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.

Burning Extra Calories

All this happy dancing must be burning extra calories

I got up this morning to another HUGE loss 2.1lbs. I really thought that at this point of the game, 33 days in, that the losses would drop significantly. This gives me a total loss of 34.2 lbs.

I am less than 2 lbs from my goal weight. And 2 lbs until I say goodbye to the 220's FOREVER. I just may have to set a new goal, as I still have 12 vlcds to go!

I did do something a little bit differently yesterday. I went for a pretty hard walk, ate some extra protein and the rest of my daily food allowance, I sort of broke up throughout the day. I only at 1/2 of a fruit (in the apple cabbage slaw). But did have my 2 servings of breads.

I had a super stressful evening with my son. A fight actually. Not the greatest thing since he is leaving in 3 days. He's gone away for the weekend with his girlfriend and I probably wont see him much on Monday. I guess I just feel left out. I was so stressed out that I really wanted to seek comfort in a pint of Ben nd Jerrys Cherry Garcia. But I stayed strong. I couldn't fall asleep at first. So I took something to help me sleep...and it did.

Today I am supposed to go down to the Keys for an oldschool dispatchers reunion. It's not until three, so I will make sure that I eat a very filling lunch before I go. I'm sure there is nothing on the menue for me and the conch fritters will be calling my name. I'm going to take some apple chips and celery with me just in case. I also have a retirement dinner to go to tonight. Ugh! So much temptation all around. Can't wait until phase 3 where I will have a few more options.

Till later~~~~ Happy losing!

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)

HCG Diet Negatives

Fist of all, I will tell you that this diet works, I don't care who you ask. For alot of people who have been dieting for years, up and down on the scale, this diet has been a lifesaver. Especially for the morbidly obese.
I, personally, take issue with some people using the diet as a quick fix. I'm talkin about people who have a whopping 10lb to lose. In my opinion, just my opinion, that is laziness. It kills me to hear someone say. Oooh I went from a size 4 to a 2. What the heck? I won't even feel a huge change in my clothes until the 2nd 30lbs. I'm sure of it.

Anyway, the diet does not come without issues. Some of my complaints are the following:

1. Extremely dry skin (this inspite of the gallon + water consumption during the day). This comes from the fact that you are consuming very little fat and not consuming good fats that the body needs. ie, vitamins E & A, nut oils, fatty fish oil. They say you can use mineral oil if you need to, but mineral oil or baby oil just sits on top of the skin, it does not penetrate it. I have found that the best use is to put in on, in the shower, while you are still wet. No, it doesn't penetrate, but rather holds the moisture from the shower in.

2. Dry hair. Since the original protocal doesn't want you to use conditioners that contain oil on top of not eating any good fats, I have noticed the texture of my hair change. This will remedy itself on the next phase when I can start adding healthy oils and get back to taking my omegas. Some people have even experienced hair loss. This is not specific to the HCG diet. Any extremely low fat/no fast diet will have the same side effect. You can take Biotin supplements to help with hair loss.

3. Headaches. I only noticed a slight headache on the 2nd and 3rd day of VLCD. This is mostly caused by sugar withdrawals. It went away and I haven't had one since.

4. Constipation. This is a rough one. Remember, you are eating so little, that it takes a few days to fill up your bowels and signal it to release. Some options to help are Smooth Move tea, manasul tea, magnesium, and if all else fails (and my favorite) epsom salt laxative. it's nasty tasting but will really get you moving.

5. Hunger. I only felt hunger the 1st day of the VLCD. But was it really hunger? I attribute it more to all the crap I ate the day before on the load. Greasy, cheesey, fried and fat filled food (plus bread, which is a no-no for me anyway)
I am doing the HCG Protocal with a licensed Physician. She has given me phendimetrazine to help with any hunger or lack of energy.

Phendimetrazine is a sympathomimetic amine, which is similar to an amphetamine. It is also known as an "anorectic" or "anorexigenic" drug. Phendimetrazine stimulates the central nervous system (nerves and brain), which increases your heart rate and blood pressure and decreases your appetite.

6. Inability to exercise: This is actually the most difficult area for me. I am not a lazy person, despite my weight. Diet and exercise just GO together. Like cheese and crackers. I want to work out so badly. I have walked or gotten on my elliptical machine. I have found that if I increase my protein calories equal to my calories burned during the session, it has worked for me. I just have to be careful with water retention after working out. The body retains water in order to assist with muscle reparation after working out. I noticed on my weight log that the day after I worked out, my weight did not change or it increased slightly.

