Hello 

Sorry I didn't write yesterday, I was busy shopping, meeting up with friends and having my 'day off'.

My weight went up again yesterday to 72kg! I wasnt happy, but I had been in ketosis the whole time so I just had faith that I was still loosing fat and probably stored water or had more food in me - who knows! I guess we will see when I do my measurements in a few days time. My weight was back down again this morning to 71.5kg.

I wasnt planning on having 'days off' my program when I first started. However, 5 days in I thought it might be a good thing to do, so did my BF. My friends and family worry about me when I go to hardcore into my diet and exercise. I dont know why, because I eat all the time and only ever partake in healthy practices. But anywho, for the sake of my long term sanity, motivation and for their worries, I had a day off. I think I might make this a regular thing, one day a week. On my day off I wont eat crap all day, but rather how I envisage I will eat when I get to my goal weight - healthy, but not worrying so much about how many grams something is and how that fits into my diet. 

I still ate the food on my program, I just didnt count every gram of protein and carbs. I had a caesar salad when I was out shopping with my BF and a Coke Zero (which is not normally allowed on the program) and then later on, some oysters and a serve salmon and veggie stir fry. It was a very delicious eating day! To my surprise, I was still in ketosis after dinner, so I dont think my 'day off' will negatively affect my process.

I am starting to realise that I need to work out more. I know this will definitely speed the results along. My BF and I looked at cross trainers yesterday. I found the perfect one, but it was $1,900! A little more than the $500 or less we had planned on. I definitely want the more expensive one now, lol. My BF has a friend who is a personal trainer, so he is going to ask him what the best cross-trainer for home use is that we can get, that is very similar to the gym cross trainers and see if we can get a discount. So hopefully, within the next few weeks I will have a cross trainer to use at home. This will definitely help with my progress. 

When I use to do this diet and I had a gym membership, I would do 600 calories on the cross trainer for about an hour, and then do a 10k run (which uses about 800 calories). I would only do this for a week or so, just so I could get my weight down fast. It worked though! Like I've said in earlier posts, I could take off 3kg of fat in a week. Im thinking I might give this a go next week. I might just pay to go to the gym for a week, and run and see how that affects my measurements and weight, just as a little experiment. I will be sure to post my results!

I was looking up Kim Kardashians height and weight today on google. After looking at the results, I would need to be 60kg to have the same BMI as her. I do love her body and I think it looks nice in clothes. The smallest I've been is 61kg and I was quite slim then, a size  8 - 10. I have set that up as a goal too. I will see how I feel about my body at that weight. I might just like it and want to keep it that way, rather then getting down to 51kg (I changed my longer term goal to 51kg rather than 50kg because I discovered that 50kg would be underweight for me).

Well, thats all I really had to say today. Hope everyone is going well with their progress, but most importantly, their focus and motivation. Without that, any progress you do make wont last long.

Bye for now,

Emmaleen xoxo.

 Hello Everyone

Well, yesterday I did everything that I said in my previous post I would do. If anyone is reading my food diary, it may be a little difficult to understand. So I will put it all out here:

Pre Breakfast

1st thing, is a scoop of Metagenics magnesium powder and some water to help balance my blood sugar levels and replenish my magnesium levels. I feel an instant difference to my level of hunger once I have had this. Then, about 30 mins later I have my iced tea (below). The supplement also helps with my maintaining a good immune system and is full of vitamin C.

Drink to kick start my metabolism and cleanse my liver:

1/2 lemon juice freshly squeezed

1 green tea with iced water

About 10 - 30mins later I have the oil mixture and tuna (below).

Tiny bit of food to help wash the flaxseed oil down (its gross):

30g canned tuna

1/2 teaspoon mayo

Flaxseed & vinegar mixture to boost metabolism and give energy when working out:

2 tablespoons flaxseed oil

1 tablespoon apple cidar vinegar

After I do the above, I usually go for my 10k walk/run, which I will eventually extend to a longer distance. I make sure I have the above things because it helps with my performance when working out and Im usually a little hungry in the mornings.

