Starting over on HCG

Well. I thought I wanted to keep going on P3, but I really am getting frustrated about the scale not moving. I know that I am building muscle and that's a good thing. But I find that, because I am working out so much, I am hungry. Not a problem except that I have be satisfying that hunger on whatever was available. Yesterday, not only did I eat a storebought prepackaged muffin, but I ate 2 of them.

I'm still not sleeping well. Not sure if it's my body or my bed. I'm heading out sometime this week to get a board for under the mattress. I feel like the bed is sagging a bit. Hopefully that will help because I really can't afford a new mattress set right now.

Anyway, back to the diet.

My new plan

Wakeup
HCG Injection
Breakfast
Fruit and 2 egg whites
Supplements
Post workout
Shake
Lunch
Protein grilled on a salad, vegetable
Before Work
HCG Drops
Snack
Veggie
Dinner
Protein and a vegetable
Supplements
Snack
Apple
Bedtime
Synthroid
5htp

I'm really going to challenge myself to stay POP (perfectly on protocal) I really need to find some snacks. or, eat a small salad when I'm feeling hungry.

I'm also going to try (try being the operative word) to ease up on my workouts. I noticed yesterday, that my body is feeling tired and weak. I need a bit of a break. I think it's just the heat and humidity here in Miami. I may do my workouts on the elliptical machine in the house. I also need to buy some electrolyte tablets to add to my water.

Anyway, time to mentally regroup and get back in gear. Here's to me!

HCG Diet Round 4 Phase 2 Day 14

Good morning. 2 weeks in on this round. I notice that I am not so obsessed with the scale. I think this is because I am working out and know that muscle weighs more than fat. I am still very, very sore after Mondays first bootcamp class. My upper body is fine, but my lower body is killing me. I would have thought it would have been opposite since I have been running, riding the bike and climbing stadium stairs.  I even did a epsom salt soak last night and took some anti-inflamatories. It still feels like someone hit me in the thighs with a baseball bat.

It has been storming all night. So bad that the thunder was shaking my house. I don't know if there will be a class today or not. If there is, I will just have to take it easy.

I blew it as far as the diet last night, had some sushi. The rice was the bad part. Oh well, back on the wagon today.

I'm a little afraid of the scale this morning for 2 reasons. The obvious, the sushi, soy sauce and rice. The second, the inflamation in the muscles. When you workout, and your muscles are sore, they retain fluid in order to help repair them. So I may have added water weight from that.

I have to say though, I have always weighed more than I look like I weigh. It's a family genetic thing. My brother and sister are the same way. We are inherently very muscular body types. Yesterday, while getting ready for work, I decided to try on the size 10's I bought. Guesss what. They fit....loosely.

My goal on this journey has been two-fold
1) To look better and feel better about myself. I wanted to lose 100lbs or fit into a size 8. Well. I have lost just over 70lbs, still weigh in the 180's and am wearing a size 10.
2) To reverse my type II diabetes. Which I am proud to say that I have done. I no longer take any medication and my A1C is within normal range.



2

Round 4 Phase 2 Day 0 Let The Games Begin

Okay folks. So it's June 27th and today is the first day of phas 2 of round 4. I'm doing a 42 day round and hopefully, this will be my last one.

Current weight 202.5 (gained 6.5 loading)

Goal weight 156 (or a size 8, which ever comes first) I am currently in a comfortable size 12.

I know that you are not supposed to work out, but I have been doing it all along. I am going to follow the 800 calorie protocal and I will continue to work out. I will cut back a little. (maybe) It's hard to cut back on something that you have relearned to love. I'm addicted now. I don't feel well if I don't do some form of physical activity every day.


I have a cold and not really feeling up to par today, but I worked out anyway. I went to the park to jog, but it started pouring. I came home and did 40 minutes of interval training on my elliptical machine.


