Somebody told me the 2468 diet can lose you 4lbs in a week. That actually isn't very good, I think I'll stick to my 18 points (roughly 1300 but adjusted for saturated fat content) with my 2-3lbs loss a week. Seriously starving yourself on 200 when you could have 1300 to get roughly the same result at the end of the week.
Man I would love to drop 10lbs instantly but ... perhaps the 2468  just loses you water and not fat.
lipo lipo lipo!

in anorexia potassium is lost from the cells, this can lead to disturbances in heart rhythm, some which can be fatal.
Your life is at risk you must find a way of getting to a doctor to get a proper diagnosis, what is the good in being thin if you are dead? Extra thin coffin?!

He's done it!!! OBAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

procrastination knows no bounds!
OK when I was supposed to be studying:


cheryl cole has a BMI of 17.5
posh spice 16.5 -- she always does look ridiculous
eva 19 (but 21.5 at the moment, according to now magazine she has 'let herself go' (!)
jennifer lopez 20.1 (again, another one now magazine has deemed a bit tubby, 20.1 is fat now?!)
Katie price/jordan has a 'healthy' bmi of 19.5 despite a few months earlier being 18.9 (the magazine editors were so worried about her)
thank goodness its not me on those covers! Sara X is looking a little podgy these days.. NOW magazine exclusively reveals her weight to be a hefty 9 stone! heffer!

For an ultra healthy overhaul I am thinking...  (I have had flu twice in a month and so am thinking its time to take much better care of myself!)
Diet wise:
To aim to drink 2litres of water a day, get the 5 fruits& veggies in & take a multivitamin.

and a load of science jargon (its for my benefit but if you are bored & happen to have knowledge about nutrition)
For the non-dieter:
55% of energy should come from carbs, 30% from fat, 15% from protein

As a dieter as long as I consume essential fatty acids, linoleic seeds will do the trick but can cut down on fat

Protein requirement is 0.5g/kg body weight, since I am 58.3kg that means I should be eating about ~29g protein a day, but I don't think going over will harm me..

The remaining energy on wholewheat pasta and bread & brown rice.
I am going to be cutting out cereal. It doesn't fill me up & 30g is a pitiful amount  anyway!

In a way I do wonder how much value categorizing foods as 'protein' or 'carbs' is really a good idea. All foods have a bit of this & a bit of that, as a vegetarian it is very easy for me to get enough protein even without eating tofu or dairy (which I do anyway) provided a veggie eats a variety of vegetables & cereals then they will not be deficient in any of the essential amino acids.

Exercise:
I'm going to stick with what I'm doing for now, going to read a book or two on weight lifting & see if I can't make any progress with it. I know all the muscles & their innervation and their function yet translating this to fitness exercises.. well should be a good way to revise. I should be able to translate it quite easily (if the deltoid is responsible for abduction of the arm beyond 15 degrees then any exercises involving this movement will involve the deltoid).. but other muscles will be involved as well. I hope I find a nice book with diagrams !
(this pilates book I have keeps mentioning the transversus abdominis, but since this muscle is underneath both the external & internal obliques it will be working them as well?)

Other stuff:
Relaxation? Hopefully good nutrition, exercise & sufficient sleep will see me through the stressful times ahead. hold on girl.

jesus why are some people on some internet communities so rude and unpleasant? For goodness sake I was only asking (what I thought was) a reasonable question.  Talk about zealots!

Do I care what they think of me? Actually, no.
Do I want to be spoken to respectfully when i have been perfectly accomodating? Yes... is it so much trouble to type with good manners rather than condemn the 'original poster' !
I thought internet communities were designed with help & support in mind, not damnation!

I'm doing the fall challenge over on WW community, hoping the accountability will kick my butt into action!

Ended up carrying a 23.5kg (52lbs) piece of furniture through town yesterday, lack of planning on my part... now my muscles ache majorly! thinking of taking my rest day today, want muscles to recover quickly.. massages in the past have made me ache more! might do some yoga poses later.. or not.

