with even the momentarily satisfaction of a good warm meal. Or the lusciousness of a very fancy chocolate bar. And last year this depression it lasted a couple of days and then it turned to a strong feeling of achievemnt because I didn't fall and kept on going, prooving to that emptiness that I am now an adult that can take care of myself and needed no substitutes for love and care. That I can, And I will.But back then, the scales were nice to me. Each and every day.

This morning I woke up before the alarm rung, and I heard Angelos leaving so I called him back. He came rushing in the bedrrom kissed me quickly and said, I have to run I am late. So I was left there without cuddles that would have - perhaps - made me feel better.

And all this time I am reading blogs and updating, I see my treadmill right on my left, less than a meter away, and I am thinking that perhaps if I managed a good 30 minutes, the endorfins might make me feel better. But I do not have the energy. And I am so hungry. I have eaten my apples and my stomach is still growling. I can hear it from here. And I am asking myself this very moment, why I am still sustaining it. What tells me that tomorrow the scales won't say 92? Or perhaps this is the only reason I am still sustaining it?

I am confused. And gloomy. And I weigh 91.6. And I feel this is unfair. I have worked so hard with eating the last 15 days. I have been around food and sweets and wine and candy and I have refused to eat it. Oh look at me...lol. I do sound like a 5 year old!

But this I think proves it that I am reaching this depessed state in the detox. Perhaps I have been pushing myself too hard. Because it is not only food I am restraining from. It is also the smokes. When I was doing it last year I was smoking at least 10 cigarettes more than I used to. Perhaps it is my oral-ness (does this word exist) that is acting up. Boy...do you think that I will need a dummy soon?

Now repeat after me... Amsterdam...Nine days to go...Boots...Clothes....Coffeeshops...Spare Ribs in Gaucho's....Chocolate with chilly pepper in the Australian Home....More Boots...More Clothes...Amazon Mushrooms...Boots again....More Clothes...in S M A L L E R S I Z E ! ! ! !

Posted by Argy at 9:27 am | 5 comments

Monday, January 24, 2005
Day 15 - and a taste that helps weight loss
After my behaving like a windwhirl yesteday, with all the work in the balcony, the cooking for A., the almost done closet, and especially after walking so much and such a fast pace, I was mighty hungry after 6.30 in the evening.

I was talking to myself out loud for an hour, saying, I want meat, I want to eat a mixed grill, I want pizza, I want pita gyros, I want curry, I want spring rolls and won tons, I want pasta with prawns and tomato, I want fusilli with basil pesto, I want chocolate, and the likes, I watched a cook show in TV. Now this is one great show, where the guy travels all over Greece and once a month he goes to Europe too, and does all kind of traditional cooking, which is my great big love.

That made me feel even hungrier and decided to have my salad for dinner before Angelos actually came home from work.

When he came, I was still ravenous after eating the salad. He was ravenous too and asked for food the instant he came home. I had cooked for him beef steak in tomato sauce and home made pasta all in one pot, with butter and red wine and big chunks of parmezan cheese melted in. I was telling him how each of his forkfulls would feel in my mouth. Poor man felt so sorry for me that asked me if I wanted to eat something. And I started again. I want pepperoni pizza, I want pita gyros, I want spring rolls and won tons, I want basil pesto pasta, pasta with prawns, etc...etc...

He took me for a walk. Bad choise. That made me even hungrier. Sofia called so we went over. Bad choise too.Because they had some friends over before us for coffee, and they had brought a ton of sweets. A lemon pie, double chocolate chip cookies, baklava, and brownies. They were all still displayed in the coffee table right in front of me!

I think I drove them all crazy. I was whinning all the time about how hyngry I was, how I wanted to eat, what I wanted to eat, what I could cook, etc. At some point I remember Sofia said...oh go order something and eat and shut up! lol

But then, since they are leaving for Amsterdam on this Thursday - they go a week before us :( - she was saying how she is going to write everything down for me to make my shopping easier when I go after them. The whole conversation developed around Amsterdam. What I was hoping to buy, where we would eat, what we would do, etc. That sort of eased my madness about food. But seriously, I was not mad only, I was sincerely and genuinely hungry.

And then it happened. I became a windwhirl again. I took the car keys, and went home, telling them I will come back with a surprise.

When I was organizing my closet earlier, I found a bag with a pair of olive green trousers and a light blue corduroy skirt I had, that I liked too much and had saved to take to the dress maker to take them in. But never actually got to it. Both were worn last year in Amsterdam.

So I put the trousers on, the skirt on top, and went back.

Both pieces of clothing could literaly fall down to my hips if I was not holding them. So I went there and made a whole performance of me then and me now, and I did some naughty funny things and that magically calmed my hunger!

Because my mouth and heart and soul filled with the taste of naughty success. Naughty in the way of feeling giggly and bubbly and wonderful about this achievement.

Now that is a taste I like while loosing weight. Don't you?

This morning the scales did not reward my restrain however. I am still 90.6. But I would have been 91.6 or more if I had not restrained, and this is what matters!

Posted by Argy at 11:13 am | 3 comments

Sunday, January 23, 2005
ok...I verified it!!!!
Buds girlfriends! Buds everywhere!!!! I went to the mountain and it is happening!!! It is cold, it is windy, but Spring is really emerging!!!! I went to the mountain and I walked and felt and touched and I am sure now! While everyone thinks there is still long time before winter ends, I saw the buds!!! I touched them with my very fingers!!! Oh yes, tenderly, but I touched them!!! And now, I promise you, I am going to tidy up my closet!!!!!
(and I walked for an hour too ... briiiiiiiiiiiskly!!!!)
(told you I was going to add yet another post today...hehehe)

Posted by Argy at 2:49 pm | 4 comments

Ummm...I thought I had to warn you, that being so hyper and having at least 6 more hours till Angelos gets back home, I may come and post for yet another time!!!! This is a first, 3 posts in the same day!!!!

Oh, and I decided just now, that after the aforementioned closet, I am going out to walk. Not on the treadmill. I will get a taxi and go to the mountain and look for HER some more!!!!!

Oh I am in such a life high now!!!!!!

Posted by Argy at 11:58 am | 0 comments

I found out The Big Secret !!!
Procrastinating the aforementioned closet, I thought of doing a load of launtry first. So as I went to the back balcony to hang the clothes, I looked at my pots and saw the abandonment. Our house has two balconies, one on the north side, where the bedroom and my study are, and one in the south, where the living and dinning room are. Those are long balconies but not wide as I would like. On the back one, since it gets all the sun, in the spring I put veggies in pots. Peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, and all kinds of herbs: basil, mint, spearmint, rocket, drill, parsley, thyme, sage, marjory, rosemary, and oreganon (which fresh is a whole new experience in cooking). And two big pots of strawberries. The pots are too many for our narrow balcony, which makes it a pain to hang the clothes, or even walk from one side tot he other without having to slalom between the pots.

