R3 P3 Day # ??

Ok, here's the deal.  I have no idea what I weigh.  I haven't been on the scale since TOM came.  My clothes seem to be fitting the same, so I'm not going to worry too much.  I plan on eating lots and NON Phase 3 foods Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  I will go right back onto Phase 3 foods after Christmas until Dec. 31st in which I will start loading for round 4 and I'll be doing a 6 week round along w/ my good friend Amanda.  She's doing hcg for the 1st time and really needs someone to be doing it w/ her.  I probably won't be blogging until I start round 4.....it's just too busy w/ Christmas stuff going on and I don't plan on getting on the scale anyway.  I'm really excited to begin another long round.....I should be in onederland by the time I through, woohoo!  Merry Christmas!!♥

R3 P3

I think I'm going to hold off weighing myself again until TOM is over and has moved on. 

I am really enjoying getting into the Christmas spirit.  I must confess I could live in my kitchen baking all day long.  I wish I wasn't no judgemental.  When I bake Christmas goodies not only do they have to taste amazing but I want them to look perfect.  I get annoyed when I see thrown together Christmas goodies that are ugly and taste gross.  I know that's mean....but I can't help it......it drives me crazy!  lol

R3 VLCD #21

Well I'm up another pound today.  Boooo!  Flipping TOM!  Oh well.  Today is my last day of drops.  It stinks that my LDW is 2 lbs more that what I weighed last week.  I'm not going to be sad or bummed.  I'm going to look forward to starting my 6 week round come Jan 1st.  I hope to far surpass my old set point and move into some fun new territory.....aka in ONEderland!!  lol

R3 VLCD # ?

I'm so lost as to what VLCD day I'm on haha.

I lost .6 lbs today putting me at exactly 50 lbs down.  I'm still a lb up from TOM starting.  I'm going to drink lots and lots of water today....maybe try a mini steak day and before bed tonight I'll take a detox bath.  I'm getting so excited for Christmas! I have all my gifts purchased for the kids and for my family.  It's time to start wrapping and mailing every out.  CHA CHING!  I wish it wasn't so expensive to mail out gifts. 

R3 Can't remember which day I'm on ;)

Well yesterday I gained 1/2 a pound.  I had been up to my elbows in buttery cookie dough the day before so maybe that had something to do w/ it.  I've heard many times that handling fats and oils w/ your hands (skin) can cause gains and or stalls.  lovely
On top of that fun news TOM has deceided to come and visit resluting in another full pound gain this morning.  I'm ok with it though.  It always comes off when TOM leaves.  I usually gain about 2 lbs during it, so we'll see what tomorrow has in store for me.  Overall I'm not bummed.  I know I'll get back down to my 51 lb loss and keep moving towards my goal.  By the time TOM is over and done I'll be done with this round.  Such is life I suppose. 

I saw a girlfriend of mine today.  I went and gave her my HCG book so she can start getting familiar w/ it.  She's going to start loading on Dec. 31st.  I haven't seen her in about a month.  She just kept staring at me and I finally said, "what is it?  Do I have something on my face?".  She told me that she just couldn't believe how different I look.  She's never seen me this small before.  YAY!  That made me feel really good.  All in all despite this round being really hard and not losing much weight, I feel very positive and can't wait to keep going.  ♥

R3 VLCD #16

No weight lost today.  It doesn't really bum me out too bad though.  After losing 5 1/2 lbs in 3 days I figure my body has some "catching up" to do.  I have a bunch of holiday baking to do today.  I need to stay strong. 

I DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lost 2.2 lbs today!  Making for a nice round even loss of 51 lbs!!!!!  I finally caught you 50 lbs and I SMASHED YOU!  I'm just  half a pound away from getting into the 2-teens.  ♥
ETA:  Newest Vloghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMIoDmqvr0E

Newest Vlog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZpNFk7-mI

R3 VLCD 14

Released another .6 lbs today!  I'm almost out of the 220's and even closer to hitting that 50 lb mark.  Woot woot!  For all you guys still on the VLCD, stay strong.  You CAN do this!♥

R3 VLCD #13

I was very excited to wake up to a 2.6 lb loss.  Only 1.8 more lbs to go before I hit the elusive 50 lb mark.  Yay!!!!  I was soo scared with the weird gains and stalls lately but after much research and talking to various people I'm convinced I've been stuck at an old set point.  About 8 years ago I was working at Java on Sherman and a baker at night and a barista/manager by day.  I was about this weight for a little over a year.  The end of round 2 I ended up ending a few days early because I just wasn't losing anything.  Makes sense if I'd hit that set point and it explains why it's taking me 13 days to move past it in this round.  Good grief!  I guess Dr. Simeons actually knew what he was talking about.  ;)

I feel great today.  Zero hunger, I don't feel swollen like I did yesterday.....overall really good.  I feel confident that I'll get to my 50 lb goal by this weekend and then I can start looking ahead to my 100 lb goal.  It'll be fun just to get to where I was when I was dating my husband.  I was about 170-175 lbs and I felt really good in my skin.  I'm even more excited to see what I look like at my idea weight.  I haven't been at my idea weight since I was 8 years old.  That will be a VERY good day.♥

R3 VLCD 12

Up 2 lbs again today.  I can feel it in my jeans.  WTHeck is going on??  This round is not going well at all.  I'm not sure what it causing these crazy weight fluctuations.  phooey!

R3 VLCD 11

Well the 2lbs came off today.  Good grief, I'm tired of the back and forth.  I'm glad it's back off though.  Hopefully tomorrow I'm closer to my 50 lb target.  ♥

R3 VLCD 10

Ummmm I'm not sure what's going on.  My scale showed a gain of 2 lbs this morning.  I don't know if it's the scale or what.  I'm determined that no matter what happens I won't stress out.  I finally went to Costco and bought some detox bath ingredients.  I have a date w/ the tub this evening.  =)

I am still sick.  I cannot seem to get rid of the runny nose and cough.  I'm wondering if being sick is causing my weight to do funny things.  Who knows.  Either way, I'm not giving up. 

Have a wonderful Sunday ladies!  ♥

R3 VLCD 9

Lost .6 lbs today, I'll take it!   47.6 lbs down, woohoo! 

Getting so close to 50 lbs down and getting out of the 220's.  It cannot get here fast enough. 

R3 VLCD #8

YAY I woke up to a 1 lb loss.  Whew!  47 lbs down as of today.  Let's hope things stay moving in the right direction....at least until my next session of massage therapy.    I feel really really good today.  Hunger is no where to be found.  I feel super energetic today and very positive. 

Have a wonderful day all of you HCG'ers!♥

Newest Vlog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UNFyUYpX3o

R3 VLCD #7

I'm up another .4 lbs from yesterday.  This time I know exactly why.  I had another session of massage therapy yesterday and the gal always says it'll show a bit of a gain the following day.  I'm not sure if I should do an apply day or just continue w/ the protocol and let things work themselves out.  I'm not going to stress, I'm not going to allow it to bother me.  I need my back in good working order and if it means it slows down my weight loss, so be it.  I'm not giving up.  I'm not quitting.  I'm going to continue my journey until my goal is reached.  So as of today I'm sitting at 46 lbs lost.  That gosh darn elusive 50lbs!  I'm coming to get you!!!!

Oh I forgot to mention.....in the last few days my jeans have been fitting waaaaay better so I took my measurments again this morning and I've lost 55 inches!  woohoo!!!  I cannot complain about that at all.  =)

UPDATED INFO!

So I went to get my adjustment done and a massage this morning.  The gal who does my massages also lost a bunch of weight on homeopathic hcg so that always makes me feel good.  She also uses only coconut oil when doing massages....which of course is the only oil allowed while on protocol.   When I got home I got undressed and got on the scale again.  I just couldn't believe I'd gained 1.8 lbs overnight.  Behold it showed only a .2 lb gain.  I'm still mad that it shows a gain at all......but .2 is easier to deal with than 1.8!!

TOM?? COLD??? Who knows

Ummmm freaked out a little bit this morning.  My scale said I gained almost 2 lbs.  This cold my son gave me does not want to leave.  It's never really developed into anything full blown....just kind of lingering there quietly.  When I lay down to go to bed at night it feels like I have a bunch of fluid in my lungs and I start coughing like crazy.  I finally used some nasal spray last night so I could fall asleep.  Yesterday I ate pefectly and drank my gallon of water.  I know good darn well that whatever I gained is purely water weight.  I doubt I even ate a pound of food yesterday.  Since TOM comes and goes at his own free will.....never regularly.....I'm wondering if that's also the cause of the mystery gain.  Oh well.  I'll stick to the protocol again today and take a detox bath before bed tonight and see if that helps anything. 

R3 VLCD 5

Lost .8 lbs today, yay!!  I've lost 5.2 lbs so far in my 3rd round.  It feels great to be at my lowest weight in over 7 years.  Good grief I cannot believe I have been so heavy for so many years.  I'm so ready to reclaim my life. 

Keep up the great work, girls!  I'm proud of each and every one of you!♥

Newest Vlog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY9TFxNP4aA

R3 VLCD #4

Well I only lost .2 lbs today.  =(      I followed the protocol perfectly, so I'm at a loss as to why I only lost .2, esp just 3 diet days into phase 2.  Oh well, just need to keep pushing forward and not let it get me down. 

R3 VLCD#3

I lost 2.2 lbs this morning, putting me at my LDW for round 2.  Everything I lose now will be new weight lost.  yay!  I still feel sick.  Horrible migranes, stuffy nose, scratchy sore throat.  I need to get to the store today though, I'm completely out of cabbage and asparagus. 

I hope today is even easier than yesterday was.  Have a great day girlies!♥

Waaah!!

Ok I seriously want food right now.....lots and lots of super naughty food.  I hate going through this each time I start this diet.  Pretty much all day I've been dreaming about cake with thick chocolate frosting, pizza, Mongolian BBQ, noodles with thick rich sauce, garlic bread, starbucks mochas, cheese, cheese, and more cheese.  STUPID DIET!  STUPID FOOD CRAVINGS!  I'm not really hungry, just wanting food in the worst way.  I hope tomorrow is much better than today.  =(

Newest VLOG

http://by129w.bay129.mail.live.com/default.aspx?wa=wsignin1.0

R3 VLCD #2

I didn't lose as much as I had hoped.  Oh well, at least I lost what I gained in loading plus a little bit more.  Hopefully within the next two days I'll be back where i was at my lowest weight and then start making new ground.  I lost 2 lbs as of this morning, putting me at 228.  My LDW was 225.8, so I have another 2.2 lbs to go before I get back to where I started. 