I also have found employment as a waitress. They said they would feed me during shift breaks but I said I was on a 'special diet' hahaha, so I'd rather bring my own food. Then they asked.. what type of special diet? Given I am going to be working in a restaurant I couldn't say umm gastrointestinal disturbances or allergies... so I just ended up whaling "I'm just on a diet but no one cares!" He seemed satisfied with this. I hope the owner who will be training me up tommorrow doesn't try & feed me anything... I hate being forced to eat! Its fine if I choose to break my diet but all these people who feel its their given right to lecture me on health ... I was asked recently.. if I was anorexic. The boy in question had seen me eat  a reasonable breakfast, lunch and dinner. I just didn't have any of his junk food. A very silly boy indeed. This is getting a bit ridiculous. I don't aspire to an unhealthy BMI or to starvation!
I was thinking of telling people, ah yes i do have a healthy BMI now.. but I am an amateur ballerina (well I am in my bedroom at least) and those leotards are very unforgiving ! Or I'm on a maintenance diet..  or I'm just eating healthy for health's sake...

Holiday was amazing. So expensive though a four day trip cost me in the realm of £700 !

Friend was unexpectedly considerate, she didn't pressure me to eat or drink anything I didn't want to,and when a waiter gave us a plate of free biscuits and I was obviously trying not to look at them she even moved them away from me.... so supportive!
In the end I didn't stick to my diet but that was purely because after day two I was absolutely exhausted of asking for everything not to be cooked in oil.... one plate of roasted aubergines (eggplant) I washed the oil off... but I imagine it will be ingrained in the vegetable... I don't see why people feel they have to cook with so much oil.. it adds unnecessary calories and I really don't think a bowl of pasta tastes that much different without it.

Cereal bars (Alpen Light are 70 calories, 0.5g sat fat) really hit the spot for emergencies. (who knew when we would find the next restaurant or if everyone else is having a calorific snack stop) Nothing against indulgence and all the rest of it but I'm fed up of being this weight, I have been the same since xmas 2007! Its really time for me to get a move on.
Lectures start in a week or so and I've returned to my uni town to get cracking with study. Did my first work-out after about a week off (and I'm going to add pilates or yoga on alternate days as my routine is now too easy) ... I should be challenging myself after all.

To my workout chums what heaviness of weights do you use? I use 2.3kg/5lb hand and leg weights, do want to challenge myself  but don't want to end up looking like Arnie or any sort of bloke really :p
Good luck to everyone!

Well I said I was going to start doing proper weekly updates, I intended to do them on Mondays but having the flu and not getting out of bed ... I feel like a few days of my life have just evaporated. Can only imagine what it must be like for those with chronic illnesses.

This week's weight 9 stone 3 and a quarter lbs
Last week's weight 9 stone 2.5lbs
Loss this week GAIN!
but of three quarters of a pound... so I'm not too worried & I have been ill, think my metabolism must have slowed as no exercise for a few days and the night before the onset of flu I did have a huge Indian takeaway, hot curry supposed to burn a cold out! (I didn't have korma but I remember that has a 21 points value per serving! Absolutely crazy, more than a day's worth of points for many!)  It didn't actually work but I was ready to give anything a try! (I need to get that 'curry slim' DVD)

Height:  5' 4" / 1.524m
Current Weight: 9 stone 2.5lbs   / 128.5Ibs / 58.29Kg
Current BMI: 22.06
1st goal Target Weight: 8 stone 5 lbs / 117lbs  / 53.07kg
2nd goal Target weight :  8 stone / 112 Ilbs /  50.08 kg
Final goal Target Weight: 7 stone 9Ibs  / 107 Ibs / 48.53 kg 

Also to my dieting friends, I wonder who measures your height? I've just been to the doctor & they checked over my BMI and according to their measurements and mine theres a two inch difference in my height! This seems a rather large margin of error, I would like to do it properly as obviously its going to affect my goal weights!
Good luck everyone ! :D

I have the flu. How is it possible to be hot and cold simultaneously? I'm shivering and sweating.
My legs feel like jelly and I have the sensation that blood is running cold through them. my throat is so sore (its an effort to drink water).
I'm too ill to exercise but have only had 3 or 4 points in the last day, II suppose this is one way to lose weight but I'd rather feel well!