But since the madness in September - December, all the pots have been abandoned. Lots of dry plants of toms and other veggies, tons of weeds, a real disgrace for green fingered me. Plus too many runners hanging from the strawberry plants that needed some soil soon or else they'd die! So I decided to clean the pots from the old plants, make some room for the runners, and have some space for the bulbs I'll bring from Amsterdam. last year I brought 10 kilos of bulbs!!! Which I put in the veggie pots. Because the space is too little for all the plants I want to have, I use the same pots for the seasonals. last year I put the bulbs in the pots I used for veggies in the spring. Then the tulips and narcisus and crocuses and amaryllises died in April, so I put there the veggies. You get the picture. So as I was unrooting the old dead toms, I saw HER! I became too excited and proceeded to clean the strawberry pots from weeds and cut the runners. And I saw HER again! I checked all the pots one by one, and SHE was everywhere!!!

Spring is coming my dearests! Secretly. In this cold windy day I saw her! There are blossoms forming in the strawberry plants!!!! The old bulbs that I thought dead are shooting small leaves emerging from the soil!!! Beautiful green edges hidden by the weeds all this time!!!! I went in the front balcony. Where I have the flowers. The sun there does not get that much, but hey! My jasmine had buds! So did my bougamvillea! And my gardenia. And my camelia! And so many others still!!!!!

I am feeling so happy I had to come and tell you. I feel life all around me. Miracles destined to happen. If in this cold windy day (7 C and 16km/h) I saw blossoms in my strawberry plants this is only the proof.

Srping always follows after the cold dark days. The day will only get brighter and warmer. This is the course of life and there is no doubt about it! So much like us all, in the winter of our extra kilos! By leading the natural path of eating healthy and moving like people used to, we will soon live the Spring of new better us! And with foxy clothes too ;)

I tell you. I am ecstatic! But then...there is the aforementioned closet too!

Posted by Argy at 11:53 am | 0 comments

Day 14
I woke up at 6.50 am on a Sunday. How very silly this is! Especially when I wake up at 7.30 - 8.00 on weekdays and feel like sleeping till noon! I could not sleep more. We slept very early last night, around 11 it must have been, so it is natural to wake up that early, still very annoying. Especially since Angelos has already left for work and I feel already very bored!

Angelos has been working a lot lately. This weekend the exam of the candidate driving instructors started and he has 5 of them. These are tough exams, because all canditates get tested in all vehicles and then have the written exams. This weekend they get tested on motorcycles. So he woke up at 5.30 yesterday and today. He was spent when he arrived at home at 6.30 in the evening. But I was in such a good mood, that I managed to keep him awake and "fully entertained" till we were both spent at 11.00 ;)

I had a wonderful day yesterday. I went to the hairdresser's, then met a girlfriend, had serious talk and silly talk too, then went grocery shopping, then came home, cooked a great meal for A. and then prepared the living room to wait for him. I lit all the canddles and then some more...lol. I am crazy about canndle light. I want them everywhere! Thank god for tea canddles cos I can play with them in tenths and not worry about the cost too much. Then I had a long bath, put on his favourite undies, a new satin night gown, lighted some scented oils in the oil burner, prepared a long bath for him, and oh was this the night :)

Lots of last night had to do with the spa and the hairdresser's and the talk I had with my girlfriend. I will tell you why.

In the spa, I was not self consious. When I got in the reception desk, they gave me a bag with a great white bathrobe, a bathtowel, and plastic slippers. I was then guided to the showers, was given a key to a locker, and was asked to change and put my bathing suit on to start with the jacuzzi - sauna - hamam. There were about 4 other women in there, all slim and about my age or younger. I went in, said hello, got underessed, put on the bathing suit, and left. It was only after I was soaking well into the jacuzzi that I realised I was feeling great! For the first time in years I did not feel ashamed to remove my clothes in front of other slim women! The bathrobe fitted excellently. It was an one - size one!

Then in the hairdresser's yesterday, they gave me this white robe too. For the first time in years this also fitted perfectly. It was not tight, nor it opened wide in my hips and thighs. And you know how the hair salons have mirrors everywhere. In the past, I would look at the mirror in front of me and feel ok. Then suddenly I would turn my head around and catch a glimpse of myself from the side and I'd feel hideous with what I'd see. But not yesterday. yesterday I felt surprised by the normality of my reflection in the mirrors. I was not thin. You know that. ou have seen now...lol But I was normally overweight. My arms were not looking the size of normal thighs like they used to!

Then I went to try a new perfume before meeting my gilfriend. And in the shop I saw someone I used to hang out with 5 years ago for a short period. He was a gay make up artist I had met in work, and for a short period of time due to a project I had at work - I met and hanged out with lotsa stylists and make up artists and hairdressers, all gay, all very amusing, but all oh so hysterical too...lol So I went to him and said...Hello is this Mr. Mallis? He said, yes this is me! I smiled and said hello. He said hello too, in this nice polite I-dunno-who-are-you way. I smiled some more and said Vassili? (his first name) And he said...yes...OH MY FUCKING GOD!!!!!!ARGYRO????? Where the fuck is the REST of you??? You have lost the equivalent of a fucking teenager!!!! (And you know gay make up artists are way too exclamative too!!!) I laughed and laughed and told him that he exaggerates and that a teenager is way too much...but a first grader I might accept...hehehe

Then I met my girlfriend. I know her since she was 11, she used to be a friend of my brother's from the summer house. She is a couple of years younger, and you know when you are a teenager and you never hang out with your younger brother's friends! But the last 10 years she and I have become very close. She is a Body Psychotherapist too, actually she introduced me to my therapist who was her trainer. So I was telling her the incident in the perfume shop, cos she knew this guy too, and I was telling her about the robes in teh spa and hairdressers and she was laughing.

I told her that in the past I was petrified when I'd see myself in the mirrors, because I was perceiving myself a lot smaller than I was and I was in shock when I'd see a photo or a sudden glimpse of myself. I would feel that it was another person.

She explained me why. She said that our ethereal body needs 2 years to coordinate with any big change with our physical body. All the times I had gained weight, I had magically managed to gain extreme amounts of weight (30 to 60 kilos) in very short periods of time (12 to 20 months) and that my etheral body had not enough time to catch up with the big change. It still had the image of slimmer me. And that is why photos were such a shock to me. Whereas now, since this "thinification" (like me new word, I dont think it exists,,,lol) process has taken me 3 years, I have given myself the time to really comprehend and absorbe my real image. She also said that this is why an overweight person who looses a lot of weight in 6 months for example still feels fat and would not buy a tight shirt for instance because they think they are too big for such a thing. She said that if they manage to keep this weight off for 2 years, then there is accordance between the ethereal and physical body, and this brings harmony. She also asked me if I ever see a woman in the street that has a lot of extra weight and yet wears tights and a very fitted tshirt. She asked me if I ever wondered why she is dressing in a way that shows all her "extra" bits instead of trying to cover them. I said yes. She said that most of these women used to dress like this always, and have recently gained weight and they don't really "see" the big change in the mirror.

We said many more things, but I do not want to bore you more.

I weighed in 90.7 today. Fluids oh fluids playing again...lol. I do not think I will be an 80's gal on Monday, but I don't care. I have lost almost all the dreadful weight I put on during the holidays, I remember I weighted at 90.2 the day before christmas eve, and at 95.8 on January 2 I think, so I am happy I am almost done with this gain. And I hope I will loose a couple of kilos more till the end of this detox on January 30, a day before my birthday :)

I just saw the time. It is 9 am and I have read all my fav blogs, have updated, and have already cooked for Angelos too! I have a clean house (Friday is the cleaning lady day), on Sunday all shops are closed in Greece, and I dunno what to do! I think I am going to go see my mom and dad. And walk some on the treadmill. And perhaps I will persuade myself to do the thing I hate the most. Tidy up my wardrobe closet. I hate doing this, but there are lots of clothes I am not wearing anymore and it pisses me off every morning to go through all those till I find what to wear. yes, perhaps I should do this, or else when I return from Amsterdam I will have NO space to put my new clothes in!!!!!