I started feeling  hungry around 4pm yesterday and got a bit cranky.  It's never the "I'm STARVING" kind of hunger, just really annoying mild hunger that doesn't go away.  I woke up not hungry, so that much is good.  At 4am I woke up to my throat hurting so bad I could hardly swallow.  I ended up sucking on a ricola cough drop despite the sugar in it.  Hopefully that's the worst it's going to get and I won't have to "cheat" anymore. 

Hope my sister and vicky have a great 1st VLCD.  Hang in there, girls!♥

Round 3 VLCD#1

Well today's the day where I start starving myself again.  lol  I mean....today's the day where I start my next round of very low calorie days.  I woke up this morning to a horrible sore throat and stuffy nose.  Normally I'd take honey or some medication to help with the symptoms.  I don't know what I can do on the diet other than taking hot water, lemon, vinegar, and maybe some cayenne.  I did enjoy loading yesterday.  I baked up a couple butter braids for breakfast.  We had blueberry cream cheese and raspberry.  I had 3 1inch slices and a side of scrambled eggs and was beyond stuffed.  We had Thanksgiving dinner at 4pm.  I had a small helping of stuffing, potatoes and gravy, green bean cassarole and a slice of turkey.  I  was really hurting at this point.  A couple hrs later I had a 1inch slice of pumpkin pie and a 1 inch slice of apple pie.  I told Ben he needed to get a wheelbarrow to help me get out the door and into the car.  ugh!  I haven't gotten on the scale yet to see how much I gained.  I know it's probably a considerable amount because I couldn't button my black size 16 pants yesterday.  lol    I love loading and hate it all at the same time.  I understand that it's important, but I hate the feeling of going backwards so I can move forwards again.  Oh well, such is life.

I'll update later w/ my total weight gain.  Good luck to Victoria and to my sister...both of who start today!♥

UPDATE:
I finally got brave and got on the scale.  I had gained a total of 2.5 lbs during phase 3 and I gained another 1.7 lbs from loading.  I weighed 230.0 lbs as of this morning.  ugh!!!  I know that as of tomorrow I'll never see the 230's again.  I'm looking forward to pushing into the 2teens and losing over 50lbs. 

Round 3 Load Day #1

Yay I'm sooo excited to be starting round 3!!!!  It's 9:30 and I haven't taken my drops or eaten anything yet.  I was busy going to the chiropractor's and then off to the grocery store to get some baking supplies.  I'm being lazy this year and am buying evaporated milk and refrigerated pie crusts.  Normally I make my own evap milk and my own pie crusts but w/ my sister in town and a million other projects to get done, I'm letting myself off the hook.  It killed me to actually PAY for those items, but I believe it'll be worth it. 

I hope you all have a wonderful and joyous Thanksgiving!!!♥♥

Newest youtube VLOG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8vgmrvFkyk

vanilla spiced rum......

I'm going to miss my vanilla spiced rum coffee creamer when I start back on the VLCD.  I went up .8 lbs today and am officially 2 lbs above my LDW.  The gal that gave me my massage yesterday at the Chiropractor's said that if you don't drink ample water after message therapy you can gain a little bit of weight.  I only drank about 6 cups of water and she was right.  lol  Oh well.  I don't really care about the 2lbs.  I mean I do, but I'm not going to freak out and do a steak day.  I'll up the water significantly today and see what tomorrow has in store for me. 

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!♥

R2 P3 Day #22

Nothing much to report you guys.  Still stable, still eating what I want in moderation.  It's so nice not to be freaked out about the scale.  I feel like my body has really reset itself and things are working the way they should be to maintain weight.  Now I just need to reset it at a LOWER weight, lol. 
A week from tomorrow and I'll be starting my very low calorie days once again.  YAY!

Newest youtube VLOG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SngdVANneIw

Phase 3 Day #21

I'm 1.2 from my LDW as of this morning.  Yay!!  I'm REALLY starting to look forward to Thanksgiving and loading again.  I'm so ready to see the scale start moving down again.  I'm anxious to be out from under the 200's.  Although I doubt I'll be there by the time my 3 week round is over.  I can promise you this though......I will weigh less than 200 by the time January is over.  I'm giddy just thinking about it. 

Phase 3 Day #20

I got on the scale today after a day of drinking almost zero water and eating too much salt.  To my great suprise I'm still within my 2 lb LDW.  Today I'm going to really up the water......I feel so thirsty it's weird! 

I'm feeling really depressed today.  All I can say is it's a damn good thing my husband is out of town till Friday.  Normally I'd let my feelings dictate how I chose to eat.....not today.  I'm not going to sabotage my diet just because I'm angry with my spouse.  I deserve to be healthy, I deserve to be happy. 

Phase 3 FINALLY BELOW LDW!!

I've been having a super fun time w/ Mia here.  I have to admit I haven 't been eating phase 3 friendly foods the last few days at all.  Not to say I'm going hog wild and eating lots of crap.....more like I'm eating what I want in moderation.  I can't seem to eat much at all before I feel SUPER full.  As of this morning I was .6 lbs BELOW my LDW.  YAY!!  I am so glad my metabolism is working like it's supposed to.  Thank  you Jesus, for bringing HCG into my life.

Phase 3 Hot Diggety Dog

Yesterday I was over LDW by 3 lbs.  Today I'm over LDW by only 1 lb, yahoo!  Hurray for TOM leaving!!! 

I picked up Mia from the airport yesterday and we spent the day catching up on old times and such.  Today we're going to go get our nails done, pedicures, eyebrows waxed and lots of other girly stuff.  Then we're off for a night out on the town. 

Hope you all have huge losses today.  =)

TOM + NOT ENOUGH WATER + TOO MUCH SALT = BAD THINGS

YAWN!!  Soooo sleepy today!  Last night we stayed up and watched The Road.  It was kind of a creepy movie and I had a hard time falling alseep.  Then I woke up super early to the sounds of my kids crying because my husband forgot to put the dog back in our bedroom before he left for work.  Apparently the pup was licking and chewing on them trying to play.  ugh

So I went to bed at about midnight and woke up at 5am.  Joy of joys. 

Yesterday was a busy day.  I had conferences for both boys and I had a bunch of errands I had to run.  Since I was away from home so much and I forgot to bring my water bottle I ended up drinking only about 1 liter of water instead of my usual 3-4 liters.  Then at dinner I ate some fairly salty foods......so I think the extra salt, the small amount of water and TOM caused to be at 3lbs above my LDW as of this morning.  Dang.  Today I will make sure I get a gallon in and I'll really be careful with the foods I eat.  Hopefully TOM leaves soon and I'll be able to get back in my little safety bubble. 

Today I go pick Mia up at the airport, yay!!! 

What did you expect??

So I just have to vent for a second.  There is a gal I'm friends with on facebook and she tried the hcg diet after seeing myself and a few other's have great success.  So she runs out and gets a bottle of the drops and starts the diet.  She doesn't research it, she doesn't know what food is and isn't allowed, she doesn't weight her food, she doesn't make sure she's staying within 500 calories etc etc etc.  Then she starts to complain that this diet just doesn't work and that she had horrible headaches during the diet.  SERIOUSLY?!?!  IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW THIS DIET THE WAY DR. SIMEONS WROTE IT, IT WILL NOT WORK.   I'm SO frustrated when people don't take the time to research anything and then complain when other's aren't interested in spoon feeding them the answers.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE helping other's out with the information I've learned thus far.  What I hate is when people put zero effort into something and expect other's to carry their lazy butts.  Anyway.  I'm done ranting.  lol

I lost 1 lb this morning, so I'm definitely back in my LDW range.  YAY!  TOM is about to leave, good riddence!  I wish that when a woman was 100% done having kids that she could flip a switch to make TOM go away forever.  lol  Hurry up menopause, hurry up!  LOLOL

Phase 3 TOM BLOWS

Gained 1.2 lbs today.  Dang it!  I've been researching weight gain and TOM for phase 3 and from what I can find they say do not count TOM weight gain.  So even if you go over your 2 lb "bubble" to not do a steak day.  Keep the fluids up, keep eating phase 3 foods and when TOM is over the excess weight will go away.  I hope that's true as I'm 2.2 lbs above LDW today.  sigh

Phase 3

Lost .8 lbs today....putting me a 1.2 lbs above my LDW.   Yay!  It's so much harder for me to drink my 4 liters of water on phase 3 than it is during phase 2.  Plus, now that it's getting cold outside the thought of drinking water just makes me colder.  Brrrrr! 

Mia will be here in 3 more days, yahoo!

Phase 3 Day # who the heck knows haha

I woke up this morning to a gain....putting me at 1.8 above my LDW.  Dang!  I'm not too suprised though.  I did eat some salty foods around 8 pm and probably had twice as much as I should've had.  I'm hoping that most if not all of that gain is just water weight.  I'll make sure I steer clear of salt today and drink my 4 liters of water.  I might even possibly take a detox bath.  I refuse to do another steak day.  Yuck!!  I read that a lot of people gain like 10 lbs during their maintenence phase......why is that happening?   I can only assume they're going back and eating the foods and such that they were before starting the diet.  I don't know, but it freaks me out.  I want to stay within my 2 lb bubble no matter what. 
It's supposed to rain and or snow for the next 10 days.  eww! 
ETA: TOM started today......that would partially explain the sudden weight gain.  I'm drinking my water like a crazy person. 

Yawn

I don't know what the deal is.  No matter how early or how late I go to bed I cannot seem to sleep in past 7am.  I suppose I really shouldn't complain.....but there are days when the thought of staying in bed a while longer sounds so good.  Ever since I started HCG I've slept better.  Even the days I only sleep a few hours....I still wake up feeling awake and refreshed.  I still battle w/ insomnia....but no where near as bad as before this diet.  So it's nice and annoying all rolled up into one.  lol

I woke up this morning to a 1.4 lb loss.  Yay!  It's odd to me though because yesterday I ate so much I felt like I was going to gain 17.69 lbs.  I had two eggs and two slices of ezekiel bread toasted w/ butter.  For lunch I had my "protein power" pancakes w/ butter and sugar free maple syrup.  For dinner I had a huge plate of spaghetti squash, chicken, and asparagus slathered in a homemade alfredo sauce.  YUMMY!  

