How did you spend your New Years Eve?? I went to see the fireworks and had way too many alcohol beverages (no I didn’t, I had one. But did I sound cool for a second?)

Here is a photo from New Years Eve. Can you believe that this is my 7th year out of highschool? I can't!! Crazy.

Anyway, I thought it might be a nice idea to look back at the goals I had set for myself at the start of 2011 and see if I achieved them.

Here are the goals I had in 2011

Go to the gym at least 4 times a week (holidays excluded) – Yes I did this one!!

Swim with dolphins – I’ve had this goal for the past 5 years and its really not that unachievable. 2011 is the year! – 2011 wasn’t the year..I found out some shocking things about the way the dolphins in captivity are caught and don’t want to support it. I did hand feed a wild dolphin though!!
My sister is on the left (doing most of the feeding in this shot) and I am on the right. Excuse my other sister’s language. She was very excited! I’m on the right and fed the dolphin after this was filmed.

Eat smaller portions of healthier food – Yes! Definitely achieved this one. Eating 6 small meals a day has become normal for me now

Never feel ashamed/embarrassed about my body (because I’ll always be bikini ready) – Hmm, I can’t say that I didn’t felt ashamed/embarrassed of my body at all in 2011. I can say that my confidence increased tremendously though

Spend more time with my parents – This is a difficult one, my parents divorced in 2011 so it is hard to spend time with them because it always has to be separate and there is the risk of upsetting the other one. I probably spent the same amount of time with them as 2010

Explore South East Asia for a month or more and not be afraid to try new things – Yes I went to South East Asia and became a qualified scuba diver!

Be more outgoing and confident – Not really achieved. I better sign up to toastmasters this year!

Don’t go to fast food restaurants as often – Yep! Achieved

Have a closer relationship with my sisters - I think I achieved this one. We went on a sister weekend to Sydney and I booked a trip to Fiji with my twin sister (leaving in 12 days YAY)

Looking forward to spending 7 days in Mana Island with my sister!

Get a dslr camera and learn how to use it! – I bought the camera but didn’t learn how to use it. Auto mode is my best friend at the moment. 50% achieved

Take better care of my hair and skin – I started using under eye cream and making it routine to moisturise my face every night. I also started dry brushing but wasn’t SUPER consistent with it. Also, I have discovered Kerastase shampoo and conditioner. My hair has NEVER been healthier yay. AND my sister and I bought a Nano Keratin treatment machine together. I’d say this was achieved.

Drink green tea! - Not really achieved. I have had it on and off during the year but never made it a daily thing

See baby turtles hatching – I didn’t see them hatching but held a baby turtle that had recently hatched and released it into the ocean in the Philippines!

Baby Turtles - Bad quality photo, taken with my boyfriend's phone! It was a spur of the moment thing and was magical! One of my best memories in 2011

Go on more beachwalks – appreciate nature – I probably went on less beach walks because it was a busier year. This will be on the goal list for 2012

Walk my dogs more often – I took them to the dog park every Sunday to socialise which counts! Kind of achieved

Take better care of my car! (it hasn’t been serviced in a while) – My dad surprised me by servicing my car while I was in Asia. YAY! I have kept it spick and span

Drink more water - Yep

Try new recipes – I did try new recipes but didn’t cook as often

Donate to charity – Achieved!

I’m still working on my goal list for 2012. Do you have any goals that you are working on??

How cool is this quote..

“If you keep on going the way you’re going you’ll end up where you’re heading – which direction are you aiming for?”

One of my biggest problem areas is my bum and thighs and instead of complaining about it I’m getting myself into bikini bum shape!
Did I tell you that two of my close friends are getting married in Thailand in Feb? Well they are! And there’s a whole group of us flying over to Ko Samui for the ceremony and to celebrate with them

I would really like to feel comfortable and confident in my bikini. Even after losing weight I still don’t feel as though I have my legs/bum under control. Anyway, last night I did Day One of the Brazilian Butt Lift program.

When I first heard about it I thought it was like Zumba. No offence if you’re into Zumba, but after seeing women at my gym ride imaginary horses I just can’t take it seriously haha.

It’s winter here at the moment and I have been a little lazier than normal with my gym routine so decided to force myself into doing some home workouts before I get too out of shape.

I have a ‘Combination Butt’ so am following the ‘Classic Program’. Last night I started with the ‘Bum Bum’ workout.
It was so hard!!!! Then I did the ‘Tummy Tuck’ workout.

I thought I was reasonably fit but apparently not! The models in the workout videos made me so angry. They do all the movements so easily in their skimpy gym outfits and a smile on their face. Meanwhile, I’m flopping around gasping for air in my oversized ‘Niagra Falls’ t-shirt (present from mum).

The workout is pretty intense and I am quite sore today. I am going to continue on the program and give updates!

Alessandra Ambrosio endorses the program..

You can get your own copy from amazon

Here are some recent photos from the weekend! I haven’t shown you my new hair yet have I?

At my cousins beach wedding on Stradbroke Island (I'm in the silver dress)

Waiting for the reception to start

With my beautiful sisters. Melanie with the brown hair is my twin (non identical) and Kristy on the right is 2 years younger

Hello everyone!

