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!

Phase 2 Day 15 and Ridin' The Rollercoaster

After a 1.3 lb loss yesterday, I am up .4 this morning. grrrrrrrr.

I did work out yesterday, probably harder than I should have. So I went back to all of my logs, weight, activity, foods. I did find an interesting correlation. On the mornings after the day I worked out, my loss was miniscule or I gained. So I went looking for answers. I found an interesting article on water retention in muscles after working out. Could this be the culprit? I reviewed my foods and everything was the same. I stayed within the calorie range and even left out one of my wasa allowances.

I'm not saying this is the reason, just assumptions is based on my own statistics. We'll see what happens in the morning.

I'm curious to see if I've lost inches, well, I know I've lost some, but how much? I will reserve that for when I go back to the doctors on the 28th of this month, my 3 week check-up.

Back to the store today for some of that yummy roast beef. I need lettuce, spinach, cabbage and lettuce too.

Back later for the menu.

Lunch:Roast beef lettuce wraps w/ horseradish mustard, radish chips, grissini
Snack: Orange, protein juice
Dinner: Curry shrimp and cabbage
Snack: Apple

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.

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

Phase 2 Day 12 and I Gained

I'm not real happy this morning. I woke up this am hoping to be as close to a 20 pound total loss as possible. But when I stepped on the scale, I was UP .4. WHAT? There's just no way. I was POP (Perfectly on Protocol) and even burned some extra calories. I have a sad face on today. But I will not be discouraged. After reading tons of information, I keep seeing this Whoooosh Effect. What is that you say?
Well, apparently, when your body starts to burn the fat, the fat is released from the cells, leaviong them deflated. Until your body realizes that the fat is not coming back, it temporarily fills them with water. Then, when your body has decided that the fat really isn't coming back, it will all of a sudden release the water in the cells....giving you a big release of water, hence, the Whooosh!
This could be it, could be a stall, who knows. I have stayed on protocol and will just wait it out.

No work for me today. Hitting the grocery store for a few things. I have seen that Wasa crackers are allowed along with the melba toast and grissini breadsticks. I'm going to pick up some of them to have some variety. And I'm also going to pick up some boars head roast beef. Lean steak is tough and I have a hard time digesting it. So I figure roast beef is a good option and Boars Head has not msg, sugar, addtitives. There is another brand Dietz and Watson that is the same as Boars Head.

I went shopping and found this scale from Emerson. I already tried it and it's so much easier than the manual one. On the maual scale, you have to eyeball the line so I believe this will be more accurate.

Got the Wasa crasckers, 2 different types and the roast beef. I am in love with Winn-Dixie Brand horseradish brown mustard, O carbs, no oil and yummmmy. I also found a habanero mustard (also legal) very spicy. I bought a few other spices too. With only using 2 ingredients to cook with, I figue that is the best way to change the flavor.

I saw a recipe for roasted radish chips. Sliced thin, spiced and put in a low oven til crispy. Cant wait.

I am also making the apple cinnamon chips, sliced apple, cinnamon and 1 packet truvia. Slow low oven (kind of like dehydrating them)

Menu for the day:

Lunch: Roast beef lettuce wraps with horseradish mustard and radish chips

Snack: apple chips

Dinner: Shrimp, cabbage, wasa

Snack: strawberries  didn't fel like eating them

Thought I would share my lunch.

 I overcooked the radish chips a little, but they are still tasty!

That meal right there is only 175 calories!

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.

P2-Day 8

After the minimal loss yesterday, I was really hoping for a jump on the scale. With great trepidation, I stepped on the scale this am to a 1.2 pound loss. Bringing my total to 14.6. YAY! Big relief. I would really like to have at leat a .8 loss everyday. But I won't be too disappointed with less. A loss is a loss.
I do have an issue with one thing on this diet. I undestand that you can only have coffee or tea in the am, however, all other modern theories suggest and recommend to eat something in the morning in order to start your metabolism after resting all night. I'm going to experiment with eating something very low cal, no carbs in the mid-morning. I have read on forums and seen different variations of the HCG diet that allow something to be eaten in the am. Maybe I will have a boiled egg white (17 cal, 0 fat, 0 carb, 3.5g protein). I will try that tomorrow to see what happens.

