Round 2 Phase 3 Day 20

I'm down to the wire on Phase 3. 5 more days and I'm chomping at the bit to start Phase 2 again. I still have about 37 lbs minimun that I want to lose. I've decided that the next 21 day round will be the last with Rx HCG. It's just too expensive. I ordered some drops and will continue on day 22 with the drops after the Rx injections are done.


I have never been more committed to a program than I am with this one. I have already lost 59lbs and would love to lose a total of 100. Wouldn't that be cool?

It's been raining steady for the last 36 hours. Flood warning and all. I've been up early since the neighbors car alarm kept going off at 5:00 this morning. It is not raining, yet, but there is a 70% chance today. I think I will attempt to walk at the park and if the rain comes, I will head home and finish on my elliptical machine.


Todys weight 197.4  +.4 ldw so I'm holding steady.

Todays menu

Walk (til it rained and then 58 min on the elliptical machine
Shake
Lunch: steak and onion with fajita seasoning, cauliflower mash w/ cheddar, bacon and sour cream
Dinner: lean boneless pork chop grilled, loaded cauliflower mash
Snack: grapefruit

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 18

It's a soggy rainy day in Miami. So glad I got most of my to-do list done yesterday. Just a few more necessary things to do today. Hopefully the sun will come out. I've been chomping at the bit to go to the beach. It's been a while since I had the nerve to don a bathing suit and go out in public. I'm still a little uncomfortable, but geeze, I live in Miami and don't take advantage of the beautiful days.

I'll take my baby cooler, some water and a few snacks. My camera and a good book.

I've been working hard, both on my weightloss and in general. I deserve a break. Tonight, I may be going out with friends.

I'm hoping that my lack of eating and high activity yesterday doesn't create a stall or gain on the scale today.

I did manage to jog alot yesterday. Trying to build up for the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run next weekend. It's going to be so fun. There is a group of us doing this together. One of the girls found a shirt that is perfect. Bright orange and purple with the quote "Run like you stole something" on it.

My goal is to finish, not to win. I'm 50 and I'm not sure how many over 50 women are competing.

Today I'm going to set up a rope with knots. I know my upper body strength is lacking. So this will help me on one of the obstacle courses.

It's not quite 7am, so lets just wing it today!

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 17

Good morning. Actually slept in with the help of some pharmaceuticals and a 16 hour shift yesteday.
I was ready to get out and walk, but my ipod is dead. I'm charging it up so I can get walking. I find the music keeps me on pace and pushes me.

I have a long weekend, woohooo. But lots of errands to run and chores to take care of. The yard needs mowing and I have to finish painting my stand up freezer.  Hoping to get most of the chores done today so that I can hit the beach sometime this weekend.

Now to the diet. We had a little party at work yesterday. I mostly made good choices. But I think I may have sodium overload. I am going to try to eat 800 protocol today and see what happens, I really wish I was losing on phase 3.


Lets see what the scale says this morning. 200 grr....up


Menu for the day

Walk
Protein shake
Buy, busy, busy (didn't get around to eating "lunch" til 5pm)
Had a mish mosh of things, couple slices of roast beef, small avocado, some cheese,

Horrible eating pattern today.

But I got a very long to-do list done.

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 14

Wow. Woke up this morning with a pretty bad headache. It feels muscular. Not surprising after waxing the entire van yesterday. Sitting here with the heating pad on for a bit. Going to try to walk this morning.

Not sure how I'm going to do this, but I need to pull my huge stand up freezer out of the utility room today so I can paint it! That's going to be a challenge.

Still have a bunch more things to go through and pack, repack, purge etc.

I'm really just trying to stay busy. I'm having some emotional issues with my son that are really weighing heavy on my mind.

Must stay focused.

Todays weight~~~~ooops, got sidetracked and forgot to weigh. Oh well.


Menu

Walk
protein shake
Lunch roast beef scallion cream cheese lettuce wrap
Dinner srimp, bacon, avocado salad over shredded lettuce with lime cilantro dressing.
Snack appe w almond butter

Good Morning folks. Round 2 Phase 3 Day 13. let's see what the scale says. I wouldn't be surprised if I'm up a little. Yesterday, I busted my butt spring cleaning, repacking and purging for my big yard sale.
I'm very sore, especially my arms and back. Lots of box moving etc.

But in my organizing, I found a couple of old savings bonds, wooohoooo, found money. I still have bunches to do and will have my yard sale in 3 weeks. Everything has to go.