Have a great Sunday :)


Posted by Argy at 8:08 am | 0 comments

Saturday, January 22, 2005
Day 13
I weighed in as soon as I woke up, because I woke up feeling "thin". I usually wait a little before weighing in. I have my coffee with a couple of smokes, then go to the tolette, then weigh in. But as I woke up I felt my stomach and I thought ... oh this is smaller now...let's see...lol

Crazy greek dieter I am! But the good news is that I weighed and the nice scales showed me 90.6! This is all the incentive I need for a good weekend. I am not going to even think of eating anything else than what I am supposed to eat, because hey, if it goes on like this, by Monday I will be in the 80's!

Also, I can feel this eating plan is working so much more intensely in my body than the previous one of boiled rice - vegies and baked veggies. The stuff that is getting out of my body is amazing! I pee all the time, and I have about 2.5 lt of water at the most, when I usually have more than 4 lt, and I go to the toilette at least 3 times a day! Where does my body finds all this crap I am amazed. All day I am just eating about 4 apples, a big green salad, and 2 rye rusks! And olive oil! Soooo much olive oil! I think the only thing I totally adore about this detox is the huge amounts of olive oil I can have. Actually the other day I counted the points of olive oil I am having in my salad. 20...can you believe it?! 20 points worth of olive oil daily and still loose about .5 kg a day!

I know that this is coming off so fast because it is so recently aquired. But I simply like it!

The spa yesterday wsa good. Not superb, but good. The spa itselt actually was superb. Very calm and new age. I enjoyed my facial and manicure and pedicure very much. And the jacuzzi and the hamam too. But the massage was not as good as I anticipated. First, the masseur was the kind of person who talks to you sweetly and calls you in your first name and asks about work and life and I just don't like that. I like quiet massages with soft music and earthy scented oils. Then he had a cold. And he was sneazing at the very exact moment that I ws drifting. Then I'd calm again and right when I was drifting he would cough. I think Angelos jinxed me...lol When I told him the day before yesterday that I am having a man massaging me he said "A MAN?! But my friend told me he is having a woman massasing him!"

Actually Angelos is funny lately. He does weird stuff like casually buttoning another button of my shirt while we are in the elevator, saying, oh honey it is very humid utside, you don't want to catch a cold, or when we get home together in the evening after work he asks me "did you have many appointments today?" and when I answer 'no, none" he will then ask...oh...then why you are so well dressed, etc. I enjoy the extra attention so much and tease him mercilessly about his newly aquired shade of..green...heheh

I have an appointment at the hairdresser's at 1.00 to have my hair dyed (is this correct english?) Nothing extravvagant, just my natural colour applied to cover the dreadful whites. I have so many grey hair now! Then I'll see a friend for a nice coffee - gossip combo, and then I'll do my grocery shopping!

But before that, I am going to walk 4 km in the treadmill. In honour of runner Kimba. This woman is a constant source of amazement. Go all to www.kimbaleo.com and give her a big round of applause for her remarkable achievement to go from 10 minutes running to 30 in a day!

More tomorrow. But before I go, I want to thank you all for your comments concerning my friend. You made me feel so much better and you calmed me down a lot because I was so very sad. I am not feeling guilty for progressing while he is not. I have taken my decision the hard way. I went through a lot of soul searching and sould bearing, I cried rivers in my therapist to reach the point I am at currently, and guilt is not a feeeling I have. I am only so sorry. When I said that he and I are so much alike, I mainly meant it in the way that his issues are almost identical to mine. I know this man for 23 years. That long we have been close. We even dated for a few months when we were 16 or something. It drives me mad that he would rather give up on himself, because in every other aspect of his life he is such a fighter! Right...stop me...I got 4 km to walk fast now!

Posted by Argy at 9:27 am | 3 comments

Friday, January 21, 2005
Day Twelve - and a bit sad
Last night we went to our friends' house, Vangelis and Sofia. I came home from work, packed the remaining food from last night (there was a ton of leftovers, I find it hard still to cook for one, lol), prepared my salad, and left.

Perhaps you remember that Sofia has a bit of weight to loose too, around 10 to 15 kilos, and Vangelis has a ton of weight to loose, he weighs 180 kilos. Last spring, when I started with the detox and the serious exercise - good eating plan, they gradually followed me to my holistic med, and they were both doing so wonderfully. Sofia lost about 10 kilos, Vangelis lost about 35. That was till August. From then, Sofia gained about 5 (like me) and Vangelis gained them all back :(

I have tried forever to talk to him. He and I are so much alike. Sofia and Angelos say we were twins seperated in birth! So if someone can talk to him, this used to be me.

The day before yesterday, they had a disagreement and I spoke with my girlfriend about it. Truth is that she was too rough on him. So I was trying to explain this, untill she burted into tears. She told me that she cannot stand this anymore. Watching him at night puffing while he sleeps, hearing his breath stop at times, being constantly afraid he might not wake up. She is tired of having to plan sex ahead so that they can find that position that might work. She is tired of him never wanting to go anywhere but in our house or some other friends' house. he is always edgy, tired.

Now the peculiar thing with Vangelis, and the great big alibi he uses is that he works out daily. he really is. The first time Angelos went with him for a work out years ago (cos Angelos goes to a gym near his work which is very far from where all of us live) I remember him coming home in awe of his vigorous work out. Full body weight training for an hour, then 45 mins in the treadmil walking in a fast rate.Every single day. Weekends too!

But he eats so damn much :(

3 years ago I think, he went for a gastric by-pass. They cut him open, and then realised that for some reason - I dunno the terminology again - they could not proceed with the operation. So they sewed him and sent him back home :(

Last night however, when we went, the first thing he did was comment on me having lost some weight. I had not seen him for a week or so. Then he said that an old friend of ours, whom A. and I had not seen for years and saw during the holidays, was asking him if I had a gastric by-pass too. This man is also in the 180 - 200 kilos range, and thought it was impossible for me to have lost all this weight with diet only.

I tried to talk to him again. He was not responding. He said that they are both way too busy and that he could not cook. (Sofia doesn't cook either). I told him that I would cook for him every day, all his meals besides breakfast. He told me if I want to do anything for him at all, was find him a gastrenderologist that would do him the gastric by-pass.

In the past, it was so easy for me to persuade him to eat better. All it took was to bring food to their house that was totally yummy and still very "diet". Then I'd loose some weight, he'd feel a bit jealous, we would go on a diet together. But not this time. He told me he does not feel we are the same wave anymore. He said I cannot understand his struggle because I have moved forward and do not have the same issues we used to have. I told him that therapy did this to me. He refused to continue the conversation.

My heart aches. He is like a brother to me and I know so well what goes inside him right now. Yet, I cannot approach him this time. I know I cannot. We used to cry in each other's shoulder in the past, when I was 130 kilos heavy, and then go and buy a huge box of dunkin dougnats to console orselves. But I am not that person anymore. And he feels he has lost his ally. Back at that times, he used to call me in the morning, and tell me what he had thought of eating, and then I'd go home and cook and cook and take my pots and my husband and we would go over their house and we would smoke pot and binge every single night. We all gained so much more weight then. All besides my husband the gym rat, lol. Then we would go on diet together for a month or two, loose some weight, felt good and begun the big party again.