Menu for the Day

workout
protein shake
Lunch roast beef lettuce wrap with horseraddish mustard,
Snack orange
Dinner~ Chicken breast, spinach
Snack Apple

Lots of green tea with lemon to drink

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

Phase 2 Day 11

Good morning. It's 530 am and sleep has eluded me once again. I literally tossed and turned all night. I have a doctors appointment this monring and an going to have to discuss this again with my physician.
Lack of sleep cannot be good for the diet or my general health.

There probably will not be a workout today, timing. Doctors appt at 10 and other little errands that need to be taken care of. Then work from 230-1030pm. My brother is going to stay with me tonight, (he has a job here in Miami that he's doing) so I need to make sure I have some NON hcg diet food for him to eat and something other than water for him to drink.

I need to work on my testimonial for my doctor. She's been asking for it.

Time to hit the scale~~~~~~Todays weight 204.7 That's a loss of 2.3 today and 16.1 for this round. And my total loss......................51.3 pounds gone, buh bye. I did it. I passed the 50 pound mark.

wooohooooo

Can you believe it? I am in shock (not really, cause I'm working hard, but hot dayum!

I knew that I was getting close and decided to purchase a little reward for myself.



okay so I bought three little rewards, but I worked very hard and I deserve them.

(can't wait until they arrive)

Home from the doctors and errands, but then while eating lunch, broke a tooth. Off to the dentist. 2 1/2 hours later, he said I had to see an oral surgeon. Really?!? Tomorrow I will have oral surgery at 12:45. I need to make sure that I eat something before I go. I'm sure I won't be eating afterwards.

Might have to supplement with a protein shake tomorrow.

Todays Menu

Lunch: shrimp over a bed of lettuce (only ate about 1/3 because my took broke while eating it)

Snack: Protein shake (trying to make up for lost protein at lunch)

Dinner: Meatballs and spinach

Support System

I just wanted to touch on the importance of a good support system while doing this diet, or any diet for that matter.

When I first told my friends and family that I was doing the HCG diet, I was met with quite a bit of resistance. I got the typical oooh be careful and 500 cals is so little. yadda yadda yadda. But when the pounds started dropping off and they saw that I had energy and starting dropping pounds like crazy, they were all on board.

The majority of my co-workers have been unbelievably supportive. Yes, there are some "haters", mostly from those who lack the self-control or willpower to take on such an extreme weightloss program. I'm really not interested in their opinions any way.

Those that support me, have called nicknamed me skinny, they encourage me and give me compliments. Yesterday as I was walking into work infront of a coworker. She said "damn Tammi, what size are those jeans, cause they look awfully tiny" That evening, another coworker said "OMG Tammi, you are getting so skinny, I didn't even recognize you from behind". Please note, I am far from skinny, but compared to my 256 lbs, I am "skinnier". Things like that are what I look back on and repeat in my head whenever I have a weak moment.

My other great support system are the Forum and Facebook Pages I belong to. I don't know these folks personally, but I can always count on a pat on the back, words of encouragement and alot of cheerleading!

Pooh Pooh to all the naysayers. I have learned to let their negative comments roll off my back. The proof is in the pudding. 50lbs~~~~gone. 4 jeans sizes~~~~~~gone

Stick that in your hater head.

So my advice is to surround yourself with positive, encouraging people. It will really help you to attain your goals.

Epiphany

Good Morning....too early. Up again at 4:30. I really have to get this sleep thing under control. It's day 10 of my second phase of the HCG Diet. I am almost halfway through my short round.

I started this journey wearing a size 22 jeans. Last week, I donated a large bag of jeans that no longer fit. One of my coworkers handed me down some size 14's, and I'm thinking, yeah right, these aren't going to fit. Well yesterday, I wore them to work.

Yesterday evening I had an epiphany. I realized that my initial goal was to lose 96 lbs and or get into a size 8, whichever came first. I have lost half of the weight, and gone down half of the jeans sizes.