Today I'm off to the grocery store for more veggies and some things for my son. I'm also going to do 20 min on the elliptical. I'm feeling really good on the diet overall. Sometimes I have trouble sleeping (last night) Other times I really really want to work out. I never thought I would have to fight the will to work out. Go figure.

Havent decided the menu today.
Lunch: Tilapia, asparagus, protein juice
Snack: Apple
Dinner: Spicy shrimp and slaw lettuce wraps, grissini breadstick
Snack: 1/2 grapefruit

I found a horseradish mustard that is the bomb for dipping.
Feeling super tired today, not from the diet but from a bad nights sleep. Forget to eat my grissine, didn't feel like eating my post dinner grapefruit. Now it's too late. Hope the scale doesn't scold me tomorrow.
Nite~~Nite

Buh-Bye 10 Pounds

I did it! The first 10+ pounds have bitten the dust. 5 full days, 120 hours and I have lost 10.9 pounds. Wowza!

Doing the Happy Dance!

I know it doesn't seem like much in the overall picture, I have 100lbs to lose. BUT, baby steps. Smaller goals are better and easier to achieve. What a great boost and week one isn't even over. I'm going for 14lbs by Monday morning. That only  3.1 lbs, 1.55 per day each of the next 2 days. I CAN DO IT!!!

I am going to experiment today. Leave out one of my fruits, add extra protein. I really don't want to lose any muscle mass. What's a half a grapefruit anyway?

I have also noticed a drop in my fasting blood sugar in the am. It was normal today and has gone down consistently since the onset of the diet.

I did add acidophilous (to maintain a healthy intestinal tract and aid digestion) and biotin (for hair and nails) to my supplements. A friend of mine had gastric bypass and use biotin to thwart hair loss from lack of added fat in the diet.

I didn't sleep very well last night and I have read on several forums that this is an issue. It was just too late to take my sleeping pill because I had to get up early this morning and didn't want to feel groggy.

Not sure what the menu will be today. I'll be back later to update.

Menu for the day

Lunch: shrimp, asparagus, breadstick

Snack: apple

Dinner: chicken, spinach, melba

Snack: protein juice

Difficult day today. Family was going to go out to dinner, I was going to stay home to avoid the torture. Then they decided that they would just rather order pizza. The wafting aromas killed me. But I held firm. Proud of myself for that. Hopefully the scale will reward me in the am. Family is gone and I hope that I can get some decent sleep tonight.

Til' tomorrow~~~~

Phase 2 VLCD Day 4

Good morning. 3 full days on the VLCD. I'm feeling tired. I normally have a bit of trouble sleeping, so I don't know if I'm tired from that or the diet. (remember yesterday aI had too few calories). I have a prescribed sleeping pill, but didn't want to take it because I was worried that it may slow down my sleeping metabolism. This is one of the questions I need to ask the Doctor today.  But, I had another loss.

Here are the stats:

Weight: 247.8
Down from yesterday: 2.1
Total loss: 8.2          Yippee!!!!

Here are a few of the questions I have for the doctor today:

1. Can I chew gum, if so, what kind? NO
2. Why only 1 truvia per day? Research shows different. SUGAR ALCOHOLS
3. Should I increase my veggies to reach 500 on low cal protein days? YES
4. Is the Phentermine needed for the protocol or just useful for hunger? BOTH
5. Heavy activity and more calories? NO BUT LOTS OF WATER
6. Will my perscription sleeping pill slow down my metabolism? NO

Hopefully I will get some concrete answers. I've been a little anxious about some of them.

I haven't decided what the menu for the day will be, but I'll be back to update. I got the answers I needed. You will see them in bold next to the questions above. So I got the perscription I lost and will pick it up later on my way to work.

I have selected and prepped food for today.
Lunch: curry chicken and cabbage w melba toast
Snack: 1/2 grapefruit
Dinner: Shrimp and spinach salad, breadstick
Snack: Strawberries

Chomping at the bit to work out. Doctor said walking 20 min is fine. But I think I will get on the elliptical machine (lowest incline, lowest resistance) That should work.

Today was a good day. Not one bit of hunger (even though my calories are low). Just found out my Dad is coming to town tomorrow. Had to break the news to him that I won't be able to go with him to our favoriet restaurant.  But I will send him along with my son and brother while I eat my VLCD dinner...:(. But he admires my fortitude, so it's all good.

