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Hola Amigos,

spring (or more likely) summer is here. We´ve all been waiting for the sun, the green grass, the flowers and the warmth! Someone told me we had 178 days with snow – and it was alot!! We all feel happier and love is in the air. If you haven´t thought about it before it´s time to get in shape for the beach season!! As we all know there are no quickies to this but it´s never too late to get started If you´re not yet a member of a gym, now is the time to join! For the best and fastest way to get the results you want I truly recomend you to get a personal trainer. Your PT will give you the training and cost advices that will give you the body, shape and energy you want – I promise.

Here are some tips to get you started before you decide where to sign up.

Start the day with a power walk (BEFORE BREAKFAST!!) for at least 45-60 minutes. Our metabolism is low in the morning and in order for your body to start using fat insted of protein as energy it´s prefered to walk fast as opposed to run.

Enjoy a brekfast with proteins for ex an omelette, cottage cheese, ham and cheese, yoghort with some nuts and berries. Avoid bread, müsli and other carbs.

Keep avoiding the carbs during the day (that is the LCHF diet=Low Carb High Fat). They tend to give you a bloated belly. The lack of carbs in your diet will eventually let your body use the fat as the primar energy source which will result in weight loss, more energy and a healthier lifestyle. For some of us, this starts within a few days and you´ll see and feel how your body reacts to this. For some of us it may take up to two or even three months. But don´t give up. If you failed during easter, get back up on the horse and keep on going. So what you definetely must avoid are sweets, alcohol, bread, potatoes, pastsa and rice. Drink water like a fish. Remember; if you´ve had a “bad day” and porked out, it takes two-three days to put your system back to where you were.

Once you´ve joined a gym start weight training. And don´t be afraid to use heavy weights. Women don´t grow bulky muscles as easy as men do. Try the Body Pump classes if you prefer group training, or why not try a Boxing Class?. Vary your training with 45 min interval training on the treadmill. And don´t forget to take a protein shake after your workout!!

The more you work out – the faster and better results, so that should answer the questio of “how many times a week should I work out” – sorry

For those of you who can´t live wothout the taste of bread I recommend to make Raw Food Crackers, you´ll find recepees if you google on www.recept.nu (for those who don´t read swedish get back to me and I´ll translate it for you)

Good luck, and again, don´t hesitate to mail me if you want more specific advices at viveka.alm@gmail.com and I might help you to Feelgood Womanhood

Tjingeling:)

Hola Amigos!

Saturday morning. Woke up feeling alot more refreshed than I´d expected as I didn´t fall asleep until 3 AM, too many thoughts running through my head and not used to falling asleep without “help” (tell you more about that later).

Lovely omelette with chorizo and cheddar cheese for breakfast - 0 carbs!

Off to the gym! 45 min of weight training. 2 chest exercises (incline chest press 3×5 and flyes 3×10), 2 back exercises (cable row 3×5 and lat pulls 3×10), 1 rear delta (3×15). Finished off by 30 min cardiovascular training (20 min on the cross trainer and 10 min on the rowing machine). Exhausted but happy and content. A chocolate protein shake to repair what was broken down.

Time to party. Put on “the little black one” and headed for a drink with the girls before we went to No9, gentlemens clubs yearly dinner. Managed to mingle, dine and dance without wine or carbs. The diet is really easy to follow but at a nice dinner when you can´t choose what you are eating you have to be careful and without being impolite, carefully avoid the things you´re not supposed to eat – without having comments or offend the hostess. Think I managed ok. Thought about bringing the desert in a doggy bag and save it until the end of the “Project”  (just joking) - but it looked DELICIOUS!! However, I was steadfast and impressed by myself and my enormous character

Beautiful Sunday and the plan was 60 min power walk at Gärdet. Woke up too late, no time for walking as I was in a hurry to pick up my daughter Alex and bring her to the airport. She´s goinig back to University in Denmark

Brought a nice lunch and my spanish books to the terrace on the 7th floor of my building and felt really happy. The sun warmed my face, clear blue sky and Chivas by my feet (my Golden Retriever). Had a fresh salad with sardines, avocado, tomatoes, balsamico a cold bottle of Perrier and studied spanish!! Miss Lopez is coming to question me on verbs and conversation skills. How come one starts studying two hours before the test? And how hard can it be to learn a new language? Are my brain cells damaged after all these years? Is it true that the capability to learn new things decreaces as we get older? Or is it because there are too many other “more important” things flying around in my head? (like what more important??)

Had a great evening with Miss Lopez. Anders made a Swedish LCHF Tortilla with stir fried asparagus, red pepper, chili, onion, garlic and topped with smoked salmon. I think Miss Lopez was both delighted and surprised – a somewhat a different spanish lesson

I´m curious to weigh and measure myself tomorrow to see what/if this week has done to my body….

Tjingeling

Hello again, this is Miss Viveka, writing on Miss Lopez blog for the first time. A bit nervous, to be honest, and not sure how it works or what comes out in space.  As I wrote in my presentation I´m doing a test on myself. That is a strict LCHF (Low Carb High Fat diet) in combination with a quite tough training program. This is somewhat controversial, however, the whole meaning with the “project”. The purpose (in my case) is to see if: 1) I´ll reduce my body fat, now 19% and get more defined muscles, 2) if i`ll be able to focus more, 3) if I´ll get more energy and 4) how does my body respond to this. I´m on my 5th day of the “project” and I´m beginning to get some energy back. The past 4 days have been extremely tiring but interesting…!  Worst was yesterday, I was almost about to give in. My plan was outdoor Interval Training – but it didn´t work. The lack of carbohydrates = no energy I could barely jog slowly.

I´m not sure but think that my body is somewhat adjusting to the new diet as I feel much better today (no training today though). Had a great meeting with my spanish teacher Miss Lopez who introduced me to this blog and I´ll do my best now to share (parts of) my life with you.

To start with the LCHF diet.  I.e eating lots of protein, lots of fat (preferably unsaturated fats) and a maximum 20 g of carbohydrates/day!

And as a first thing I would like to share my dinner recipes with you:

Primer corso:         smoked salmon filled with garlic Boursin cream cheese

Plato Principal: filets of chicken, fresh asparagus, red pepper, sugar snaps, fresh ginger, green curry paste, lime leaves and a can of coconut milk.  N.B the red wine bottle in the pictures was NOT for me   – miss my red wine, but that´s NOT included in the diet for another 4 weeks..

Soft evening at home with my darling daughter Alexandra who is home from Copenhagen for the weekend

Buena Noche, hasta luego from Miss Viveka

Hi, I´m Miss Viveka, the new Swedish guest blogger at Miss Lopez blog. I work as a personal trainer and sales person at a gym here in Stockholm. I will share with you my experiences, thoughts, ideas and let you follow a  ”project” that I am testing on myself now for a period of 4 weeks.

My “mission” with this blog is to let you understand that finding balance is not just being perfect. We all make mistakes, we all sometimes fail in our ambitions – but! never give up . You are more than welcome to share, ask questions and comment on my text.

I´ll get back to you shortly with info about my project. In the meantime enjoy the pictures of me and Chivas at the bakery – but this is the last time you´ll see me around carbohydrates for at least 4 weeks

Viva Feelgood Womanhood – Love it! And I love my Spanish teacher Miss Lopez (who “kicked my ass” and got me started!)

Tjingeling by Miss Viveka