Today is the day!

I start taking my hcg today, yay!!!!! Honestly I wish I could skip the loading part. I'm so ready to lose some more weight. Saturday is my 1st VLCD so Sunday will be my 1st weigh in.

My girlfriend Amanda has been able to stay within her 2 lb cushion and she's almost done w/ her 1st trimester. I told her NOT to worry about her weight now that she's pregnant. She's being really good though. She mainly eats phase 3 foods in moderate amounts and has been able to maintain. Her husband just finished 4 of his 6 weeks on hcg and has already lost 40 lbs! He's within 15 lbs of his goal weight. OH TO BE A MAN!! He also has convinced a bunch of men he works with to start the diet as well. They're all amazed that such a big guy (6'1") can eat 500 cal and not feel hungry or deprived. I love it!!

I keep hearing people say, ANYONE can lose weight if they're eating 500 calories a day and that hcg hasn't been proved to help in weight loss. They're half right, yes anyone will lose weight of 500 calories. The difference is, when you're taking hcg your body loses only abnormal fat and your appetite is supressed. Eating 500 calories a day w/o hcg will cause you to lose abnormal fat, essential fat, and muscle. Plus you will feel crazy amounts of hunger.

Last night we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory. I'd never been there before. It was delicious but my body is definitely not used to eating pasta. I made a batch of muddy buddies to have and plan on dipping strawberries in chocolate for dessert tonight. Hope you all have a wonderful day♥

2 days

Well I went out and got my hcg today. 2 more days till I start loading, yippee!! I got on the scale today and have gained about 6 lbs. phooey! I know part of that is definitely water weight. I've had a hankering for salty foods lately and haven't been drinking the amount of water that I should be. I know the weight will come off quickly and will soon be into new territory. Part of life is two steps forward and one step back. I will just keep plugging away.

On another note, I got an message from a gal on facebook who wants me to make her mother's 50th birthday cake. This is the 2nd custom cake I've been asked to make. yay!!! Word of mouth is a great way to start a little "on the side" business. I'm super excited!!

gearing up

I feel a little better today. My hubby went to Super Supplements last night and bought me some ear drops. It has olive oil, almond oil, garlic, tea tree essential oil, and a few other extracts in it. My ears still feel fairly tender, but definitely not as bad as yesterday and my nausea is very faint today.

HCG will soon be upon me. I need to go get my drops today. I'm very anxious to start up again. I really feel like my extended break put me in a good spot mentally to do this diet again. Looking back I can see I definitely burned myself out doing too many rounds too close together. This week I plan on eating the last few foods that I will miss during my 6 weeks of VLCD and 3 weeks on maintenance.

Inner ear issues?

Blah, I feel so icky. I've been battling extreame nausea the last 3 days. My ears have also been tender and I'm wondering if an ear infection is causing my equalibrium to be out of balance which in turn is causing the neasea. Either way it sucks big time. The nausea comes in waves. Sometimes it causes me to actually get sick and sometimes not. I had a teeny bite of cake at Sarah's party, but couldn't choke is down. The flavor of the strawberry cake was nice, but it made my tummy scream at me. =( booooo!

I start loading for my 4th(redo) round of hcg this Thursday. My sister in law will be visiting us from Texas on Wed, Thrus, and Friday. I figured we'd be making some extra special food since she's here and it would be a perfect time to start loading up. Although the thought of loading at this point makes me want to run to the restroom. And for those that think I could be pregnant, that's a no. Hubby went and got the "man surgery" after Sarah was born. =)

My inlaws will be flying up from Texas this June and I'd love to be down another couple of sizes by then. My mother in law has commented on my weight since the day she met me over 10 yrs ago. She once even asked me if I thought Benjamin really loved me since I gotten so heavy. Who asks a person that?! It looks like they'll be coming at the end of June so that gives me 3 months to hunker down and lose another 30 lbs or so. Each time they come to visit they get a hotel w/ a big pool so the kids can swim with them. I NEVER NEVER go swimming because I've been so ashamed of my body. Although I won't be "thin" by June, I'll definitely be at a place where I'll be proud to put on my "momma" bathing suit and join my kids in the pool.

Hang in there girlies, knock out this round with a bang. I'm cheering each of you on! Mia, you are doing soo good! I feel like a proud mother hen. You've been so diligent with your workouts and I'm thrilled at your success thus far. ♥

FINISHED!

I just put the finishing touches on my daughter's cake. I had a teeny bit of trouble w/ the fondant and used some of the decorations to cover the imperfections. Overall I'm thrilled with how it all turned out. I sooo wish I could go to school to really learn about cakes. For me it's all trial and error. I do lots and lots of research and watch youtube tutorials, but it would be nice to get some actual schooling in. Maybe someday. In the mean time I'll keep learning what I can and keep practicing on my children's birthday cakes. Here is the finished product.

blahhhhh

Today was a very long, very exhausting day. I've been babysitting for a friend of mine a few times a week. I greatly dislike babysitting, but she was desperate for someone to watch her son and I was interested in making a little extra cash. I told her a few days ago that I would watch her son through June and then I was done. (in a nice way of course) Anyway she took the news well and has started looking at different daycares in the area. It felt good to stand up and tell her what I wanted. I'm usually the person that gets too afraid to tell people what I want or what my limits are. Since a child I've let people trample all over me. I feel like I'm starting to grow up. lol

So today I babysat all morning until 3:40pm. I also worked on my daughters cake off and on. I also did a bunch of household chores and took my youngest son to school. Hebron has been complaining about his throat hurting the last couple of days and this morning he cried when he was eating breakfast saying his tongue hurt. I called his Dr. who told me to come in at 4:00pm. So the kids got off the school bus, my friend came and picked up her son, then I had to get 3 kids in the van and drive out to hayden to see this dr all in barely over 15 min. It was insanity. The dr. does strep test and low and behold Hebron STILL FREAKING HAS STREP THROAT! This time the Dr. writes a perscription for a stronger medication that he'll have to take twice a day for 2 whole weeks. Then I drive to Costco and turn in the perscription. They tell me it'll be a 25 min wait. The kids are hungry and tired and DO NOT want to be walking around Costco waiting for a perscription. After 25 min we head back to the pharmacy and wait in a huge ass line. Finally it's our turn and they tell us they're out of the medication and that they called other local pharmacies who are also out of the perscription but that it will be in tomorrow at 10am. AND AND AND they tell me it was going to cost $75 on top of the $85 I just spent seeing the Dr again. So we leave and get home well after dinner and I have to come up with something on the fly. Hubby starts to unload on me all about his craptastic day. Appartently his boss from Seattle is in town and handed Benjamin his ass on a platter. What a day. After dinner I cleaned up, got the kids ready for bed, put the kids to bed, took a shower and then dirty iced my cakes, and covered both tiers in marshmallow fondant. Tomorrow I need to make the rest of my ribbons, bows, and flowers so I can put the entire cake together Saturday morning.

I apologize for my boring second by second recount of the day, I'm just tired and mentally DRAINED! Tomorrow is another full day of babysitting, going to costco, playing with cake stuff, and cleaning my house so it's ready for a houseful of guests come Saturday. Calgon, take me away!!!

Here is a picture of my little Hello Kitty thus far. I have some details to add to her dress, her bow, and of course her face. I'm tempted to redo her head. It's not quite how I want it to be.....but if I had to keep it, I'd still be pretty happy. Gum paste is my new best friend. Sorry the photo is sideways. I'm having trouble getting it turned right side up.♥