Lots of good info in here since I last posted. Ruby, you look fantastic...legs are definitely poppin!
I would try everything else before going to a Keto diet. I only do it because I have a lot of experience. Use it as a last resort to just drop those last few bits. I don't think you're at that point yet.
You do need to grab a body fat monitor to use to determine your lean body mass and use that to calculate calorie requirements, etc.
Here's the one I have:
http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306C...9000774&sr=8-3
Get that, and then let us know where you're at and we can help you adjust as needed. As a general rule of thumb, cutting 500 calories out of your diet a day will mean 1lb of weight loss per week. You don't want to go much over that or you're losing muscle.
For your goals, I'd focus more on cardio. Do it in bursts of low intensity, high intensity, low intensity, etc. Like on a walk for example...start off at a comfortable pace for 10 mins, then kick it hard for 5 mins, then comfortable for 10 mins, kick it again for 5 mins. Using a heart rate monitor is also a good tool to help.
Weight training should be secondary, so for you I'd do cardio every day and weight train two days a week. Take Sundays totally off.
Make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet. A lot of people miss out there. You'll wanna eat about 1gr of protein for every pound of LEAN body mass (this is where you need the body fat monitor as it'll help you find your LEAN body mass). For example I weigh 160, but my lean body mass is about 150lbs. Since I lift a lot I eat 1.5-2gr of protein per pound of lean body mass, but you'll only need 1gr for now.
I see some inaccurate info in here though. For keto, green veggies don't count toward your carbs as they're fibrous. If you do go that route I can help you, but again I'd use it only as a last resort.
My abs popped out last week, however the body fat monitor still says 8%...not sure what's up there. The only thing I changed was adding 1tbsp of coconut oil to my diet once a day first thing in the morning. Either in my shake, eggs, or coffee. That and the steroids to help fix my back are the only two changes.
A friend of mine runs a gym and she's been on me about the keto stuff as well. I finally caved and told her I'd let her write me a diet and I'd follow it for 4 weeks and see what happened. She kept things almost the same, but had me drop the shake before the gym and replace it with real food (eggs and 1/4 cup of oats) and add a half a sweet potato to my lunch and dinner. She also added in a bit more protein than I was eating. Should be interesting.
I've also had another friend give me some excellent recipes:
Mexican Mini Muffins (low carb high protein)
1lb extra lean turkey
3 cups frozen spinach
1 can Lime Rotel
2 cups chopped onions and peppers (I used jalapenos)
1 whole egg
1 packet taco seasoning (I used reduced sodium)
Mix altogether in a bowl, then put in a muffin pan. Cook for 60 minutes or until center is cooked through. Serving size is two muffins. Top with some fresh salsa if desired.