Breakfast (After I've come back from my run and have showered etc)

80g Cabbage (fried in 1 tbsp olive oil, added this extra in for yesterday to keep my carb levels up)

15g grated cheese (parmesan, cheddar etc)

2 eggs

2 - 3 tablespoons of basil and tomato paste

1 table spoon of psyllium husk

Lots of freshly ground Celtic Salt and some freshly ground pepper, to taste.

Celtic Salt is an excellent source of potassium and minerals. When exercising, it helps to prevent muscle spasms/cramps. Since I've started using it in conjunction with the Magnesium supplement, I have not had one muscle cramp or spasm. Also, Celtic Salt doesn't make you bloat! Available from health food stores :-).

After I combined all the above ingredients in a bowl (aside from the cheese and cabbage), I wisk it together with a fork an add to a hot, non-stick fry pan that has approx 1tbsn of Olive Oil in it. I spread it out evenly over the base of the pan and cover on high heat until the eat looks semi cooked on top, then flip over. Then I sprinkle the cheese on top and put the lid back on. I take it out of the pan and put it on a plate once the cheese on top has melted.

Sometimes I add avocado slices if I have some, but I didnt yesterday.

I also have a capsule of Inner Health Plus with my food to help ensure I have adequate levels of good gut bacteria. This will help prevent me from getting sick and keeps my immune system up. My homeopath tells me that the contraceptive pill kills good bacteria, so I also take it for that reason. My overall health is extremely important to me, as I have many problems with it in the past. I will save that for another post though.

My breakfast routine is pretty much what I stick to 90% of the time and doesnt change. Lunch and dinners do. 

Lunch

After I did my run in the morning, I didn't get to have my egg and cheese omelette thing until midday. Lunch came at about 2pm after I tested my urine and I was in muscle burning :-(.

380g Watermelon

I ate this because I wanted the carb boost. Watermelon is on my plan, but I only really eat it when I need the increase in carbs. It tends to hit my system fairly quickly. I wasnt that hungry so that is all I ate. You usually arent hungry at all when your burning your muscle stores. Thats a tell tale sign.

Afternoon Snack 

Had this at about 4pm (try to eat every 2 - 3 hours) after I got back from shopping.

90g Prawns, stir fried with...

40g broccoli

10g onion

1 tablespoon of peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon each of garlic, coriander and hot chili paste 

Dinner

At about 6:30pm

90g Tuna

1 tablespoon mayo or less

2 Ryvita cruskets

According to my program, my protein count was 5 and my carb content would have been around 30. The program says that Im not suppose to have more than 20 carbs a day or more than 4 serving of protein...I find I have to eat more though to keep me out of muscle burning. Im not sure why my body is like this. It may have something to do with my higher than average lean muscle mass. I know when I run or exercise I definitely need to eat more carbs. Even though I ate a higher carb breakfast yesterday (by adding the cabbage) I still needed to eat more carbs, otherwise I wouldn't have been in muscle burning by 2pm. 

If I had the sachets Im suppose to use in conjunction with this program I might not have the same problems. But I would prefer to eat some more REAL food then rely on a sachet. My homeopath said the sachets had whey powder, some vitamins and minerals in them. I've done a different ketosis based program with my homeopath as well, and there weren't any sachets involved. So Im just combing both programs and trying to find what works best for me.

I hope the above helps anyone looking at my food diary understand how all my food comes together. Like I said, my breakfast routine is pretty much the same every day, the lunches, snacks and dinner vary. 

So anyways, yesterday was a good day. I just wish I didnt have the muscle burning thing come up whenever I do my exercise. I also ate a bit of food yesterday, so although I was hoping for a loss on the scales this morning, I didnt think I would find it, by the end of the day. I weighed myself this morning and I was 71.5kg. I was 71.4kg yesterday and 71kg the day before. 

