I'm back!

Goal Date: Monday 31 October 2016 (1 week after original goal date...)

Weight Goal: 70kg

Carb Goal: 30g NET/day

Fitness Goal: No training as recovering from illness

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED

RESULTS END OF WEEK 06:

Start weight: 76
WEIGHT: 70.0

Weight Goal: 70
Beat Goal Weight by: NAILED IT right on the head

TOTAL LOST TO DATE: 6 kgs

Net Carbs Average: 30 food, another 15-20 in cough & throat lozenges!

Fitness sessions: 1
Goal hit? YESSSSS

Result: REWARD!

Comment: 'bout bloody time

Hey party people I'm BACK!.. did ya miss me? I have been absent the past week and a half due to tonsilitis that turned into a cold/flu and chesty cough that STILL won't quit. I have literally been sick since the evening of the Wednesday that I last posted and still haven't shaken it. I blame the 7 year old... well... him, and the horrendous airport bugs that seem to be nailing all of us who work there.

I hereby have decided to not really count the week of sickness, keep my goal at 70 and add another week on to my plan. So I now finish on Dec 19th which incidentally is the day of my first ever wedding dress trying-on experience (arrrggghhhh!). So although I am 6 weeks in, I have 7 weeks to go. I have decided not to feel bad about this or feel like I'm making excuses because there was nothing I could do about it and exercising was out of the question. I did, however (because I am such a good girl) monitor my carbs and calories every single day even as I was lying there coughing up a lung.. and do you know how many bloody carbs are in throat lozenges??? 6 !! Yes you read it correctly..SIX. THAT is ridiculous. I did find another one that was 3 but it just didn't work as well.. so sadly I counted every frickin carb of every frickin lozenge I gave my poor throat (and yes I did also use painkillers, throat spray, cough medicine, hot lemon honey and ginger (which incidentally has even more carbs) and other remedies).  But hey look... success! this morning I hit my goal and can FINALLY blog with renewed happiness and confidence that hitting my goal is possible and that I am not a total flake who misses training, drinks on the diet and fails to hit goals... PHEW.

Now for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth... 

This morning when I woke up I was 70.1.  I looked at those damn scales and I said... "do you know what scales? no. no no no".  So I sat on the couch and watched a movie (day off) and ate nothing and two hours later I weighed myself aaaaaand.... 70.0! WHOOP WHOOP! I tried to take a photo on my phone but the weight of it pushed it back over to 70.2 so couldn't haha.

Hey look, I'm not usually so obsessive about the exact point-whatever on the scales but today I just really really couldn't be assed writing once again about how I had failed (especially through all that lozenge pacing aaaand having the same goal weight for the past 3 weeks) so I did what I had to in order to not be tempted to tell lies :0)

Tonight I'm going back to f45 - I really miss it. And back into keto. Interestingly I have been out of ketosis (according to the pee sticks) the last week, probably due to the lozenges and honey, yet have maintained a weight of 70.2-70.5 every day which means that I truly have lost 6kg in fat and not just when I'm water depleted. And THAT my friends makes Katy HAPPY. 

6kgs in 6 weeks is great.. So I have another 5 to lose to hit my goal... 5kgs in 7 weeks is doable although I will need to be strict.  So just let me get my calculator out... 0.7kg a week is my goal.. can she do it?? YES she can! I tell ya, now that I can have 30 grams of carbs a day keto is so much fun and a lot easier. I have found this delicious low-carb bread (tastes like Vogul's my kiwi friends...YUMMO) and it is only 5 grams of carbs for 2 slices..KILLER! It is so frickin great to eat toast again... gluten and all. MM mmm...  (toast makes everyone happy).  The key now is not to binge on it - I'm thinking I will not buy another loaf just yet...not buying things I may binge on is a great trick.  On a side note, I do think gluten is not good for us, and I also think milk is only for baby cows (would we really drink it if we had to find a paddock and suckle on a cow's nipple?...ahh no) but as I don't react visibly to either of them it is hard to cut them completely - Sometimes I think it would be easier if I did react because then I would be forced to avoid them and not rely on my willpower... but I don't.. I have a friend who is so intolerant to gluten she will literally be throwing it up as she is eating it! Gross ay. Now that is a true celiac. For me I just avoid it as much as I can and go about my merry way.

