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!

I Messed Up

Okay, so here's how the day went yesterday. I had some eggwhites and spinach and a wasa cracker for breakfast and then went for a walk. I left for Key Largo at 2 and arrived at 3. Beautiful day with beautiful people. This was a reunion of old school dispatchers, some retired and some on the verge. But it all revolved around my good friend Marlene who has been battling cancer for 3 years now. It was wonderful to see old friends and to experience the love that everyone feels for Marlene.

Me and Marlene (the strongest woman I know)

This get together was at a place called Gilberts. Beautiful spot on the water. Giant Tikki hut. Mellow Keys style music from a 3 piece band. And lots of beer, burgers, seafood and my favorite Conch Fritters (I'm part island girl, my grandpas from the Bahamas).

Anywho........I had taken my trusty water bottle and that's all I drank. I knew that I needed to eat something, but what. The ONLY thing that had that was on protocal was shrimp cocktail. So I ordered that and ditched the cocktail sauce, opting for hot sauce and lemon juice. It wasn't much, only 6 med size shrimp. And they had no veggies. At least I had some protein in my belly.

I stayed there for a few hours and at 6:30, headed back to Miami. One more event to attend that evening.

Home at 7:15, showered, changed and then off to the Fire Department Retirement Party. Dinner, drinks, dancing and celebration. For the dinner, I checked the buffet line, everything was covered in some sort of sauce or gravey. I passed. Usually they have some sort of carving beef, but not this time. Darn. I went to the bar and, even though Mr. Jack Daniels was calling my name, I opted for club soda with lime. We did find a seafood bar at the corner of the room. Yes....shrimp....Yikes! I already had shrimp today. What to do? Well, I decided that shrimp was still the way to go. I also had a few oysters. They are not listed on protocol, but we can have scallops so I thought maybe they would be okay.

Unfortunately, I didn't CHEAT, so to speak, I actually ate too little. The total caloric intake for the day was only 272. Yikes! Funny things is. I wasn't really hungry. And I had energy to spare after  going all day. Another note to make. I didn't drink very much water yesterday. I didn't want to drink too much before I left for the Keys. Nowhere to stop, not even the side of the road on that long stretch of the overseas highway. Didn't drink much there. (the long ride back). And only had 3 short glasses of soda water at the retirement dinner. I did drink a liter of Fiji water when I got home at night. Normally, I'm a gallon plus girl. Always have been.

The loss of 34 pounds paired with ridding myself of toxic foods, had really change me.

I just hope that the lack of calories doesn't affect my losses this morning.

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.

Falling Again

It's day 13 on phase 2 of the HCG Diet. I was nervous about getting on the scale this morning after my .4lb gain yesterday. But I did, and lost 1.4lbs. So got rid of the gain and lost another pound for a total of 18.8 pounds. That's great, but sure would like to see bigger losses. Yes, I know it slows down, and I know that even 1 pound a day is alot. I will keep moving forward.

Here's the graph of my weighloss so far. Looks pretty good from this view.

Because I am so big and have so much to lose, it will take a while for me to see changes in my clothes. Just wish it would go ahead and happen.
I said before, that my morning blood sugar levels have plummeted, which is good for me. Well under 100 in the am. I have decided to cut my diabetes medication in half and see if my sugar still stays low.
I took it after my evening meal, 2 hours and it was still 97. So this diet has definitely had a positive side affect on my health.  Wouldn't it be great if I could get off the medication for good?

I am going to do some walking today and I really do need to do some ab exercises and stretching.

I have to admit that I have been a bit obsessed with the diet, making sure that I do it right. At this point, almost 2 weeks into it, I think I have this down. Now I can get back to my everyday activities. My jewelry designing has taken a bit of a back seat to the diet. I need to jump back into that.

I'll be back once I decide the menu for the day.

I just made myself the most scrumptpus apple crisp.
1 apple cored and chopped (leave the skin on, it's good fiber),
2 tbsp water
1 truvia packet
1 coarsely crushed grissini
quick squeeze of lemon juice in a microwavable bowl covered loosely.
Microwave for 5 min on high, drizzle with a few drops of emglish toffee stevia drops.
OMG carmel apple crisp.
*If I had used wasa, I would have gottn more crisp. And if this were done in the oven, the grissini probably would have been crispier. I probably could have done without the Truvia packet. The english toffee stevia was an afterthought*

Menu
Snack: apple crisp w grissini
Lunch: Fajita seasoned sauteed roast beef and a little onion, on bed of lettuce
Snack:???
Dinner: Fishcake, (tilapia, wasa, celery, spices) spinach

Here's Dinner

Inspirig Myself -Phase 2 VLCD Day 11

I woke up this morning with swollen fingers. The curry chicken cabbage soup I had yesterday was a little on the salty side. So I figured that the scale would not be good to me. So, with much trpidation, I stepped on the scale and to my delighted surprise, WAIT FOR IT~~~~~~

I lost another 2.4 pounds

TOTAL Loss 17.8

I was literally doing the naked Happy Dance (sorry, don't visualize that this early in the morning).

Now, I'm not sure if I mentioned this on an earlier post, but I had set a conservative goal for this 42 day program of 36 lbs, just under a pound a day. All the research and personal information from other people on the HCG diet averaged between .6 and 1 pound per day.

If you do the math, I have lost half of my goal weight in 11 days, less than 1/3 of the total length of the program. I know that the losses will slow, but wouldn't it be great IF THEY DIDN'T.

I found the most fabulous little guide. You can find it HERE. Lots of Phase 2 recipes, trick, tips, info.