I am really so very sad. I love him so much. And I know he can do it only if he sets his heart on it. I was thinking of printing out dietgirl's first and last entry and show them to him. I have spent time in the past showing him in my computer pictures of before and after of dieters that had lost as much weight as he needs to loose. Even Fred did not persuade him :(

I know this is not my battle. I know this is a very personal thing. I know this too well coming from my own core. But I just cannot handdle with it now. I have feelings of betraying him that I know are totally irrational but still have them. I have feelings of inability to do something for such a beloved one. I am so sorry for my girlfriend that wants to start a family and is afraid that if he goes on like that and they have a child, that he won't be around much to see the kid grow.

I was eating my sald last night and I could feel him watching every bit going into my mouth. He told me at a time. "Now you think what you are eating is normal after a long hard day?" And I did not know what to say. So I lied to him. I said "but I had a big lunch" Sofia and Angelos who both know I had apples for both breakfast and lunch looked at me with understanding and said nothing. But I just felt like a rat for lying to make him feel better.

I feel so sad and unable to do anything it really hurts :(

On a brighter tone - because I got to feel better and drag myself to the shower soon! - I am dong great with the detox. Today I weighed in at 91.4. I just hope that the weekend doesn't hold any surprises for me.

And today is the big day I utilise my New Year's present from Angelos. OMG...Did I ever tell you what he got me for the holidays? I think I didn't!

He bought me the following from a spa center: 75 minutes of aromatherapy massage, a manicure and pedicure, and a facial! So I have an appointment there at 4.30 and will be spoiled till 10 in the evening! Then Angelos will pick me up and bring me home to sleeeeeeeeeeeep!

So now it is shower time, because I need to deforest those legs before going there!!!!!


Posted by Argy at 8:49 am | 5 comments

Thursday, January 20, 2005
Day Eleven - and a recipe
Its grey and gloomy and raining again. This is so in contrary with my soul. Especially when I wake up in a sunshine mood and find the world not in accordance.

I love my day 11. That means that I have less days to conquer in my detox than what I have conquered already. Succesfully. And I feel good about it. When I saw my holistic med the other day, we said that after I return from Amsterdam, I will visit him again and we will do something new to conclude the cleansing after the "party" I will be doing in Amsterdam...lol...he knows me too well. He saw me after Amsterdam last year after all.

Amsterdam...I JUST CAN'T WAIT!!!! This city to me is all about shopping, coffeeshops, good food, and lotsa sex...lol It drives me wild and makes me act oh so not sophisticated but like a crazy teen (that I am still probably at heart ;)

Yesteday I cooked something new for Angelos and I reckon that is a very healthy meal too, so in case you need something new in your plate, you can try the following:

Take a big pot that goes into the oven.
Put in it any kind of meat of your choise (I used beef)
Cut a few potaotes in the middle then each half in 4 pieces
Some mushrooms
Some zucchinis in big pieces too
Peppers green and red
4 garlic cloves
2 onions in slices
a big bunch of drill
a glass of good dry red wine
a tad of olive oil
one bottle of tomato juice - the thick variety
salt, pepper, cumin, sweet paprika
Then cover the pot with aluminum foil, cover it very well.
Put it in the oven in 180 C and let it for an hour and a half, then uncover it and let in for another 30 minutes.
The juices mingle and become a thick tomato sauce with so much aroma, the veggies and meat soften so much they melt in your mouth.
Then as you serve it, sprinkle a little feta cheese on top.
Angelos was in heaven...lol

I was in heven too. With my green salad and rye rusks! I love it so much right now, I am so looking forward to my meal every evening now :)

This morning the scales read 92.00 I did my best for it to read 91.9, sucking my tummy in etc...lol...but 92.00 it stayed! Still that's a bit less than yesterday and this is the task!

Now this gal will get of her pc and get to the shower because she was supposed to go to work a bit late this morning...but not that late actually...lol

Kisses!!!!

Posted by Argy at 10:28 am | 3 comments

Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Day 10 - Pleasure
I am still so flattered by you all! Thank you!

So yesterday I had the bestest session in my holistic med EVER! I called him in the morning and he gave me an appointment at 8 in the evening, cos he was full all day and could not squeeze me in earlier. But he is such a sweetheart and stayed longer so he could see me.

Now his office is right nextdoors to my therapist. Actually, it is funny, because I started seeing him before I started therapy. I met my therapist a year later or so. Yannis - the holistic med - had suggested Body Psychotherapy when we first met, but I was not ready at teh time. Then another friend suggested Panayotis to me (my therapist). A couple of years ago, I saw Yannis outside Panayotis office, and I was surprised. Apparently those two are close friends - and also cooperate in business - and Yannis was there to see the flat next to my therapist because it was a better area.

Anyway, last night when I went to yannis, Panayotis was finishing, so I saw him on his way out. I had a small talk with him, and then Yannis got out, and he asked me to wait for a sec cos he had something to discuss with Pan. And guess what! They offered me a joined session! I pay 60 euros to each for a session, and they said that for 80 I could have them both for an hour. Who was I to resist?!

It was a revellation. They both consentrated on my body. Now, please don't laugh with what I will say. Because I know you will find it bizzare. All my friends and Angelos find it totally weird. Then some friends go to Yannis and they all go ... Ahhhhh....Amazing....You were right! lol

The way he examines is very peculiar. He can tell you everything by looking at your tongue. Then he makes you lay down on your back, stands behind your head, take your hands, mummbles some stuff, moves your hands in certain ways. This way he asks your body of what it wants and needs in terms of herbs, food, procedure. Then he follows with either accupuncture, or crystals, or aromatherapy, or massage, or or or.

But yesterday it was incredible. Because with the help of my therapist, my body reacted so much more intensely.

See there was always an issue of pleasure with me. I was a very sensual baby, and I discovered my sexuality very early. Apparently my parents freaked out, and out of their anxiety to protect me from the big bad wolf, they did their best to supress it. This is how food became an almost erotic pleasure and a definete erotic substitude. And I think this is also the reason I am cooking that well. My husband usually teases me and says about me casually, especially when we have friends at home who say "oh god you cook so wonderfully". His response is always the same: "Argyro cooks? Argyro does not know how to cook. She simply makes love to the pot!" lol

There is always a pattern when I am on diet. I think this is why Weight Watchers worked so well for me in the beginning. I was left with 24 points to do whatever I wanted. I was free to create. Too strict diets never worked for me. And I mean strict in the sense of being allowed to consume only certain foods. This is why low carb diets also killed me.

There is also the issue of forbitten pleasures too. Tell me that I am not allowed to eat something, and it be fish that I detest, I will crave fish.

I will not go into too many more details. But I got the results of yesterdays session to report:

1. My body is detoxing so much faster than last year. Which means that I have been eating well. The organic stuff we been eating at home have prooved to be treasures for my body. In 9 days it did the work it took it 21 days to do last year.