Today I have decided to share an article I read a while back that certainly rang true to me and is all about FOMO - "the Fear Of Missing Out" for you oldies out there reading this :0)  Doing keto does require will-power as you really can't afford to have ANY of those lollies, biscuits, chips or slices that your colleagues insist on bringing in to work - and that as we all know is VERY difficult. Sometimes I think if I just eat one really quickly then no-one in my body will know.. but sadly that is not true... and really doesn't even make sense! (am I alone here or does someone else do that?) but they know, oh yes they know..and as quickly as you can say "baked cheesecake", ketosis is STOPPED. Now if you have been doing it for ages then that might not be so bad for you can quickly get back into it...but if you are in the first month or so then this is the OPPOSITE to what you want.. we are seeking to become FAT ADAPTED... and to reach that state you must be strict strict strict (and far stricter than I have demonstrated thus far with all my carb-ups and my resulting wiggly weightloss curve). 

So without further ado, here is the article by Jill Coleman:
______________________________________________________________________________

Do You Have FOMO Around Food?

Mindset, Nutrition by Jill Coleman

  

I have a clear memory of being 5 years old, at my babysitter, Mrs. Kelly’s house and being given a dixie cup with cereal in it as my afternoon snack. There were a few other kids my age who got the same, and I honestly remember–even at that age–looking at the other kids wondering if they felt as I did, that “this can’t possibly be all we get?? How are they are not still starving??”

It’s funny, when I started thinking about the topic of food anxiety, I noticed that my entire life has been dotted with similar experiences:

In high school, my best friend Sally and I going to the local 7-Eleven and picking up candy, only to back-track and ALSO get a salty snack because everyone knows you need to have the taste of salt after a sweet, and then another sweet after salty, and back and forth, of course.

Choosing candy items based on how long they took to eat. I would NEVER get Reese’s Cups because pfffft, there are ONLY TWO of them! How … unsatisfying? And over too quickly!

After college, when I was teaching a bazillion fitness classes every week and doing 2+ hours of cardio I day, I exercised so that I could eat whatever I wanted (even though the “look” I was carrying at the time was a water-logged cardio one), and one thing I would always do would be to get bagels on Saturday morning. I would get a sausage, egg and cheese on a plain bagel. BUT–what if one bagel is not enough and I’m still hungry after?–so I would ALSO get a cinnamon sugar bagel with cream cheese too. Because you know, the savory/sweet alternating thing again.

Even a few years ago, I would do a weekly Reese’s Pieces cheat every Sunday night, turning it into a cozy ritual. I would bundle up on the sofa to watch my fav Sunday night HBO show with my Reese’s, and here comes Jade holding his hand out for MY Reeses! Is he insane?? Doesn’t he know I only do this ONCE a week?? I’m not sharing!! :) Thus, I started getting him his own separate bag that I could then throw at him when he reached for mine. Ha!

See?

FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out. Fear of missing out on the ‘fun’ of food. Anxiety about the scarcity of food.

  

Though it wasn’t on a conscious level, I lived in a constant state of food anxiety. In my head: Will I be able to get enough of all the yummy foods I want to stuff down my throat at this one-and-only opportunity because come Monday, I can’t have any of it again, so I NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT ALL RIGHT NOW!!!! :)

Maybe you’ve had similar experiences, maybe you haven’t. But I believe that many of us have an underlying anxiety about food that manifests in urgency. We don’t want to “miss the opportunity” to have this custom cake at this wedding, or the few-and-far-between opportunity to have popcorn at the movies or this award-winning dessert at this special restaurant I don’t know if I’ll ever get to eat at again. I understand completely. And I’m actually not knocking an every-once-in-a-while indulgence, but when it snowballs into feeling like you are missing out every single day on some potentially-yummy food item, then you are actually being 100% ruled by your environment. No wonder you feel out of control. No wonder you (ironically) feel no sense of satisfaction when you eat whatever it is you feel like you’re missing out on. Because you’re always looking for the next chance to eat to your heart’s desire:

• A co-worker is eating something new and delicious that you just have to try
• When your office pals hit Happy Hour, “I’ll have whatever everyone else is having!”
• At a dinner or holiday party where you get to eat season treats–egg nog, yule logs, the cutest little mini desserts and pumpkin cheesecakes!!
• When a friend comes over to spend quality time–bring out the wine, cheese and crackers

Bottom line is that we can find opportunities for “missing out” on yummy food every single day. I can drive by McDonalds and see all the cars in the drive-thru and get depressed because “look at all those people who can eat Big Macs and I have to eat this dry chicken breast and these steamed veggies.” I can feel “left out” when I go to my Italian in-laws’ house on Friday night after a long week of work and watch everyone else devour bread, cheese, pasta and tiramisu and make the choice not to.