I plan on finishing this round, doing 3 weeks of phase 3, then doing another short round. This will make my last vlcd day on May 27th. I will then do phase 3 for 6 weeks. If I have not reached my goal by then, I will most likely continue to try to lose weight on my own. I don't anticipate using HCG as a quick fix for the rest of my life.

After that, I plan on following the paleo diet lifestyle. I have learned about foods that my body is sensitive to.

Round 2 Phase 2 Day 8 HCG Diet

Good morning folks. Today is day 8 of round 2 1/3 of the way through this round. After yesterdays seafood festival, I am really fretting about getting on the scale this am. After all the salt in the food I am worried about water weight. I even ate 1/2 a cantaloupe last night with the hopes that it would help me rid my body of the sodium.

This morning, I will walk (alot) in order to sweat some more out. I am a little upset though. My ipod is not working and music is what pumps me up on my walks. I guess I am going to have to invest in another one. I'm not sure what my son did with his. I would use it. I just looked in his room and found 2 of his Ipods...yay. Luckily we like the same music. Hopefully I can get them charged a little bit before I go walking.

Off to the store today to get some more veggies.

Do you see how I am puting off getting on the scale. Horrible isn't it. As if waiting another 20 minutes is going to miraculously help me drop a couple of pounds.

Okay...here we go! Drumroll please..........................................

OMG. I am down 3.3 lbs today. Hot diggity damn. I literally was doing the Happy Dance

Not sure if it was the cantaloupe, but I'll take it! Wooohooooo!

I can exhale now. It's gonna be a good day. Now if you have followed my blog from the beginning, you will know that I purchased some rings. Simple thin bands with different colored gemstones. I bought 4 of them and told myself that I would use them as rewards for my weightloss.

1 band for every 15 lbs lost. Well......with todays weightloss, I am proud to say that I have just placed ring #3 on my finger. I am clearly on my way of putting #4 on.

So here are my stats so far.

Beginning Weight: 256

Current Weight: 208.0

Total Loss: 48.1

Loss this round: Day 8 and down 12.8lbs

Day 5

Good morning. I'm down 1.5lbs, which only negates the gain yesterday. I'm kinda frustrated. I should be losing. When I gain and then lose, I feel like I have lost a day. But I shall move forward.

I did have an enlightening moment yesterday. I decided to pull out the sewing machine and take in a few things that were too big. After trying on every pair of jeans in my closet, most were way to big to be altered. So I ended up with a big black garbage bag full of close to be taken to goodwill. YAY!

22's gone, 20's gone, 18's gone. some 16's fit others could be taken in. And yesterday, I wore a pair of 15's (don't even know where I got those) to work. wooohoooo. One of my coworkers recently lost a few pounds and brought me 5 pairs of 14 jeans. I will fit into them come hell or high water.

My overall goal size is an 8. I haven't been in a single digit in 30+ years. Maybe it's a lofty goal, but I am aiming high! I have the jeans hanging on the outside of my closet. (along with the bathing suit that I will wear this summer.

I really need to stop letting the scale rule my day. It is just a tool. I don't even really care what my end weight is. I am more about body composition and size. Heck, at 174 I was wearing a size 12. i just want to really feel comfortable in my own skin. I'm 50 years old. I am not out to look like a model (I'm too short anyway)

Someone posted a great video on not worshiping the scale.

On that note, I am going to get ready to hit the trails for my walk. Feeling good this am. I actually got more sleep than usual. Walked 5.5 miles

Haven't even thought about the menu for the day. I'll be back later to post it.

Menu for the day

Lunch: beef and onion fajita on a bed of shredded lettuce with fresh salsa

Snack: strawberries

Dinner: Shrimp with brussel sprouts

Snack: apple

Reaching the Finish Line

Today is the last day of HCG Injections for me. My weight today will determine my "set point".

Drumroll Please....-----> I'm heading to the scale now.

Hoping to have reached my goal weight of 36 lbs.