I ordered 10 butter braids from a friend of mine's son who was selling them for his school.  I figured I'd freeze them and use a few as Christmas gifts and the rest I can use for the family.  I'll have to wait until Thanksgiving before I bake one up though.  I know if I bake one for the family I won't be able to stay away from it.  sigh     HURRY UP THANKSGIVING!!!!!!! 

On the other hand a week from today, Mia will be here and we'll be sitting in a salon getting our our mani's and pedi's done.  Woohoo!!!!! 

I took my measurements today and have lost a few more inches.  As of today I'm 46 lbs down and 51.75 inches gone!!!!!  9 inches off my hips and 6 inches off each thigh and almost 8 inches off my waist.  yahoo!!!!

Newest Vlog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_Sg2PnkVFs

R2 P3 Day #6

I'm feeling SO much better today.  Pretty much back to normal.  I also lost the 2 lbs I gained yesterday, putting me at exactly 1 lb over my LDW.  I'll definitely take it!  Egg day went pretty good yesterday.  Last night after we went and voted my husband wanted to go to JB's for dinner.  He loves their chicken fried steak breakfast.  I was a good girl and ordered an omlet and substituted my hashbrowns and toast for a bowl of fresh fruit.  My dinner was delicious and I felt very satisfied.  I have also been great w/ not eating my kid's halloween candy.  I'm drinking lots and lots of water and am overall really rocking P3.  I'm starting to feel that itch again though.....the itch to start P2 and lose more weight.  =) 

R2 P3 Day #5

I woke up to a 2 lb gain today.  =(

I have no idea why.  I drank a tad over a gallon of water yesterday.  I also ate phase 3 foods.  Hmmmm  Could it be this cold is finally caught up with me?  sigh    I think I'll try an egg day today and see if that makes a difference. 

R2 P3 Day #4

Not much to report.  I am up a full pound from my LDW.  I'm not too suprised.  I ate 3 mini yorks yesterday and a couple handfulls of roasted pumpkin seeds. All things considered I behaved better this halloween than I ever have.  Today I'm 100% back on track and will be researching some yummy P3 recipes I can make.  Hubby is home sick and I'm still feeling a bit under the weather myself.  I have a slight sore throat and a slight runny nose.  My poor husband and children are super sick. 

The last few days I've been researching "super foods" and I'm in awe.  I want to know more.  They say knowledge is power.......I want to know as much about these foods as possible.  They're like miracle foods.  If I had my way I'd incorporate them all into our daily diets.  I did buy 5 of them the other day.  Spirulina, raw honey, kelp, goji berries, and cacao nibs.  I was thinking of stopping babysitting this December.....but now I think I'll keep watching Wyatt, it'll give me some extra $$ to buy some of these amazing super foods.

R2 P3 Day #2

Doing great.  I feel really good today.  Although I still have a slight tickle in my throat.....this cold never really evolved into anything major.   Unfortuanately my husband and daughter haven't been as lucky.  I am completely convinced that eating healthy, taking my plethora of vitamins, and drinking lots of water is key to good health.  I am someone who ALWAYS got sick.  At least once a month I'd get a cold and or the flu.  I just thought that was normal.  I haven't really been truely "sick" for about 5 months now and I LOVE it! 

I really wish I had the money to buy all organic food.  The more I research the more I'm convinced it's the only way to go.  I read many articles that talk about that people could afford organic food if they stopped buying lattes and going out to eat all the time.  Well we have pretty much cut all the fat out of our budget as it is.  We go out to eat about once every other month.  We don't buy lattes, we don't have cable or ditigal tv.  I have a cell phone through my parent's "family plan" and my husband just uses his work cell phone.  We don't have any debt, we don't go on vacations, and I buy most of our clothes on crazy discounts or at thrift stores.  So I'm left feeling frustrated that I cannot afford to feed my family foods that I feel are important.  On the other hand we've elminated much of the garbage I used to buy.  I no longer buy chips or processed foods or sodas.  So we've come a long way from just 1 year ago.  Maybe someday organics will be within my reach.  For now I just need to do I can with what we've been given to keep my family healthy.

BEFORE and IN PROGRESS pictures

Round 2 Phase 3 Day #1

So I made a yummy breakfast today.  I took 2 eggs, added a couple TBS of water, a packet of splenda, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  I whipped that up together using my immersion (sp?) blender and poured it into a heated nonstick skillet.  Then I took 2 TBS of softened cream cheese and added 1 packet of splenda and 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract.  I mixed it thoroughly w/ a spoon until creamy.  Next I took 1/4 cup of frozen berries, 1/8 cup of water, and 1 packet of splenda and cooked in a small saucepan on med high heat until it turned into a thick "sauce".  Once my "omlet" was done I spread on the cream cheese mixture and topped w/ the berry sauce.  Then I rolled it up like a crepe.  It was out of this world, delicious!!!  I'm so thankful to be into phase 3. 

Today I took my "in progress" pictures.  I'm going to try and scan my "before" pictures and then somehow incorporate them into a vlog for youtube.  Although I can see a big difference in both sets of pictures....it depressed me to see how much further I still need to go.  sigh

I suppose it's not about how fast I get to my goal, it's more important to just keep working toward my goal no matter how long it takes and eventually....eventually I'll be at my goal.   I'm also going to try and get a good workout in today while my husband is at work.  I HATE doing my workout videos while he's home because he makes silly comments and it distracts me.  lol

R2 VLCD #39

Lost .6 lbs today.  Figures I'd lose something after I stop the drops.  Whatever. 
My daughter has a nasty cough and I woke up w/ a very scratchy throat.  Joy.  I've read about lots of natural home remedies.  I really like the apple cider vinegar, lemon, raw honey, and cayenne pepper....but I can't have honey.....so for now I'm just going to gargle w/ cayenne water and hope for the best.  It feels SO much better than it did this morning. 
I have to babysit today and all I want to do is crawl back into bed.  I must be so tired due to my body fighting this cold.  I might be able to sneak in a small nap this afternoon after wyatt get's picked up and before the boys get off the bus.  We'll see.
I hope Bre is enjoying her loading meals.  =)

R2 VLCD #38

No change in weight....again.

I've made a decision to cut this round short by a couple days.  I will not be taking my drops today or tomorrow.  My 1st day of P3 will be Friday the 29th. 

I'm just mentally DONE right now.  I did a 6 week round, took a 3 week break and did another 5 1/2  week round and I can honestly say I'm done until Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking I may start just doing 3 week rounds.  I seem to lose 80% of my weight in the 1st 3 weeks anyway.  I know in the long run it'll take me a little bit longer to get to my goal weight, but mentally I don't know how much more I can handle.  I'm really jealous of those people who can lose all their weight in just one round.  I probably have at least 5-6 more to do. 

I hope you all don't see me as giving up.  This diet is really hard and I need a break so bad I can hardly stand it.  I did the best I possibly could .  I don't want anyone to feel like I'm letting them down.  =(

R2 VLCD #37

Nothing on the scale today.  bummer  =(

I'm suprised....it's the 1st time I haven't lost anything after a detox bath.  Oh well.  I'm so close to 50 lbs I can taste it and yet my body just doesn't seem to want to cooperate.  At this point I think stressing about it isn't going to do anyone any good.  I just need to go with the flow and be thankful that I've come as far as I have.  4 more days of drops, 6 more diet days and then I can relax and enjoy Phase 3. 

R2 VLCD #36

Not much to report today.  No gain, no loss. 

R2 VLCD #35

I lost that .6 that I gained yesterday as well as an additional .4 lbs making my new low 225.4 and 46 pounds GONE.  I'm inching closer and closer to 50 lbs. 

Yesterday was a good day.   A good friend of mine took me out to coffee and then to a movie.   We laughed a lot and enjoyed every minute away from the husband's and kids.  It's so rare to get away w/ out them.  It was much needed. 

I think today we're going to be doing a lot of painting.  There are a few little things we need to fix in the living room, and then we're working our way up the stairs and into the hallway. 

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday.♥

R2 VLCD #34

Well I gained back that .6 of a pound that I lost yesterday.  Grrr
I'm not really sure why...although i have a few theories.  I ran a ton of errands yesterday and started craving a Diet Dr. Pepper.  I ended up going to Arby's and getting a large diet dr. pepper.  Then last night my daughter was up every 30-45 minutes throwing up.  So I kept getting up w/ her and cleaning up the messes she kept making.  I followed the protocol to a T yesterday, minus the soda....so who knows.  Apparently my body is really fighting losing 50 lbs before the end of this round.  Grrr!!!!

On a fun note, a friend of mine is taking me out for my birthday today.  We're going to go get coffee (i'll be ordering drip and i'll be bringing along some choc. rasp. stevia) and then we're going to go shopping and then off to see a movie.  I'm going to bring along a baggie of cooked diced chicken and celery w/ me to eat during the movie. 

I'm really getting excited to start P3.  I want to start exercising and toning my muscles.  I think working out now that I've lost 45 lbs is going to be a whole lot easier. 

Hope you all have a lovely Saturday♥

 

R2 VLCD #33

Woke up to a .6 lb loss today.

45.6 lbs lost total

I'm feeling really good.  I sauteed some cabbage and chicken last night in some coconut oil and braggs amino acids....it was DELICIOUS!  I'll be having that again for lunch today, mmmmmm!

New VLOG

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cikLAGXiKuI

R2 VLCD #32

I have to say I about passed out when I looked at the scale today.  I got on like 10 times to make sure it was right.  It said I lost 2 full pounds since yesterday!!!!!!   Yahoo!!!!!!  That helps make up for all those days I lost NOTHING.  I'm now officially down 45 lbs, 50 lbs here I come!

R2 VLCD #31

The scale FINALLY moved today.  I dropped a pound, putting me back to where I was at my lowest weight so far since starting HCG.  228.4 lbs
I have 7 more lbs to go to hit 50 lbs lost. 

I'm starting to get sick, which has me a bit frustrated.  My glands are swollen and my throat is sore.  I'm hoping that eating clean and taking my supplements will help nip this before it turns into something worse. 