OR…

I can choose to NOT feel left out. I can actively CHOOSE my eating habits. I can CHOOSE to feel satisfied by my choices, and actually take pride in the fact that I don’t let my environment dictate my choices. In this way, I am more in control than ever.

So the key, if you are feeling FOMO around food is …. YOUR ATTITUDE. How you perceive the situation. FOMO is a choice.

Let other people be swayed by their environments. You make choices, for your own healthy lifestyle without circumstantial considerations. Let your ability to not take things, places, people into consideration be a source of pride and affirmation for you.

This attitude shift takes practice and patience. But the good news is that the more you own your choices and refuse to feel “left out” of (to-be-regretted-later) yummy/disgusting food encounters, the easier it becomes to see things that way. Essentially, it’s like strengthening your willpower muscle. Reinforcing it until you get to the point when the FOMO food you used to desire actually holds no appeal for you, because you’ve found a way to eat that already satisfies you.

I’m currently working on a follow up to this post, where I’ll go more in-depth about food anxiety and what drives us to eat out of stress or because we think it makes us feel better. We think “comfort food” is supposed to comfort us, when in actuality, it makes us more remorseful, UNcomfortable and physically worse later. But in the moment, it’s hard to be aware of that. Food anxiety is an elaborate interplay of brain chemistry, triggers + resulting habit loops, scarcity vs. abundance mindset and misguided stress management (including physiological factors).

_____________________________________________________________________________

She hits the nail on the head huh.  So this week I am going to continue my high fibrous vege intake and a strict maximum of 30g of carbs per day and training at least 4 times. I'm gunning for fully-fledged ketosis from today onwards and a one kilo weightloss. 

I will now leave you with a timely quote...

"Most people give up right before the big break comes - don't let that person be you."

~Michael Boyle  (performance coach)

Looking forward to getting in to the 60's oooooh yeah.

Yours in health, happiness and impending hotness... Katy

p.s I know I promised photos but am gonna wait til next week when I'm well and sprightly 
----------------------------------------------------

Goal Date: Monday 7 November 2016

Weight Goal: 69kgs

Net Carbs Goal: 30g per day 

Fitness Goal: 3 f45 workouts, 1 heavy weights – 5 sessions

Reward: Workout Singlet

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED 

___________________________________

Bridget fricken Jones

Goal Date: Monday 17 October 2016

Weight Goal: 70kg

Carb Goal: 20g NET/day

Fitness Goal: 6 sessions: 4 f45 workouts & 1 cardio session & 1 heavy weights

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED

RESULTS END OF WEEK 04:

Start weight: 76
WEIGHT: 72.4

Weight Goal: 70
Beat Goal Weight by: 2.3 OVER  (FML!)

TOTAL LOST TO DATE: 3.7 kgs

Net Carbs Average: over 30

Fitness sessions: 4/6
Goal hit? NO

Result: CONSEQUENCE

Comment: no comment.... waaaa :'(

Wow. I actually feel like Bridget fricken Jones filling in a daily diary that illustrates my horrific fails. This last week was NOT my finest work. 

If you haven't noticed already it is now Wednesday which means I have procrastinated blogging for nearly 3 days... why? Because when I stepped on the scales on Monday morning and saw that not only did I not hit my goal, I actually GAINED weight from the previous week and now have to write about it, I was mortified.  How embarrassment. I know, I know, it makes me look human... yes this is true. But I'm embarrassed because I didn't do what I said I was gonna do and I have no excuse as to why. I have got a few theories about why my weight went up and they are as follows:

1. I was lazy
2. I ate too much and too often
3. My sugar monster reared its ugly head
4. I was lead astray by my rubber arm
5. Muscle building?? (please God)
6. I was lazy

Hmmm... I'm seeing a common theme here.. Laziness. I don't mean lazy as in not training (although I did skip Monday AND Tuesday), I mean lazy as in not putting the effort into creating the correct type of meal combinations and not drinking enough water.

