The Ninja Diet: Houston have a problem, my is minor

The closest I got to a storm this summer.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2017/aug/28/ex-hurricane-harvey-houston-flooded-as-catastrophe-unfolds-in-texas-latest-updates?CMP=share_btn_link

 Monday morning. Woke up in calm, peaceful Luleå, not far from the Arctic circle in Sweden.
Yesterday the family of my sons sister had to escape from water flooding their house while  asleep outside Houston, Texas. There are a lot of disasters every day around the world. Far away from our own comfort zone. This time the videos of rescued people, shelters and streets buried in meters of water come close. I can picture one of all the families  that lost everything.


I've got it all. The sun is shining. I have vacation today. I will have lunch with one of my best friends. I'm moving closer to the goals of my life.

The Ninja Diet: quality time with my caique

She is three years old and a caique. Roxy add some special color to my life. To be a parrot she's very tiny but has a huge caractar. She's funny, fast and fit! A great roll model for the Ninja Diet "eat like a bird".

We share the same taste for veggies and fruits.

 

She doesn't mind, her caregivers chicken on the plate.

The best meat when you are on a diet.

I'm planning my next grocery shopping.

Atumn is a great season for vegetables.

The Ninja Diet: great breakfast

The best summer breakfast: oatmeal with fresh raspberries.

The Ninja Diet: Ninja fast food

Green represent relaxation to me. At the moment stress has taken over my life in many ways. Stress is the worse enemy of weight loss. Food can have an calming impact. Stress also reduces the chances to good planning. I'm trying to reflect over my situation and how to stay in the good eating behavior. To have the fridge filled with healthy food and no bad temptations hiding in the cup board are a good start.
Here is a Ninja lunch made of left overs and other fridge findings.

 

Greece meatballs , baba  ganoch,  BBQ sauce and veggies.

The Ninja diet: visible milestone regardless of the fog

Some days are in life are more important than others. The day of the birth of my three sons. Other days you don't realize until a long time later what impact they had on your life.

The 16 of August 2017 I know for sure  was life changing. Despite of the morning fog, the sun was shining at noon and the rain fell all night. I believe in karma. What goes around comes around, one way or another. Positive or negative depending on your action.

The Ninja Diet: weight loss talk at the mall

 

 I get many questions from people who read my blog about my weight loss method.

I ran into Katarina at a store in Luleå. 

While discussing the hot topic a lady broke in with her opinion.

We figured out she was the mother of our sons former teacher.

Helena suggested us to

 diet every second day.

A petite lady telling us she felt fat and never satisfied with her body.

Luckily I have always mentally picture myself as thin,  but surprised when looking in the mirror...

Having this group talk about the blog was great!

It's nice to inspire other people.

Katarina is about to start a week on VLCD.

I wish her good luck!

 

While biking home last night the view of Luleå was beautiful.

The Ninja Diet: moose to lose weight

 

I woke up this morning with sore tighs.

I don't know if it came from me rushing to the store on the bike yesterday to buy a fuse after my fridge and freezer broke down yesterday filled with healthy food I cooked last weekend.

Or if the pain is from walking up and down the hill in the summerhouse.

Or from the swimming in the lake!

I'm the dot to the left.

 

I have the feelings my legs are getting skiner.

The pants are feelings loose.

Yesterday I practiced the weight loss advice from the Buddhist monk:

hang out with some good friends! 

Ahmed, Daniel and Johan were the perfect choice. 

 First Daniel made some Baywatch moves. 

Ahmed also felt like a great lifegard watching over the sea, even though, in case of emergency,

the water was far to cold for his taste.

The dinner of the day, a perfect moose steake.

The best lean meat you can find. 

When biking the other day I spotted the king of the forest him self. 

 Not the one for the BBQ.

Daniel duck face.

The Ninja Diet: one weight loss goal reached today!

For a long, long time I wished to see today's number on the scale!
When losing so much kilos as I have to, it's to distant to only picture the final goal.
Actually it all started in December, 5 kilos down in happiness over my new great boss.
Since the ButterflyBattle challenge January the first I have lost 20 kilos and the last week another 1.1! All the worried I had leaving my low calorie diet are gone.
I'm enjoying food as never before. The taste of a sweet bell pepper or a ripe tomato.
Blueberries and raspberries straight from the nature. Juicy chicken, bean stew, cray fish.
It such a pleasure to prepare healthy meals and try to find out how to get the best out of my 1240 calories a day.
In the picture a tasty salad of chicken and cottage cheese.

The Ninja Diet: hunting good calories

 

At the moment I am chasing healthy calories for my weight loss.

 Didn't check out if this little fellow was a prince or not...

As mathematics is not my thing, it's quite a challenge calculating calories.

To realize one square of dark chocolate is 60 calories is the most scary, but at the same very educational part.

I have found out, to lose one kilo a week, I may only eat 1240 calories a day.

I need to pick the one I stay happy one the whole day.

I also need to get adjusted to stay a bit hungry.

Water and tea help out when the craving for food kicks in.

Taking care of my flowers make me think of other things than food and eating.

I have been so busy with my weight loss I haven't noticed the one starting to bloom!

 

Flowers and birds brings me happiness! 

I got these from my mother yesterday. She bought them at the farmers market.

I have been cooking a lot this weekend. The freezer is filling up with healthy food.

I have no snacks, candies, cooking. 

I also avoid pasta, rice, bread  and potato at the moment.

The most carbs I get from veggies.

Protein from chicken, beans, fish, and very little red meat is my major diet right now.