I probably didn't eat as much as I should yesterday, and the shed was like a sauna. Hopefully the scale will be kind this morning.

I'm back to work today after a 1 1/2 weeks of vacation and 3 sick days with bronchitis. Back to the grind.


I have to add that I am going through some emtional things at the moment regarding my son. I'm not going to go into detail, but it is affecting me.

The verdict~~~197.8 so I'm up .2lbs. +.2 ldw but I new it

Todays Menu

Breakfast: spinach and cheese omelet with bacon
Lunch: protein shake
snack: apple with almond butter
Dinner: Salmon and asparagus
Snack: protein cookie

I did bust my but today. Painted to patio chairs and a table. Washed, waxed and detailed my van. (which I'm selling) Cooked dinner and did laundry. Off to work at 2:30pm.

Yay! I did it. Back down to LIDW exactly. Day 12 of P3, still 12 days left. I managed to get in a 4mile walk/jog this morning. My knee is giving me issues and even wrapped it was starting to bother me. I didn't want to push it.

I still have a tremendous amount of work to do around the house today. More spring cleaning, purging, packing, etc.

I wanted to share my new favorite P3 lunch. It has now taken the place of my steak and onion fajita salad.

Shrimp, Avocado, Blue Cheese and Spinach Salad
My new Favorite P3 lunch (my steak fajita salad better move over)
12-15 med shrimp (boiled and shelled)
1 sm haas avocado, cubed
2 strips bacon crumbled (gwaltney is sugar free)
2 tbsp crumbled blue cheese
3 cups fresh baby spinach

Dressing (mix the mayo and vinegar to taste)

Dukes mayo (no sugar)
basalmic vinegar
1 tsp of the bacon drippings
1 pkt stevia
Garnished with a couple of calamata olives!
Absolutely Devine...........omg!



I have decided that my final goal will be 160lbs. And I would like to accomplish this by the 4th of July. An appropo date as that it is Independence Day and I want it to be MY Independence Day too!

That gives me 73 days from today, to lose another 37.6 pounds. I think it's doable. At the moment, I am only committed to doing one more 21 day round of HCG. Historically, by day 21 of Phase 2, I have lost an average of 24.5 lbs. So if I continue that pattern, by the end of next round I should be down to 173. With a balance of 13lbs. I think I might be able to release that on my own. So that's the plan. OR I may go longer than the 21 days, if I am still loosing and switch to drops or pellets. But that is 33 days from now. So we will have to see how everything pans out.

Menu for the day

Almond butter
Walk/run
Protein shake (isopure powder, coconut milk, chocolate stevia, 1 tsp coconut oil)
Lunch
Dinner shrimp, avocado, bacon, blue cheese spinach salad

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 11

Good morning. Feeling a bit better today. The weather is nasty and rainy. I will have to do some sort of indoor workout. I ws up until 1 am, purging. I was on a roll, but new I had a lot of things to do today, so I stopped. Plenty more to go. I am doing some serious spring cleaning.

It would be a good day to work out in the shed as it's not blistering hot with the cloud cover.

I am so relieved that I have been able to release the vacation weight so easily. I was very worried. I will continue to try to lose weight on P3. I kow that the point is to stabilize, however, I am doing another round. And as long as I eat plenty of good fats, I should have good losses on the next round.

Todays weight~~~~~~

I'll be back to update as the day moves forward.

Todays Menu

What my body hates...........

I had an epiphany this morning. And concrete evidence about what my body hates.

I went out of town for 6 days and came back with a 12 lb weight gain (you can see what I ate on a previous post). In 3 days back on track in P3, I have lost 9.3 lbs. That's insane.

The difference~~~~~zero carbs, lots of water and my power walking. I did alot of walking on vacation, but the food is what really made the major difference.

Now I really now what simple carbohydrates and wheat can do to my body.....havoc........
It's poison.

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 10

Good morning. Still feeling a little crappy from this bronchitis and not sleeping well. The antibiotics are messing with my stomach.

I am supposed to go to a funeral service this morning, however, between the coughing and stomach issues, I'm not sure I will make it.

I am about to embark on some major spring cleaning. Purging, condensing, packing. I plan on having a big yard sale so I will be putting things aside for that. I will be retiring soon and am putting my house on the market for sale. I tried it 6 months ago and didn't get very many offers. I will try again now that the market appears to be headed in a better direction. Heading to Home Depot for a sign!