The Verict and Final Weight is............219.8

36.2 pounds lost

I must stay within 2 pounds up or down of 219.8  for the next 4 weeks while in Phase 3 stabilization.

Hot diggity Damn!

I am so excited to start Phase 3. I want..no I need to work out. I went yesterday and bought new gloves. I'm going to transform my living room into a workout area.

I have my dumbbells, kettle bells, elliptical machine. Resistance bands, bender ball. I am so ready to go. I had some questions about working out while on P3. I have submitted them to Candice Eckberg, she is a personal trainer and an HCG diet success.

1)Since I have to stay within 2 lbs of my LIDW (last injection day weight) do I compensate with more calories if I start to lose? That's the biggest question.

I know that working out and working your muscles can cause inflamation and water weight retention while the muscles repair. I will be eating lots of protein and taking muscle sparing supplements.

I also know that lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat. so I am hoping to increase my lean muscle mass in preparation for my next round. Which should begin on March 19th.

For now, I continue on the 500 calories for the next 72 hours. Then I can start adding calories, I can add fats and dairy. Basically just triple my food intake. Have breakfast. Add my protein shakes.

Looking forward to some cheese. I will continue to use fitday.com to track my progress.

I need to go over the food list for P3 and go get some groceries. It will be nice to have a little more variety.

Todays Menu

Snack: Baked apple w/ english toffee stevia

Lunch: Chicken and onion fajita salad w salsa , wasa

Dinner: zucchini boats with ground beef, diced onion and fresh sauted tomato, sm spinach salad

Snack: grapefruit

Day 41~~~~Almost Done, for now.

Today is day 41 of my 42 day round on the HCG Diet. I have one injection left. Then on to 3 days of VLCD (500 cal) for 3 days without the HCG. I have Rx appetite suppressants for use just in case I feel too hungry.

February 23rd I will start Phase 3, stabilization. From what I have researched and read, this next 3 weeks is the most important and pivotal phase in the HCG diet protocal. This is where your diet helps to reset the hypothalmus. In otherwords, it tells your hypothalmus that this is your new NORMAL weight. You must stay plus or minus 2 lbs of your last injection (or drop) date. If you go under the 2 lbs, you must adjust your calorie intake upwards. If you go over 2 pounds, there are corrective measures to take.

I never thought that I would be stressed out about being allowed to eat more. Essentially, you will triple your calorie intake. More protein, more variety of vegetables, you can add "good" fats, cheese and dairy. Still no simple carbs. Bread, rice, potatoe, beans, etc.

Sonia Russel has written a no-fail plan for stabilization. The premise is to add calories gradually over the 3 week period rather than trippling your calorie intake from the onset. This will reduce the possibility of having to do a "correction" day.

I want to make the most of the stabilization phase, so I am in the process of finding out the best fats to add. I'm excited to get the next phase started, but apprehensive at the same time.

My future goals are to stay on Phase 3 for 4 weeks and then do another round of HCG. I will probably do a 21 day round, 3 weeks on Phase 3, then another 21 day round. This because of a timing issue.

Many things to do today.

Menu:
Snack Apple
Lunch:Roast beef wraps and cabbage
Snack: 1/2 grapefruit (then I walked)
Dinner: Chicken/onion fajita salad with salsa

I'm going to do a detox bath this evening. And pray for tomorrow!

Stall~~~~~~~~~~

Grrrr. This is the most frustrating part of this diet. Up~~Down~~Up~~Down.

Seems I've put the brakes on today. Same weight as yesterday, 221.4. I only have 3 days left of HCG injections and 6 days of VLCD. I am really wanting to get to my goal of 36 pounds lost in this, my first, round. C'mon it's only 1.4 lbs. This makes me want to starve myself for the next 5 days. But I know that I can't Grrrr

I'm not going to stress too much. I did work out kind of hard yesterday. Hopefully it is water.

I'm still trying to cope with the fact that my son is gone. Even though he can be an ungrateful thing, I miss him dearly. At least I have his address now and can flood him with mail. I am trying to write him and send cards every day.

