On the Right Side of the Hill Again

Good morning. It's day 16 of the HCG Diet, Phase 2 VLCD. I back on the right side of the hill again. After a .4lb gain yesterday, I am down 1.3 today. Total loss so far, 21 pounds.  I'm going to work out again today, so I will pay close attention to the weight loss/gain tomorrow morning. I was feeling a little constipated so I drank the smooth move tea last night before bed. I didn't quite work the way I thought it would.

Yesterday I decided to try on a pair of smaller jeans and they fit! whoohooo. I have clothes in storage that are smaller. I'm heading to the shed today to see what I can find.

I'm also going to try my miracle noodles today at some point. Need to find some recipes. They say there is an art to cooking them.

Not a clue what the menu for the day is. Maybe roast beef and fish. Not sure yet.

Menu for the day:

Snack: apple, protein juice
Lunch: lean turkey burger, mexican style tomatoes with miracle noodles
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Roast beef lettuce wraps (yes I'm addicted to them), sauteed spinach w onions, grissini

The miracle noodles are the bomb. I rinsed them thouroughly, them put them in a dry frypan on high to get the excess water out  and then put them into the tomatoes. Slightly chewy, but not bad. Sure does fool the eye. And I need the fiber. We'll see what the scale says tomorrow.

I also worked out for 20 minutes today. In the past, the next day brings a stall or gain. Keeping track!

Slowing Down



I woke up this morning really hoping to meet my mini goal. But I only lost .6lbs, so I'm .6 short of 14 pounds. But it's still 13.4 pounds lost in a week. How cool is that? I do feel a little "clogged up" this morning. Normal according to everything I've read. I really don't think that I am eating a large enough portion of vegetables. That could be the cause of my slow "movements".
I think there is a lot of confusion as to the vegetables. Even with my own doctors plan, the veggie serving size is not specified. I've seen many different theories on it.
a claw size handful
a cup
4 oz
enough to fill the gap on calories and bring the total to 500.

I must do more research. -------->The majority of the sites I visited  said to eat enough to fill the calorie gap, so that's what I'm going for. 

Alrighty then..moving on

The menu for the day
Lunch: Shrimp, spinach, melba
Snack: Strawberries
Dinner: Chicken, asparagus, breadstick
Snack: 1/2 Grapefruit

Need to hit the grocery store for some more fruits and veggies.

Day 6 and Still Dropping

Well, I've done 6 full days on the HCG diet. Today starts day 7. I woke up this morning after a rough day yesterday and was rewarded with a 1.9 pound drop. How great is that? I kind of had a mini goal of 14lbs in 7 days. I'm only 1.2 pounds away, and I know I can hit it! Although, I am really not expecting these types of losses for the rest of the 42 days, I'm optimistic about the results.
I slept pretty well last night, but did have the help of some prescription sleeping pills. I read on a forum about a tea that help you sleep at night. (going to research that later) I would rather do that than take a perscription sleep aid. One of my goals for the year, is to rid myself of my medicatons.....all of them.
I need to get some baby oil or mineral oil. They say thats the best for moisturizing without affecting the HCG diet protocol. I have waterbased moisturizer, but I use it on my face and it's fairly expensive to be using all over my body.

I need to come up with some new recipes for these meals. When I say recipes, I mean, different seasonings. Because it's hard to make "recipes" using only 1 protein and 1 vegetable. Time to really get creative and look around the internet for some ideas.

It's early so I haven't quite decided the menu for today. But will be back later to share.
Decided to walk a bit today too.
Menu for the day
Lunch Veal (I hammered it out, makes it look like more) cucumber salad
Snack: orange
Dinner: crabcake, spinach, breadstick
Snack: protein juice
I made the crab cake with lump crab, minced onion, salt, peper, garlic, celery seed, crushed breadstick and 1 tsp of eggwhite as a binder (I know eggs arent allowed, but 0g fat, 0g carb so I figured what's the harm. The scale wll show tomorrow.