I'm going on holiday with a friend of mine who is naturally slim & beautiful and she has a huge appetite!
I've just finished an exam binge of which I gained 9ibs (and have only lost 4lbs of that so far) so I really don't want to make the exception of "its a holiday just enjoy yourself worry about it later.." I want to stick to my diet (I don't want to be in this position a year from now.. if I actually stayed within points allowance I could be at goal weight in two and a half months). Besides I don't even LIKE foreign food, if I was going to indulge I would rather it was on home stuff.

Why should having a good time on holiday have to revolve around food anyway?!

I must be strong around her! After I have said 'please don't offer me anything edible!' she persists in offering me whatever she has... which frustrates me.. an extra test of my will power! Then when I have given in to her in the past she will make jokes about whatever I have eaten... and then tell me what a nice figure I have!!!!
She is a lovely friend apart from this issue. I wish we could avoid the whole subject!

What am I going to do for meals? Salads... I can't drink alcohol at the moment due to a dental problem so thats out! Plain bread? can't be too much in that?!

Having a neck circumference of 43cm predisposes one to obstructive sleep apnoea. I measured mine today, 33cm. (13 inches). yes I was bored! Have been eating braised tofu today.. delicious. I've rinsed it before I've eaten it... so the saturated fat content should be less right?!

Courgette (zucchini) casserole is cooking  (got the recipe from mares on dietingsupport but I've made a few adjustments) A weight watchers adaption to make it 4 points :D

2 courgettes 0
salt  0
egg whites 0
fry light 0
oregano 0
freshly ground black pepper 0
2 or 3 tablespoons chopped onion 0
2 large tomatoes chopped 0
paprika 0
28g breadcrumbs  2 points (112 cals, 0.3g sat fat)
then some grated cheese, I'm using 30g of halloumi light (2 points 80 cals, 3g sat fat) because its what I happen to have in the fridge!

Steam courgettes, add salt  for 10 minutes then drain
Mash the courgettes and mix in the egg whites, pepper, onion, oregano, breadcrumbs and a squirt of fry light (original recipe had 2 tablespoons of melted butter which I imagine tastes better but I don't want to use the points on butter when I could be saving them for a chocolate thin later!)
Spray fry light onto a baking dish and cover with 1 of the chopped tomatos
Spoon in the courgette mixture
Arrange the other tomato on top
Sprinkle cheese on top of that
some paprika
and bake at 190 celsius (375 F) for 45 mins.

:D 4 points!

4 calories in a jelly belly jelly bean according to the website. OK fine. did I count them as I ate the 50g pack?!

50 grams. In america do people buy cocaine by the gram like they do here or is it by the ounce.. .or cup like in cookbooks? I've watched so many movies about american drug dealers... isn't heroin sold by the kilo? (I don't know why I am asking this or why I am curious about whether metric or imperial is the drug dealers system of choice)

Got chatted up by guy in newsagent today. Behind the counter. I wanted to buy a minature spirit and he got two down, hoping he could have the other one.. to have a drink with me. Surely he should be offering to buy ME a drink?! "you know the boys" he said to me. Er, actually I don't! Just  because I'm buying alcohol does not make me sleazy (and such a small amount, 50ml!)
I don't feel hungry I'm just being called  by a certain food (don't read if it will trigger) haagen daaz cookie dough. Argh I am so not hungry... I have eaten all my points... i think i just want to treat myself

When I was too young to understand I was watching a film about after death (they were all on buses... it was to do with bravery.. this woman was seen during her life to be rescuing her cats from her burning house) and in this afterlife all food was free.. no calories in anything. Gosh I'd like to watch that film again if I could remember it!

<lj-cut>1. What are your reasons for having an LJ?
get diet chums & support

2. What do you do before bedtime?
night time beauty routine

3. What will your dream wedding be like?
I'd get to have my best friends around me and hopefully all the people I love would be there

4. What is your dream job?
tv doctor! no i'm kidding, but doctor of some sort. god i may end up as a "witch doctor"

5. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
situationalist. extrovert or introvert depending on what the situation demands. behaviour at work can require both sorts of behaviour. sometimes my friends just want to be listened to... other times its okay for me to be serenading them with songs! god i miss my friends!

6. What age do you feel you are inside? (your mental/emotional age, not your physical age)
I don't think I've changed since 16. Education wise I know more obviously, but my savvy & common sense is the same. regarding men its increased a fraction but thats due to experiences not chronological age alone. I was a very mature teenager though...