2. There is still stuff to clean inside me. But my body was resisting because it was in a stubborn mode due to me denying it pleasure again. They explained that the gain of 5.8 kilos is such a short amount of time was the tension created in my body by constantly eating without actually giving it time to "tell" me what it wants. I was "WOW...how do you know?" lol. Cos it was exactly like that. Remember I told you during that time that I would open the freeze and eat whatever in site and then realised that I do not want to it that particular flavour so I would eat again?

3. So I will still be in detox till January 30, when I finish the 21 days. But he changed my plan. Which is sooooo much better! Here it is:

Breakfast: Apples (yay...raw ones...not boiled!!!)
Lunch: A sellection of at least 3 of the following fruits: apples, pears, mangos, dry prunes, dry papaya, dry figs
Dinner: Green salad (woooooooooohoooooooo) with olive oil and apple vinegar. Balsamic is still forbitten since it contains a lot of sugar due to the big amount of must it has in it. Plus a couple of rye rusks.
There are some greens I cannot have and they are cardamon, coliander, and every root veggie besides one raw beetroot I should grade into the salad. I can live without carrots thank you very much. Oh, and I cannot have green apples, just red ones, especially in the salad. Nor seedy veggies like tomatoes.

You cannot imagine my pleasure as I was preparing my salad last night. And I was moaning orgasmic moans as I was eating it. I broke the rusks in small pieces and added them in the salad and omg!!!! It was heaven!!!

And. remember, when I weighed yesterday the scales showed 93.6. 300 gr more than on Monday. And I said that it was probably my body playing with its fluids due to my period.

Well, today I weighed in again. I don't really mind this kind of playing with fluids. Because the scales read a gorgeous 92.3! Now this was a happy body my darlings!!!

And I have a great hair day too...hehehe

Posted by Argy at 10:12 am | 6 comments

Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Day 9
Yesterday was even harder. You would think that as the days go by this would become easier, if not easier, at least that I grew accustomed to it and stop cpmplaining. But I was seriously craving yesterday. And if I tell you what I was craving for, you will think I have totally lost it. My mind that is ;p

I was craving for a green salad with balsamic vinegar. I was cutting fresh greens to make Angelos a huge container for salad to last him a few days at work, and as I was cutting each type of green (roman lettuce, kos lettuce, white cabbage, purple cabbage, rocket, fresh spearmint, fresh basil, drill, parsley, shallots, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, green apples, sun dried tomatoes, portobella mushrooms) the smells of them got to me, and I begun drooling over the greens, thinking of how tasty all those different aromas would feel in a mouthful, actually feeling them sleek in my mouth from the olive oil, and then I actually smelled the balsamic vinegar, its sweetness mixed with its acidity, I could feel it in my mouth, tickling my pallete and I was feeling soooo miserable.

Surely I should feel proud for resisting, but I did not. Feel proud I mean. I felt more miserable and this morning I woke up and realised I still feel miserable about it. I was making my coffee in the kitchen and I was staring at the balsamic vinegar bottle all the time, still drooling. I swear, I could have drunk it right from the bottle!

Now, if I was craving pizza, or ice cream, or pitta gyros, or after eights, I wouldn't be worried. This would have been ok. This would have been a normal crave. But yesterday I felt weird. I remebered one time I was trying Atkins, and woke up at 3 am, went to the kitchen, ate 3 oranges, and went straight back to sleep. I was craving fruit so badly when on Atkins - and I am not a big fruit eater during the winter and not too fond of oranges either - that this was more my body aching for it than my mind playing tricks with my diet.

I am going to call my med and go see him the sooner he can fit me in his schedule. Because I do not want to wake up in the middle of the night and go drink that balsamic vinegar straight from the bottle!

And I weighed in this morning and it shows 300 gr more than yesterday. Now how is this going to make me feel good about resisting the green salad with the balsamic vinegar last night is beyond my imagination! I know I am having my period and that is probably my body playing with its fluids, but I still don't know how this is going to make me feel good!

What made me feel good though was your sweet comments! You girls made me blush over and over again! Please stop calling me a greek goddess because I am faaaaaaaaaar from that! I feel good about the 37 kilos I have lost though. Sometimes, when I have a "slim" day, I feel like a million euros. But then, I have many "fat" days that make me feel like the deficit of a million euros...lol

Right, now I got to go get ready for work. And boil my rice. And brocolli and carrots. With no balsamic vinegar still. Not that it goes wrll with brocolli and carrots. But I could still have had balsamic vinegar with ice instead of coffee this morning. I can still smell it each time I type it. B A L S A M I C V I N E G A R. *sigh*

Posted by Argy at 8:39 am | 3 comments

Monday, January 17, 2005
Day 8
I was way too hungry yesterday too. Not hungry just for volume. Mainly hungry for taste. My taste buds have been seriously complaining for the lack of variety. And that makes me moody and cranky. Now this plate with a dash of PMS was mainly how my Sunday was.

But I managed. I have aquired the sick habbit of reading about food, watching over and over the Jamie Oliver cooking dvd's, and discuss about new reciepes with Angelos. I also cooked for him a three course meal yesterday. And for some weird reason only my peculiar soul knows, this was comforting. And this made me hold into my plan. And also this helped me to smoke only 10 smokes yesterday.

This morning, I decided to get on the scales. Although I am having a very intense period, with lotsa cramps, bloatness and excess bleeding ('xcuse me being so graphic) I thought I should have the week's result. Monday to Monday, right?

So it is 93.3 today, which means a loss of 2.5 kilos. Well done for the hard work I reckon. (btw, in the post where I said that I'd start the detox in 94.8, this number was a typpo - or a wishful typpo I might add - since the start weight was 95.8) I realised the typpo yesterday, when I read through this week's posts to add up all the smokes I had for the week.

And I have been also very good and spend lotsa time and got piccies for you, scanned already!

Now, as you have probably realised, I am an all or nothing type. And after almost 9 months with this blog and no picture at all, today I have come with something like 15 of them.

I will start emailing them now to the ones I have the emails of.

Guess what girlies...the greek finally has a face!

Posted by Argy at 10:48 am | 9 comments

Sunday, January 16, 2005
Days Six & Seven
Day Six was tough. Several factors contributed to its being the hardest day so far. I got up too early, 5.45, and it was the coldest day of winter so far! I went to the fishshop witch felt colder than ice! I got my period there and had mild cramps, but felt more cold and mighty hungry too. I snacked in an apple but did nothing.

I came back home and had my rice with veggies and at the end of my meal I was still very hungry, so I took a nap.

Woke up, got dressed, went to a wedding ceremony, then back home. All I could think of was foooooood. The wedding took place in a church close to our summer house, and you know how these holiday places are. There is always one long street with restaurants and pastry houses and restaurants and sweet homes and more restaurants and yet more candy shops. As we were driving back, I was telling Angelos what I would order of each one of them. I was ordering, pretending I was eating. At some point I said...oh god no! And Angelos was all worried...WHAT?

I'm so full I'm going to explode...I said...and we both laughed.

But I had chocolate craves, and salty food craves, and my veggies at dinner were not satisfactory.

I also wanted to smoke all day...and then some more.

But I restrained to both, and I ate and smoked as I was supposed too.

Which made waking up this morning a lot nicer, since I woke up with no feelings of remorse, but with a good feeling of achievement :)

I want to hop into the scales, but having my period might result in a weird number, so I am restraining.