Stay strong girlies.♥

R2 VLCD #30

No loss today.  sigh   I'm hanging tough though and am not quitting.  I'll tell you what......the fish crackers, apple bars, and kettle corn were SOO not worth this stall.  =( 

I've made a deal w/ myself that when I hit 50 lbs lost I'm going to get my hair done.  I'm going to get it styled and dyed and highlighted.  I haven't had my hair done professionally EVER!  I've had highlights done a couple times, but never ever styled.  I'm so excited!!!!!  7 more lbs to go!

ETA:  I meant 8 more lbs to go!!!  Ooops I forgot I gained a pound a few days ago.  Grrrr

R2 VLCD #29

Dr. Simeons wrote in Pounds and Inches that cheating can cause a 3 day stall.  I didn't lose anything today.  Oh well, I knew I cheated badly, so this stall was completely expected.  I'm going to stay the course, and stick to protocol 100% through the end of this round.    I suppose it's life.  We mess up, we ALL mess up....but what counts is getting back up and trying again.  Not giving up.  Not losing sight of your goals.  I think that's always been my downfall.  I'll do great, then mess up and then give up.  I'm not giving up.  I'm not quitting.  I had a weak moment and I will pay for it.  Erica is no longer a quitter.  Erica is no longer a person who will let food run her life.  Erica is strong.  Erica can win this battle with her weight.

I feel spoiled

This afternoon my husband took me to the Fashion Bug in spokane, since the one here in CdA is gone.  They had some super cute pea coats on sale for $39 regularly $69.  I bought one last year, but it's two sizes too big and looks really sloppy.  I was able to buy my new coat in an XL instead of my usual 2X or 3X sizes, yay!!  It's slightly snug, but by the end of my 2nd round and then a short round before Christmas it'll fit perfectly.  It's a black and grey plaid, I LOVE ITAs we were leaving Fashion Bug a really really large lady walked past us and my 5 yr old son said, "Apparently that lady needs to go on a strict diet like you, mom."!    EEEEK!!!!!  Luckily the woman didn't hear him.   Needless to say, Benjamin took him outside and explained why saying such things can really hurt people's feelings.  Even if what you say happens to be true.
Then we went to JCPenny.  I had a 20% off coupon I wanted to use to get my oldest son some socks and undershirts.  We ended up just browsing the store and we found ourselves in the kitchen dept.  They had the large 7 cup cuisinart food processor on sale for $99 regularly $149.  So I was able to get another $20 off making it basically $80.  Woohoo!  Hubby went ahead and bought it for me for my birthday since he won't be here to celebrate with me.  He'll be out of town managing the setting up of the Christmas displays at the remaining Home Depots. 
Anyway with the new coat and my food processor I'm feeling like one very spoiled girl.  =)

R2 VLCD #28

Well yesterday was supposed to be an apple day.  I ended up being a moron and not following the diet at all.  =(    Saturday's tend to be my hardest days to stay strong.  Dang it!  I started off doing great.  I had an apple in the morning and one again around lunch time.  When we got home from green bluff I ended up eating some chicken.  Then later I had 2 apple crumb bars, 3 handfulls of goldfish crackers, and 2 handfulls of kettle corn.  UGH!  How the heck am I ever going to get to my goal if I can't stay on course?  I was shocked I only gained a pound today.  I thought for sure I'd be up 17.6 lbs or something like that.  haha

Seriously though, I need to get my head in the game and finish out this round on a strong note.  I have 12 more days of drops and 14 more days of VLCD.  I wish this 2nd round wasn't so much harder than the 1st round was. 

I can do this, I can do this, I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

R2 VLCD #27

No weight loss today, phooey!!!  We're off to Green Bluff to go pick some apples.  Might as well turn today into an apple day.  I do really enjoy some of the rare varieties up at the farms.  Now I can eat a few apples with the kids while we're there. 

R2 VLCD #27

My mini steak day was a success.....or maybe it's because my 2nd TOM is FINALLY FREAKING OVER WITH!!!!!!!!!  Either way I woke up to a 1.4lb loss.  So I'm actually down .4 lbs from my lowest since I gained a lb last week.  Yay!  I'm now down a total of 43 lbs.  I REALLY want to be down a minimum of 50 lbs by the end of this round and my last dosage day is the 29th of Oct.  So I have another 7 lbs to lose in 14 days.  fingers crossed

R2 VLCD#26

Another goose egg for me.  It's been almost a week!!  UGH!  I don't think I can bring myself to do another apple day.  blech

R2 VLCD #25

No change on the scale today, not an ounce.  Phooey!  CURSE YOU TOM!!!

HCG Round 2 VLCD #24 RECIPES

R2 VLCD #24

Only lost a few ounces since yesterday.  I drank a little over a gallon of water and steered clear of the salt.  It's my mom's bday today, so the kids and I are going out to get her a gift and then I'm going to go visit w/ her a while.  I'm anxious to see the scale really start moving in the right direction again. 

Emergency Room

Got a call from my mom at 4pm today.  She was crying and asked me to come and pick her up and take her to the hospital.  Apparently her abdomen hurt so bad she couldn't walk.  It's been almost 2 hrs and the Dr.'s still don't have any idea what's causing her pain.  I feel so bad for her!  Tomorrow is her birthday, well happy freaking birthday, huh?  My high stress is making me want to eat anything and everything.   I haven't cheated and wont' cheat.  I'm going to continue drinking my water.  
ETA:  Just got a call from my father.  He said that my mom is passing a kidney stone.  So in the scheme of things, she's just fine.  They have her on some heavy duty pain meds until the stone passes. 

R2 VLCD #23

Today is just not my day.  I just typed out a super long blog and then my computer stopped working and I lost all my info. 

Quick recap.  I hopped on the scale this morning and didn't quite get an accurate read out because the kids were banging on the door to use the restroom.  It looks like I gained between 3 and 4 lbs!!  I know I drank less than half of my normal water intake yesterday AND I totally oversalted my food.  I don't know why but I've been craving salt like a crazy person.  I need to get on the scale again after my kids are done w/ their baths.  I don't know what I should do today.  Up my water back to 4 liters and cut way back on the salt?  Apple day?  Steak day?  Grrrr!!!!!

Then I saw a gal who subscribed to me of youtube waaay back when I made a couple vlogs when I joined the gym commented on my latest video .  She basically said things like everyother person says when they don't take the time to research this diet say.  I don't even know how to respond, or if I even should respond. 

Good news, the kids are no longer getting sick.  So hopefully that ship has sailed.  I just need to figure out how to get this sudden weight gain to go away and  never come back.  I'll have to research and ask some HCG pro's out there and see what they have to say.

ETA:
I was able to get back on the scale to see what exactly I had gained.  1.8 lbs, so not as bad as I had thought it was.  WHEW!  I'm going to make sure I get my gallon of water in today and will take a detox bath this evening before bed. 

R2 VLCD#22

No gain, no loss today.  That's ok. 

Two of my 3 kids have been barfy today and now i'm starting to get a slight stomach ache.  Hoping I don't end up getting sick too. 

R2 VLCD #21

Down another .6 lbs today.  Yay!  Not much else to report.  I feel really good.  Hunger has pretty much completely vanished and I'm drinking between 3 and 4 liters of water a day.  Today we're going to be continuing the work on the house.  Sooooo much to do.  sigh

Hope you all have a wonderful Saturday!♥

Newest Youtube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orIemhD5AEc

R2 VLCD #20

Overall things are going well.  Lost .8 lbs today. Putting me in the 220's (yay!) and also putting me at a total of 42 lbs lost.  I also took my measurements today and have lost 44  3/4 inches.  I'm really having to force myself to drink my water.  I'm getting it all down, but when it's chilly out it's so much harder. 

Stay strong girls, we can do this!

FOOD

I came SOOOO close to cheating today.  I had made my kids some peanutbutter chocolate chip cookies yesterday and today I transfered what was left on the plate into a ziplock bag.  They smelled SO FREAKING GOOD!  I thought to myself.....what harm would one cookie do?  I picked it up and smelled it.  It was soft, just the way I like my cookies.  Chewy and soft.  mmmmm    Anyway as I thought about how good the cookie would taste I realized that once I started there would be no way I could just stop at one.  I knew I'd eat the remaining 6 cookies within 2.8 seconds.  Then I'd feel sick, and even worse, I'd feel guilty.  PLUS I know that would cause a crazy stall and or gain.  Niether of which is getting me closer to my 50lb goal I want to get to within the next 2 weeks.  UGH! 
I don't know why we are so addicted to food.  What is it that causes such deep emotions within us?  I was feeling sorry for myself again today and was bummed at how little variety there is in this diet during phase 2.  Esp considering I can't stand beef or seafood.  Then I thought of people from other countries who are on the brink on starvation.  How they eat pretty much the same thing day in and day out and they are thankful.  Can you imagine how thrilled they'd be if they had even the little variety we have during phase 2?  They'd be over the moon with all of it.  Yet here I am, ticked.  Mad that I've allowed myself to get fat so that I'm now forced to do this crazy diet. 

I go back and forth I guess.  I'm shocked that this diet works as well as it does.  Like I was telling Cindy earlier this week.  This diet is easy.  Esp since they don't encourage any crazy exercising.  It's simple, the rules are easy to understand.  It's easy.  Mentally this diet is HARD!!!  You're forced to face all your food demons.  You're forced to look inside yourself and see what caused you to get to this point in your life.  Mentally this diet is awful.  There are good days and bad days.  For the most part the longer you're on it, the easier it gets.  Now and again (like today) you have a moment where you feel so weak.  You're cravings become so very strong.  You start to think crazy thoughts and feel sorry for yourself. 

I'm happy to report that I didn't cheat.  I put the cookie down, I changed my attitude, and I forced myself to do something outside of the kitchen. 

What is it about food that has us so addicted? 

R2 VLCD #19

Lost .6 lbs today, putting me at 230.2 lbs.  I should be definitely in the 220's within the next day or two at the very most.  Yay!! 

I've had a bad back for years.  For some reason my back and knees have really been bothering me lately.  I'm wondering if losing weight is causing things to shift and that's what's causing the soreness.  Any thoughts? 

All last night I could hear the trains coming and going out of post falls.  The horns are SOO loud!  I'm such a light sleeper that I wake up each time one blows it's horn.  Then my son woke up and threw up.  Needless to say I'm exhausted today.  Usually when I get poor sleep I tend not to lose much weight the next day, so I was suprised to have a .6 lb loss. 

My goal for this 2nd round was to get to a 50lb loss by my birthday.  Well it's 2 weeks away and I have another 8.8 lbs to lose by then.  I'm not sure if I'll make that goal, but I'm going to give it my best. 

