Author: Wattle

The easy task for Mayndarin is to have a glass of water which contains lemon juice ice cubes with each lunch. This is as well as the usual glass of water with the evening meal.

A more difficult task, one which actually takes me quite a lot of effort, is to have a really good look at the new body shape. Why would that be difficult? Because it involves accepting a loss of the old shape. Yes it was a larger shape, and I am sure to like the new smaller shape better once I get used to it, but it is my larger shape that I am losing and I don’t like losing anything, not even kilograms.

Loose clothing doesn’t really impinge on my consciousness too much. Despite weighing a whole lot less, if I close my eyes I still feel exactly the same. Even if I open them I still feel exactly the same. What does impinge on my consciousness is what I see reflected back at me from a mirror. That has an powerful emotional impact. I want to see me, not some thin, stick person, obviously somebody else.

Due to the slow changes of the body shape over years as the weight is slowly lost, Maydarin’s task is designed to especially to reduce the amount of emotional impact looking in the mirror has. So it is off to visit clothing shops. I visit as wide a range of clothing shops as possible, the more the better. It includes opportunity shops, large department stores and small, expensive boutiques.

Now lets have no confusion about this. The task is not to buy new clothes, although that is not ruled out if something is really appealing. The task is to stare in the mirrors whilst trying on clothes. Well lit dressing rooms are to be particularly sought out, but less well lit ones can also have value. The task is to admire what is reflected back, an individual who is a bit smaller, yes, but still remains “Me”.

Isn’t it a great feeling to look better in the clothes that are already in wardrobe. Well fitting clothes, ones that are slightly loose rather than ones which are stretched so very tight. I think the time has arrived to replace some the super loose ones.

Both Aprilcot and Mayndarin are reasonably disciplined eating themes. In theory they assist to prepare for the cold winter months of “Spoon” (Pearn) and “Pie” (Apply). As those names suggest, indulgences will be allowed and enjoyed at that time so it seems like a good idea to eat less of them before that.

The weight measurement for Aprilcot is 75 kilograms. That is a bit of a surprise. I wasn’t expecting to lose much weight and there was no conscious effort to do so. Two kilograms the less, its gone!

This month is mainly about mandarins. An unlimited amount may be eaten. They don’t really suit as a topping on pancakes so we will have kiwi fruits instead.

Some meals will be using up items still in the freezer. However, mostly Mayndarin meals consist of lean chicken, pan fried in generous amounts of pre-mix cajun spice. As per usual we will serve it with the commercial brand Hollandaise sauce. The amount of chicken will be slightly less than was needed last Mayndarin. The objective now is to not go on an effortless downwards weight loss spiral, so it will be a suitable portion of chicken.

Some years we have managed to grow our own pumpkins. They are ready to harvest in early May. They are the absolute star of the Mayndarin plate. I have large portions of pumpkin. We rotate other vegetables throughout the month.

Mayndarin features the herb thyme. The chicken can be cooked with large amounts of chopped thyme in the pan (instead of the cajun spice), or it can be placed on the pumpkin. Some experimenting using it in scones could prove interesting.

The Aprilcot theme has been all about eating trimmed lamb. A good guideline about the size of the portion is to eat less lamb than was eaten last Aprilcot. It doesn’t have to be a lot less, just a bit less is good. A bit less will lead to the eventual longer term success in managing weight. A bit less is enough to maintain this year’s smaller shape, which is also a bit less than it was last Aprilcot. The idea is to hardly even notice that it is less because of what is most noticeable of all: there is enough on the plate, it seems about right.

Even three or four years later, and 13 kilograms lighter I still tend to have a large portion of vegetables on my plate. Is it a bit less than last Aprilcot? Perhaps, slightly less for some famous starchy vegies, an example being that now its half a corn cob on the plate instead of a whole one. However, I still have my plate loaded up high with brocolli and carrots.

We allow some commercial brand Hollandaise sauce to have on the meal. I definitely need less of that this Aprilcot compared to other years. On top of the sauce I have a large amount of chopped fresh rosemary herb. It is lucky that rosemary isn’t too difficut to grow because our bush was well pruned this year, what with eating it for the evening meal and at lunch time on toast and tomatoes.

In previous Aprilcots we have had the opportunity to obtain apricots in Januberry and freeze them. That was not the case this Apricot. Instead we have had a modest amount of tinned apricots (three halves) on our pancake with chocolate icecream. I wish that we could buy tinned apricots that are preserved only in water. Sadly all we can get here are ones preserved in “Juice”. What they really mean but do not say is that the juice is SUGAR! I pour it straight down the sink. There are so many other better ways to enjoy sugar, like Easter treats.

Fresh fruit of apples and grapes were unlimited, I ate plenty!

The walking has happened on most days this Aprilcot and has been very enjoyable. Inspecting autumn leaves, taking some photos of them and collecting some to bring home has been the main task, all occurring in mostly pleasant, sunny weather, lovely.

Note to self : Continue the autumn leaf collecting for at least the next two weeks. One leaf per walk done may be traded in to dine out. The minimum amount is 28 leaves which represent 28 Autumn walks.

Sometimes it will be tempting to miss a walk, or a week of walks. If that happens I am not going to allow it much mental space. I know that the following week I can always improve. It is easy to better zero walks, right? Sure yes it is, even just one walk will be enough.

So if it is rainy, or snowing, or yesterday my umbrella grew wings and landed inside out, high in a tree, just out of my reach… so be it. Or perhaps I am very busy, due to circumstances beyond my control… also so be it.

What if the weather was beautiful, not a cloud (nor an excuse!) in sight? I just don’t feel like going for a walk. Well that is also a so be it. See what tomorrow brings.

If I get some images I like better, or I manage to place them on a page in a more pleasing manner I am quite happy to replace my collendar page for any particular day. It could be the same day, or even the same date the following year. The Collendar Collection is an ongoing work in progress.

What would happen if I don’t see images of what I am eating in catalogues? I think it would be possible to use different coloured papers instead. There is never a shortage of indulgent food images. They could be used with images of “Half” on the collendar page as a message of what has not been eaten, has been eaten eaten less of, eaten half of, or sometimes just using my imagination to visualise not eating as much of them.

Another possibility would be to buy a printer and print out some images of my own. It does seem that some of the money saved from not smoking could be spent on a printer. If anyone has a printer and wants to use my images they are most welcome to. Actually, it might be time to start making a collection of vegetable images. Yes, that is a good idea. I will make a start on that.