(-.4 lbs.)

Things are moving in the right direction again.

Last night I was having a hard time with food, I'm very bored and I even have a cookbook for this protocol and nothing seemed to interest me, so I finally settled on some chicken and I made some onion rings in the oven with grissni bread sticks which were really, really good and it was satisfied with the food. Good thing I only have 9 shots left and 3 days of VLCD so I can have a little variety. I have a zuchini sitting and waiting for me to eat it in 13 days.

I just finished reading Jillian Michaels' book, Master Your Metabolism. And I'm totally impressed with everything she said. How our hormones gets out of whack and then cause problems because we are nutrient dificient in something and other hormones are trying to fix the problem, which doesn't work.

I know I'm going to be following her recommendations for organic, nutrients and food to keep everything in balance. After working so hard to reset the hypomathamus which she talks about in her book, it all makes sense to me now. I'm going to go buy her other two books, Making the Cut and Losing to Win (I think that's the name or at least its close enough to find it in the book store).

After reading the book, it occurred to me that I've put a lot of hard work into this protocol to get healthy, why start eating crap (pesticides, hormone injected meat, etc.) so that everything can get out of whack again. I want me and my family to be healthy. So many things can contribute to heart disease, high cholestrol, diabetes, etc. due to hormones being out of whack and I don't want that.

Okay, okay, I'm off my soap box. Anyways, I feel good today about my loss, the way my clothes are fitting, and living a healthy life. I'll catch up with everyone on Monday. Have a great weekend where ever you are!!!

(-.8 lbs)

Can you say "Oh Yeah"?

The scale finally moved in the right direction. I had this happen in both rounds before and knew just to hang on and it would happen, it just gets frustrating. I notice a drop in my clothes again, so I know I'm losing fat, which my body didn't want to let go of, but finally had no choice.

So those that are going through stalls, hang on, keep eating exactly what you are suppose to and drink extra water and it will begin moving again.

Til tomorrow.

Update

Sorry, I didn't get to blog until now, but the weekend was great and the week has been crazy. A lot of stuff to get done at work and home.

Anyways, I lost .6 on Saturday and another .6 on Sunday. Monday when I weighed in I gain .4 and on Tuesday and Wednesday been holding at the same weight. I'm not sure why the gain, except for that I know I didn't get enough water in on Sunday as we were traveling home late.

I've been trying to drink like a crazy person to push this along. I could do an apple day tomorrow or Thursday if the weight doesn't change, but I really don't want to eat that many apples when all it is for is psychological reasons. I waited out the last stalls, I'll wait this one out as well.

It was asked and so I'll post it again for those who just started following this blog. I started round 1 of HCG on January 17. I lost 25 pounds and 27 inches total. I waited three weeks and started round 2 and lost 20 pounds and 20 inches total for a grand total of 45 pounds and 47 inches. I then did my 3 weeks of no sugar/no starch again and then started reintroducing starches back. By the 4th of July I was eating pretty much anything and staying within that 2 pound range. I then ate and drink my way through San Diego two weeks ago and when I returned, I weighed in at 1 pound lighter than when I left.

I decided I had too many occassions to do a second round later, so I opted to do my last one now. So here I am on round 3, day 12 of a 23 day round and have lost approimately 7 or so pounds. I have another 10 to get to my goal, but I know that probably won't happen and I'll be okay with what I can get from this round.

This round has been a little harder for me than the first two. I had an agenda to get to a certain size/weight before I left for San Diego and I made and passed that goal, so now to stick to this again, is very mentally challenging for me since I was eating and drinking without gaining.

I'm just trying to keep strong to get through the next 11 days of shots and three extra days of the 500 calories before I can stablize again and move to a life time of eating healthy and feeling great.

For those just starting, I just taking the full six weeks off between rounds to let your mind stablize not just your body. I've discovered this protocol is a mind f*** and you have to be up for the challenge or it just doesn't work. First you get to eat like a pig, then you go to a very, very restricted diet, then you get to eat again, but just no sugar and no starches, then you get to add stuff back in and eat normally, if you don't call that a mind challenge, nothing is. The benefits that come from the weight loss is amazing so I guess a little mind game is okay since you gain a life time to enjoy.

So everyone - Keep strong.

(-.6 lbs)

Well not sure where that one in front of it went, but it is still a lose, so that' all I can hope for. I think TOM is on its way so that may be a contributing factor here.

Tomorrow will be one week since I started loading and I finally am feeling more energy again. This week has been a little bit of a drain on me with work and all my volunteering that I do for my legal association and 4-H. I think tomorrow with a little extra sleep and getting some of this under work done under my belt, I won't be so stressed and that should help move things along as well.

I'll post on Monday, so hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

(-1.4 lbs)

I like seeing the scale go down it is just a rush in the mornings. I feel better today, the last couple days I have been really tired, but I've been trying to get extra sleep and am feeling better now. I'm really trying to drink 4 liters of water a day, but have only gotten in 3 liters a day. I know that is still good water consumption, but I'm going to work on really pumping it up for the next couple of days and see if I can get some bigger numbers to drop.