I have battled with one portion of the diet and that is the fact that you don't eat breakfast. I know that the original Dr. Simeons Pounds & Inches program works. But you have to remember that this protocol was created in the 1950's. More current scientific research shows that, in order to jump start your metabolism in the morning, you need to eat something. Yesterday, before I worked in the yard, I had an ounce of protein juice and an apple. I still had a big loss. There were other variables, the extra activity and such. I am going to do the same thing today (I have to finish the front yard) and see what happens in the am.

Another observation, or lack of. I'm a big girl with a lot of weight to lose. I am realistic, in that I know that it will take quite a bit of weight before it really "shows". I did have a mini breakthrough when I realized that I could skip 2 hooks on my bra and it still feels loose. Baby steps!

Off to eat my apple and mow the yard. I'll be back for the daily menu~~~

Snack: apple, protein juice
Lunch: tilapia, asparagus
Snack: Orange
Dinner: Shrimp (garlic, lemon, red chili flakes, cilantro), spinach, grissini

Today was a good day. Hoping for more loss tomorrow. How cool would it be to reach 20lb loss. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Day 9 of Phase 2 Mini-Goal Hit

Yay! I hit a mini-goal. 15 pounds. Woke up this am to a .8 pound loss. My hands feel a little swollen so I don't know if I retained some water or not. But it's still a loss. Yippee. Total loss so far
15.4 lbs. 

I made the decision yesterday, that I was going to reward myself for every 15 pounds loss. But I wanted a reward that would keep growing and be a daily reminder of my successes and my goals.
I am going to buy myself a thin band type ring, for each 15 pounds I lose. My ultimate goal is 150 pounds, so in the end, I should have 7 bands. I will wear them everyday as a reminder. I found these and purchased 4, in different colors, but will only wear one band when I get it and put the others away until I reach each additional 15 pounds.

Today I am going to mow the yard. I had an ounce of protein juice and ate my apple so that I don't pass out..hahaha.

Lobster and chicken are todays protein, but not sure of the veggies, just had to get the meat out of the freezer. Off to mow the grass.

Well I mowed the yard and felt good. I played it safe and only did the back. Tomorrow I will do the front.
Menue for today:
Apple and protein juice prior to mowing the yard.
Lunch: Spicy lime, chile, cilantro with roasted tomatoes in a lettuce wrap.
Snack: orange, grissini
Dinner : Curry chicken cabbage soup

(side note: my fasting blood sugar has consistently gone down and has been under 100 for 5 days straight)

Slowing Down

It's the morning of VLCD Day 5. So 4 full days of the diet. I see now how the slows happen. I was gobsmacked with the amount of weight I lost on the first 3 days. 8.2 pounds. Wow. This morning I woke up to a significantly lower loss, only 1.1 lbs. I know that it is still a great loss, but was looking forward to a little more. The last two days I have eaten too little. I'm going to up the veggies. I'm not discouraged (well maybe a little) but any loss, no matter how small, is still a loss. Then I found this photo...puts things in perspective.

I feel better now!!!!!

I read in a forum about this "Cocoa Crack" Folks use it for upping weightloss and for calming that sweet chocolate craving. I'm not a big chocolate eater, but it it helps with the weight loss, I'm game.

Here is the recipe:

3tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp xylitol (natural calorie free sweetener
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder.
 Melt the oil, mix all together and pour on a foil covered plate. Stick in the freezer to harden til you are ready to eat it. It ends up being like chocolate bark.  (It's not meant to be eaten everyday)

Here's the menu

Lunch: spinach, shrimp, melba (i added a little more spinach for the caloried)
Snack: orange
Dinner: Chicken, asparagus ,
Snack: strawberries

I went to Whole Foods and got stuff to make the cocoa crack, also picked up some flavored stevia drops (kinda steep on the price, but I'm worth it) I also found some liquid protein, just that, no sugar, no anything, organic protein 15gr/ounce/60 cal. I think I am going to substitute my breads for the protein. I'm just moving and doing too much to only have 60g of protein/day. I might be taking a chance, but I don't think it will hurt me. If I have to, I will drop a fruit.

Had a nice visit with my dad. He's zonked after a 12 hour drive. the chicken was good tonight, I "crusted" it with minced onion flakes and garlic salt, quite tasty.

Gonna have to try that cocoa crack.....

Be back tomorrow.

Phase 2, Day 1 VLCD

It's 520 in the am. I didn't sleep very well. Most likely because of all the food I ate yesterday. Horrible heartburn this am. Perhaps, in part, from excitement. Either way, too early to be up.
Weight 256 (so only up 1 pound post load)
HCG, meds, and supplements
Coffee w/ 1 packet Truvia.
Have to call the doctor today to get a replacement perscription for the one I lost, GNC for a multivitamin. The liquid vitamins I have contain sugar. The superfood powdered vitamins only taste good in juice (which we cant have). That's the goal for today. I start back work from my little birthday mini-vacation.
This will be a real test. There is always some kind of yummy in the breakroom so I guess I just need to go to another breakroom.
Be back later with more.
Menu for the day:
Lunch     Chicken with asparagus and lemon pepper, grissini breadstick
Snack     Apple
Dinner    Spinach salad with shrimp and 2 strawberries, melba toast (broken up for "croutons"
               special vinegar dressing mix.
Snack     The other 4 strawberries

I made up a small pitcher of tea using 5 green tea bags and 3 yerba mate. I will split this between home and work.
I work from 230pm to 1030pm so I will be back to talk about how the day went. It's 1130am and I will eat around noon.

Well, the day went pretty good. Still pretty full from all the crap I ate yesterday.
But my coworker wanted my salad. It was very yummy. have a look.

Part of me wants to jump on the scale, but I will force myself not to. It's been a long day so I'm signing off until tomorrow.

Baby Steps..................

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!