Today seemed like a long day. Kinda tired.
Til' tomorrow~~~~

P2-Day 2 Good Morning

Good Morning I am feeling less heavy from the load day finally. And now,  the moment of truth.

Weight  253.3 Yeah, down 2.7lbs.

I do know alot of that is from the drastic change from binging to the VLCD. I noticed that I retained a huge amount of water from the load day food, evident in my fatter than usual sausage fingers. The proof in the pudding will be how the pounds go from here on out.  I have decided on a song for my journey. Yes, I know it's extremely popular and has probably been used by a lot of folks, but it sums up my attitude right now. Enjoy and get inspired!

I want to start everyday with this attitude!

I do have a slight issue that I need to wrap my brain around. They say you really shouldn't exercise, however, like coffee and donuts, diet and exercise should go together. I actually want to work out. But I know that with the limited calories, that I shouldn't. But would it hurt. If I feel good and don't get tired or lightheaded...can I? I must do some research.

I have figured out my menu for the day and prepped everything.

Lunch: Curry shrimp on a bed of stirfried shredded cabbage with garlic salt and dried onion, melba    toast

Snack: apple

Dinner: veal with minced dried onion, garlic salt and pepper, steamed asparagus with lemon pepper, grissini breadstick

Snack: orange

I have just gone through all the pants in my closet. If they were the slightest bit loose, I tossed them. That's the plan as I go along my journey. I don't ever want to go back....ever.

Today was long and work was busy so I didn't really feel hungry unless I thought about it. I guess the hunger will subside. I'm tired but excited to see what the scale says to me tomorrow.
Nite~Nite

My Goals

I guess this is a good time to discuss my goals for the 42 day HCG Protocol. I am currently wearing size 22 pants and 22-24 blouse. I am not expecting miracles, but I would love to be able to get down to at least a comfortable size 18. My ultimate goal....a single digit jean size. I know I will lose something. I have vowed that, as soon as a pair of pants or shirt is loose on me, it will go into a bag. When it is all said and done, all of it (except for one pair to use as a reminder) will be burned in a ceremonial fashion. 

Weight loss goal would be 35 pounds.  If I lose more.....that would be awesome.
I really am focused more on size, then weight. I have always weighed more than I looked. In this photo, I was 174 pounds, working out at a grunt gym 5 days a week and wearing a size 12.

So my focus is size, not weight. In fact, I have a pair of size 8 jeans hanging on the outside of my closet door. Just to remind me of where I want to be.

And the most important goal of all is my health. My mother and grandfather both had diabetes. I am a type 2 diabetic currently taking oral medication. Type 2 diabetes is lifestyle related and can almost always be reversed with lifestyle changes.

By reducing stress, eating heathy and moderate exercise will almost certainly reverse this condition. I have already reduced my stress by 1/3. Tomorrow I will begin the weightloss portion and during the maintenance phase, I will get back to exercising, hard.

I have found a great tracker. I have used it in the past. It's free and very easy to use. FitDay.com It tracks your foods, calories, nutrients, carbs, protein, fats, weight goals, everything. It's great. You can print your reports out to put in a binder, show your doctor, etc. check it out.

01/05/12

Well, got up this am and called the dr to find out about my kit. I was told that nothing had come in but they would call me when it did and try to get me to the 4pm class. If not, probably the 8am class on Friday morning. We’ll have to see. I’m off to exchange the broken scale (hope that’s not some sort of omen). Going to hit bed, bath and beyone to see if they the Weight Watchers scale that Dr. Bardisa recommended.

A few other errands to run too. Be back later.

I got the Weight Watchers scale that was recommened by the doctor. Got it home, unwrapped it and programmed it for my fat ass. Of course, I had to step on it to make sure it worked. Ugh! It wasn’t pretty. But I have to weigh myself everyday, so it is a must.