Now I got to go cook for Angelos...torment!

see you Monday ... have a great Sunday all :)

Posted by Argy at 10:36 am | 3 comments

Friday, January 14, 2005
Day Five
I ate according to the plan, smoked according to the plan, and drunk according to the plan too. I have no change in the numbers i the scale, but I am expecting my period in the next 2 - 3 days so it is only natural.

It is easier this time than the last one. I think the first week last year was so rough, I felt so deprived. A lot has probably to do with the fact that I did not know what to expect. To begin with, I did not expect weight loss. Mind you from the foods allowed, I was - and still am - eating big portions. The med had said eat as much as you need to satisfy your hunger. I used and still use a lot of olive oil in both the rice - veggies for lunch and the veggies in the evening.

But then, tomorrow is the weekend, and it is always a new challenge all by itself!

I went by Sofia's shop yesterday and got her to seriously consider the gym. She said that the owner of this gym is a client of her husband (I had no idea) and that perhaps she will get him to ask for a discount. I am also try to see if there are 3 -month subscriptions. It's always cheaper to buy a year, but perhaps this is a better option.

The summer before last I joined a gym and worked out religiously for 3 months. Cardio only, since that's what they gave me a program for. I would go every day. The hard part was waking up and taking the bus or a taxi there. And then I had to take a taxi to work too. This new gym we are considering has the metro stop right in it's front door, which is perfect for me to get to work, and Sofia will be picking me up in the morning, so it will be easy peasy in this way.

Then Sofia is a very competitive and silent gym person. Which is good because we will push each other.

But then I am also trying to get pregnant. Which means that if it happens, bye bye gym. But walking in a reasonable pace in the treadmill won't be bad. I am really trying to work things out financially so to keep the treadmill (and pay it off) and still go to the gym. Perhaps I should consider the monthly payments just for now, see how it goes.

I can feel the detox working on my body. I get tired and want to sleep so early every night. And I walked for 30 mins yesterday and at the end I felt I was going to faint!

I got a premiere to go to tonight and I am not too thrilled. But this play is only n hour long, so I hope I will be home before midnight. As a matter of fact, I get to wake up at 5.45 tomorrow because I need to be at my dad's shop by 7 the latest. Oh yes, I will be the fisherman's daughter tomorrow again...I cannot wait!!!!

I promised dg a few wedding pics to show her my dress in case she wants it. I am horrible with pictures and just throw them in boxes which I hide in the basement, or a small loft (not sure this is the right word...above our bathroom there is some storing space as big as the bathroom and about 1 m high). I can't even find the photos from Amsterdam last year! I was looking like mad yesterday because I thought I'll take an exact similar pic this year like last year and show the difference, but I can't bloody find the photo's!!!!

I will look for them all teh weekend!!!!

Anyway, what I found is a pic of huge old me...and I am going to scan it along with any other latest photos I can find of recently. So by monday, I will be able (I hope) to email whoever wants to see what this greek used to look like (when she was small...medium...large...and extra large too...lol)

kisses now, i got to go to work!

Posted by Argy at 9:07 am | 5 comments

Thursday, January 13, 2005
trying to add summat

Posted by Argy at 5:42 pm | 3 comments

Day four
I slept so much yesterday, that I cannot wake up still! I was asleep by 10 p.m. and I woke up at 7 am, and I am still in that sleepy mood!

I ate well yesterday, according to the plan, only I forgot to take apples to work, so I did not have my apple with lunch. Also walked 2 km to an appointment and back, and smoked 4 cigarettes and 5 small cigars. A friend suggested them, and they are wonderful! They are the size of a normal cigarette. But the good thing is that, like normal cigars, if you leave it in the ashtray, it goes out, you forget about it, then after some time you feel like a smoke, you light it on again. So with one, you feel like having three! Plus it saves me all the poisons of the paper! Just it costs double from the smokes...lol. But I am willing to spend more for this cause.

Lately I have been surfing a lot about exercise. Inspired by the mighties DG and Kimba, my exercise queens, I have been considering stuff.

So last night, I had a long talk with hubby, and I told him all my considerations. Surely I have the treadmill at home. But I am not in a good shape. I mean, cardio won't just do it for me. I need weights. I need the strength and the shrinkage weights bring. So I am considering the gym.

omg! It is 9.20!!! I got to go to work!!! I will post the rest from there, because I would seriously need your opinion on this!

****************

OK...at my office now :)

So I was reading all this information about weight training vs cardio, and how weight training should be done first, how muscles eat fat for breakie, lunch and dinner, especially how they snack on fat after the work out, etc.

I will not do a proper weight training at home. I know myself. I will never put on a work out dvd and do it.

A new gym opened, right in the middle between home and work. It has everything. Body Pump classes, spinning classes, Body Combat, Pilates, swiss ball classes, a pool for aquaerobics, everything! And it is HUGE! But it is mighty expensive too. 600 euros for a year! Or, 85 euros monthly!

I cannot afford the 600 right now. Plastic is out of the question, since we are paying our last credit card off, and I still have the last payment of 400 to do for the treadmill.

So I was thinking, after the talk with Angelos last night, that perhaps I should sell the treadmill. I bought it for 1500 euros in May, I guess the less I can sell it for is 1000. Just enough to pay it off and buy me the yearly subscription to the gym.

I am serious.

I have about 20 kilos to loose. I put myself a date. June. Beginning, middle or end doesn't matter. But June it is! I reckon that in 25 weeks I can do it. It is an average of 0.8 a week. I find this doable.

Then, I find it hard to let my treadmill go. Him and I had some great time together. But also, my freind Sofia wants to loose 12 kilos too. And this gym is 5 minutes from her shop. If I persuade her to go together every morning, then we could push each other. Plus she will be driving me there too. And the metro station is right in the front door of the gym, which is ideal for me to get to work.

Gimme your opinion?

Posted by Argy at 9:04 am | 4 comments

Wednesday, January 12, 2005
Day Three (and some detox info)
I was good yesterday too. I ate my rice and apples and yogurt. Drunk my green tea. Drunk some water too. And what do you think happened 5 minutes ago? Right, you know me too well by now huh? I got on the scales. And what did it read?

93.4

I am sooooo pleased :)

I got some questions about this detox. And because I believe in it so much and being an Aquarius I am a strong advocate of what I believe in, I will try to explain it as good as I can, because when it comes to med stuff, I seriously lack the vocabulary.

So, to begin with, since 12 years ago I waved goodbye to western medicine, pills, antibiotics, and the likes. I was being tortured by skin allergies for eons, had too many cortizone based drugs that worked nothing, and then I discovered homeopathy. It cured my problem in 6 months and it has never come back. Then, during a period of extreme financial stress, in the first year of our marriage, I lost a piece of hair. Now that was traumatic for a vein woman like me...lol. My homeopath told me that it would take a bit of time to fix, but if I wanted to have faster results, I should try accupuncture. In a month my hair was growing back :)

About 4 years ago, i was not feeling very well. I was tired all the time, had no energy, and felt heavy inside. A friend suggested this holistic med. I went to him, did the liver cleansing, the blood cleansing, and in three months I had energy, glowing skin, and felt like 16 years old. I have since then been in love with him...lol

So I see him regularly. See, with the stress level of my work, the long hours, the smoking, etx, I need to do things towards for my health.

Eastern medicine adores specific organs. She loves them all, but liver and kidneys are her favourite.