R2 VLCD #18

Lost .6 lbs today.  40.6 lbs lost so far.  Getting SUPER close to being in the 220's! 

I didn't sleep very well last night.  I kept hearing weird noises and it was freaking me out.  Despite bad sleep I feel very upbeat and happy today.  I'm getting a bit hungry so I think I'm going to get a bowl of sliced strawberries sprinkled w/ a packet of truvia (stevia).  Yum! 

I got my Idaho driver's license today, and the picture turned out great!  I was so excited!  What a huge difference from my last picture. 

Hope you all have a great day!♥

R2 VLCD #17

FINALLY!  Dropped .8 lbs today, putting me at EXACTLY 40 lbs lost.  WHEW!  I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get there.  YAY!
My steak day yesterday went great.  I felt good all day long.  My next goal in to get into the 220's .  =)

R2 VLCD #16

I never did get to weigh in yesterday and today I got on and lost NOTHING!  Zilch, zero, nadda.  Dang it!  I'm wondering if I'm at an old setpoint.  I've read a lot about people who hit old weight setpoints they'd been at for a length of time.  Like maybe I weighed this same amount years ago and stayed here for months and kind of "locked" in this weight.  It can be a bit of a pisser to move past.  I'm going to try a detox bath this evening and do an apple day today.  I've been teetering on the ege of 40 lbs for too long and it's making me go crazy. 
ETA:  Actually deceided to try a mini steak day.  Hope it helps break this stall.  =)

R2 VLCD #15

I have no idea what I weigh today.  We went to the early service at church and my husband didn't wake me up when the alarm went off.  It was a rush as soon as I woke up at 6:30 to get the kids fed, dressed, hair done etc etc.  Then we ran some errands and didn't get back home until noon.  I ate an apple and drank water while we were out and about. 

Last night was hard for me.  The family wanted pizza. So we went to papa murphy's and got pizza and cookie dough.  I ate my chicken and asparagus while they chowed down on all the yummy stuff.  Grrrrr
This would be SOO much easier if I didn't have to prepare my family their food.  lol     No fair!

On a good note, while we were out shopping my husband commented on how horrible my jeans looked (since they're so baggy) and that totally made my day.  =)  My new jeans are already getting too big.  I'm back in the inbetween sizes again.  Looking forward to getting into the next size.  =)

R2 VLCD #14

Down .2 lbs today.  I figured after my 1.8 lb loss yesterday that today would be pretty small.  I don't seem to lose big two days in a row.  Oh well.  So 39.2 lbs down now.  Inching closer to 40 lbs.  Lots of deep house cleaning to do today.  Then we're taking the kiddos to Chuck-E-Cheese's to play and then off to go buy a curtian rod.  Exciting day, huh?  =)

Updated YouTube Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1AHITKrN9k

R2 VLCD #13

TOM must officially be over because I lost 1.8 lbs this morning!!!!!  I had to get on the scale like 5 times to make sure I wasn't missing something.  YAY!  I'm now at 232.4 lbs and have lost 39 lbs.  I'm soo freaking close to losing 40!  I can hardly believe it!  If I could do cart wheels I would be doing them right now.  lol

R2 VLCD #12

Well I FINALLY lost that pound that I gained three days ago.  So I guess it just proves how TOM really messes everything up.  =(
At least I'm back down to my lowest weight and everything from here on out will be a step forward. 
I'm really craving coffee with CREAM today.  Coffee w/ flavored stevia just isn't cutting it.  My husband needs to hurry and come home.  I'm tired of not getting good sleep.  =)
ETA:  I made the yummiest dinner tonight.  I cut up my chicken in bite size pieces and put them in my cast iron skillet over med-low heat w/ 1 teaspoon of coconut oil.  I then took about 1 cup of asparagus cut into bite size pieces and tossed them into the skillet as well.  To the skillet I added 1/4 C up water, and seasoned the mixture with smoked paprika and cajun seasoning.  I cooked it until the chicken was cooked through and the asparagus was fork tender.  It was out of this world!!  YUM!  I think I'll make some more apple pie filling for dessert later.  =)

R2 VLCD #11

Didn't lose anything today,  =(   Boohoo!!
I dug out my measuring tape and lost another 2 inches for a total of 40 inches lost!  TOM is almost done, I sure hope the scale starts moving again soon.  This is driving me crazy!! 
ETA:  I'm feeling really good today.  I made "apple pie filling" for an after lunch dessert.  It was awesome!  I peeled a granny smith apple, cored it, and cut it into 1/4 inch slices.  I put them into a small pan and added 1/4 cup of water, two packets of sweetener, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.  I cooked the apples on medium heat until the water evaporated and the apples were very soft.  YUMMMY!!!!!!!! 
It's about dinner time and I have no hunger what so ever.  Last night I cooked up big pot of chili (made 9 servings) and I divided it up into individual containers.  I was getting tired of making it every day.  Anyhoo, hope you all are having a good day too.♥

R2 VLCD #10

Phooey!  I slept horrible last night.  It's definitely hard for me to get good sleep when my husband is out of town.  =(  I woke up early and weighed myself and it showed I was up a pound.  grrrr
I had to get dressed and put myself together since I am babysitting today.  Cramps are bothering me again today as well.  It's amazing how TOM really screws things up.  I've read it on countless blogs that it makes you feel extra hungry, extra tempted to eat non protocol foods and gain and or stall.  I wish we could just eat phase 3 foods while TOM was taking up residence.  Oh well.  I'm going to eat really well today and hope for a loss tomorrow.  I need to go to the store and get some more veggies this afternoon.

 

HCG R2 VLCD #9

R2 VLCD #9

Apple day seems to have helped push things along nicely.  I dropped 1.4 lbs this morning for a total weight loss of 37.2 lbs.  YAY! I slept SO amazingly well last night.  I woke up at 6:30 am refreshed and ready to start the day.  My husband will be out of town till Friday night.  I miss him when he's gone, but it helps when I don't have to make these big production dinners.  The kids are happy with sandwiches and apple slices.  Next week he'll be gone M-Thurs as well.  By then I'll be over halfway finished w/ my 2nd round.  woohoo!
Happy Monday, Ladies.  =)

R2 VLCD #8

I can't tell if I lost .2 lbs today or nothing at all.  Either way, i'm gong to try and push past this with an apple day.  TOM, you're throwing off my groove!

R2 VLCD #7

I swear I already wrote a blog this morning, but apprently I didn't save it or something.  Grrrrr.

I woke up to a .6 loss today.  I'm a bit suprised after last night's crazyness. 

I have to admit I feel like total CRAP today.  TOM started with a vengence.  I'm SUPER tired, pretty darn hungry and am craving chocolate like a crazy peron.  =(   I hate TOM, hate hate hate it! 

I'm sure my losses are going to slow way down now too....so not fair.  =(

We went to a park in Spokane today for 5 1/2 hrs to support some friends of ours whose kids were running in some cross country races.  It was a looooong day.  I got sunburned.  I was hungry.  I had cramps and had no medicine.  I brought no girl supplies with me because I didn't know that TOM was going to arrive.  I wore long pants and a long sleeve shirt and it ended up being 80 degrees.  So now I'm cranky, tired, hungry, and worn out. 
I just want to hide out in my closet with that box of peppermint patties and have myself a good feast.  I won't, but it doesn't mean I dont' REALLY want to. 

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

cheated =(

I don't know what happened to me this evening.  I went to costco to get some groceries and diapers.  I walked out with a box of mini York Peppermint Patties.  Within 5 minutes of getting into the van I opened the box and popped one into my mouth.  =(  WHY WHY WHY?!?!?!?!?!  I only had 1, but still it's like 50 freaking calories and has 10 grams of sugars.  Wahhhh!!!!  My husband wanted to go out to dinner tonight.  I ended up eating some chicken and asparagus before we left so I wouldn't be tempted to eat at the BBQ joint.  I did take a bite of plain brisket and ordered a diet coke.  Today started off so well, it just didn't end so good.  =(   booo

I'm scared to get on the scale in the morning.

BTW I confessed to my husband that I bought the candies and asked that he hide them from me so that I wouldn't be tempted to hork down the entire box.  I know what I'll be giving out to the kiddies this halloween.  lol 
I will save a few so I can enjoy them on my next load.

sigh

R2 VLCD#6

I hit a nice little milestone today.  35lbs lost!  I lost .8 lbs today, not too shabby.  I'm feeling great mentally and physically.  My birthday is in about a month.  My goal is to be 50lbs lost by the time my birthday rolls around.  If I continue to lose an average of .5 lbs a day, I should be able to reach it.  =)  YAY!!  I think I'm going to cut out ground turkey for a few days and see if my losses pick up at all.  Instead I'll use ground chicken or ground sirloin.  Now I just need to go find my old fashioned meat grinder out in the garage. 

HCG R2 VLCD5

R2 VLCD#5

Feeling better today.  Zero hunger, my mood is up.....the drops must finally be kicking into full gear.  Yay!  I lost 1.2 lbs this morning.  Putting me at 237.2 lbs and a total loss of 34.2 lbs.  =)  I cannot freaking wait to be under 200!!!!  Fingers crossed that I'll be under it by Christmas. 
ETA:  Just finished filming another youtube video.  It should be uploaded within the next few hours.  I HATE how long it takes to upload!!  I'm craving chocolate peanut butter cookies today. 

R2 VLCD #4

Feeling cranky and hungry today.  Only lost .2 lbs today.  grrrrr  Trying NOT to let that ruin my day.  I downed a liter of water and a bowl of strawberries so far today and still am feeling hungry.  Not starving, but annoyingly hungry.  I don't want to make and eat lunch before lunch time.  I was woken up by the darn dog at 5am and he was barking up a storm at the cats.  So I didn't end of getting the sleep I normally do.  stupid dog.  I really want an "everything" bagel w/ lots and lots of cream cheese right now.  Funny how as soon as I start up the vlcd again....all my cravings come rushing back.  I'm looking forward to losing all my weight and so I can relish in stabilization mode.  I hope in the time it takes me to lose this weight that I'll have learned my lesson and will treat food differently than I had been. 
I watched the season premier of The Biggest Loser on my laptop this morning.  This is the 1st time since the show started that I officially weighed less than all the of girls who are going to be on the show.  This is the 10th season and I always have weighed the same as most of the women starting out.  BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!!!  YAY!! 