I decided to take some photos of myself. I hate having my picture taken on a good day. But I put on a sports bra and a pair of Capri workout pants and got to work. With the camera on timer. I took pictures of my self from every angle. I uploaded the photos and viewed them. Holy Mother of God. When did I grow another pair of boobs on my back? I am a blubberous one. A phrase from the movie Full Metal Jacket came to mind. When the drill sargeant says to a recruit. "Pyle, you look like a pile of chewed bubblegum. Ugh. This adds fuel to my fire and desire to get this weight off. I often wondered why noone finds me attractive. There are a thousand wondeful things about me, but noone wants to open the ugly package. I’m beautiful on the inside. And never really thought I looked that bad on the outside. I remember growing up I was the one with the great personality (aka funny, but I wont date ya). Or people would say "You have such a pretty face", but what they mean was, you have such a pretty face, it's ashame that you're fat. All of this really strengthens my commitment to stick to this program.  I really wish I had it in me to share the photos with you, but I just can't. Perhaps at a later date I will have the strength to do that.

I am repulsed at my own body. And when I look at my face, it’s not a happy face. Stress has really taken a toll on me. I’m so glad I got out of the toxic 8 ½ year relationship that I was in and out of. I didn’t’ always look like this.

Now if I can just get my dysfunctional family and finances in order. Maybe I can fix this mess.
After I finished taking my photos and printing it out to keep everywhere in the house, the doctors office called. They said that my kit was ready and asked if I could make it to the 4pm class. After the whole picture thing, I was more than ready. I’ll be back to see what they say.
Well, I’m back. And here’s the scoop.
Medications and Supplements

In the morning
15 units of HCG
L carnitine (increase metabolism and retain muscle mass)
Glucose tolerance pill
Phentermine (appetite suppressant for the first few days)
Noon
Green tea extract pill (energy)
Night
5-htp (amino acid)


Take all my usual medications and supplements as usual.

Meal plan
　
Morning
Tea or coffee only (no sugar or milk) may use 1 truvia packet per day in total
Injection, supps and meds
Lunch and Dinner (no food for 4 hours after injection)
3.5 oz of protein
Handfull of veggies
Fruit
Melba toast or grissini breadstick
Fruit and bread can be eaten as a snack
DO NOT EAT 2 OF THE SAME THINGS DURING THE DAY

I’m not going to list all the foods, but its very lean bee, veal, chicken breast, crab, shrimp, lobster
Leafy veggies and tomato, cucumber, asparagus
Apple, orange, grapefruit, strawberry
Green tea, coffee, water (including sypho or perrier) only

Water equal to half your body weight in ounces.
That’s it in a nutshell. I have to go back on January 31^st and February 28^th for weigh-ins, measuring and blood work.
They say I can lose around 40 lbs. Maybe more because I’m so freakin’ fat and because of my blood sugar issues. Hopefully, once I get all the weight off, I won’t have to take those meds anymore.
No strenuous exercising. Call them if there are any complications.
So my first injection is this Sunday, my birthday. The first day, you are supposed to eat as much as you want, whatever you want, the fattier the better. Monday, January 9^th, I start the VLCD (very low calorie diet). Can’t wait. If I lose as much as they say, it will be such a boost and motivator.

This evening I am going to put together my grocery list. My plan is to cook a few days of protein, maybe even a weeks worth, in advance and freeze it. I also need to experiment with some sort of dressings for the raw veggies. I cannot eat them dry…aaack. Luckily, the allowed foods list include almost every spice imaginable. Along with lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and olive oil Pam.
Ta-ta for now. Off to make the grocery list.

Grocery list is made, but I’m a little panicked. I cannot find my perscription. I have torn everything apart looking for it. Will have to call the doctor in the am to get another one.

Night~Night

01/04/12

It’s the 4^th. One day closer. My goal today is to get a new scale and make sure I can find my food scale. This will be a very important part of this process. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do for my birthday, the 8^th. I’m eating light until then. Then I will enjoy the day.

Waiting for the call from the doctors office about when to come in and get my kit. Excited.

Today and tomorrow I will work on meal planning. Saturday I will do my grocery shopping.

I also need to have Spencer take some photos of me so that I can have a before and after. They won’t be pretty, but they need to be done.

Signing off for now.

Well hell. I went and bought a scale. And it doesn’t work. Says I weigh 174. I wish. So, tomorrow I will have to go return it. Dayum.