The problem with a keto diet is that it is very easy to say to yourself..."Cheese..Yum,..ooh I'm allowed that, I'll have a piece of that thanks...Avocado...YUM! I'll have one of those thanks... Chops! mm mmm I'll have 2 of those thanks" and eat a bunch of "keto-friendly" foods whilst standing in front of the fridge and consider that a meal...and yes I am allowed those things but the missing link here people is that those foods are not fibrous and can be downright inflammatory and acidic (especially the dairy). They are great for the high fat/low carb aspect but they don't qualify into the "eat lots of leafy greens and good fats" category that I've been harping on about in previous posts. It is this aspect that makes keto easy but can also throw you off if you get lazy with your food prep. Greens really do seem to make the difference... that and not consuming too much dairy (another way I think I failed). The thing with doing a keto diet is that you still have to do it like a traditional diet (lots of salads, lots of green veges, little dairy, not too much snacking, lots of water, balanced meals, controlled calories blah blah blah) and not get lazy or your results suffer... and that's the main way that I went wrong. And water - defo need a lot more of that.

About Thursday last week I realised that I'd had a rubbish week (lemme see, I had bubbly on two occasions and red wine on another) so I locked it down, cut the carbs right down and pumped up the exercise..but I was too late for the Monday weigh-in. Monday I was so disheartened I "carbed up".. biscuits, coke, chips, ice-cream and, wait for it, bread butter and vegemite (YUM). Even the slightly stale bread was orgasmic in my mouth. But boy did I feel crap after. Nate Dogg came home to me lying on the bed, moping and feeling sorry for myself and I turned to him and said "baby, give me some motivation to get to training?" and he looked at me and said "Go, or else you'll be moping around with that look on your face all night" which being so true was somehow, with the grace of God, enough to drag my bloated butt off the bed and down to f45 training hereby saving me from starting the week really SHITE.

And guess what?.. the next day I woke up lighter!..Go figure??!!  So yesterday I ate really well, drank 3 litres of water, smashed the gym and this morning 70.9...hallelujah! That's only 0.9 off my target for this week.

The body is a funny thing - you never quite know how and when the weight is gonna drop off - look at the Biggest Loser.. sometimes they lose like 8kgs in a week and sometimes it is only 1. The key is to keep on keeping on and try (unlike me) to not get disheartened and binge if you don't hit your goal. There is some sense to how people say not to weigh yourself because it really can be a head f**k. And yes I know I should go with how my clothes fit but the simple fact is when I am in shape I am weighing a whole heap less, muscle building or not... So although you shouldn't rely on the scales, they're not completely pointless. Tonight I am going to get a bodyscan test so I can monitor my fatloss also.

Here are the 15 top reasons why a LCHF (low carb high fat) diet isn't working:
(ref: https://authoritynutrition.com/15-reasons-not-losing-weight-on-a-low-carb-diet)

1. You are losing fat, you just don't realise it (my uniform says yes this is true)
2. You're not cutting back on carbs enough (wellll...only some days)
3. You're stressed all the time (not me)
4. You're not eating real food (not enough greens, snacky meals as outlined above)
5. You're eating too many nuts (not me)
6. You're not sleeping enough (definitely me due to my brutal shift start times)
7. You're eating too much dairy (YUP.. guilty as charged)
8. You're not exercising right (or at all) (not me)
9. You're consuming too many sweeteners (not me)
10. You have a medical condition (yup, under-active thyroid, taxed adrenals)
11. You're always eating (who me?!..yup)
12. You're cheating too often (YES this week for sure)
13. You're eating too many calories (not me)
14. You don't have realistic expectations (I thought they were!)
15. You've been "cutting" for too long (not me this time)

So as you can see I have fallen into a fair few of these keto traps. You know what lovely people? Embarrassing as it is to admit my failings, on the other edge of the sword is why I am loving this blog - it is helping me honestly and blatantly troubleshoot my own diet and behaviour. I honestly almost lied about my weight at the top of the page there but then I thought..what is the point of this if I'm not honest?! That's the whole point Kate you bloody vain creature you! Own up, and move on and when you hit your goal you will truly be proud of yourself and others will be proud of you too.

Next week I am going to keep my goal the same as this week's was: 70.0kg. I want to avoid the pitfalls of "number 14" above and give myself a fighting chance of hitting my goal and getting those damn leggings!!! Next week I will also post my progress pics and hopefully there will be a major difference for all to see.