Today I have errands and chores to do. Lots of them. One of them is to get my sons mountain bike to the shop and have it repaired into working condition. It's been sitting for a while. I have a co-worker that I want to start riding with on different trails. Man-made of course. Miami is flat as a pancake.

Then to clean my sons room. It looks like a disaster area. Clothes everywhere. I don't know what's washed or not. So, I'm just going to wash everything. This should take a few hours. Maybe burn off some extra calories.

I'm hoping that the scale tomorrow will reward all my hard work today. I am totally POP (perfectly on protocal) and I know that I have downed over a gallon of water today.

If you are reading this.....please send good ju-ju my way.

The menu for the day...

Lunch: beef and onion fajita salad with salsa

Snack: apple drizzled with english toffee stevia and cinnamon (tastes like a caramel apple, yum)

Dinner: Blackened shrimp grilled in the Foreman, roasted asparagus with lemon pepper

It's Goin' Down- The Scale That Is

I have recovered fro my fall off the wagon

I'm down 3 pounds today for a total of 34.6 on day 39. I'm happy for that, but still bummed because I know I could have lost more if I had just stuck to it. but I learned that I really must control my emotional eating. I do recognize it as a trigger and will try to be more on top of it in the future.

I worked out this morning and it felt good.

Work early to teach a class (but then I leave early, yay!)

I did just eat the most scrumptious steak fajita salad.

100g of Boars Head lean Roast Beef broken into small pieces,

1/2 white onion, fajita seasoning. Saute it all in a skillet.

Pour it warm over shredded lettuce and top with homemade fresh salsa.

Menu for the day

Lunch: Steak Fajita salad

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Orange roughy, spinach

Snack: grapefruit

I'm Doing The Happy Dance Again

I am sooo doing the Happy Dance today. Down .9 for a total of 32.1 (However, I went to the Doctors this morning, and according to the doctors scale, I have lost a total of 33 pounds). Today is day 32 of the HCG diet Phase 2. I still have 13 VLCD's to go until the end of round 1. My goal was to lose 36lbs in this round. I just know that I will hit it. I am so stoked and very proud of myself. My son told me this morning that he can really tell that I have lost weight and that he is proud of me. I still have a long way to go, but I have said my final farewell to the 250's, 240's, 230's and very close to adding the 220's. I have never been so damn determined to accomplish something.

I am walking almost everyday (although I really want to kick some ass at the gym). But I know that it is best to hold back for now.

Menu for the day:

Lunch: Roast beef lettuce wraps, cabbage apple slaw (my fav)

Snack: Orange

Dinner: Chicken and spinach soup (1 cup organic, no sugar vegetable broth, celery,onion, 1 tbsp tomato paste, spices and 1 grissini crushed to thicken it)

Good Morning Tuesday

I slept well last night. It rained all night and made for dreamy sleep. Business stuff to take care of this morning. I haven't weighed yet. I really am worried that all my working out is going to have an adverse affect on my losses. I can only hope that I will either be losing pounds or inches like they say. I would love to hit the big "30"today. We'll just have to see. Here we go...........drum roll please!

I DID IT! 30 POUNDS ON THE MONEY......

Guess what I get to do today?.....get me that other ring...woohooo.

Days like this make it all worth it.

Yippeee!

Okay....I'm done jumping up and down now.

On to the program. The menu for the day

Lunch: roast beef lettuce wraps

Snack: Apple

Dinner: Crab cakes and asparagus



Beginning Day 27

I slept well last night, but only with the help of a sleeping aid. But I'll take it. I'm hoping for a nice sunny day. Yesterday was overcast and I really wanted to go down to the water and have a walkabout. I love the water and everything about it. It clears my mind and body. I'll orobably take my sketchbook and camera.
I need to go to the grocery store too.

