Holland is still on vacation, but my husband and I aren’t….in between my spring cleaning (window cleaning/ kitchen & floor scrubbing/ throwing away those ‘accumulated undesirable objects’ around the house- mostly what I’ve purchased over the years which were not needed *guilty* / and do my laundry) I thought I’d blog for a while. While husband is tending his father’s garden which has become a ‘forest in the city’ according to hubby, because since dad-in-law was hit by the cancer spread last year, it was left unattended.
Easter was quiet. No egg hunting. But Charlie’s found a hidden favorite snack, carrot. He may be pug nosed but he could smell a carrot even if it’s well hidden. Even when he’s sleeping, the minute he smells me slicing carrots for dinner, he’s immediately standing right next to me in the kitchen, asking for slices.
my Pugs Punny

Raw carrot (especially baby carrot) helps remove plaque and eliminates bad breath. Good for doggies. Luckily Charlie likes it raw and that helps when he doesn’t want his teeth to be brushed. I guess we’re also lucky that our pug likes other vegetables too and moves a lot, quite an active little doggy. See his lean body? that’s pure muscle, no fat. One time a judge for a dog show asked us to enter him on a show because he’s got a good posture. What do you think?
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I am entering my 3rd week of diet and as I weighed myself this morning, I’m +5 kilos off. I have discontinued Jing’s diet program (to those who asked for copies, I’m not following it anymore, not that it doesn’t work because I believe that it does! but just read on… ) because the program’s 4th day ‘menu’ wasn’t for me. It was requiring me to eat just bananas (max 8 bananas and milk) for day four. Unfortunately, a single banana would keep me from doing my toilet business and I didn’t want to take the chance even if it was to be combined with milk. So I just continued my own program and I am happy with the result. Not only that my energy has improved, but my old clothes are starting to fit now (btw these are my large sized clothes, I am aiming for my ‘medium’ ones) I’ve noticed centimeters off my abs, thighs, back and hips. It’s still a long way to go but I’m ready for it.
Aside from constantly eating fruits like melons, watermelons, apples, pineapples, strawberries, and kiwis, I stuff myself with boiled fresh vegies such as potatoes, brocollis, beet roots (sugar beets as we call them in the Philippines), young carrots, beans, cauli flower and all vegies that I love to eat boiled. I season them with pepper, no salt, a touch of margarine and since vegies of my choice are sweet when they’re picked young so most of the time, I really enjoy munching on them, no matter how many times in a day, it doesn’t matter.
(this picture’s posted for my friend J who’s thinking of doing what I’m doing…this vegie-combination isn’t bad at all
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I also drink a lot of water, max a liter a day (this wasn’t easy during the first 3 days as I wasn’t a water drinker) but now drinking comes natural.
I also started using my exercise machines at home. Maximum an hour a day on the cross trainer, free weights for the flabby arms, legs raising/back kicking -just holding on to a chair or anytime I feel like doing abs exercises, i drop on the floor and just do it on the abs apparaat.
‘joining’ me on my abs exercises is Charlie who loves to sit on top of me, the only thing is, he’s holding my legs together and I couldn’t move.

so am I eating other than vegies and fruits? I sure do. In the past 2 weeks, I baked (2x!) chocolate-orange cake and had two small servings, I had a small portion of spare ribs, has popped chocolates balls in my mouth and even finished a bag of cheeze curls. And just last night, because it’s a celebrated sunday here in Holland, I cooked lechon kawali, liempo, thai chicken barbeque, chicken with coconut/peanut sauce, stir-fry-vegies and steamed rice. I’ve tasted them all.

I don’t believe in starving myself but to eat in MODERATION. And EXERCISE. I have noticed too that my stomach isn’t allowing me to eat the way I’ve eaten before ( I was a bottomless pit! ) Now I eat just enough.
And if I’ve eaten more than I should, I just work double hard to burn the calories off.
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I wish to thank some wonderful blog neighbours/friends for sending me books! Rhada (sorry, ang tagal ko bago makapag ty) Willa, Ellen and a lady friend who doesn’t want to be mentioned. From the bottom of, SALAMAT NG MARAMI!!
HAPPY WEEK TO YOU ALL!!
PS. I hope that those of you who like me, are struggling with weight, will be inspired by what I’m experiencing. Though a friend of mine said this is ‘pagyayabang’ (mokong ka, inggit ka lang belat!
he he ) but I know how it is being fat. If I can do it, so CAN YOU! Just make that decision and take a step towards losing weight. Kung gusto may paraan, Kung ayaw may dahilan’.