I also have a few minor repairs to take care of. I also need to sell my van. I have 2 vehicles, my 1996 minivan (which has no air...aack, summer coming in Miami) and my sons Scion. I need a reliable car and since my son went into the air force and no longer wants his car, I will sell my van and just drive his car.

I'm going to do some carpet cleaning and detailing on the van and get a sign on it. No need to pay insurance on 2 vehicles.

Anyway.......let's see what the scale has to say this morning and if I am any closer to my LIDW after my fall off the wagon.

200.7~~ down 4.3 today and 9.3 in 3 days. holey schmoley.

Todays Menu

Lunch: Shrimp and cabbage w bacon
Dinner: lean boneless pork chop w onion and mushrooms, cabbage w bacon

Round 2 Phase 3 Day 9

I'm back on track, but not 100%. Went to the doctor yesterday and was diagnosed with Sinusitis and Bronchitis. I was put on antibiotics which have messed with my stomach. I ate POP yesterday, but not enough.

Still feeling lousy this morning. But need to try to move forward. I managed to walk/jog yesterday.
Not sure if I'm up to doing that this morning. Just feeling drained.

Todays weight~~~~205 down 5 from my awful lost, but still 7 lbs up from LIDW

Todays Menu

Walk  (wlked 3 miles and then mowed the grass)
Protein Shake
Roast beef lettuce wraps w blue cheese and tomato
Dinner: Orange Roughy with onions and mushrooms, avocado

Back on Track Again

Good morning. I'm getting back on track. I ot my groceries fror P3 yesterday and will be precooking some meals. Trying to eat really clean to get the "trip" weight back off. But I'm dealing with this horrible cold. It's keeping me down. Along with the pinched nerve in my neck. grrrr. Hate feeling like crap.

Definitely going to see the doctor today.

Menu

Walk/jog 5 miles
Protein Shake
Lunch-Roast beef lettuce wraps with blue cheese and sun dried tomatoes
Snack-macadamia nuts
Dinner-curried shrimp, avocado
Snack- smoked gouda

Need to eat more veggies, but with this illness right now, I'm lucky I got that food in me. Lots of fluids though.

Round 2 phase 3 Day 7

Good Morning. I'm back on the wagon and on track today. I did a detox cleanse yesterday and now I am back in the groove. It was actually nice to hydrate. I had to hold off on liquids during my trip, so I now I drank at least a gallon and a half yesterday. I seemed to have brought home a nasty cold from Texas. I think I will call the doc today and try to nip this in the bud. It's all in my chest and head. I took nyquil last night and feel like I have medicine head. ugh. I can't let it get me down though.

I will try to walk today, but not sure I can push it as hard as I want. I also have the pancake size blisters on my feet from walking all over Lackland Air Force Base and downtown San Antonio. I also need to hit the grocery store for some P3 foods. I started P3 the day I left for San Antonio, so didn't want to buy groceries before I left. I'm looking forward to my avocado and cheese!

I finally got my luggage around 9pm last night. At least I got it.

I am afraid to get on the scale this morning. I am positive that my trip did some damage and set me back. I will just try to eat as clean as possible for the next 3 weeks.

So let's not put this off any more....Todays weight ~~~~~ 210

OH MY GOD.....I ganed 12 lbs in 6 days. Son of a bitch. Well....I'm not really surprised.

Here's a list of what I ate (as well as I can remember)

Wednesday
Cobb salad wrap (airport)
Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravey, fried apples (Cracker Barrel)

Thursday
Muffin, milk, apple (hotel)
Popeyes 3 piece dinner w/ mashed potatoes and gravey, cheesecake (on base)

Friday
Muffin, 2 mini cinnamon rolls, apple
Cheese biscuits, stuffed flounder, cole slaw (Red Lobster)
Popcorn (at the game)
Ice cream sundae (Baskin Robbins)

Saturday
Muffin, apple (hotel)
Breakfast burrito, hash browns, oj (Burger King)
Pulled Pork, watermelon, cole slaw (Seaworld)
Fried Calamari, stuffed artichokes, shrimp in butter sauce, bread w olive oil (Paisanos on Riverwalk)

Sunday
Muffin (hotel)
Breakfast Croissant hash browns, oj (Burger King)
Hamburger Onion rings, snow cone (Fudruckers downtown)
1/2 5" chocolate chip cookie
Kobe bacon cheeseburger w sweet potato fries Cranberry Muffin(airport)

WOW......99% of everything I ate was NOT on protocol. Crap. I need better control.