Just thought I’d give a little life update

Since returning from overseas I have been hitting the gym around 3-4 times a week and eating semi-healthy. I am not following the bikini model program as strictly as I was before going overseas! I have found a happy medium in my weight now with the help of the program! I know that if I want to lose weight and tone up I can just cut carbs out at night and use the recipes from the book. As its winter here now, I am usually covering up most of the time and eating pretty well overall.

Out to dinner recently

Fruit & Vegetable Haul from Farmers Market

Fighting sugar cravings with Fruit & Veg Juice!

Weighing Portion Sizes

I’ve learned that to maintain a healthy lifestyle you need to practice portion control and try to balance things out. For example, last night I had my sisters over and we ate nachos & lemon tarts. Instead of being upset about the calorie consumption (we’ve all had that post calorie regret!) I am just focusing on eating extra well today and ensuring I don’t miss my workout. So tonight at 7:30pm I’ll be off to the gym to do some cardio while watching Masterchef, then hitting up the weights room and doing a leg workout!

Vegetarian Chicken & Salad

If you’re looking for an amazing cardio workout, I cannot recommend skipping highly enough! It is ridiculous!

I had my first skipping sesh since returning from Asia and it was such a crazy workout! I only lasted 6 minutes and was more out of breath than after an hour at the gym.

Invest in a skipping rope ladies!

I have some bad news! My youtube account was deleted! I think it had something to do with me linking to my website because I cannot think of any other reason as to why. When I logged into my gmail account it said that there had been suspicious activity so I’m not sure if it had been hacked or what. It’s gone now and after emailing youtube I received a generic response saying that I violated the terms and I am not able to make a new account. I will make a new one and link it here eventually (hopefully it won’t be deleted). But in the meantime I have been using Vimeo to reupload all the videos!

Things have been a little bit busy with work since returning which is why posts have been sporadic. But now it’s winter so I’ll be less busy and there will be more posts

There will be more beauty related posts too, not necessarily just dieting.

FOR ALL VEGETARIANS!

I have some amazing news! I have recently noticed some new SOY FREE vegetarian products in Woolworths. The brand is called ‘Quorn’ and apparently its huge in the UK! I’ve tried all their stuff so far and I am so impressed. They are delicious and not too unhealthy either. Veggie mince is around $6 for 500g which isn’t too bad (not amazing value). It doesn’t have much taste on its own and I’ve found that by adding some taco seasoning it makes excellent taco mince!

This is the UK package I think, it's different in Aus

Wholegrain wrap, veggie mince, tomato, onion & salsa

Here’s the last video that I promised months ago! I had filmed the bikini part the night before leaving for my trip and hadn’t filmed an introduction until last week so FINALLY after months of waiting here is the FINAL Bikini Model Program update.

I have new hair too, not sure how I feel about it yet but here’s the vid!

Melissa Tests It – Final Bikini Model Update! from Melissa on Vimeo.

Hi everyone!

I’ve arrived in Manila safe and sound and will be heading to Palawan this afternoon. I wanted to let you know that I’m not sure if there will be internet on the island so I might not be able to post again until the 2nd of March. Hopefully theres some sort of connection!

Also as an update on the bikini model program, I took a video the night before I left but didn’t have time to upload it. Of course I left everything to the last minute and was in a mad rush!

I’m just trying to figure out how to get the hd video file onto my macbook so I can post it up! For some reason it just doesn’t seem to be agreeing with my computer. Any tips?

I think I look more toned in the arms and stomach now. My legs unfortunately are still my problem area but still WAY better now than before starting the program. I’ll get a few bikini shots too.

This next thing Im about to tell you is something I find quite interesting…

The bikini model program has changed the way I think about food. Every other time I’ve been on holidays I seem to just throw in the towel (so to speak) and just eat whatever I want whenever I want. I never set out on this trip with any restrictions or limitations at all but have been eating very healthily and making wiser food choices.

At breakfast yesterday I found myself choosing to have low GI complex carbs and protein (from beans). In the past I would have had a big bowl of sugary cereal, fruit salad, yogurt and probably a few pastries.
For breakfast this morning I had an egg white omelette with tomato, onion and capsicum plus a little bit of fruit salad.

I feel less bloated and more motivated because of the food choices I’ve been making. It’s good feeling in control of my health! Also my shorts are getting a bit loose and I don’t have to worry about trying to find baggy t-shirts to wear after demolishing a huge buffet breakfast.

There’s no scales over here but last time I weighed myself I was still 48.5-49kg.

Yep I’ll be putting up a video or photos soon hopefully so stay tuned. I hope you are all happy & healthy! I just want to thank all the regular readers of this website too. It’s great having a little online support group of people who are interested in healthy weight loss!

“Whats this Bikini Model Program she keeps talking about?” – It’s a downloadable ebook available worldwide (I only test things available in every country). I’m testing it as part of my ‘Melissa Tests It’ blog posts. Written by fitness model and celebrity Jennifer Nicole Lee. Click here to go to www.thebikinimodelprogram.com

Ps: The photo was taken a few weeks ago with my new dslr camera (bought for this trip). I just don’t have any photos of the trip to put up so far so thought that picture was pretty cool!