I think things are evening out for me now. Initially, when you enter this diet the way I did (with no carbs and the minimum of protein) you see a dip on the scales because you dont have much food in you! Now that Im finding I have to eat more to maintain my fat burning level of ketosis and not muscle burning, I think that shows on the scales. I wasnt sure how long this would go on for, but am hoping it wont be too long. Considering the gain was only 100g today (down from 400g yesterday) I'm assuming I will see a loss either tomorrow morning or the day after, if I stick to some catabolic foods and exercise. 

When odd things happen on the scales, its important to remember that measurements and fat loss are the main priority. So I redid my measurements this morning, and surprise surprise, this is what I found:

Neck - Down 1cm

Forearm - Down 0.5cm

Chest - Down 1cm

Waist - Down 3cm!! My fav result :-).

Hips - Down 2cm!! My second fav result :-)

Calf - Down 0.5cm.

So I will do my best today and see how we go tomorrow. Hope I didnt bore you all too much! I wrote quite a Bible sized entry today, lol.

Have a good day,

Emmaleen xoxo.

 Hey everyone

Well, as I suspected I would, I put on 400g on the scales this morning. I'm hoping its the bulk of the extra food I ate yesterday and not fat. I tested my urine for the keytone levels this morning and I am in the highest level of fat burning so I highly doubt I would have put on fat.

Nevertheless, today I will eat only lean, high quality proteins (no more pork chops or salami!) like prawns, chicken or tuna and some carbs with each meal. Only carbs which are part of the program though, such as brocolli, cabbage, carrot, letuce/spinach, olives, mushrooms, capsicum etc. Its important that I try to keep my carb level at a moderate, recommended level so I dont go into muscle burning when I work out later today.

If I still go into muscle burning then I will eat some more recommend carbs or something small and on the higher glycimic end, like 10g of white choc. It works, quickly hitting your blood stream faster than lower gylcimic carbs and gets you out of muscle burning. Its something you have to be careful with though because too much will take you out of fat burning all together. See, its all about the right balance. Lol. Like most things in life this is sometimes difficult to find.

Today I will also ensure I do my massive workout. 10k walk/run from my house in Red Hill, through the city, along the botantical gardens and river and back again. I will do it this evening however as its 8am here now and already too hot. I find if I go when its too hot I get really annoying tan lines from my ankle to just under my knee where my workout pants cut off. Not pretty. Its like the opposite to a sock tan, lol. I also get sleeve tan lines on my arms :-(.

So anyways, I think that combining the leaner high protein and moderate recommend carbs way of eating and the exercise, I should see some good losses on the scales tomorrow. Its wonderful I'm in the upper level of fat burning ketosis. That will really work for me when it comes to doing my measurements this Sunday.

In addition, prawns and tuna are catabolic. Cataboic foods are those foods which use more energy in digestion then the actual calorie value of the food. I use to think it was just celary that was like that, but my Homeopath has enlightend me. You can really see the difference on the scales if you exercise and eat the right amount of these foods. Even if you werent trying to loose weight but maintain your weight, if you had a diet of lean, catabolic protein and veggies and worked out, you would probably still loose a bit of weight. So the above plan of attack is my fail safe and probably will be the way I eat 90% of the time once I have reached my ultimate goal weight.

The only thing left is motivation. I dont think I have  problem with that today. I really want to reach my Valentines Day weight and pant size goal (62kg/137lbs, designer jeans size 10). Its not that far off. I will have a body alot like Kim Kardashians at that weight. I also really want to reach my ultimate goal (50kg/110lbs, dress size 6 - 8), where I will look more like Victoria Silvstedt. Im certain it will change my life for  the better. I am really excited :-D.

So, I will be sure to let you know how I go on Day 5's weigh in. You will also see my diet and exercise from today on my homepage if you want to look. If you have any questions are my ramblings or comments, please feel free to send me a message.

Till tomorrow, love and light everyone.

Emmaleen xoxo.

 Hi Everyone

I'm not sure if anyone actually reads this, but on the off chance that someone does and to help clear things in my head I will blab on a bit about the last few days.

Day 1: I ate the minimal amount of protein and next to no carbs. I did this so I could get into ketosis the fastest way possible. I was a little bit hungry, but Ive done this so many times you get use to it. Everything diet wise is harder the first time, then it just gets easier.