I did manage to get a 4.7 mile walk in today, but my head is stuffy. And my knee hurts. Going to wrap it up.
Groceries bought and will be making cauliflower pizza crust later.

Menu
Lunch: roast beef and tomato lettuce wraps.
Dinner: salmon with asparagus

I'm Back

Well folks. I'm back from the 5 days in San Antonio. Watching my son graduate, with honors, was one of the proudest moments of my life. I spent 4 glorious days with him. We spent quiet time, went to a hocky game, a basketball game, the Alamo. It was a blast. he worked so hard and accomplished so much. 685 young men and women. 63 achieved the status of honor grad. My son was one of them.

I fell so far off the wagon on my diet. Somtimes, there was a lack of options. On base, we had a choice of popeyes chicken, taco johns and pizza. NONE of it on protocal.

I did my best to eat "right" when we ate out. But I know that I had waaaay too much bread in the last 5 days.

The other issue was water. There were many times that I didn't have easy access to a bathroom. Other times, when sitting through the many ceremonies, that I couldn't get up. So I drank very little. I hated it. I also developed a bladder infection , due, impart by the lack of fluids.

I haven't gotten on the scale yet. I will do that. I will also do a 2 day supercleanse and get back to eating extra clean.

I hope that I have not set myself back too far.

We did walk about a thousand miles in the last 5 days. At least it seemed that way. And the blisters on my piggies are screaming. I'm hoping that they don't hinder my walking this week.

I'm exhausted and walked away with my sons horrible cold. Bu, again, worth every cough, blister and pound to see my son graduate.



Round 2 Phase 3 Day 1

Good morning folks. Today is round 2 Phase 3 Day 1. I didn't sleep well last night. Just too darn excited about my trip to San Antonio. I haven't seen my son in 8 weeks. I am proud as a peacock to see my son graduate from Air Force Basic Training.

Bags are packed, I'ved checked and rechecked my list. My sons girlfriend will be here at 8:30 and then we will be off!

As far as the diet goes, I will be very careful about what I put in my mouth. I won't have access to my scale so it will be a big surprise come Monday morning when I get back. Here's hoping that the scale is kind.

I won't be able to post for the next 5 days, but will keep notes on what I eat as best I can. The one area that I know i will have an issue with is water. I know I won't be drinking as much as I should. Access to the restroom will be limited.

I wish you all good luck on your journey for the next week.

Stay strong and POP.

Round 2 P2 Last Day

Good mornign folks. Today is my last day of VLCD without HCG. I can already taste the piece of cheese I will eat tomorrow. Funny, that's the only thing that I really miss on P2.
My doctor was very pleased with the round 2 and overall losses. I will go back to see her on May 1st and then will begin loading for Round 3 on May 5th. Again, I am hoping to lose at least another 21 lbs.

I really can't wrap my head around the fact that I have lost almost 60 lbs already. Just goes to show you what you are capable of when you put your mind to it.

Today will be another busy day for me. I will be walking early, although I am a bit worried about the air. We had a large grass fire in the area and the smoke is hanging thick and stinking up the air. Not sure it would be too healthy to walk in it. Hopefully, when the sun comes up, it will dissipate some.

I am leaving in the morning for my trip to San Antonio. I am completely packed. Checked my list about a hundred times. Last thing on the list to do is make reservations with the shuttle company to get us to the airport. I am very excited to see my son graduate from Air Force Basic Training.

As far as the diet goes, I will make my choices wisely. I won't have a scale with me, so I will be going 4 days without weighing. Next Monday will tell the tale of how well I did.

I will also be working out hard over the next 3 1/2 weeks, in preparation for the Merrell Down and Dirty Mud Run. A 5 mile military style obstacle course, mostly through the mud. I have already secured a cheering section and someone to take photos. I am definitely up for this challenge.

Okay...todays weight is~~~~~198 so I'm up .4  

Menu for the day

Walk

Protein Shake

Lunch: Curried Shrimp salad

Dinner: Turkey burger and asparagus

today, I did a total of 5 miles. About 1/3 of them jogging. yay for me

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 21

Good morning folks. Well, today is my last injection day for this round. I start my 72 hours minus HCG as of now. So Wednesday morning I will start P3. I've have timed this perfectly, as I am leaving on Wednesday to go to San Antonio for 5 days. My son graduates from Air Force Basic Training. I aven't seen him in 8 weeks (since February 14th) I am very excited about it.