The Ninja Diet: flash backs from Eastgermany

 

I know nothing about the life of my aunt Ingrid.

When she died I got her photo albums.

While showing them to my mother today, I found this picture from one of all the journeys around the world my aunt did.

This was without comments. Look like the crew from a restaurant. The picture on wall caught my attention. 

The dictator of DDR, East Germany, Eric Honeker.

Bizarre, as my french speaking friend would say.

Theme of today is beans and peas. 

Chili Con Carne for lunch.

 

My mother enjoyed the food and memories from all the old pictures.

Dinner: pea soup without pork.

The Ninja Diet: palt from Piteå is my weapen!

Palt is a traditional dish here in Northern Sweden. Either you love it or hate it.
 It's like knödeln in Austria  or gnocci in Italy: a very compact, boiled ball made of potato, barley and wheat. With or without pork meat hidden inside. You eat palt with butter and lingonberry sauce and drink milk.

Friday dinner with my son. After the meal you get paltschwimen, food coma.
 You want to sleep and can't eat anything else for a day or so...
170 calories each palt.

For lunch I had chicken and veggies with halloumi. The kindneybeans are waiting in water to be boiled into a hot, healthy chili con carne. Everything keeping me full for long is working in the Ninja Diet. Hunger and cravings are my worst enemies.

The Ninja Diet: thanks to my army around the world!

 

One of my greatest supporters in this ButterflyBattle fight, were I'm working hard to defeat over weight, is Rose-Marie, to the right in the picture above.

Check out the trendy low budget fashion we are representing around 1981.

Rosie has her own blog and had made her own weight loss journey .

She has reached her goal and is a great inspiration to me.

She's taking time to comment almost every blog post I share on Facebook.

 Many of you readers are helping me out. 

Cheering, pushing, giving advice and compliments.

It gives me power.

Thank you!

Return of the Ninja!

The Ninja mentality is back!

I'm gonna make it! Keep losing weight!

One month ago I stood in front of this wall:

 

In this picture I'm ten kilo heavier than today.

And in this 20 kilos...

The scale this morning showed 0,2 kilos weight loss and I was astonished.

Going from low calorie diet on shakes to food usually results in a few kilo gain due to water.

I feel so inspired!

Yesterday I was reading a lot about what to eat and got some advice from my son Elisha.

Have porridge for breakfast, he said.

I have loaded up the fridge and freezer with healthy stuff.

I write a food diary.

 

Day 28/29: over & out! New start for more weight loss!

I had my last LCD (low calorie diet) shake today.

What a relief!

After 28,5 days I look forward to chew again.

First "fika" together with today's excellent photographer and friend Ulrika.

How much I missed strawberries the last month!

8th of August is a special day in Sweden.

Not only my niece Cornelia's 20iest birthday but also the official  premiere of cray fish.

My lunch today was delicious!

Almost one entire month on the diet made me lose 10 kilos.

Many more to go. Step by step.

Day 26/27: not ready to fight the food monster

Opening night at the cinema for the Norwegian "Oskars Amerika", and a lot of goodies. Luckily popcorn was an option, a better choice than candies.
Anita and Britt-Marie were among the visitors.
The table was fast emptied, not by me...

And the movie was great. Go and see it!

Today I had a message from a Buddhist monk with some advice for my weight loss struggle.
I needed it more than ever. My safe path is almost over. He told me to breathe  and  breathe and listen to music and enjoy the company of good friends, see the beauty in nature.

 

The box is soon empty. Tomorrow I drink my last two shakes.

Then I am out in the jungle again. The free choices. I feel insecure. Will I be able to make it? I'm still motivated. I have loaded the fridge up with healthy food today. I haven't planned enough though. I need to be ahead to out smart the food monster!

Day 25: slightly malicious

This blog is about a weight battle, Russia vs Sweden. My sister Natasha in Petrozavodsk is quiet. I don't know how she's doing. It's summertime. Bad time for diets, in one way.
Good in another. In summer it's easier to lose control. That what happened to the famous, Swedish criminologist Leif GW Persson. He decided to lose 50 kilos 2017 and the first 6 months he had great success, 25 kilo. Then he got back to drinking beer and wine and his losing weight took an end. I'm 'secretly' competing with him so I feel more motivated to do even better efforts now, only 5 kilos away from his result.

Day 24: after three weeks of no, I said yes!

Who can say no to these guys? Not me! We had a great BBQ on one of the most beautiful days of the summer.

 

A lot of veggies and small pieces of chicken made me full.

I gained a kilo since yesterday.

I have three more full time days on VCL-MODIFAST shakes and soups.

Then the real hard part of this diet is beginning!

I will make it!

Day 23: my great advicer and friend!

Yesterday I fell asleep 5 pm. My blog post is delayed!

The night before I went out with Bibbi and Dirk, on vacation in Luleå all the way from Västerås and Belgium!

I stuck with my diet friendly water while enjoying the good company and the beautiful sunset over Luleå.

We were not staying out late, still I felt exhausted yesterday. The bad mood was gone and I felt more motivated.
Bibbi and I are great friends since we were 17.  She knows every thing about me and my life and gives the greatest advices. We were not talking about my diet but I enjoyed meeting the happy couple on vacation!

 The scale is reluctant leaving the number it seems stacked on. I guess I have reached a plateau. The great challenge is around the corner/after the weekend, when my shakes are out and healthy food will replace them in this ButterflyBattle.
At the moment I feel like I'm fighting myself only. Natasha in Russia, Petrozavodsk, is quiet.
But you never know, last time she sneaked up out of nowhere with a great weight loss result!