This detox has a suppressive nature (I am not sure suppressive is correct. Take it in the meaning of reducing the intensity).
This way the body takes its time to do all the jobs that are designed to be done slowly. Digestions for instance.
Easterns also believe that too much water make the kidneys work overtime, resulting in a shorter life span. Which is true. Why are we being told to drink a lot of water? First, because most of our food is processed, so we need water to get rid of toxins. And secondly, because the more the kidneys work, the faster the metabolism gets.

I am amazed this time, although it does not compare with the amazement I felt the first time I ever did it.

I drink about 6 glasses of water and pee triple the times of when I was drinking 3 1.5 lt bottles a day. I eat so little and yet I go to the toilette at least 3 times a day.

Last year I followed this detox for 9 weeks. It changed every three weeks. The last three I lost a kilo or something. But then, after I resumed my normal eating, I did not gain a grammar! And It boosted my metabolism too.

It is no fad. I have felt its merrits in my body. Last time I did it, but these last days too, the following things happened:

I slept better. Got sleepy relatively early for me (10.30 - 11.00) and woke up by myself at 7am
My skin got so much better, glowing indeed!
My hair got shinny.
My cramps during my period minimised substantially
Lost 8 kilos in 3 weeks
Had amazing energy during the day, which gradualy calmed down by late afternoon
Angelos said that I was calmer in general

Now you will say that in actually 2 complete days loosing 1.4 kg is not healthy. I tell you it is. First, it is only natural to loose these 4.8 kgs fast, since I gained them in the course of two weeks. Then, what I am gettting rid of is all the crap I fed my body and are still there. Did you know that our bowels keep stuff we ate 3 weeks ago?

I am saying this because I do not want you to think I am mad looking for the quick fix. After all it has taken me three years to loose these 35 kilos. I just felt my body so overloaded by junk after the holidays binges, that I simply need to do my body a favour. After all it has been my one and most precious supporter for 35.9 years! (oh boy...I turn 36 in less than 3 weeks!!!!)

Which is also the reason for this detox.

I have my birthday on January 31. And all my adult life, since my birthday is so close to the New Year, I consider my new year starting on my bday.

I want to complete 36 with a healthier body. In case this soul out there decides to become our child this year and do us the honours of visiting my woomb :)

oh...btw...I smoked 13 cigarettes yesterday too :)

Posted by Argy at 9:10 am | 6 comments

Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Day Two
I woke up at 5.45 am today. All by myself. With a content feeling as soon as I opened my eyes. I slept at 10 p.m. last night. Actually I don't remember much! Last thing I remember is that Angelos and I nested in the sofa to watch a movie. Then I woke up in bed!

He said I slept instantly and deeply.

It happens to me when I am doing this detox. My body needs a lot of sleep.

And I was very hungry too. Really very hungry! And thirsty as well. Not drinking anything for 4 hrs straight is tough at first (I mean the hour and the 2 hours before and after the meals).

But I managed :)

So yesterday's good work was:

30 minutes brisk walk
Food and water as directed by the plan
13 smokes

This morning result:

94.4 :)

(I lost app. 8 kilos last year during the 3 weeks of that detox. My med told me that I should not expect the same result. I will be super happy if I loose the 5 kilos I gained during the holidays!!!)

Right, I got to go cook my rice for lunch, and walk some of the way to work. Then I will have another brisk walk to my therapy session :)

Posted by Argy at 8:48 am | 2 comments

Monday, January 10, 2005
Day One
So this is it. I start today with my 21 day detox. The toughie one. The one I hope will help my body get rid of all the toxins and extra kilos I gained during the holidays. So I woke up, boiled my apple, had it, and now in 10 minutes the 2 hours will have passed and I will be able to have my one allowed coffee for the day.

The tough thing about this detox, besides that you get to eat the very same thing for breakfast, lunch and dinner for 21 days, is water. You are not allowed to drink water (or tea or any liquid) for 2 hours before and after a meal.

See, this detox program, given to me by my holistic med, is customised to my body's needs, and one of these needs is to digest better. Because I am a fast eater, and I drink a lot of water or tea or diet coke or club soda with my meals, my digestion process is somehow ruined. Drinking with meals results with the weakening the stomach liquids which results in not digesting too well.

Another thing about this detox is that the only allowed exercise is 40 to 60 minutes of walking in a medium pace. The body needs to have a rest of all vivid action, in order to use all its strength to get rid of toxins and other poisons.

Psychologically, this detox is a tricky thing. From what I remember from last year, the few first days are very tough. Mainly because you have no chance to satisfy any emotional need one usually satisfies by eating a tasty meal.

I called my med yesterday afternoon, to ask him about the herbs I should take while doing this, and he did some corrections to my eating plan. He said that I should eat the following:

Breakfast: a boiled apple with a teaspoonful of yogurt
Lunch: Boiled basmati rice with a dash of olive oil, and any of the following boiled veggies: carrots, brocolli, onions, zucchinis. An apple should be split in 2 halves and eat half before the rice, and half after the meal.
Dinner: Boiled apples, a couple of boiled prunes, half a yogurt, OR, half an apple, baked zucchinis, peppers, and mushrooms, anf half a yogurt.

I can have my coffee in the morning, and green tea and water during the day. No soda at all!

I am going to stick to it. I am going to be very strict with myself. I need to clean my system and I need to get rid of the kilos I packed during the holidays. I detest this feeling of fullness I am having lately. I will weigh in every morning, because this is something that helps me sustain this difficult eating program. You see something less every day, even if it is .1 kilo. And I need this incentive right now.

So I start today in 94.8 (yep...this is how much weight I put on during the holidays)

And I am going to go to work now, by walking half the distance.

Have a great Monday :)

Posted by Argy at 9:11 am | 3 comments

Sunday, January 09, 2005
A recipe, things I wish I knew how to do, and a case of a really bad cold!
Yesterday I had a new experience. I worked from 7 am till 3 pm with my dad! This will be filed under the special experiences in my life's archives!

I have told you that my dad owns a fish shop. My mom worked with him, she was sitting at the casshier's. Npow she is not still totally recovered for work, on sundays, the bussiest day, someone else gets to go. All this time it was Angelos (I am married to a saint, I tell you) but this saturday Angelos had to give more driving lessons, so I had to go.

I will not tell you now about it. This deserves a whole entry by itself. Or a whole new blog! But I will tell you that his shop is in the north suburbs, where it is colder. The shop is open in the front, there is ice everywhere for the fish, no heating, and it was COLD!

So when I finished work, I went grocerry shopping for my detox starting on Monday, and for the weekend too, and went home feeling cold, hungry, and craving something really nutritious and filling, since I had no breakfast or anything else to eat all day!

I cooked the yummiest bulgur ever!Totally into the core plan too!

So...you will need:

4 teaspoonfulls of olive oil
2 big garlic cloves
6 sun dried tomatoes, not the ones in the jar with the olive oil, the dry ones
a bowl of your favourite kinf of mushrooms cut in small pieces (I used porchini)
2 1/2 cups of chicken broth
a cup of bulgur
sweet paprika
salt and pepper

You will heat the olive oil, add the garlic cut in big chunks, the sundried tomatoes, the mushrooms, the sweet paprika. When they are all softer, then you add the bulgur, stir it to mix with everything, and then add the chicken broth. Let it boil till it absorbs all liquids (minimize the heat at that point), and eat it with a scoop of FF yogurt and some more sweet paprika.