Looking forward to tomorrows weigh-in.
Nite~Nite

P2-Day 3 It's going down!

It's going down!

Well, it's Wednesday (hump day). I've completed 2 full days on phase 2 of the VLCD. I'm not feeling bad, tired, but mostly becauseI had a hard time falling asleep.  I'm sure it wasn't the diet. I just couldn't stop my brain from thinking.

Day 3 begins..........
Here are this mornings stats and I'm happy about it.

Weight : 249.9
Fat % 43.1
Fat Weight 107
From yesterday down 3.4 lbs
Total: 6.1 lost   wooohoooo

I haven't really been doing a lot of activity other than working, mostly from obsessing about the HCG diet and reading through forums. Today I have things to do, so there will be more activity. Then I work this afternoon.

I'll be back to share my menu for the day after a while. I'm also going to start posting on some of the facts of the HCG diet. And if you get a chance, click HERE for some before and after photos of other HCG dieters for inspiration.

Alrighty, I have figured out my menu for the day and prepped the protein and veggies

Lunch: Chicken w/ garlic and dried pepper flakes, roasted fennel, melba toast
Snack: 1/2 grapefruit
Dinner: tilapia, chard w/ garlic, breadstick
Snack: Strawberries

I've never cooked chard or fennel, so I had to look up what to do with it. We'll see how it tastes. Okay. So I had the fennel for lunch. Not liking it so much. Forcing it down. Won't make tha again.

Home from work. Still not to much hunger. I did realize that I forgot to eat my melba toast for lunch and after adding up my calories for the day, realized I was way under 500. I read on a forum that you should be as close to 500 as possible.  I should have compensated with more veggies.

Tomorrow I am stopping my the doctors to ask a few questions I have about a couple of things.

Time for bed. Stay tuned for more.

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

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..................

01/07/12

Good morning everyone. 1 day closer to new beginnings. I did realize last night, with all my self-hyping, that the HCG diet and it's principles hasn't really been explained. If you found your way to my blog, you were probably searching HCG. So today I'm going to explain exactly what it is and why it is supposed to work. Remember, this is my first time using it. So I can only comment on what it's suppose to do at this point. I'm just as curious to see what happens.

What is HCG?

HCG stands for Human Chorionic Gonadatrophin. It is a glycoprotein hormone produced during pregnancy that is made by the developing embryo after conception and later by the syncytiotrophoblast (part of the placenta).
What is it supposed to do to aid in fat loss and why?

The hormone gets mixed into the blood circulation and grabs fats accumulated in different body parts. Then, it coverts these fatty substance into useful bulk energy that is a prime requirement in metabolism. Since you are on a VLCD (very low calorie diet). It forces your body to use stores of fat for energy. My doctor said that it's like working out 6 hours a day. That's why it is easy to get dehydrated and why drinking water is so important (along with flushing out fat and toxins.

The injections of Hcg hormone is great for weight loss because besides triggering metabolism it also suppress your cravings for food without making you feel weak. Since, it boosts the digestion system; you are likely to loose 1-3 pounds of weight everyday.

 This is what it says that it will do. I have been all over the internet, researching the pro's and cons. Looking at before and after photos. Visiting forums. The majority of testimonials have been positive.

The HCG Diet is not a new discovery, but was discovered in 1954 by Dr. Albert TW Simeons (1900-1970)

Dr. Simeons discovered that by administering low doses of Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG), a water-soluble hormone produced by the fetus during gestation, patients actually began burning fat instead of lean muscle tissue when fed a calorie-restrictive diet.

What has been discovered since that time is that HCG is responsible for the regulation of the hypothalamus gland, which controls metabolism and the use of energy sources in the body, such as fat. While everyone is born with an abundant supply of HCG, this is often depleted by adulthood. Replacement of the HCG hormone by ingesting HCG corrects the imbalance and reprograms the hypothalamus to use fat stores during times of reduced caloric intake.

What this means, in simple terms, is that the HCG diet plan, in conjunction with controlled ingestion of HCG, is, quite literally, a cure for obesity. In many cases, the tendency of the body to store excess fat is recognized as a biological disorder, and the HCG diet plan is a treatment regimen specifically designed to cure and reverse this disorder. to read more go HERE.

Again, the above is what is SUPPOSED to happen. Only time will tell. My journey officially begins tomorrow.