I will now leave you with one of my favourite quotes by the awesome Tom Venuto once again:

"You can make excuses or get results, but you can't do both"

Yours in health, happiness and impending hotness... Katy

----------------------------------------------------

Goal Date: Monday 24 October 2016

Weight Goal: 70kgs

Net Carbs Goal: 25g per day 

Fitness Goal: 4 f45 workouts, 1 cardio sesh, 1 heavy weights – 6 sessions

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED 

___________________________________

Close but no cigar...

Goal Date: Monday 10 October 2016

Weight Goal: 71kg

Carb Goal: 20g NET/day

Fitness Goal: 4 f45 workouts & 1 cardio session

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED

RESULTS END OF WEEK 03:

Start weight: 76
WEIGHT: 71.6

Weight Goal: 71
Beat Goal Weight by: 0.6 OVER  (DOH!)

TOTAL LOST TO DATE: 4.4 kgs

Net Carbs Average: 25

Fitness sessions: 5/5 plus many bike rides
Goal hit? NO

Result: CONSEQUENCE

Comment: Not gonna let this get to me!

F**K F**K F**K FARRRRRRRK! Damn! I was so close. I really thought I was gonna hit my goal this morning grrrrr. But I'm ok. I'm not mad at myself because I did try really hard last week. I did all my workouts plus extra cardio, I didn't drink and I ate lots of greens...and most importantly my weight has been a stable 71.5 for 4 days now which means that soon (hopefully tomorrow) I'm gonna have another drop...It's just a shame that it wasn't this morning (especially for the people in my F45 class that have to see my butt though my worn out leggings every time I bend over... Surprise Kirra!).  It also means that it's not just water loss. YUSSS. So I've lost 4.4kgs in 3 weeks, which is just under 1.5 kgs a week, and I'm happy with that - It's the long game remember. Check out the cute note my amazing man wrote me this morning... bless! (and yes we do call each other pumpkin):

How encouraging is that?! He's a keeper! He hit his goal today so he gets some Apple ear pods the lucky boy. So yeah...long game Kate, long game.

My goal weights for these first few weeks have been quite aggressive but in all honesty I haven't been as strict as I had planned. I told myself this morning "This is supPOsed to be a scientific experiment Kate and you haven't stuck to the parameters of 20g carbs a day! So that's why you no hitty goaly!" Gawd sometimes I just wanna bash myself. A wise woman (with great hair) told me this morning that the results of your training show on the scales the week after... so that means my disastrous bubbly episode played out on the scales this morning... makes sense. So therefore next Monday I should be skinny(er)! Woohoo! I do think that's true to a point although with keto you also see the effects immediately if you carb binge due to the water retention. 

I think weightloss is a kind of pixilated affair - like tanning. You fill in the pixels bit by bit and can't really see much until suddenly enough pixels are filled in and you look tanned. I reckon it's the same with weightloss (by which I mean fat loss)...You can't really tell and then all of a sudden you look thinner. And boy do we love THAT day don't we girls?! I read somewhere that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice, 8 weeks for your family to notice and 12 weeks for other people to notice - I reckon that's about right. So yeah.. Not gonna beat myself up about this I'm just going to stick to a strict 20g carbs every single day this week and then cry tears of joy in Lululemon next Monday.

For those reading this on your phone, I invite you to check it out on a computer so you can see not only my delightful formatting and colour choices but also the reading references I have added. I am not a scientist just a wannabe nutritionist with an outrageous interest in self experimentation and want you to research too. If you are interested in starting a keto diet you MUST do your research and calculations. To start, I highly recommend the keto forum on forum.bodybuilding.com; Jimmy Moore's free podcasts "Ask the Low Carb Experts" (BRILLIANT - put one on and go power walking) and for advanced training and nutrition advice that's not solely keto, read the articles by Charles Poliquin at  poliquingroup.com (he's a wealth of knowledge). After you’ve read some of these articles I can pretty much guarantee that you (like me) will begin to see the holes in the low-fat, high-carb approach we’ve been led to believe is best for our health. The science just doesn’t add up. And if you wanna know what the celebrities all do to drop weight fast then THIS is their little secret - and it's gonna go mainstream, mark my words...AND when it does you'll know where you read it first.