I find eating P3 very easy. And especially for eating out. Last P3 I ended up losing 6 more pounds. I worked it increase my calories to stop losing. What I didn't realize, is that it really wasn't necessary since I was doing more rounds. I predict that I will lose more weight. Even though I will be traveling and eating out every meal, there will be a lot of nerves, emotions and walking. My only concern is drinking water. I may be limited as to the restroom availability (yikes!)

Now, yesterday, I attended a crawfish boil. I have to pat myself on the back. My will power was strong. I was faced with crawfish, jambalya, grilled oysters, seafood pasta salad, shrimp, a plethera of dips and spreads along with my crabcakes that I took. This is what I was faced with.

And lets not forget~~~~ the absolute ocean of desserts.

I carefully perused the available foods and ended up eating. Shrimp, crawfish, some cherry tomatos and celery. Not POP, but I saved all my calories for the event and grazed the whole time I was there.
I drank nothing but water, even though there was quite a variety of wine, alcohol, soda and sweet tea.

The crawfish and shrimp were pop, I asked my friend to grill me some oysters (sans the parmesean cheese)
 I have no wayof knowing how much actual meat is in the crawfish I ate, but the work it takes to get the little morsel out, probably negated any calories....lol. and boy were they spicey.

Anyway...today or tomorrow, the scale will tell the tale.

Todays weight~~~ 197.6

Todays Menu


Walk
Protein Shake
Lunch: Steak fajita salad
Dinner: Grilled Shrimp and roasted asparagus

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 20

Good morning. It's Saturday and I am on the 20th day of my 21 day round. To date, I have lost 22.8 lbs. My round goal was 21lbs. I have surpassed that. I have 3 more vlcd days left. With that being said, I have averaged 1 lb per day in this round. Not too shabby.
Here is another wonderful thing...wait for it..................

I DID IT! 198 lbs this morning.

Tomorrow will be my last injection. The 72 hours of vlcd. I start phase 3 on the 11th. Just before I leave for San Antonio. If history repeats itself, I will continue losing while on P3. In the first round, I was very focused on keeping my weight within the 2lb +/- LIDW. I am not going to worry about it this time (unless, of course, I go over)

My plan for Phase 3 is to
a) incorporate a lot more vegetables
b) more berries as fruit
c) eat more often
d) heavier weight training

On May 2nd, I will begin loading for another short 21 day round. My goal for that round will be another 21lbs (at least). I know that the losses may come slower as my total weight becomes less.

In comparison, on day 20 of round 1, I lost 25.1 lbs
                              day 20 of round 2, I am at 22.8 lbs

So I am curious to see what the final round numbers look like. And then compare them to the final round.

I think that I hav decided that after the last short round, I will continue my journey on my own. I will transition to the Paleo lifestyle. (I will write a separate post on that) I will also be conditioning more and doing something called calorie shifting. (I'll write on that too)

So here is the weight for the day. Fingers crossed that I have reached my round goal and also made it into ONEderland (that's lingo for getting out of the 200's and into the 100's)

My other challenge today is that I have a social event to attend. My friend has an annual crawfish boil. True cajuns....cooking up all the authentic treats. There will be alot of POP foods, and a bunch that won't be. I will truely test my willpower today.

On top of that, I am making mini crabcakes with lim cilanntro aiole. NO TASTE TESTING...ugh!
Wish me luck on the day.

I will have to post later about what I ate. (going to check some calorie counts right now)

Stall~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~grrrrrr

I have hit a brick wall...and I am very frustrated. I have tried to go back over my foods and activity to try to find out if there are any triggers. The only thing different over the last few days, is the surgery in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, 18lbs in 18 days is amazing. But I really wanted to reach my round goal of 21. I only have 5 more days of vlcd left. grrrrr.

For three days, I stayed at 202.2, then gained .8 and have been there for 2 days. Maybe this is an old set point. I am so close to ONEderland that I can taste it. 3.1lbs from round goal, 3.1 from ONEderland.
I am trying not to be a slave to the scale, but it is very difficult.

I am almost afraid to step on the scale this morning. I want so much to see it change. I have been POP. I have probably been "under" my caloric intake.