I ate that, and then took a nap. I woke up with a bit of fever, lots of headache, stuffed nose and with my bones hurting a lot. I'm the same today, actually right now I was thinking that perhaps I need a nap again.

I think I should probably go. I started this post when I woke up this morning, did half of it, just added the recipe now at noon, and I wanted to also write how I wish I knew how to do a proper site with pictures and sections and colours and stuff, but I honestly am too dizzy to type.

And Angelos left to go visit his granny and I feel I should take advantage of his absence and go sleeeeeeepppp.....






Posted by Argy at 10:24 am | 1 comments

Friday, January 07, 2005
More Amsterdam News!!!!!
Ok...the whole story is like this: Remember our bestest friends .. Vangelis and Sofia? You don't?
K...Sofia and I met in 1981, when both our families were the first to buy apartments in the same building. She lived inthe first floor, I lived in the 3rd. We have been close ever since, sister close actually :)
Vangelis and I met when I was 13 or 14. We had summer houses in the same area, spent all summers together.
I introduced them when we were 16. He fell in love instantly. She did not. They got together when she was 23. They have been together for 13 years. Happily married the last ten :)
Angelos (my husband) met Sofia when he was 14. They went to school together. She introduced him to me. You know the rest :)

Sofia has a shop selling antique and second hand furniture, imported mainly from Holland.

She started the "YouGottaShopInAmsterdamInFebruarySales" epidemy.

But they will be going to Amsterdam on Jan. 27 to Feb. 1st. Because she has to spend a day in her provider's village ordering some stuff for her shop. And he is going away on January 2nd. So she had to go at that days.

Now Angelos is a driving instructor. That started teaching prospect driving instructors for their exams just 6 weeks ago. Now this is a promotion for him and I am so happy :) BUT! Because the exams will take place on weekends, and examinees have to be examined in all kinds of vehicles, Angelos knows that for certain he will have exams with them till the 23 of January, and there are 50% that he will have exams till the 30 as well!

This is how we ended up going from the 3rd to the 8th of February.

HOWEVER...hehehe...Sofia called me this morning with a brilliant idea. She said that I should call our travel agent, and make him book flights for us for both periods. Angelos will know by the 20th if he has exams on the 30 or not.

So I did! And our magician of a travel agent did some tricks, so now we are booked for both dates :))))

I have 50% turning 36 in Amsterdam, with my two bestest firends and my superbestest man!!!!

The worse that can happen is to go to Amsterdam just a week late :)))) With another couple of good friends that are going just for this weekend.

I am crazy and I love it!



Posted by Argy at 11:39 am | 5 comments

We have dates!!!!!
Finally my husband cleared out the vagueness about "When can I take a few days off work" and we have dates for Amsterdam!!!!

February 3 we leave at 5.45 a.m. (cruel innit) and we return on the 8th, early in the afternoon :)))))

I am thrilled! I spend all my time thinking about the shops I know too well from last year, the museums I will again visit, the tulips I will be buying every day for our hotel room, the coffee shops, falafel, chocolate with red pepper from Australian Home Chocolates, and boots. Mostly, I think about boots!!!!

See, last year when we were there, I saw so many pairs of boots I could kill for and none of them would fit. Boots costing 300 euros and being on 70% or even 80% sale! And I could not buy them :(

So last night, while we were at our friends' house, discussing Amsterdam and all about our shopping, I took a decision. I need to loose as much weight as I can before going to Amsterdam. So with our friends, who want to loose weight too, we made an eating plan for the next 3 weeks and this weekend too:

Breakie:
fruits
Lunch:
Salads and fruits
Dinner:
Tonight it will be a mixed grill
Tomorrow will be roasted duck
Sunday will be grilled fish and other sea food

Then on Monday we are starting the evil 3 week detox. It's rough and it needs lotsa discipline the first few days, then it takes its toll and is ok.

Breakfast:
boiled apple with half a yogurt
Lunch:
Boiled basmati rice with boiled carrots, brocolli, onions and zucchinis
Dinner:
Baked veggies with the remaining half of the yogurt
Dessert
Boiled apple with 3 prunes.

This will result in loosing at least 4 kilos (at least this is what happened last year) and this will take me to Amsterdam in 88 kilos, which will be 21 kilos less than I was last year, almost the same period (we went there at february 26).

Gimme good comments of support please! I am determined...but as I said before, I need a little help from my firends :)

(cos last night, while making these plans, the 4 of us managed to eat a bowl full of brazil nuts!)



Posted by Argy at 9:07 am | 4 comments

Thursday, January 06, 2005
The Perfect Dessert
Yesterday went fine too. I ate as planned, I walked some more - 40 minutes brisk walk from work till I was totally out of breath then I took a taxi - and smoked 14 cigarettes too :)

But late at night, I wanted dessert. I started craving something sweet really bad. I think I put too many spices in the mince that filled my zucchinis, and it were hot! And hot food always makes me want something sweet afterwards.

Angelos wanted something sweet too.

I think I am going to go to the shop and get me something, he said.
Cruel Man, I replied
Sweet Woman, he said

Then there was silence as he was standing up.

Do you want me to get you something? he asked reluctantly

I stack my tongue out at him

But then I thought better. So I asked him for a yogurt. FAGE Total 0% fat. I know this gets exported in Europe at least, so if you see it in a supermarket, do try it. It is creamy, thick, velvety, and tastes like well beaten double cream without the sweetness.

Then I remebered the 30 points allowed in Core. And my grape spoon sweet. So I took a tablespoonfull of it, and mixed it with my yogurt. Heaven. Bliss. I was moaning and moaning. So much, that Angelos had one too, after his double chocolate chip ice cream! And was moaning too.

If you have grapes in season now, try to make it.

Take a kilo of grapes (I usually make 6 kilos, but try just with one to see if you like it)
Clean it well, remove all the stems or whatever they are called, lol
Put them in a pot
Take a small piece of chiffon or veil. Put there cloves, cinammon sticks, the inside of a vanilla bean, then tie it up and throw it in the pot.
Add 200 grammars of brown sugar.
Let it boil.
The grapes will get out a lot of juices, at some point you will foamy stuff on top. Remove it with a spoon.
Boil it for at least an hour. It is ready when it gets brownish. Then squeeze a few lemon drops, so that it preserves well, and when it cools, put it in a jar.

The sugar in it is not much, and you cannot have more than a tablespoon at a time. But it makes yogurt a whole new experience!

Oi...it is almost 10.45!
No wonder Angelos is coming in here all the time...lol
Time to hit the mountain to walk :)
Then undo the tree and the rest.
And then vacuum half the tree resting in our carpet.
I swear, it will be a fake one next year!!!!

Posted by Argy at 10:17 am | 1 comments

About Me
I have spent all 36 years of my life loving life itself and this will never change. I am a great lover of the smallest things. I am addicted to smells and I attach them to people and events. It is impossible for me to wake up without ice in my coffee.

Stats
Age: 37
Height: 1.68 cm
SW: 130kg/286lbs
CW: 86 kg/189.2lbs
GW: 69 kg/151.8lbs
Lost: 44 kg/96.8lbs
Left: 17kg/37.4lbs

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