I was in 'traces' of keytones by the evening. Normally, it should take 2 - 3 days to get into ketosis. My homeopath would not recomend doing it my way, but Ive found that this works for me. It is hard if you are exercising from day one. You will be in ketosis, and then muscle burning super quick if your not careful.

I didnt go running because I had a sore throat and runny nose. I dont want to push myself too hard, too fast. I've found I get sick and injuries in the past from doing this.

Day 2: I was in ketosis. I went for a 10k walk/run that day in the afternoon. It felt really good. Usually I would run in the mornings, but doing it in the afternoons when the air was warmer was alot better for my throat. I ate a bit more protein and carbs then the day before. Basically all my meals are tiny, but I eat every 2 - 3 hours. I find if I do this I dont get over hungry and just want to eat anything near me. I have more control, which means I make the right choice.

Day 3 (today) was great. I was getting into the muscle burning level of ketosis though so I ate more carbs and more protein. I went to work today in the city (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) and met a friend for lunch. I ate breakfast at about 7:30am and wasnt hungry until about 12:00pm when I went to lunch. I know when I'm in muscle burning because my appetite is low, which is definetely abnormal for me! So I had a big salad with fetta, olives, sweet chilli tuna, mayonaise and greek salad dressing. It was delicious. I also had a citrus flavoured water because it was so hot today. The label said it contained fructose, which is a carb, so that will help drag me out of muscle burning.

I was still in muscle burning at dinner time so I ate half an apple with my pork chop and cabbage. Apples are too high in carbohydrates for me to freely eat them on my program, I do however use them when I need more carbs like I did today. If your in the muscle burning level of ketosis, then you need to eat more carbs. But only in the right quantieis. Its difficult to find this out at first, but as time goes by you understand how certain things affect your body. Ive learnt alot, but Im still learning.

I walked home from work which is about 3km and 200 calories burnt. It was really hot and I sweated alot! I didnt want to do a massive run today like yesterday because I dont want to wear my body out. Usually, I would run one day then go to the gym the next and use the cross-trainers (because of the 0% impact) but I cancelled my gym membership due to my poverty, lol. My BF said he will buy a cross-trainer we can both use which would be beneficial for my progess, so I can do a significant cardio workout everyday. I definetely loose the most weight and stay on track the when I do this.

Its 9:30pm now and I'm about to go to bed. Just checked my ketones levels and I'm in the top level of fat burning. That means the extra carbs I ate have worked and pulled me down from muscle burning. I was a bit hungrier tonight too which is odd considering I have been in muscle burning. It may be because some of the things I ate at lunch contained small amounts of cain sugar and fructose. Pure sugar carbs are on the high end of the glycimix index and increase appetite. It may also have to do with the fact that I didnt eat small, regualr meals today, but rather 3 normal sized ones. So, I ate about 30 - 50g of salami that my boyfriend was putting on his pizza and some cheese after I had already had my dinner. There was about 30mins between the 2 dinners, lol.

So I will have more weight in my stomace due to the slightly increased volume of food I've eaten today. I wonder if that will affect the scales tomorrow...Time will tell and I will certainly let you know! Even if the scales do show that I have added a few grams, it wont matter to me because I have been in ketosis or higher all day so that means I would have lost fat and that is the main thing.

I have lost 1.9kg so far :-). A couple of days worth of that loss is fat too, so Im pretty happy about that.

For those who arent familiar, Ketosis is a state your body enters when you balance out your protein, carbs and fat. Its mainly about ensuring you eat the right amout of protein and dont eat too many carbs. Keeping your saturated fat down is also a good idea just for your health, but if you eat a bit every now and then it wont be the end of your diet. Good fats are encouraged to be consumed. Thats why I eat avocado, use olive oil for cooking and take a mixture of 2 tablespoons of flaxseed oil and 1 tablespoon of apple cidar vinegar everyday. Both flaxseed oil and apple cider vinegar are metabolism boosters. As is green tea. I have at least two cups of that a day with lemon (also a metabolism booster and liver awakener in the mornigns).