7. Do you trust easily?
well i don't have a problem trusting people

8. Would you ever consider suicide as a way out?
Times I think we all consider death to be sweet release from the endless suffering. but i couldn't do it to my mother. that woman has sacrificed everything for me and not asked for anything back,not now not ever. don't worry about paying me back she says, when you're qualified i will have my own money again! I ran out ofmoney for a trip i was going on, she didn't have any money either, so she gave it to me from her credit card. astonishingly generous woman i'm so lucky.

9. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?
Endless revision! exam stress! feeling that i am putting my life on hold! these are my twenties and i spend all my time with textbooks. honestly i don't mind hard work in moderation but recently every evening & every weekend has been taken up with this nonsense! don't have any proper friends in my uni town but I haven't invested the time into making friends, work seems to eat up my life

10. What is your best quality?
I am open minded

11. Is doing this meme fun?
its fine

12. How do you see yourself?
you know I have no idea. i'm going to have to ponder that one.

13. Who are currently the most important people to you?
My mother and 3 of my closest friends. I adore them. I miss them.

14. What kind of person do you think the person you stole this meme from is?
I think she needs chicken soup! She seems lovely and I look forward to getting to know her better

15. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?
That is a tough one. Doesn't mention whether you are single & happy or rich & happy. I think I'd have to go for the money. I've had enough of being poor. I want to be a dinky! for a while anyway.

16. If you could only ever have one food for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
coffee flavour ice cream (if it was calorie free like)

17. Who was your crush as a kid?
other kids in school, jeff goldblum when i watched earth girls are easy. Does Tina Turner wear a wig?!

18. What one book makes you happy every time you read it?
clinical medicine. so warm & fuzzy inside. Er no. I don't tend to re-read books, actually re-reading my handwritten diaries makes me smile, especially ones from 15 years ago. I'm so the same..like I've hypothetically written things "if this ever happens then I'll do y" and reading them retrospectively and some of that stuff has happened & I've behaved as I decided I would in my teenage  & earlier diaries.

19. What would you do if you became pregnant unexpectedly?
termination. it would be unfair for me to bring a child into this world if i couldn't provide the best love & care and at the moment I can't.

20. What were your parents going to name you if you'd been born the opposite sex?
?</lj-cut>

I am so hungry so hungry hungry hungry!!!!!!!!!!!!


I've been reacquainted with an old soap opera I absolutely adored, Melrose Place, and its so interesting the way everything has changed. I remember my mother asking my dad & his friends what the next big technological advancement would be about fifteen years ago, she said we've got aeroplanes & compters, what's next? They just said computers would get better & better.
No idea about what a mobile phone & text messaging would do for relationships! its amazing to see how different our lives are now, in Melrose Place the crises are always left on answering machines & running to public telephones (although an email is mentioned in 1994!)

One thing I prefer about now to then is how much more honest celebrities are, before they were all there in LA, in their power suits, oh we don't work out, we eat whatever we want! It was so frustrating! And I'm so suggestible! Whenever I see people eating stuff on TV, I always think, hmmm yes I would like to have that too. Even if its a food I don't like I'll think of an adaption ! Heather Locklear did not eat pizza on a daily basis, forget it! I like hearing that they are struggling just as much as we are! and I prefer it when characters are not Ally McBeal-esqe and eating junk, they are beautiful yes, but they have to work for it, just like we do. Why can't these characters be eating steamed brocoli and grilled tofu and fighting off dinner invitations and nights out. In short, there are so many soaps dealing with sex, realtionships and eating disorders. What about the girl next door whose following a sensible diet? I'd watch it! Also the recent Sex & the city movie, with the exception of Sarah Jessica Parker I was taken aback by how 'curvy' looking they all were. They had tummies & flabby arms in certain scenes.. that would never have appeared in a polished film of the 90s but perhaps its indicative of a  new trend.. or a clash against the uber-thin ? At least it was consistent with all the stuff they were consistently scoffing.