It’s 11:00 pm and I’m just home from work. Bought an organizer today, with big enough date pages to put my menues and extra stuff. Got it filled out as much as possible.

I need to call the doctors office in the am and see when I can get my kit? Yay. Can’t wait.

I was going to keep this secret, but decided to go public. If folks know that I’m doing this, I think that I will be less tempted to stray from the protocol. And this way, people can feel free to support me. Night~Night

01/03/12

Okay, so I went to my appointment this morning. Absolutely adore the staff and the doctor. She is very sweet and easy to talk to. The office is very spa/zen like. Not only does Dr Bardisa practice family medicine, but she specializes in total well being and longevity.

I went in and paid the $250 for the consultation. They weighed and took measurement. GAWD…..254 and I didn’t even ask about my measurements. Then they drew blood, lots of it. The bloodwork will check everything, vitamins, nutrients, hormones, sugar, etc. A complete profile. They also took a urine sample.

Next, I was put in a room to wait for the Dr. Dr. Bardisa came in and introduced herself. Very pleasant, down to earth.

She discussed my habits, lifestyle, things I like, what I do. It was very personal and I like that.

She then explained the diet in detail. And I asked questions about the diet and my diabetes and celiac. She actually said that this is the perfect diet for me as it have little carbs.

Day 1 load-eat whatever I want as much as I want plus 1 HCG injection

After that:

1 HCG self-injection in the am and a very low calorie diet (VLCD) only 500 calories. That’s not very much, but I am so ready and so committed. I’m going to give it 500%.

Back to the reception desk to pay the balance of the $695. But, it just so happened, that they were running a 10% off new year sale. YAY for me. I was given a grocery/food list to get an idea of what I need. The list is sparse, but I actually prefer a diet with very little options. I was told that on Thursday, I will return to the office to receive my “kit” which includes instructions and the HCG injections. There is also a class available that day. This weekend will be my loading weekend. On Sunday, along with loading I will administer my first shot. I’m so excited and cant wait to get started. This is my year.

My plan later this evening is to look up all the calories on the items so that I can make menu options.

Til later……….

Okay, it’ midnight and I have just finished attaching calorie counts to all of the menu items. Happy there aren’t that many. Now I can start to make some menues. I want to be fully prepared for this programs. I’m dedicated. Whoohoo. Can’t wait to find my waist!

01/01/12

Well it’s a new year and, of course, I have resolutions. I also turn 50 this week. A major milestone for anyone. I have decided after a half a century of giving, I was going to take a few things back and focus on myself. First order of business is to remove myself from a very toxic relationship. I did that. That already beng done, my priority is to lose weight and be healthy. I have been heavy all my life. Sometimes a lot heavier sometimes thinner, but NEVER thin. I’m there right now and I don’t like it. Having all this extra weight on me affects the way people look at me and treat me. I also affects the way I look at myself. The slam dunk for me was getting ready for a New Years Eve party. I was standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom, applying my makeup. This adage kept scrolling through my head. “YOU CAN PUT LIPSTICK ON A PIG, BUT IT’S STILL A PIG. That’s how I felt. Needless to say, I didn’t go out on New Years Eve. No amount of makeup, hair gel and black clothing was going to make me look good. That…..was my breaking point. Tired of people judging me. Tired of being told, “you have such a pretty face” or “you have the greatest personality” All those statements really mean is YOUR FAT. There are 1000 wonderful things about me as a woman. I’m tired of men not taking the time to look beyond “the package” which is my chubby self.

I’m taking control. Starting today. This blog started as a personal journal on my pc. But I decided to share this with others. Besides, it's much harder to fail when the whole world is watching.

A coworker of mine walked by me. WOW. She looked amazing. I asked her how she did it and she told me the HCG diet. I’d heard of it before, even considered it. But seeing her results. I’m stoked. I will be calling the Doctor she recommended tomorrow. (it’s Sunday or I would have called today) off to do research.

It’s a new dawn…It’s a new day….It’s a new life. And I’m feeling Good!