There are many different metabolic types, but this system is what works for me. Ive tried low fat, but that doesnt make a difference. Eating the right amount of carbs definetely does.

Well, I hope that wasnt too boring! If anyone wants to share their experiences with loosing weight, then feel free to contact me! I would love to talk to someone soon.

Stay safe, happy and focussed.

Emmaleen xoxo.

Hi Everyone

This is my first blog, ever, in the history of my internet usage. Hope I do it right!

Current Stats:

Age: 24 (born 16 December 1984)

Height: 166cm / 5.5"

Weight: 72.8kg / 160lbs

Dress Size: Australian 12 mostly, sometimes 14.

Bra Size: 14D.

Goals:

Goal Dress Size: Australian size 6 - 8.

Bra Size: 12D or 10DD.

Goal Weight: 50kg / 110lbs

Ive never been happy with my weight. At my smallest (61kg), I still wanted to be smaller. Ive never weighed 50kg but it seems to be the weight of most models and celebrities my height. Call me vain and superficial but I like the way most of them look. I'm hoping for a body similar to Jenifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson (when she is in shape) or Kendra Wilkinson from 'Girls Next Door'. I want to be slim, fit and healthy.

In the past, I have dieted successfully using a lean high protein, lower carb and moderate 'good fats' diet. I have done it under the supervision of my Homeopath so its been a very healthy diet. You can read all about it and order sachets (I dont use them anymore, but add another 0.5 - 1 serves of protein) at:

www.slimsafeonline.com

I've only ever been hungry for maybe the first day or two, once Im in Ketosis I'm fine. The hardest thing about this diet is going out and being social. I cant really drink (and being Aussie and in my 20's, this is a popular thing to do!) or eat food I would normally have when out. I LOVE Japense, Chinese and Mexican foods. Ive been eating alot of sushi as well as fried food. The carb content in Sushi is too high for my weight loss diet and the saturated fat and carb content in fried food is too high. 

So after a few upheavals emotionally and physically in the last 1.5 years, I have put on about 10kg and I hate it! To make matters worse, I have a loving boyfriend who thinks there is nothing wrong with my body. We love to go out and eat and its a fun thing we have always done. Im very glad that I have him, but being in this position has definetely contributed to me gaining weight. So emotionally, Im great, but physically Im not.

The challenge lay, as it always has, in getting past the social hurdles of loosing weight and finding things to do with my BF that dont involve eating out! I have done well on my diet and exercise regime when I have been by myself and havent socialised much. Basically whenever Ive been busy in the work and/or studying part of my life. Motivation has also been difficult to maintain at times. I just need to keep reminding myself of my goals and why it would be amazing to reach them. Im hoping using this website will help with that too.

Exercise wise, I love cardio. I love to sweat and really get buggared. I love long distence running, but Ive had some injuries and issues with that. I also use the cross-trainer at the gym. Im quite good with exercise and routuine when my diet is 100% correct. When Im not eating that well, I tend to not exercise at all. I also love Tennis, golf and surfing. I dont have many people around me who share the love of having a good work out though.

I do core strength exercises to help with my running. If I dont, I have hip and back issues. That is the only strength exercise that I do. I have a fairly muscular bulid. Ive found that strength exercises in general havent done me too much good. Its more the right diet and cardio that make a significant difference to my body.

In 2007 I did a 10k run at the Gold Coast Marathon. This year, in June 2009 I would like to do the 21k, half Marathon at the Gold Coast Marathon event. I trained for it in 2008, but I had to pull out a few days before due to training related injuries. I wasnt doing my core strength exercises then.

I find when Im exercising I dont put on weight, even if my diet is bad. I can even still end up loosing it. I just loose the most weight when my diet is right and I exercise. So for the purposes of reaching my goal in the shortest time possible (which Im hoping will help keep me on track and motivated) I will be doing my diet and exercise regime to get there.

Its my first day today. If you have any comments of info to help me with, or if you would like to work together on our weight loss goals, then feel free to contact me,

Bye for now,

Emmaleen xoxo.