<lj-cut="Dodgy Meme done of out boredom">1. what is your first name? Sara
2. how old are you? 26
3. how tall are you? 5'4"
4. what is your current weight? 9 stone 3.5lbs
5. what is your highest weight? 11stone i think ages ago
6. what is your lowest weight? 8 stone 12
7. what is your goal weight for 1 week from now? not sure as I am shedding loads from past exam weight, plan to do a weekly chart at the end of this week! so far
monday 9 stone 8
tuesday 9 stone 4 and 3/4lbs
today 9 stone 3 and a half lbs (just falling off me!)
8. what is your goal weight for 1 month from now? after this week we'll see. would like to lose 2lbs a week, so 8lbs lighter :-)
9. what is your ultimate goal weight? 7stone 9lbs
10. who is your favorite thinspo?  oh no way. although I love angelina jolie, liz hurley, natalie portman
11. what is your favorite thinspo picture right now? Don't have 1
12. what is your favorite activity? Painting? watching DVDs
13. what is your favorite diet? weight watchers!
14. what diet would you like to try next? sticking with weight watchers
15. what is the longest fast you have ever done? 52 hours but due to inconsiderate boyfriend
16. what is your weakness? sweetness choc choc choc chocolate!
17. what is your favorite cardio machine at the gym? cycling.. you can read, forget you are exercising!
18. what is your favorite cardio exercise? trampolining! I have a mini trampoline so much fun! ballet (can be quite cario at times)
19. what is your favorite ab exercise? Oh I do all the crunches
20. how many crunches/ab exercises do you do a day? 200 crunches & I do the plank. plus now its the hols I'm incorporating more yoga & pilates into my workouts.
21. how many times a week do you work out? 6
22. how many hours a day do you work out? 1 hour, more now because I'm on holidays
23. what is your favorite energy boosting snack for before or after exercising? well I have breakfast after my workout
24. what sport do you love to play the most? Playing sport? are you kidding me?! well I keep meaning to have tennis/badminton lessons but thats to be sociable not anything else....)
25. what is your favorite non alcoholic drink? pepsi max hands down. Then tropical juices
26. what is your favorite healthy snack? hmmm fruit I guess? veggies?
27. what is your favorite junk food snack? choc choc chocolate in virtually any form. Anything sweetened with coffee. coffee ice cream, coffee cake, coffee slices,
28. how many people know about your ED? OOh dear I don't have an ED I'm just filling this in ... I'm not sure why. Boredom I guess although I'm free from revision!
29. do you own an ana or mia bracelet? who does, that is quite odd behaviour.
30. what is your ED? well i just fancied doing an ED questionnaire out of morbid curiosity
31. do you smoke? no I don't. altough there were times during recent revision i could easily have lit up. choc was cheaper than cigarettes though!
32. how many cigarettes a day do you smoke if you smoke? none
33. do you get the munchies if you blaze? What is blazing? Do idea!
34. if you b/p how many times a day/week do you b/p? I don't.
35, how many cals do you binge on when you slip up and binge? oh god . ate a 2000 calorie cake recently.
36, how many lbs would you love to drop right this second? 22.5
37, are you in a relationship? if yes does your bf/gf know about your ED? well again no.He doesn't even know I'm on a diet !
38, did this help pass your time up a bit? ha ha. I do have other things to do!</lj-cut>

OK Its over. Time to get back on track

So yeah, including today there has been seven days of no exercise
and i don't know how many days of constant cramming of the most calorific kinds of junk foods (which didn't help with studying incidentally, just made me sleepy!) I weighed myself this morning, 9stone 8!!!!!!!!!!!  aaaargh! A lot of that must be water & salt & all the rest of the rubbish I've been eating! Well I didn't want to undo all the work done so far but in this instance exams had to take priority.
Still, pass or fail my next set of exams wont' be until January. That gives me five months to sort myself out before the next round of la la land comes, ample time to reach my goal provided I stay motivated.

Still now that revision is over I intend on spending my time doing some things I always wish I was doing

Painting (I'm rubbish but want to do it anyway)
Reading absolute trash
Watching similar  (I bought Melrose Place DVDs.. wow, 1994!)
Get a professional manicure, pedicure and a proper massage (theres serious stress in these muscles!)
Go to starbucks and not worry about the time
Go shopping ! I might buy myself a nice piece of jewlerry...

I am banning myself from the internet, here, facebook & hotmail until my exams are over. See you back on 29th July when I'll be giving my diet top priority again.
So if  I haven't replied, I'm revising! Good luck to everyone.