R2 VLCD #3

Woke up to a 2.8lb loss!  I'm now officially BELOW my lowest weight on round 1.  I don't EVER plan on being in the 240's again!  238.6 is my new weight.  5 lbs in 2 days, I'll definitely take it!  Esp. for round 2.  I ate the same thing for my meals yesterday that I ate the day before, they were just way too good!
ETA:  I've been craving chocolate cake all day.   *annoyed*

R2 VLCD# 2

R2 VLCD #2

Lost 2.2lbs today.  I was hoping for a 3.5 lb loss like I got in my 1st round on day 1.  Oh well.  I'm at 241.4 , I am looking forward to getting into the 230's again.  Hopefully by tomorrow.  ;)   I feel good and slept pretty good.  I'm a bit hungry right now though.  I think I'll go grab my water and suck on that for a while before I cave and eat an apple. 

R2 VLCD# 1

I gained 3 lbs from yesterday.  Eeeek!  My total gain from my LDW is 3.2lbs .....not awful, still freaked me out when I got on the scale this morning.  Feeling good so far.  I slept really well last night, HCG apparently makes me sleep really well.  No complaints there. 
I'm looking forward to getting through today and getting on that scale tomorrow.  =)  This is when the fun begins.
ETA:  I had a yummy lunch that I wanted to share with you guys.  The recipe is from a gal I subscribe to on youtube.  Here's the video.....

http://www.youtube.com/user/MizRachelB#p/u/3/jzPfSbw4I_8

Loading Day #2

I woke up this morning to a 1 lb loss.  Weird.  I never did eat dinner last night. Although when I was getting ready for bed around 10pm I started to feel a bit hungry.  I realized that besides two maple bars I had no junk food or high fat food in the house whatsoever.  There were some avocados, but they weren't ripe and I wasn't in the mood to whip up anything with coconut oil, so I went ahead and ate both maple bars.  Blech!  It felt more like torture than anything.  I need to take my drops this morning and then figure out what I'm going to have for breakfast.  Benjamin wants to go out to the Texas Roadhouse for dinner.  I think I'm going to order potato skins for dinner.....I loooooove potato skins and with bacon and cheese and sour cream, that should be a decent loading day dinner.  Anyhoo, off to bake up a batch of cinnamon rolls.  I still have some dough from the orange rolls that has to be used up today.  Happy loading!

HCG Round 2 Loading Day #1

Round 2 LOADING DAY #1

Oh round two, I almost didn't believe you'd ever arrive.  =)

My friend won't be here w/ the donuts for over 3 more hours, sigh.  I woke up this morning and realized that I just signed up to do another 9 weeks of VLCD and phase 3 foods.  After my two loading days I won't be able to eat what I want until Thanksgiving!!  Eeeek!  I'm not sure why food is still so important to me that I'm stressed about when I'll get to eat what I want again.  I feel like a lame fat idiot for thinking those thoughts.  I know I'm on a path that is allowing me to lose weight, gain my health back, and gain my LIFE back.  I do NOT want to be the mom that cannot enjoy physical activities with her family because of her size.  I want to go sledding, swimming, hiking, biking, roller blading etc etc etc.  I not only want to do those things, but I want to ENJOY them!!  I can swim but it's painful because of my horrific body image.  Roller blading hurts my feet too much because of all the weight they have to carry.  I haven't gone sledding with my children EVER.  My husband has taken them, but in 8 years I have never done it.  I've watched from the side lines because trying to get on a sled was hard when you have that much weight to lose.  And because just climing up the sledding hill would make me so winded I was not going to humiliate myself. 

You see what I'm doing here??

I'm pumping myself up.....I'm not going to allow food (I don't care how boring it is) to hold me back ANY LONGER!

I will succeed, I will follow this protocol, I will enjoy my maple bars this morning.  =)

♥ to you all!!    Heeeeeeere we go!

ETA:  ok so I started off this morning with a FRUITITO from Davis Donuts.  It's like a burrio filled with an apple cinnamon filling,deep fried,  then dipped in glaze and topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel.  YUM!  Unfortunately within 6 bites I was already starting to feel queasy.  I sipped on my raspberry mocha and started to wonder if it was really ever as good as I remembered it to be.  Three hours later I had a maple bar and felt like I was going to blow chunks.  I'm SOOOO done with donuts.  I never thought I'd ever say or think that....but it's truly how I feel.  My maple bar obsession has offically ended.  LOL

I don't want to eat anything.....the thought of food is just gross.  Figures.  So much for taking advantage of my loading days.  I was super excited to have a dairy queen brownie batter blizzard, but now I'm thinking that sounds more like hell than heaven. 

Phase 3 Day#25

25 days on P3 seems like an eternity.  I was so mentally ready to a change after six weeks on P2.....now I'm so mentally ready to go back on it.  haha

Just thinking about maple bars make me feel all twitterpaited!!  One more day, one more day, one more day. 

Orange Rolls

Today is my handsome husband's 33rd birthday.  He's going to be out of town all day and tomorrow so I made him a plate of orange rolls that he could enjoy for his birthday breakfast.  I LOVE orange rolls!!  The house smelled amazing as they were baking.  I am proud to annouce that I didn't cheat, I didn't eat any, even though I really wanted to.  Yay! 

I haven't gotten on the scale yet today.  I started babysitting the son of a friend of mine.  I don't usually weight myself till around 8:00am, and her son comes at 7am.  Soooo yeah.  Although she's running late today and hasn't dropped him off yet.  I doubt the scale is going to show anything too eventful.  I ate really well yesterday. 

2 more days till maple bar heaven!

Phase 3 Day# 23

I wish I could say I am as strong as my friends with eating and temptations.  I've been battling some issues with my sister.  I'm beyond angry, beyond hurt, and really want to just turn my back on her so I can move on with my life and not think about her poor choices she keeps making.  I ended up eating about a third of a sin dawg to dull the ache inside. (This is a sin dawg in case you're curious) http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/2010/04/sin-dawg.html It didn't help.  Food never does.  I didn't gain any weight today, thank goodness.  I'm really struggling today.  I want food in the worst way, even though my brain knows it's not the answer.  Why are food and emotions so linked?  Why can't we be like dogs and eat the same thing every day and not mind?  I really want to end phase 3 on a strong note and not blow it by giving up and eating garbage food.

Oh a happier note......I found an answer to my donut dilema for Friday.  The dilema was this....do I buy maple bars on Thursday so I can have them 1st thing on Friday and risk them tasting stale....or.....do I buy them on Friday and wait until I can get to the store so that they're nice and fresh.  LOL  Who knew life was so difficult? LOL

Here is the answer.  A girlfriend of mine is going to go to starbucks and grab a couple drinks and then swing over to Davis Donuts and pick up the order that I will have called in on Thursday.  She will then deliver the goods to my home around 9:00am.  Hot dog!  We're going to enjoy coffee and donuts and have some much needed girlie gab time. 

Mia I sure wished you lived here!  I think we'd have some fun loading together.  ;)

Phase 3 Day# 22

Technically I could start loading today....and that thought is making me go crazy.  lol

I lost 1 lb when I got on the scale today.  No matter what I do I can't seem to get on the under side of my LDW, it seems I'm constantly fighting to stay within my 2lb limit.  Grrrrr

All in all things are really going quite well.  In 3 weeks of phase 3 I really have pretty much stayed exactly where I was supposed to stay.  I'm afraid that when I load again I'm going to gain like 20 pounds.  =)  Oh well, like I said before....two steps forward one step back.  I'll get there, eventually.

Maple Bars!

5 more days till I can sink my teeth into one or seven of these babies! 

Phase 3 Day#21

I'm frustrated today.  I woke up to a 2lb gain.  Seriously it's so annoying.  I don't think I drank my normal amount of water and I am starting to get cramps, so TOM might be on it's way.  Flipping fantastic.  I'll be eating lots of protein today and upping my water big time.  Hopefully it'll show on the scale tomorrow.  If not, it'll be another steak day for me.  (fingers crossed)

Phase 3 Day#19

Dropped 1.2 lbs from yesterday.  This is such a crazy diet.  I'm glad to be much closer to my LDW.  I was teetering on the edge again yesterday and it makes me nervous.  I cooked up a spaghetti squash last night and topped it w/ homemade tomato sauce and a piece of low carb chicken parmesan.  It was terrific!  I haven't had spaghetti squash since I was 5 or 6 and I remember HATING it.  lol   Funny how our tastes change as we get older.

ETA:  So I took a shower about an hour after my original post and got on the scale again.  It showed a loss of 2.6 lbs from yesterday.  I got on like 10 times and I got the same reading each time.  Odd.  I'm still within my LDW so I'm super happy.

Tonight we're getting pizza from Papa Murphy's and I'm excited because I'll get to eat some!  Mmmmm Pizza!!  I'll just scrape off all the sauce, cheese and toppings and toss the crust.  I may even just mix the toppings with a plate of plain spaghetti squash for some extra fiber.  I feel so good today.

Breakfast was ezekiel toast w/ avocado and eggs
Lunch was cottage cheese, handful of nuts, and a bowl of strawberries drizzled w/ chocolate delight. 

I'm really glad it's the weekend.  This week has been crazy busy w/ school starting and such.  I am hoping for a quiet, uneventful weekend.  =)

Phase 3 Day# 18

So today I was writing my weight down in my journal and I was flipping through it looking at my progress and I realized I've been basing my LDW wrong.  I was basing on the day after I stopped taking the drops.  Basically .8lbs off.  Grrrr!!!!  So I've been stressing for NO reason.  The original steak day I did at the beginning was legit and I was over my true LDW....but the other one I did was for nothing.  lol    figures!!!!!

I ended up not doing a correction day yesterday.  I was just not in the mood.  haha

I had avocado ezekiel toast and eggs for breakfast, a greek yogurt smoothie for lunch,  some chocolate delight for a snack, and low carb chicken parmesan w/ a green salad for dinner.  Yum!  8 more days till LOADING!  I can hardly wait! 

Phase 3 Day#17

My alternative steak day went ok.  I lost about 1/2 a pound, putting me at just 2oz away from my LDW.  Not feeling super safe right now.  I think today I'm going to do another alternative steak day and see if that helps.  I need to research some different ones and see which one sounds the best. 