 Although, I didn't get all my water in for the last 2 days because I was out and about. I didn't  want to have to search for restrooms while running my errands.

I also have a little bit of added stress. I leave in 5 days to go see my son graduate. I am stressing a little bit about making sure that I have everything packed, that I have all my animals doled out and being taken care of. And sleep has been a little lacking over the past few days.

I guess it's just a combination of things. I won't be mad if the scale doesn't move.....but I will be a little disappointed.

I did go shopping yesterday and bought some new clothes, just a few things to tide me over. I made sure that what I bought could be easily altered. (because there will be more weightloss.. :).

Today I am going to hit the trails at the park. I will have to tape up my heels pretty good. The ginormous blisters are still there. Unfortunately, there is a 30% chance of rain today, but I'm not sure when it will hit. Hopefully it will hold off until after my walk. If not, there is always plan B, coming home and finishing off on the elliptical machine.

Okay....So here goes nothing. WOOOHOOOO! the stall has broken (I hope) down 2.3 today for a total this round of .7 to ONEderland and 1lb to round goal. 5 more days left.

Menu for the day

Orange
Walk
Protein shake
Lunch: roast beef lettuce wraps and onion cucumber salad
Snack:
Dinner: orange roughy and asparagus

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 17

It's a beautiful day in Miami. Early, but beautiful.

I have been at a stall for 3 days with the weightloss, so I am hoping for some loss this morning.

I'll be walking today if the ginormous blister on my foot holds up. I have a very long to-do list today and pretty much every day until I leave for San Antonio. I am so excited to see my son graduate from basic training. Hard to believe that my little Babu is an Airman in the US Air Force.

Isn't he handsome?

7 more days until I leave. Wooohooo!

Back to the oral surgeon today to get my stitches removed. Yay! Then to work at 2:30pm. Today ismy last day before my vacation. Then I will be off for 12 days. Ihave so much to do before I leave next Wednesday. I'm a little anal retentive. So I will be packing, repacking and checking my list multiple times. But I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

Okay, enough about that, back to the HCG Protocol. I only have 5 more injection days and 7 days on VLCD. I am only 2.4 lbs away from my round goal. This stall has really got me worried about whether I am going to make it or not. I've have neveer resorted to a stallbreaker in either round. I try to let the protocal do the work. But I may have to take those drastic measures if the scale doesn't move. I know that I am losing inches, as the size 14 jeans I inherited last week are already feeling a lot looser.

I have a dit challenge coming up on Saturday. My friends annual crawfish boil.

Her husband is from New Orleans and his family comes down with 200lbs of fresh crawfish. It's a blast and the food is yummy. H makes the absolute best jambalya. Not on P2, but I already warned them that I would be bringing a storage container so that I could save it for P4. I will have to pick and choose what I eat very carefully. Luckily, seafood is relatively low in calories and, other than the jambalaya, nothing is cooked in oil. But there will be lots of other goodies that I will have to seriously avoid. Last year, her entire kitchen island was filled with desserts. I'll just have to stay out of the house. It's all about self control!

So lt's go see what the scale has to say this morning. 

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 16

Wow. I can't believe I actually slept until daylight. A full 8 hours of sleep. I haven't seen that in a long time. Feels good.

Remember last week....I had to donate bags full of clothes that were too big. Said goodbye to the 22's, 20's, 18's, 16's. I had no pants. My friend gave me some 14's. I was so happy. Well, yesterday, I put on those 14's and ....wait for it. They were baggy in the butt. Time to hit goodwill for some interim jeans. My overall goal is to get into a single digit jean size. I think I just might do it!

I have a dental appointment today and then work. I officially start my vacation on Thursday. Wooohooo!

Yesterday I recieved my 50lb loss reward to myself. What do you think?

 

Let's see what the scale has to say today~~~~dagnabbit. Goosegg for the second day in a row. But I will stay the course and not be brought down by the scale.

Not sure what the menu for the day is..bbl to let you know.

Are you a slave to the scale?

How do you measure your diet success?

Are you a slave to the scale

Do you gauge it by your clothes?

Do you use a tape measure?

Are you a chart watcher?

All of these success indicators are very good tools, but they are just tools. We all have goals when it comes to our weightloss and body image. I, personally, don't care about the charts. Who made these up anyway? I have always weighed more than I look like I weigh. These charts do not take into consideration muscle mass or bone density. If I work out and have a lot of muscle, I am certainly going to weigh more than someone who is of the same height, who has very little muscle. Too often I see folks get frustrated because they can't get those last 4 lbs off in order to meet the standard of the chart. We're all different. The average woman is 5'6". I'm 5'4". Does this mean that I have to try to be taller? peeeshah. Listen to your own body.