I am happy to report that I am DOWN anothe pound for a total of 28.5. I'm doing the Happy Dance again:

1.5lbs until I can put on another reward ring.  7.5lbs until I reach my goal for the round. 8lbs until I'm out of the 220's.

I was supposed to go out last night, and could have. But I don't think that I am ready to put myself in the environment where temptation is around me. I've worked so hard to get where I am right now.
Today is Superbowl Sunday. The Fire Department always has a huge party. Again, I'm not sure I want to be tempted. I know that they will not have any options for food. But I really do want to go and see everyone. Choices.........

We'll see as the day goes on. I think I will still hit the beach...unless it rains.

Menu for the day:

Snack: orange
Walking
Lunch: roast beef lettuce wraps, asparagus
Snack
Dinner: shrimp and cabbage apple slaw

UP 4 POUNDS -what the heck?

I have my midway check up with the doctor. I will be weighed and re-measured. (Need to make sure I get copies of the firstones and this one, also my labs) I will probably have more labs done. Need to have the 2nd half meds mixed for me.

Hopefully, the Doctor will be happy with my progress, I know that I am.
Well, I just stepped on the scale and was horrified. I gained 4 lbs..yes 4 lbs. I stepped on the scale 2-3 times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

How the hell does that happen. Lot's of water, lots of peeing, perfectly on protocol, That's alot of weight to gain. This is the kind of crap that makes me want to quit. I'm suffering, there, I said it suffering through this diet and what, to gain 4 pounds. Crap, I didn't even gain that much on load day eating crap.
I need to cool off.

Wll, I just got back from the doctors. She encouraged me and said I was doing great, and that it is probably water waiting to woosh away. I showed her all my food journals, my weight graphs and nutrition pie charts.
She told me that the scale has a good and evil side and that weighing daily could be joyful or painful. One of the FB Page members said that she was going to put her scale in the closet for a week, stay on protocol and see what happens at the end of the week. I just may do that too.

The doctor upped my dosage from 150 to 175. And she also said that my thyroid function is very very sluggish. 3 points above where it should be. She started me on Synthroid. I will start taking that tomorrow. Back for a checkup 10 days from now.
It's funny, every time I have had thyroid tests done, they have come back fine. Surprising, because when I was 12, I was diagnosed with an adolescent goiter and hypothyroidism. I was taking synthroid then. My endocrinologist died and my mother never took me back. Then all my tests appeared within the normal range. So nothing more was done about it.

We'll see what affect the meds have.
I told her about the egg whites in the am and showed her the correlation to the weight loss. She asked what the "protein juice" was, I told her and expressed my fear that I was losing too much muscle mass.
She seemed okay with it even though it isn't on protocol.
She also wanted me to keep track of my sleeping as it relates to weight loss/gain. She said that not getting good REM sleep contributes to fat retention. So I will add that to my daily journal.


All I can do is KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.......

I did have a bit of an issue with the way that the assistant measured me. According to her, I have only lost 1 inch in each, waist, hips and chest. I cant see how thats accurate since I have gone down in clothing size and have no ass to put in my jeans.  She measured me fully clothed with baggy jeans and shirt. I am going to measure myself tomorrow when I get up. Keep track of it  myself.

I'm going to work out for a bit. Maybe sweat out some of this water. Then I will make my lunch and then off to work.

Menu for the day:
Lunch:chicken, spinach
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Shrimp on a salad
Snack: 1 sm grapefruit (they look like oranges)

Why am I slowing down so much?

Day 17 of Phase 2 of the HCG diet and only down .6....grrrrrr. However, I did work out yesterday and historically, I gain the day after I work out. Could that be it? Am I slowing to a snails pace? It's very frustrating to restrict yourself so much that all you get is a .2 loss. I'm beginning to wonder if I will reach my goal. I still have 25 days to go. I'm sure that if I do another round, I will follow the 800cal program. I really think that 500 is too low for my body weight.

Yesterday I was not feeling well. I ended up leaving work early because I had a fever. I feel the same this morning. I may go ahead and take some more pictures of myself today.