So far things are going along smoothly, except the injections, since I have very small thighs, I know I'm getting either in a muscle or very close because they have been a little sore this time. When I started I had more fat, but by the end of the second round I was noticing the difference. I thought about giving them in my stomach, but decided to stay as close or in the muscle as possible for this round, which means a tiny prick of pain in my thigh. Nothing I can't live with for the benefit of the protocol and my health. LOL

Well I'll check in tomorrow and we'll see how it goes. I'm going to purchase Jillian Michael's new book as I heard it has some really good things about the brain and how our bodies work. It might give me some added insight on maintaining for life.

Til tomorrow, keep smiling!

(-1.6 lb)

Well things are moving in the right direction. Hoping to keep this losing momentum for the next week then it can slow down.

Last night I was awfully tired but slept well and woke refreshed. Don't know if it is from the shots or just because I got to bed late the night before.

I look at my calender and I have a ton of things to do in the next month and then I look at how many days on the short round and figured this is way easier than doing a 40 day round. I'm still not sure how I pulled off doing two 40 day rounds with only 3 weeks in between. I really must have been determined, because being off and eating food and now going back is a very mental adjustment to make, but I'm again determined there will be no cheating and I'm making life changes for the better.

Well, off to work, keep smiling!

Day 2 VLCD (-3.2 lbs)

So on my load days I ended up gaining 3.8 pounds, but this morning I dropped 3.2 of that, so I'm only up .6 above my LIW from my last round. The first VLCD is the hardest as you have to give up on eating the things you love, cheese, eggs, etc. Today is much better as I'm now in the frame of mind again to get this done.

I'll check in tomorrow with my stats.

R3 P2 Day 1 of VLCD

Okay, well here I go again. I want to get that last 10-15 pounds off so I decided to do a short 23 day round before the end of summer. I had thought about at the end of summer, but I have some traveling to do then and wanted to be done before that happened.

Today is my first VLCD and I feel good. I only gained 3.8 pounds on my two load days which isn't bad considering the crap I was eating. I had pizza, bacon, eggs, cheese, nuts, sour cream, ice cream.

It is tough going from eating whatever you like to being very strict, but I know this works and am putting my faith back into the protocol. We'll see where the scale lands tomorrow.

This round I decided to drink extra water just to see if it helps get rid of the extra weight a little faster. Just a little research for future individuals. I know water is important and I drank a minimum of 1/2 my body weight during my other two rounds, but this time, I'm upping that consumption to see if it helps.

Each time I have been very committed to the original protocol and not cheating. I really believe you have to be in the right mind set for this protocol. Without the right mind set, this protocol can plan on your mental because of the ups and downs and stalls and strict eating then adding food back in and then eating like a "skinny" person, it really is a mind game more than anything and you have to be ready for it or you will not make it through all the phases.

Well I'll be posting daily for the next 26 days through this round.

Keep smiling!

Phase 4 and LIVING!!!!

I know I haven't posted in a long time, but I wanted to update everyone on my status.

I just got back from a week in San Diego where I was for a conference, which we ate out for every meal. I ate and drank everything that was in sight and that wasn't nailed down.

I decided I wasn't going to pack my scale because I wanted to do some shopping and didn't want to weigh down the luggage with a scale when I could be using that space for clothes. LOL! I also didn't want to be chained to my scale for the week I was there. So the scale stayed at home.

When I got up this morning and weighed in, I was very surprised. I was actually one pound below the weight I was before I left to go to San Diego. I didn't gain. I know we walked alot, but I also ate alot. I had rice, breads, potatoes, cookies, churros, pretty much anything I wanted to eat I ate.

I am a true believer that this is a miracle and definitely a CURE!!!! There were days through both my rounds that I wondered if this was really going to work or not, but if you follow the protocol exactly as it is written, I know it WORKS!!!!

This has been an amazing journey and I'm so glad I did it.

I also received tons of compliments on my new haircut and color as well as my new body. It was really nice to hear those compliments. It is a real self-confidence booster as well as a motivator that I will NEVER, and I mean NEVER, go back to the old me!!!!

To everyone - keep going, hang in there on those tough days, because the end results are truly amazing and well worth every sacrifice you take during the protocol. The protocol is only a short time out of your life.

KEEP SMILING!!! Because nothing tastes as good as thin!!!!

Getting Ready for Vacation

Well, I have one more day of work this week, then a long weekend planned at the lake and then off to Sunny San Diego for a week. I will be taking my scale along with me so to make sure I'm not eating too much.

I have been maintaining within my two pound range either above or below and have been eating pretty much anything I want (in moderation). I don't have the cravings for food like I did before I started this journey so that is a good thing. And when I eat pizza, I can eat just one piece and am full and satisfied unlike before when I had to eat a half a pizza.

Well I've decided to do another round, but this time it will be only 23 days instead of the 40 like I did the first two rounds, but I'm not going to start until September when school is back in session and all the summer time fun has slowed. I really want to enjoy the summer BBQs and such.

I'll keep updating my maintenance stage as I add in more and more foods. I just can't believe that the weight is staying off even when I'm eating pizza, potatoes, etc. It is truly the best thing I did in my life.

Keep smiling and enjoying the summer!