So your education for today, fine people, is the importance of keeping protein low. There is a misconception that the ketogenic diet is a high-protein diet. This is a myth! -The keto diet is a diet high in fat, low to moderate in protein and very low in carbs. I have discovered during my own keto experiments that eating too much protein will throw you off track nearly as fast as eating carbs.. and it's hard to avoid this after a lifetime of high protein bodybuilder based diets. Your body can and will turn protein into sugar via a process called protein neogenisis if you give it too much. Why? because sugar is the easiest fuel for your body to burn and if it can find it it will use it. Too much protein can kick you out of ketosis, while too little protein may cause muscle loss and increased appetite. So we keep it fairly low and force the body to burn the fat and then through 'metabolic momentum' your smart little body can start burning your own thighs and love handles. It wasn't until I tried the Atkins "Fat Fast" that I truly understood what "low protein" meant and in my humble opinion most keto information out there recommends too much. In the Fat Fast you basically just eat fat for 3-5 days and keep calories around 500.. and the weight just falls off! If you want to drop a few kilos for an event this definitely works. It's not too hard either - but is a short term approach to be used to get into keto and not as a long-term solution. If you are building muscle you will want more protein than someone who doesn't but limit yourself at around 80g per day MAX.

Here is an "Eat This Not That" guide for Fats:

EAT THIS:

Saturated Fats:

Ghee Grass-fed butter Tallow

Lard Bacon rind (mmmm) Chops fat (MMMM!)

Monounsaturated Fats:

Olives Macademias Cashews Pecans Walnuts

Avocado Avocado Oil Olive Oil Macademia Oil Almond Oil

Polyunsaturated Fats:

Wild Salmon Sardines Anchovies

Other seafood MCT Oil Coconut Oil

And NOT:

Refined Oils such as: Sunflower, Canola, Soya Bean, Grapeseed, Corn

or Trans Fats like ...Margarine (gulp)

There is a place in there for dairy too - Haloumi is pretty much carb free! And cream is delicious in coffee. But as far as fats go there are better choices and this is definitely an area I need work on. For this week I am going to focus on upping my water intake, less dairy, less coffee, less protein and STRICT 20g carbs per day.

I will leave you now with a quote I find very inspiring...

"Fat is just biological tissue storing excess energy" ~ Tom Venuto

(i.e. it can be BURNED and starved off and The Biggest Loser is proof of that)

----------------------------------------------------

Goal Date: Monday 17 October 2016

Weight Goal: 70kgs

Net Carbs Goal: 20g per day STRICT

Fitness Goal: 4 f45 workouts, 1 cardio sesh, 1 heavy weights – 6 sessions

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED 

___________________________________

Falling off the wagon

Goal Date: Monday 03 October 2016

Weight Goal: 72.4kg

Carb Goal: 20g NET/day

Fitness Goal: 4 f45 workouts & 1 cardio session

Reward: Suede booties

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED

RESULTS END OF WEEK 02:

Start weight: 76
WEIGHT: 73.7

Weight Goal: 72.4
Beat Goal Weight by: 1.3 OVER

TOTAL LOST TO DATE: 2.3kgs

Net Carbs Average: GAVE UP CALCULATING (FAIL)

Fitness sessions: 3/5 (FAIL)
Goal hit? NO

Result: CONSEQUENCE

Comment: I blame the bubbly!

I woke up today with that sinking disappointed feeling you get when you know you've eaten crap and not done what you've supposed to and not hit your goal. And I was going so well too! I crept over to the dastardly scales and slithered onto them... Ba baaaaam.. FAIL.

I blame the bubbly... it was meant to be two glasses - Two measly glasses that I had worked into my Saturday carbs..but No. You couldn't just stop at two could you Kate. And the platter...mmm the platter!....and while I was allowed almost everything on the platter I maaaay have eaten a little too much. And then out came the pizza ..."NO" I said to myself as my hand reached out with a mind of its own.."NO" I said as I carefully selected the tiniest piece on the side as my two bubblies-down-brain started to convince me I was allowed it. "NO" I said as I swallowed down the delicious pizza.. "NO" I said as I walked to the fridge and topped up my glass!! NO!..   So you see?...I blame the bubbly.