7. Variety. The protocal is very restrictive in the variety of foods that you can consume. It does get rather boring if you are not the creative type. Thankfully, I am like a scientist in the kitchen. I enjoy coming up with new recipes and combinations. New ways to use the available food list. There is a wealth of information online. Google hcg phase 2 recipes and you will find hundreds of recipes. You can also look for low-carb recipes and modify them to the protocals perameters.

8. Phase 3- I made get some flack for this. I'm not even in Phase 3 yets, but the premise of it has me stressed already. On phase 3, you discontinue the HCG and increase your caloric intake to around 1500 calories. You can now add good fats. However, you must stay within your last injection day weight 2 pounds either way. This is what is known as the stabilization phase. THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS PLAN.  The purpose of the phase is to, basically, reset your hypothalmus to a new "set point". This means that you are telling your body that this is your new "normal weight". So it is crucial to follow it correctly.

The difficult part for me, and I'm sure others, will be that I have gotten this great weight loss, a jump start. I'm in the dieting mood now. But you are telling me that I can't lose anymore weight...WHAT?
So the brakes are being put on the weight loss. I'm not prepared for that. After Phase 3, you continue on to Life maintenance, or choose to do another round of HCG.

Health Benefits of the HCG Eating Plan

Good morning. Today is Thursday, February 9th, 2012. Day 31 of the VLCD HCG Diet Phase 2.
What will the scale show today? Well I'm going to tell you. Wait for it.......

Down 2lbs today...total loss 31.2

I'm chugging along. Feeling good about staying POP (perfectly on protocol) during my outing to the mall. I found that I am not as obsessed with the diet as I was in the first 3 weeks. I'm not saying that I'm not into it anymore, just saying that I have become more comfortable with it.

I have even decided that after my son leaves, I am going to gather  up all the carbs in the pantry and donate them. O temptation at home. I really want to make this way of eating (notice I didn't say diet) my way of life. I shouldn't be eating wheat products anyway as I was diagnosed with Celiac disease a few years ago.

Celiac (SEE-lee-ak) disease is a digestive condition triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, which is primarily found in bread, pasta, cookies, pizza crust and many other foods containing wheat, barley or rye. People with celiac disease who eat foods containing gluten experience an immune reaction in their small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine and an inability to absorb certain nutrients.

For years, I thought I was doing the right things by eating whole wheat everything, bread, pasta, crackers. Little did I know that I was literally killing myself.

So this for life way of eating will help me in more ways than one.

The food plan has already allowed me to cut my TYPE 2 Diabetes medication in half. My blood sugar is within the NON-diabetic normal range every time I check it.
Luckily, I have never had high blood pressure, but I have read testimonials by folks that they are off of their medication and their blood pressure is back within the normal range.

Some people have told of less joint pain, and extremity swelling. Mostly due to less weight, therefore less strain on the joints.

So there are many positive benefits of the HCG mainteance food plan.

Todays Menu

Lunch: roast beef lettuce wraps, apple cabbage slaw (1/2 apple)
Dinner: Asian marinated chicken breast with grilled white onion and cucumber salad

Happy Hump Day

I have a sad face this am. I gained .5lb. Don't know why and hopefully it is just water. But I shall carry on.

Today I will be spending time with my son. he leaves in less than a week and this is my "allotted" day to spend time with him. He is busy visiting all his friends and saying his goodbyes. I'm not sure what we will do today. I was looking forward to s day at our favorite park, taking a hike, having a picnic and doing alot of talking. Unfortunately, the weather doesn't look like it is going to cooperate. So maybe a movie (very difficult without popcorn) out to lunch (again, hard because I'm not ready to be tempted).

We do need to go pick up a few things for him to take. I bought toiletries last week, but now he says that they all have to be travel size. grrrrrr. I'm sure that I dont have the reciept for all the full size stuff I bought. Luckily, it is stuff that I can use.

My stress level is high. Not sure if that is affecting my gain. The next week is going to be very difficult.

I did get my new George Foreman grill in the mail yesterday. Found it online cheap and I had a coupon to boot. I have a small one, but it's packed away. Just not up to digging through boxes in the shed. Be back later for menu and updates.

My son and i ended up at the mall...at luch time. Aaack! What was I to do. We ended up in the food court and I was so nervous. Would I be able to resist the bourbon chicken I love so well? We moved from food to food and finally found an argentinian grill. I was able to get a steak, side salad and a grilled onion (1/2). I also ordered a water. I think I did pretty damn good. I only ate half the steak and gave the rest to my son.

I was very proud of myself and realized that it is all about choices. And I made the right one.

It was a good day yesterday.....

So the menu forthe day was:
Lunch: steak, salad, onion
Dinner: Shrimp and cucumber salad (see recipe on the recipe page), wasa
NO snacks

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