 As far as I'm concerned, these charts are CRAP

and shouldn't be followed at all.

So that leaves us with the scale, our clothing and a tape measure.

Like I said before, I have always weighed more than I look like I weigh. The scale is a good incidator of how your weight has changed. I'm not even going to say lost. Again, the scale doesn't give you body composition. If you are dieting and excercising, your weight on the scale may stay the same, but your body composition changes. You may lose 3lbs of fat, but build 3 lbs of muscle. I you hop on the scale, and don't see a change, you'll be disheartened. So you must look at your body composition.

My favorite way to judge my success is clothing and a tape measure. I am no longer a slave to the scale. My goal, when it is all said and done, is a particular size of clothing. Yes, I have lost 54 pounds, but the proof in the pudding is the fact that I have purged my closet of size 22, 20, 18, 16, and now 14 jeans. If that isn't a testament to my success, I don't know what is. That is real, tangible evidence of my body changing.

Tape measures are good, but, in my opinion, there is too much room for error. Did you measure in exactly the same spot? Did you exert the same amout of pressure (you all know what I'm talking about) when you take that measurement? But still a good indicator.

The bottom line is. These are all tools to use to measure your success. You need to use all of them. Not just one.

And here's is a big one. HOW DO YOU FEEL? Are you happy with your size, with the way you look? We are all different. Make your goals personal. Make them your own, not some chart that who knows who came up with.

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 15

Up at 4:30 again. But I did take a long nap yesterday in the late afternoon, I was super tired for some reason. I think I might have been emotionally drained. I spent a few hours with my friend Marlene, who is in stage 4 cancer. She looks awful. I tried to keep it as upbeat as possible, but to sit there and watch her try to speak and move. Knowing that she wasn't going to be around very much longer. It just tore me up emotionally. Her husband is taking it very hard and her youngest son, 19 is acting out in response to the situation. Just heartwrenching I tell you.

So I will get an early start on some things around here.

On a good note, I heard from my son who is in Basic Military Training for the Air Force. He is doing great and his flight (group) won the BEAST Excellence Award. Fantastic news. Now he is going to be taking his final physical agility assessment and is striving for the WarHawk Ribbon of excellence. I am so proud of his achievements and his desire to excell.

The graduation ceremony and all the fanfare start on april 12th. So on the 11th, I will be heading to San Antonio with his girlfriend to see him and spend 4 days hearing about his experiences and his plans from that point forward.  I am so looking forward to the trip.

I have timed my round so that P3 begins on the 11th. Eating out P3 is so easy. In fact, I can see myself eating P3 for the rest of my life.

But I still have 8 more days of phase 2. I am hoping to drop as much as possible before I go.

I did manage to go out and buy a few new tops for the trip. I am waiting until next weekend to get some new jeans. I was donated some by a friend so I am good to go either way.

Todays stats are~~~~~~


Todays Menu

Protein shake after my walk
Lunch: Leftover stuffed chard leaves, sm salad
Snack: apple
Dinner: ???? yet

HCG Diet Round 2 Phase 2 Day 14

Well, I'm up early again, but went to bed early so I got some decent sleep. It's day 14 of round 2. I am 2/3 of the way through this short round.

I'm still a little disheartened by the comments made on one of the FB Pages. But I will not let it get me down. Fortitude. That's my middle name now.

Busy day today. I will be walking early this morning. Then I will be going by a popular BBQ restaurant to pick up food to take to my dear friend Marlene. She has stage 4 cancer that she has been valiantly battling for 3 years. The cancer, however, is winning. We have all gotten on them meal train to provide dinner for her and her family. Today is my day and their favorite is Shorty's BBQ.

My mouth is more sore today post oral surgery. I hope the pounding walking will not make it feel worse. Wish me luck!

So after my walk, I will be heading down there to spend some time with them. Later, my son should be calling from Basic Military Training. I missed last weeks call, I don't want to miss this weeks.

Unsure of the menue today. I am going to try to make stuffed (with ground beef) chard leaves. We'll see how they turn out.

The weight for the day is~~~~~~

202.2lbs
loss today 2.3lbs
 total round 2 18.6lbs
for an overall total of 53.8lbs gone forever.

