help help HAAAAALLLLPPP!

I really really love how much I learn from this forum and the amazing knowledge people have, but then it ends up breaking my brain because I am so confused as to what to do that would best help me lose the 5-10 kilos I so very much want to.

I'm hoping I can get some good advice. After a stop-start last year I did a great deal of planning and thinking and am currently in the second week of my three-month planned detox/weight loss. I'm using a herbal detox kit for the first 15 days, followed by a herbal weight loss kit for another 14 (though I am thinking of extending that to 28 ). After that It's the Eat to Live 6 week eating plan. (for those who don't know it it, I will paste it at the end of this entry). A few things are to be constant throughout this process:

- No animal products

- No processed food

- No cheats

Last year I identified, through various means, several factors which could've been contributing to my lack of weight loss... poor digestion, the pill, anxiety (leading to bingeing) inconsistency (too many cheats on weekends). I'm off the pill, doing the detox to help with my digestion (and will be going straight onto a probiotic once it's done), going to hypnotherapy for the anxiety and to examine my psychological relationship with food and well, the inconsistency you can see above how i've elected to deal with that. I also went and had my thyroid checked but need to get the results.

It was also suggested on this forum I might've been not eating enough for the amount of exercise I was doing. That, I'm not as sure how to deal with as I am a Burlesque performer and take multiple dance classes to help my performing skills... and I only have so much room in my tummy!

During the Eat to Live phase I am planning to be largely raw with lots of different fruits and green smoothies. But the detox and slim kit came with a recommended diet that I have been following. An example of what I eat daily at the moment:

- Rolled oats, no milk, with some fibre mix and some fruit (blueberries, strawberries, banana)

- A couple of pieces of fruit (usually 3 though)

- A big salad - mixed greens, spring onion, avocado, mix of beans, sprouts, mushrooms, tomato, cucumber)

- More fruit

- Steamed green vegies with lentils, or quinoa and homemade tomato sauce with capsicum (bell pepper), mushrooms and eggplant.

For a treat, gluten free or wholemeal pasta with vegetables such as artichoke roasted in a little olive oil with garlic.

Exercise...

now this is where I am mostly mixed up (although suggestions to diet are of course appreciated). Fat burning is the name of the game!

At the moment I am doing 4 - 5 twenty minute interval cardio sessions on the ellipitical... they are pretty intense and run on consecutive days, Monday to Friday. For weight training, for the moment I am working out on my pole at home twice a week, but want to build that up to five.

I also do swing dancing and a pole dance class once a week. NOW... by the end of March, I will be in 5 dance classes a week - swing, pole, bellydancing, ballet and tap.

To work on my ab strength - which I desperately need for pole more than anything else as it is the weakest part of my body - I am doing a pilates ab workout about ten minutes long that includes 100s about three time s a week.

Oh, and as much as possible, I am walking to and from the gym (15 minutes either way) and to and from work (half an hour either way).

The thing that factors in here is time. I work a dayjob and have my own business as well. So, at the moment it is 5.30am - 6.00am rises to make sure I get to the gym for my cardio before getting home for abs and pole workout before work. After work it's a dance class or private work so it's hard to get to the gym then (and I prefer to do cardio in the mornings). Otherwise I would do longer cardio.

I also just bought Slim in 6" DVDs which sound fabulous but because I just paid up my gym membership for the next three months, I don't know when I'm going to squeeze them in!

Is twelve weeks a reasonable amount of time to expect to lose 6 kilos following the above? Of course, I plan NOT to go back to the old way of eating after that, but continue with mostly raw eating and maintaining the exercise with just one big treat (at a 5 star restaurant) once a month or so and a glass of champers here and there (I have a glamour souse rep to maintain!)

If you made it this far... THANK YOU for your time. It's appreciated. If you even comment... well, wow thank you even more!!!! I know it's a lot to get through.

Love for all of you!

And here is the eat to live plan... for those who want to see it. of course you should still buy the book because it has stacks of incredible information!

UNLIMITED

eat as much as you want

- all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1lb dauly)

- cooked green vegetables (goal 1lb daily)

- beans, legumes, bean sprouts and tofu (1 cup daily)

- fresh fruit (at least 4 daily)

- eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes

LIMITED

not more than one serving (1 cup) per day

- cooked starchy vegetables or whole grains (butternut or acorn squash, corn, potatoes, rice, cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, breads, cereals)

- raw nuts and seeds (1. oz max per day)

- avocado (2 ox. max per day

- ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon per day)

OFF-LIMITS

- dairy products

- animal products

- between-meal snacks

- fruit juice, dried fruit

Wow, you'll be busy. To answer your question about losing 6 kg in 12 weeks; yes, that is enough time to safely lose that amount of weight. In addition to what you're eating and how much you're exercising, keep in mind that your caloric intake will have to be approximately 550 less than your caloric output each day (this will give you 0.5 kg loss per week). Of course you'll have fluctuations of weight during the 12 weeks due to your water levels, but you should be able to do this. Good luck!!!

It all sounds great. Now you just need to execute the plan and stick with it. No opting out when it starts to get tough. Keep it all planned and follow thru. You even have a plan for a treat when the hunger craving gets to be too much. Do know that the hunger pains is one way of telling your body that it needs to use the fat to feed itself, and so you are losing fat (if you keep your calorie intake up for exercising and not put your body into basal mode/low metabolism) and thus weight. I know for myself that I battle at night when I am all done eating and exercising, and it is just me and my hunger pains,and that is when I am likely to cave in. Lately I have been embracing my hunger pains and being rewarded in the morning with the scale being lighter! But it has taken me weeks to embrace the hunger pains. It is so much work to be disciplined! But the rewards sure look and feel good! Good luck to you!

Lift weights. Lift heavy. Gain some lean mass.

I am guessing it's FAT you want to lose, not WEIGHT per se. Do you know your bodyfat percentage?

You may end up heavier according to the scale, but you will look fabulous.

I'll second the weights thing. Lifting weights (heavy) is great for burning excess energy.

Have you tried hip-hop/street dance? I find those classes to be the best workouts, energy burning wise.

I basically follow Eat To Live and the thing I have trouble with is to just eat 3 times a day, so I skip that for now. Otherwise I would have to eat more grains and be too full after the 3 meals. I do like 2hrs/week in the gym, dance for 10-15hrs/week, walk about 10km/day at my job and take my bike evrywhere and I'm doing great on this plan.

It is really great to read how you identified the roblems and start to solve them!

Concerning the weight loss-thing:

1. I second the others about bodyfat vs. bodyweight. And IMO the cardios you do are too short to kickstart fatburning.

2. From my weightloss/detox experiences during the last month I tell you this: If you do not mind: eat raw. This will start the detox and reduction of bf better than any kit. Eat fruits and vegetables.

3. Treats are allowed but be aware that they bring toxins into your body which the body has to handly. And as I saw somewhere: "The body`s solution to pollution is dilution".

4. Reduce the toxins. To stop using the pill was a great decision! How do you contracept now (of course no need to answer if you do not want to)?

5. You are on the right way.