I need to break out the sewing machine and take in some pants. I tried on smaller jeans. They fit in the belly, but swallowing me in the butt and legs. Just my body type I guess. I've never had hips. Sort of straight up and down, even when I was thinner.

There are 2 other girls at work that are starting the program today. I enjoy that forums and facebook pages I belong to, but it will be nice to have someone in the flesh to talk to and compare notes with.

I have a follow-up doctors appointment on the 31st. I would really love to be down 25 by then. I'm still obsessing about the diet a bit. I really need to back down and just go about my day.

It's very early so I don't have a clue about todays menu.

Menu for the day:
Snack: apple w/ cinnamon, protein juice
Lunch: Onion Crusted veal cube steak, cabbage
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Crab/shrimp ceviche over micro greens salad

I also decided to do a Detox bath. How? You assk?

Fill the tub with the hottest water you can stand.
1c epsom salt
1c sea salt
2c baking soda

Soak for at least 40 minutes and make sure to drink cool water while you are in the bath. You will sweat alot. I started with the water kind of low and kept addin hot water to keep the temp up.
Felt wonderful afterwards.

My First Reward

I had written in an earlier blog that I was going to reward myself for every 15lbs lost. I got the rings in the mail and proudly put one band on my finger. Only 10 lbs away from the next one. yipee!

I also recieved the miracle noodles I ordered the other day.

They are basically pure fiber made to look like pasta. No caloried, carbs, fat, anything. And, like tofu, they are supposed to take on the flavor of whatever you cook them in. I think it will be great for soups and spaghettis and maybe even mac and cheese in phase 3. I am going to have to experiment tomorrow.

I also bought some small steaks at the store and put them in a pot with pickling spices. Trying to make a mock corned beef. I haven't tasted it, but we will see tomorrow.

Another discovery I made today. Apparrently, everything I weighed on the manual scale before I got the digital scale was too little. :(. So I had been eating too little protein all along, which means too little calories. I hope that this hasn't messed me up.

I'm back on track and will remeasure meats that have already been frozen when I go to use them.

20lbs gone Phase 2 Day 14

I did it! Crossed over the 20lb mark. 13 full days of the HCG diet.

Down 1.3lbs for a total loss of 20.1lbs. I am kind of surprised because I had a moment of weakness, well not really weakness. I was hungry, gnawing hunger. Water didn't work and I was feeling dizzy and couldn't sleep. So I grabbed a couple of slices of roast beef and ate it. Why the sudden hunger?

I can only suspect a couple of things:

a) yesterday was my injection skip day

b) early in the day I felt like I wanted/needed to do some exercise, so I got on the elliptical machine and before I knew it I had been on 30 minutes and burned 330 calories.

c) I also did some crunches.

To date, 2 weeks, I have been completely consumed with the HCG Diet Protocol, almost to the point of obsession. I have tried to educate myself to the best of my ability, reading forums and facebook page documents. I think it's time to just make it a part of my day without thinking. I am pretty comfortable with allowable foods and portion sizes. I credit this to journaling on FitDay. And get back to doing everyday activities, focus on my jewelry making, which I have put off for the last 2 weeks.
With my son getting ready to leave, I have things to take care of in regards to that too.
Time to just carry on and quit stressing and obsessing about it.
Haven't decided the menu for the day, it's still very early. Probably shrimp and chicken for my proteins. Maybe asparagus and cabbage for veggies. I'll be back to update the menu.
Menu for the day:
Snack: 1/2 apple, protein juice
Lunch: Grilled chicken salad
Dinner: Curried Shrimp and Cabbage Soup, Grissini
Snack: Strawberries

Found out today that we can have brussel sprouts. I'm happy because I don't eat most of the allowable veggies. Fennel (yuk), Beet Greens (can't find them) cucumbers (not that into them) Tomato (never whole, just use them sparingly)

Time for bed. Stay tuned.