I am so close to several mini-goals

2.3lbs from ONEderland
2.4lbs from my round goal (21lbs)
6.2lbs from my 60lb minigoal and my fourth ring.

Wooohoooooo! I still have 9 days left of this round. I got this..no problem.

Menu for the day

Lunch: Stuffed Chard leaves (ground beef, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and mint) wrapped in chard leaves (hard center stem removed) Then steamed and drizzled with lemon juice. Delicious
Dinner: grilled shrimp kabobs (used the george foreman) with cabbage

I felt a little water retention in the evening, so I ate a half a cantaloupe with 16oz of water. We'll see if that helps in the morning,

Happy Losing

Haters..........

Good morning folks...or so I thought.

Do you remember me talking about Haters.....those are the folks who are, in reality, jealous of your success.

Urban Dictionary- HATER

A person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person. A few days ago, I posted my progress photos on the Omni Rocks Facebook Page. Now, I do not use Omni Drops. I was added to the group by a friend who does. She thought that I would gleen some great information and get some added support for my HCG diet journey. I got some wonderful, supportive, comments (38 of them). It really lifted my spirits and gave me an extra push to keep moving forward. This morning, I wake up and check the 4 HCG fb pages I am a member of, only to see a glaring negative comment. Accusations of using "Photoshop' (which I don't own)  for my after photo. What a buzz kill. Here is what she wrote: Courtney McMillian These results are great, but to be fair I think you should use unretouched 'after' photos. I want to see what Omni has done, not Photoshop ;) keep up the good work! This is a common response from a HATER. And this was my response. Tammi Ross EXCUSE ME. I did not photoshop these. I dont even have that program. WOW. what a buzz kill. Always gotta be a HATER in the bunch. I will, in spite of your comments, (Courtney) maintain my dignity along with my verbal filter. It's funny though how ONE negative comment out of 39 positve ones can tear it all down and really f*^k up your morning. NO best of luck to you Courtney McMillian! And don't you think, that if I were going to "photoshop" my picture, that I would have gotten rid of my moles, freckles, the blue-green birthmark on my eye and leveled out my eyebrows. I'll stop now before I tell you how I really feel. Have a nice day! Tammi Ross And now I'm off to walk...and blog about your appalling behavior AND there is MORE>>>>>> Courtney McMillian Ok. I can see it in the last picture when it's enlarged. It's pretty easy to see the squares over your neck and face to smooth out the tone... I don't know why you'd deny it. Nothing wrong with wanting to look your best in pics. But when people here are claiming the drops improved your skin tone, it's just misleading.   Helen Carey You know Courtney McMillian, I work with Photoshop, and that picture isn't retouched. Not sure why you're so ready to attack this, but it's rude and uncalled for. Courtney McMillian Enlarge the photo, Helen. It's very easy to see. Especially on the neck.   Helen Carey You're wrong. Period.   Tammi Ross Thank you Helen...and Courtney McMillian, let me clue you in on a little secret. I don't even use Omni, I use RX injections supervised by a physician, I was added to this group beacause a friend of mine is using them and she though I could get some extra support from folks here.........bwahahaha.....look what I get! Really does make me want to leave the group.   Tammi Ross And the only "editing" I did was change the lighting because the flash went off in my face....and crop the photo. But thanks so much for taking time out of your day spending it looking at me!   Helen Carey Tammi, don't leave the group because of one person. You get a ton of support here, you know you do. a few seconds ago · Debbie Phillips First of all, this is a support group. If you don't have anything nice to say... Second, Tammi you look great, you should be very proud of your results no matter how you achieved them. Great job!     What I found interesting, psychologically, is that out of 39 comments (38 of which were positive) that ONE NEGATIVE,  ACCUSATORY comment completely toppled the tower of praise. I don't know why I am even bothered by it, I know what I have accomplished, I have worked very, very hard for that after photo and I know the photos aren't retouched. But it feels like this one BITCH has removed the wrong block of wood from the Jenga game. It took everything I had not to lose my verbal filter on the board. My blood sure is boiling though. How dare she. I don't know what her story is, what or if she has had any success with her diet. BUT I WILL NOT LET HER TEAR ME DOWN. I will just sit back and feel sorry for her that she has to resort to this type of destructive emotional behavior in order to make herself feel better. Have a nice day Courtney! I am done venting now. I apologize in advance if this post has offended anyone.