Steak Day #2

Woke up this morning to a pretty big gain.....putting me in the range of needing a steak day, ugh!!  I didn't eat anything yesterday that I haven't been eating for the last 2 weeks.  Although the last couple of days I haven't been drinking much water......I'm wondering if that's the cause of my sudden gain.  I LOATHE steak day!!  Wahhhhh!!!!   I'm already hungry and it's only 8:30.  Phooey!  Oh well, I gotta do what I gotta do.  Suck it up Erica, it'll be worth it when you get on the scale tomorrow.  =)  Right??

I'm wondering if I can have a cup of coffee or if I have to only drink water until dinner time.

ETA:  I deceided to try a variation of the traditional "steak day".  I just got too hungry.  I had 2 eggs for breakfast, a steak for lunch, and I'll have more steak for dinner w/ some cheese.  I'm also drinking lots and lots of water.  Despite all the water, eating breakfast and lunch.....I'm sooooo hungry!!  I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm cranky.  I wonder if TOM is coming?  I never know....it's been crazy all over the place since it started.   sigh    hungry hungry hungry hungry
I was never this hungry while on the hcg drops.  hmfph!

Phase 3 Day# 15

Wow, I have to admit phase 3 is flying by and phase 2 went on for ever and ever and ever!!  haha  
I was over at my parent's house last night and borrowed a couple low carb recipe books.  I found a pumpkin cheesecake recipe that sounded good.  I had some pumpkin puree in the fridge that needed to be used up anyway.  It must've been a sign. 

I had a sliver just a little bit ago.  Cheesecake really needs to be thoroughly chilled before consumption for best taste and texture, but I was impatient.  shocker

It was pretty tasty!  I did put a dollop of cool whip on top.  I should've probably made my own whipped cream but I had an open container of cool whip and chose to take the lazy route.  I had about 1 T which is about 12.5 calories and just a hint of sugar.  I won't lose sleep over that.  =)

Low Carb Sugar Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:
butter
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese softened
1/2 to 3/4 C Splenda
2 tsp vanilla
1  1/2 cups of pure canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
4 eggs
1  1/2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.  Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 1/2 inch springform cheesecake pan.  Sprinkle the bottom of the pan w/ the chopped pecans, distributing evenly.

3.  In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, splenda, and vanilla until fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl and beaters.

4.  Add the pumpkin and sour cream, mixing thoroughly on medium speed.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each one.  Mix in the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt.

5.  Pour the batter over the nuts in the pan.  Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a knife placed in the center comes out clean.  Cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Yield: 12 servings, each with 7 grams of carbs and 1 gram of fiber, for a total of 6 grams of usable carbs and 6 grams of protein.

Starving!!

It's 1:00 AM and I'm freaking hungry.  I REALLY want to go downstairs and rummage up something yummy to eat but I won't.  I shouldn't  have stayed up so late reading.  Night time eating has been a bad habit of mine ever since I had Samuel 8 years ago.  I'd be up late at night nursing him and then I'd get hungry and before long I'd get up every night and eat something.....a granola bar, a sandwhich, fruit, chips, anything really.  I had a big salad for dinner around 5pm.....so yeah salads don't keep me satiated for 7 hours.  I'd better grab a big glass of water and hit the hay.  I just wanted to let you know that i'm AVOIDING temptation.  Each baby step gets me closer to my goal.  I have to keep that in the forefront on my mind.  G'night.  ♥

Phase 3 Day#14

Got on the scale this morning, Mia was right, I didn't gain anything after my cheat yesterday.  Needless to say, I'm in no mood to cheat again.  I felt sick so for many hours after eating that silly cheesecake, it wasn't really worth it.

Totally cheated

Ugh is all I have to say.  =(

Benjamin really wanted to go out to dinner.  So we went to Tomato Street since we still had several free kids meal cards.  I ordered a salad w/ some stuff mushrooms in alfredo sauce.  It was beyond delicious.  I had water to drink and no bread.  Up till that point I was doing great.  Then the waitress offered orange creamsicle cheesecake.  I thought to myself that cheesecake wasn't so bad, especially if I didn't eat the crust.  I took one bite and all my strength went out the window.  I snarfed down the entire slice in 2.6 seconds flat.  It was so yummy!!!  Within a few minutes I felt really sick and got quite the migrane.  It's probably from the sugar.  Now I'm not looking forward to getting on the scale tomorrow.  Stupid cheesecake!  It's been over 4 1/2 hrs since we had dinner and I'm still feeling a bit sick.  Blech.  I hate that feeling.  You really don't realize how awful sugar is until it's completely out of your system.  This was a very slender slice of cheesecake and most cheesecakes aren't sugar laden.  Even so, it made me feel awful.  I sincerely hope I learned my lesson and that I don't cheat for the remainder of phase 3.

Phase 3 Day# 13

Since I really don't have anything new to say and since my weight seems to be behaving like it should, I think I'll only post if something changes or if I have some good news to share.

Phase 3 Day# 12

Blah blah blah, nothing to report here.  Doing great, feeling great.....can't wait to start round 2.

Oh and I'm SOOOOO proud of my mom, Mia, and Bre for being troopers and doing awesome on this diet.  ♥♥

ETA:  So when I got dressed today I realized that my clothes felt like they were even looser than they were on my last VLCD.  So I got our my measuring tape today and took my measurements.  To my suprise I've lost another 3.5 inches!!!

32 lbs lost

37.25 inches lost! 

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

My mom gave me a pair of her size 16 jeans that were too big for her when I 1st started HCG.  I couldn't even pull them up over my hips.  They're stretchy jeans, so they definitely "give" more than normal denim.  Today I'm excited to announce that I can now wear them comfortably!!!!

Phase 3 Day# 11

I think I can officially call myself Stable Mabel.  LOL  Yahoo!!!!!  That first week freaked me out!  I'm so thankful for the HCG diet.  I still can hardly believe I'm down over 30 lbs!  Hurry up Sept 19th!!!  I wanna start losing again!

Just realized I had a slice of Ezekiel bread yesterday w/ no adverse side effects.  =)  I'm definitely going to have another slice w/ breakfast this morning.  mmmmmmm

I cannot believe it's already September!!! 

Feeling sorry for myself.

I wish food wasn't so important to me.  Although I don't obsess over it as much as I did 2 months ago, I still feel completely drawn to it.  I think about it entirely too much.  I almost despise going grocery shopping now because walking around and seeing all the foods I cannot have and smelling the bakery and or deli drives me nuts.  I guess it's the 20+ years of bad eating habits that have lead me up to this point.  Obviously being 126lbs overweight (sigh) proves I cannot control myself.  Yet here I am, after losing over 30 lbs, feeling sorry for myself because I cannot go down into the kitchen and eat whatever I want.  Self control is SO hard!  I know I can do this for the long haul.  I've done it almost 2 months now.  I haven't had any sugar in almost 2 months.  That's a crazy thing for me to even say.  It feels good though, kind of like a badge of honor.  If Erica the sugar/carb whore can go almost 2 months w/o cheating, anyone can. 

Time to get in bed before I do something stupid and have to forfeit my new badge.  =o)

Phase 3 Day# 10

Not much to report.....things are going well.  It's a bit  cold today so I think I'll start searching for a high protein soup I can make.

Oh and I opened up my email and saw the Dairy Queen is having the brownie batter blizzard for their blizzard of the month during September.  YAY!!!  I can't wait to eat one or seven come my next loading days!!  BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

ETA: I had a slice of Ezekiel bread w/ a couple eggs for breakfast this morning.  It tasted great!  We'll see how if if effects the scale in the morning.

___

Just got back from running errands and had to get a SF cinnamon dolce latte......thanks Mia for the idea!  YUMMY!

_____

Making this for dinner....

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/italian-meatball-soup/  only I'm leaving out the potatoes and am using lean ground turkey in place of the ground beef.  This is SUCH a flavorful soup. 

While making dinner I made my 1st smoothie w/ greek yogurt.  It was beyond fabulous!  I used 7 oz of plain greek yogurt, 5 big frozen strawberries, 1 packet of stevia, 1/4 tsp of vanilla,  and about 1/3 cup of milk.  I blended it all in  my little magic bullet.  Oh man it was like a creamy strawberry milkshake.  It was soooo creamy and the texture was like silk.  17 grams of protein in the yogurt......crazy!  Too bad greek yogurt is so gosh darn expensive.  Although the stuff I got today was on sale and reduced a further 25% because it expires in 10 days. 

Phase 3 Day# 9

I was able to get back down to 240 lbs this morning.  I'm .4 lbs away from being at my LDW.  Yahoo!  Looks like I'm going to have to push out my next loading days to the 17th and 18th of Sept.  I was going to load during my husband's birthday, but he'll be out of town on business.  I really want to go out to dinner and celebrate w/ him.  So I guess my phase 3 will be 4 weeks long instead of just 3 1/2.  I'm suprised at how anxious I feel to go back on phase 2.  I thought I'd be relishing in phase 3 foods....which I am.....but there is so much excitement to get on the scale and lose weight almost every morning.  Not to mention I still have almost 100 lbs still to go....I'm freaking anxious to get down to a "normal" weight.

Phase 3 Day #8

I went up .4lbs today putting me at exactly 2lbs above my  LDW.  I'm almost 100% positive it's because I haven't had to use the (ahem) bathroom in like 4 days.  I think all that meat and cheese is backing things up a bit.  Although I'm still taking my magnesium I think this is going to take some extra effort.  So I'll be going to the store today to pick up some smooth move tea.  If by tomorrow I haven't gone down I guess I'll be forced to do another steak day.  =(     I'm pretty confident that tomorrow will be fine.  I'm also going to pick up some greek yogurt, yippee!  I don't feel puffy at all today, my ankles, fingers, and knees all feel back to normal.  whew!

ETA: smooth move tea BLOWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It tastes awful!  I feel like I'm going to get sick.  blech
Eww!

How much protein??

So I've been researching protein and how much a person needs on a daily basis.  I found a formula that says a person should have 7 grams of protein for every 20lbs.  So for me it would work like this.....