For me it has always been all or nothing - which is not the best way to be especially when dieting is concerned. Time and time again I've discovered that it really is best to just not go out at all when in the beginnings of a strict diet (especially when you are blogging for everyone to see and now have to admit your failure!). Self-control is just too hard to maintain once the bubbly goes down my neck - myriad thoughts start to come in like "ooh I know this can be my carb up"; "you've been so good for two weeks you deserve a few more grams of carbs" and other such thoughts that I'm pretty sure are implanted by the devil. I'm thinking this is why body-builders are so anti-social! - it's just not worth the risk.

But that's ok - I haven't fallen off the wagon I've just had a little set-back. I haven't overeaten and gained fat (PLEASE GOD) I've just gained back a little of the water which I will now drop back out over the next couple of days. I am, however, going to extend my Phase 1 for an extra week - nothing else will change except that.

So I didn't hit my goal - no suede booties for me (couldn't afford them anyway) and Nate Dogg missed his goal too (sucked, I mean ohhhh, I mean haha the beers stuck this time mwa a aaaa you're NOT infallible after all).

Here's an explanation of Keto for those who don't know:
(references: www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/keto and my brain)

Our clever bodies have two options when it comes to fuel - 1. Carbs (sugar/glucose) and 2. Ketones -  which are an alternative fuel for the body used when blood sugar (glucose) is in short supply. Ketones are produced if you eat very few carbs and only moderate amounts of protein (excess protein can be converted to glucose too so watch your protein intake). Ketones are produced in the liver, from fat. They are then consumed as fuel in the body, including by the brain. This is important as the brain is a hungry organ that consumes lots of energy every day, and it can’t run on fat directly. It can only run on glucose or ketones. On a ketogenic diet your entire body switches its fuel supply to run almost entirely on fat. Insulin levels become very low and fat burning increases dramatically (oooh yeah). It becomes easy to access your fat stores to burn them off. Ketosis is pretty amazing and in fact studies show that the body and brain actually prefer using ketones, being able to run 70% more efficiently than glucose. From an evolutionary standpoint, this makes perfect sense as we often went for long spells without food.

So in layman's terms - we force the body to switch to burning fat for fuel (instead of carbs) and then when you run out of the fat that you've eaten it will easily switch to burning from your own fat supply with little effort.... WOOHOOO see ya later tummy!

Make sense?

So here's a typical day for me if I start at 6:00am:

5:30: Long black w/ dash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 3TB thickened cream
6:00: 2x Soft-boiled eggs
10:00 100g mince (made with a little Napolitana sauce, onion, carrot, spices), 30g Tasty cheese, 2 TB sour cream, 1 cup spinach  (YUM)
13:00: 80-100g chicken, large mixed salad, 40g haloumi, 1-2tsp mayo, 1TB olive oil
16:00: Low carb protein bar (if I MUST) or 50g Greek yoghurt or protein shake or nuts
19:00 1x Lamb chop, 4-5x brussel sprouts, half an avo

Sometimes I don't eat that much - if I've gotten up late then I'll probably only eat 1 or 2 of those meals then wait for dinner. It all depends. Sometimes I'll make a protein shake with nuts and coconut cream but not at the mo because Phase 1 doesn't include nuts. Basically it's:

1. Choose a protein source (120g max)
2. Choose leafy green veges - 2 cups at least
3. Choose another non-starchy vege e.g Broccoli
4. Add the fat - Olive oil, coconut oil, avo ( I try to keep dairy low but usually end up adding cheese in here also)

My goal in the future is to cut dairy because I really don't think dairy is for anyone except baby cows but it is so damn delicious and it really helps me stick to the diet in the beginning phases. Once I can have more carbs then it will be easier to cut the dairy. Oh and I really HATE coconut and coffee otherwise I would use coconut cream in my coffee. Green vegetables are extremely important (fibre content and enzymes) and if not included your keto diet will not work long term.

So that's it! - if you want a customised diet plan I can do one for you for a small fee (it does take a fair bit of time) or I can send you a generic one for free -  Facebook PM me!

As for this week - I am going to train extra hard, eat extra strict with lots and lots of green veges and try to get to bed earlier! Oh and not go into any shops (SIGH!)

Have a great week everybody,

Katy xo

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Goal Date: Monday 10 October 2016

Weight Goal: 71kg

Net Carbs Goal: 20g per day

Fitness Goal: 4 f45 workouts and 1 cardio sesh – 5 sessions

Reward: Workout Leggings

Consequence: NO SHOPPING ALLOWED 

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