240 lbs  divided by 20 = 12

12 x 7 = 84 grams of protein a day

As I lose weight I can adjust the amount of protein I'll need.   This helps temendously!  Now I don't feel like I'm walking around in the dark trying to figure things out.  I need to go out tomorrow and buy some greek yogurt.  I want to start making smoothies.  I like to take frozen berries, yogurt, vanilla extract, and a sweetener (in this case, stevia) and blend it up.  It's a quick and easy breakfast that's full of healthy fats, protein, and antioxidants.  =)

Steak Day results

Well I dropped 1.4 lbs from my steak day.  I was hoping for a minimum of 2lbs, but I'll take what I can get.  I still feel swollen around my knees this morning.  I'm thinking maybe I should try a mini steak day.  Time to research it to figure out what I need to do.  At least at this point I'm 1.6 lbs within my LDW.  So that much is good.

This is the info that I found:

"Meal one eat eggs, little butter (NO CARBS)

Meal two eat eggs, Cheese, protein and LOW carb VEGGIE

Meal three eat Beef, Cheese, salad

LOADS OF WATER..."

The thought of more beef makes me want to hurl!  Maybe I can make a P3 friendly meatloaf instead of steak or hamburger...shudder.

ETA:  I was rereading my book by Linda Prinster and I came across the dreaded term.....hunger edema.  It's basically when a person doesn't eat enough protein that their body starts to hold onto all water.  I read where I should've been eating a 1500 calorie diet MINIMUM.....so yeah...between those two things and not being hungry because of the pain I was in, I basically set myself up for this water gain.  Lame.  Live and learn I guess.  I sure hope Bre and Mia appreciate that I have to figure this out 1st.  lol

I had 3 eggs for breakfast w/ some cheese.  Maybe for lunch I'll make an omlet.  Dinner will probably be a meat loaf since I can't handle any more steak or hamburgers. 

I had coffee this morning w/ some half n half and a packet of stevia, it was delightful.  =)

STEAK DAY

I woke up this morning and I feel like my skin is tight w/excess fluid.  I feel so swollen.  =(  Neck pain or not, I'm getting to Costco as soon as they open and I'm getting stuff for a detox bath.  I also will be doing a steak day today since I got on the scale and was 242.8 lbs  EEEEEEK!!!!!  That's 2.2lbs up from yesterday!  I've been reading up on steak days since I got up this morning.  I guess it can be pretty common in your 1st round to have to do them esp in the 1-2 weeks of maintenence.  It's pretty depressing, but on the other hand I know w/o a shaddow of a doubt my gain has nothing to do w/ what I'm eating.  I'm eating phase 3 foods to the T. 

Please Lord, let tomorrow be a good day!!

ETA:  I am sooooooooooo hungry!! It feels like my stomach is going to turn inside out, dang it!  It's only 2pm........I still have about 4 hrs to go before dinner and my steak.  I went to Costco today and got some stuff for my detox bath.  I also bought 2lbs of filet mignon.  I thought if I have to eat steak (which I don't really care for red meat anyway) it might as well be the best I can get.  I think I'm going to make a garlic/herb compound butter to go on top of it.  HURRY UP 6:00!!!

Dinner: two filet mignons and an apple

I DO NOT LIKE BEEF!!!!!  It was very tender and the 1st few bites were OK......but I was trying not to gag on the last few bites.  UGH!   My feet and ankles are so swollen, reminds me of when I was pregnant.  =(    I read pounds and inches again this afternoon and not only have I been eating too little calories...should be 1500 MINIMUM......but I should be eating lots and lots of protein.  I know for a fact I haven't been doing either one of those things.   It says that patients who don't follow those two rules will gain lots of water weight.  I've read that whole red book like 4 times....and somehow I missed that info.  If I'm not better by tomorrow, I'm going to find the nearest bridge and jump off.  =)

Phase 3 Day # 5

I'm so irritated!  My stiff neck was really starting to feel better last night.  I woke up this morning back to where I was on Tuesday.  UGH!!!!!!!!!!  I'm not going to be taking any drugs this time around.  I'm trying to be calm and not stress, but it's hard. 

I got on the scale today and was 240.6 lbs.  So I went down .4lbs, hopefully this will continue and I get back to my LDW.  

My appetite is pretty much non exsistant.  I don't know if it's from being in so much pain or what.  I had to force myself to eat a big bowl of soup at noon.  I don't want to screw my metabolism up because I'm not eating enough. 

Calories so far today:  250

Snack: cottage cheese

Calories so far today: 375

Snack: chocolate delight w/ nuts and dried fruit

Calories so far today: 875

Dinner: oopsie roll french toast w/ huckleberries

Total calories for the day: 1375

I sure hope I feel better tomorrow.  Being in the kitchen trying to make food is exhausting when my neck hurts so bad.  I'm totally worried I'm not eating enough, which can backfire and cause weight gain.  UGH UGH UGH!

Phase 3 Day #4

Well crap!  On monday I woke up with a super sore stiff neck, well it was significantly worse yesterday and I didn't fall asleep even once last night due to the horrific pain I'm in.  Through the course of yesterday I took two perscription muscle relaxers and anti-inflamitories.  Neither one did anything to help my neck relax.  I even took two Motrin PM's out of desperation at 3am......nada......nothing.  I got out of bed feeling very puffy and swollen.  No shocker when I got on the scale and was up 1.6lbs from yesterday.  I'm 99% sure it's from the meds and not w/ the food I ate yesterday.  I'm going to drink a ton of water today and take a detox bath to see if I can eliminate the water weight by tomorrow.  =(

Breakfast:

I didn't eat anything, my neck was hurting so bad I felt sick.  =(

Lunch:

I had a big ol turkey burger sprinkled w/ amino acids.  Yum!  My neck is feeling a bit better. 

Calories so far today: 300

snack: I had a big bowl of the last of the strawberries and a couple TBS of coconut oil. 

I have zero appetite, and am still feeling rather sick to my stomach.  My neck is feeling much better, but still quite bothersome.  =(

Calories so far today:  665

Phase 3 Day #3

Down .2 lbs today......seems like I'm stabilizing just fine.  I feel really good, my hunger has definitely come back.  I try and only eat when I really feel hungry and not just because I want to eat.  I think today I'm going to make eggs parmigiana.  You put about 1 tsp of olive oil in a non stick pan over med heat.  Once heated you add 1 clove of minced fresh garlic....sautee for 1 min.  Crack two eggs over the garlic and season w/ salt and pepper.  Next you add about 1/4 cup of sugar free spaghetti sauce (w/o any meat) over the eggs, add some fresh mozz cheese and sprinkle w/ a bit of parm cheese.  Cover until cheese is melted and the eggs are cooked to your liking.  I know it sounds odd, but this is SUCH a tasty way to eat eggs.

Calories so far today: 330

Lunch:

I had another bowl of the cream of mushroom soup and this time I added 100 grams of chicken to make it a little more hearty.  Yummy!  I also made my 1st nut butter cup w/ my chocolate delight.  Oh baby oh baby!

Calories so far today: 845

Dinner: 

I was out getting some cheap chicken breasts at Safeway and thought on the way home I'd grab a starbucks latte.  I got a tall sf caramel latte, it was devine!  I'm not super hungry so I just made a turkey burger w/ 97% fat free turkey w/ an egg, parm cheese, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper.   I'll need to get a snack this evening so I can reach a minimum of 1500 calories. 

Calories so far today: 1330

Snack:

1 cup of fresh sliced strawberries drizzled w/ a serving a choc delight.

Calories for the day: 1515

Out of the 20's

So when I started this diet back in July I was a size 22.  I am now officially a size 18!  I haven't been out of the 20's for 7 years!!!!!  Even though I once lost 40 lbs a few years ago....I only went down to a 20.  I'm confused how I can lose less weight and yet lose more inches.  Either way, I'm thrilled to be out of the evil 20's forever! 

Phase 3 Day #2

Good news I didn't gain six thousand pounds!!!  I actually just went  up .2 lbs which is where I was on my last day of drops.  Perfect!

I woke up with a VERY stiff neck, grrr!  When I went to bed last night I couldn't get warm for the life of me.  I even got up and put on my winter pajama pants and socks.  Anyway when I got back in bed I put the covers over my head except for a little breathing hole.  I think sleeping w/ my head at an angle under the blankets caused the stiff neck.  I also think because I've lost almost 32 lbs of fat that I'm not as "insulated" as I once was, causing me to be chilled a bit easier. 

I think this morning I'm going to try and make oopsie french toast w/ a homemade sugar free huckleberry syrup.  I bought some huckleberries a couple weeks ago and I stuffed them in the freezer.  I'm going to attempt to make a sauce/syrup by cooking some in a pan w/ a little bit of lemon juice and stevia until the berries break down.  I've made huckleberry sauce several times w/ regular sugar and corn starch to thicken it.  We'll see how this experiment turns out.  =)

ETA:

OMGoodness, pure deliciousness!

I dipped two oopsie rolls in a mixture of 1 beaten egg, 2 TBS of milk, a spash of vanilla and a pinch of cinnamon.  I put 2 tsp of butter in my cast iron skillet and placed the soaked rolls in the hot butter.  I then put 1/2 cup of frozen huckleberries in a small sauce pan on medium high heat and added 1 packet of stevia.  I cooked them until they burst open and most of the juice had evaporated.  Once the rolls were cooked on both sides I put them on a plate and put a pat of butter on top of each roll.  Then 1/2 the berry mixture on each roll and I was naughty and also put a tsp of cool whip on top of each roll.  Cool whip does have sugar in it.  A serving size is 2 tbs and it's 25 calories.  So if I had 2 tsp that should be 8.33 calories, but i'll round up to 10 just to be on the safe side.  =) 

I didn't feel sick today after eating breakfast.  After I ate my two rolls I though I could've easily eaten more but within 10 minutes I started to feel really full, so I'm glad I just stuck w/ making only two.

Just came across a website that shows all kinds of uses for oopsie rolls!

http://www.apinchofhealth.com/forum/vbb/showthread.php?t=5230

Calories so far today: 324

Lunch:

I had a small bowl of that leftover cream of mushroom soup.  It tasted wonderful!  I think tomorrow I'll add some cooked diced chicken to it to give it some more protein.  Then I made a double batch of chocolate delight and added some chopped nuts and chopped dried cranberries.   I'm being so good and yet I feel so naughty.  ;)  heehee

Calories so far today:  903

Dinner:

So I just couldn't help myself, I HAD to make more french toast oopsie rolls.  =)  I am now out of oopsie rolls and will not make any more till tomorrow.  This way I'll have to eat something else for breakfast.  I had 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese at 6:00 and then by 7:30 I was STARVING!  I ended up using my last 3 rolls for dinner. 

Calories for the day: 1517