Friday, April 29, 2011

Loving the P3!

I love that I can go out to a restaurant with my friends and find things on the menu to eat!! If I was worried I over did it on the calories the other day I really made sure to do it right yesterday, 1774! Breakfast was an apple and 2 hard boiled egg whites. For lunch I made my own mayonnaise and turned that into a tarragon chicken salad over some mixed greens-delish. I decided to add all my vitamin back in including my dynamic greens pack (antioxidant pack with 20 servings fruits and vegetables) the pack had a fruit punch flavor which is ok but not awesome... mixed with cream however... so much better! Yes I drank 1/2 a cup of heavy cream! Dinner was out with my friends for a ladies night I had a Romain salad with grilled buffalo chicken, red onions and shredded cheddar cheese. I wasn't planning on adding cheese back until next week.. but it was in tiny shreds and already mixed throughout the salad.. woops! I also had 2 glasses of Muscato white wine.. now red whine is a loud on P3 so this was not a big indiscretion. Woke up in the morning -0.2!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Well Hello P3!

So I officially started P3 (stabilization) yesterday, hopped on the scale and was -0.4! So 1.8 under my LDW (Last Dose Weight). I think I mentioned before the goal is to be 2 pound below or above your LDW, so I have a little wiggle room in case I end up being sensitive to a food and it causes a gain.

 I started out my day with 3 eggs made into an omlet with 1tbs butter, half an onion, and 1 vine ripened tomato-it was a funny time to remember I dont really like egg yolks :P So much food! I never cook with butter so this just felt like a cheat! I had an apple as a mid day snack, kinda made boo-boo as I realized it was 5:30 and I was going to be stuck on campus until 9:30pm. I got a sugar free latte as a study snack and because I was worried about not getting calories in. I figured this would be safe since I had cheated with these on p2 and not had a problem. Had another apple at 8pm right before my exam- gotta feed those brain cells! Got home and had dinner around 10pm 200g ground chicken turned into meatballs (no bread crumbs) pan fried with 1tbs butter and topped with Muir glen tomato sauce (added spices and Stevia). I decided to hard boil some eggs for tomorrow.. to make sure they were done I ate the white of one of them. I was worried about not getting enough food in but I think I overdid it! Approx 1216 calories..

My goal for stabilization should be around 1812.8 (LDWx11) This is more then I was eating when I wasn't dieting! The increase in calories is scary but the goal of P3 is to reset your hypothalamus to the highest set point possible. This was one of the main reasons I wanted to do this diet because I feel like my metabolism was so slow that I could eat 1000 calories a day and wouldn't loose anything. Some ladies on the forum get up to almost 3,000 and still show losses!

Yay -0.2 Guess I didnt do too bad yesterday. Its hard to get out of the P2 mind set, I feel like I cheated and I am going to be punished with a 3 days stall! lol Since I seemed fine with the eggs I think I will make some mayonnaise so I can have chicken tarragon salad. My friend (not to name any names.. KRISTEN!) calls me "hippie Dippy" now since I have become obsessed with my food processor and making my own condiments or what have you. When you can make it yourself and not have all those extra chemicals and crappy additives why not!! I think will also add cream in today.. Hmm what to add tomorrow?

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

My HCG survival guide

So this was my first round of HCG so I am no expert but I did learned a lot and found things that I simply would not be able to survive without!
First up my beauty protocol: I didn't make much change to what i was doing pre-HCG except for my body wash and lotion. I was previously using Olay ultra moisture and was concurred it may contain to many fates and oils-this is also an issue with most lotions. I tried to go as long as I could without using any but I finally gave in when my skin began to crack. I bought JASON 84% Aloe vera lotion- doesn't smell to great but works for dry skin. I was having the same dry skin issue with my face so I added back in my Aveeno ultra calming face moisturizer in very small amounts.  As previously mentioned I have used my liquid foundation the whole round with no problems.. I dont know what I would have done if I couldn't use it!! I also used my eyeliner daily.

My kitchen:
 Note the vegetable steamer, George Foreman style grill, kitchen scale, and cook book. That grill and vegetable steamer have saved my tail numerous times when I realize I have to leave for work in 10 minutes and have not prepared any food! Throw 100g chicken on the grill and cabbage in the steamer, run up stairs finished getting dressed for work , come back down food is cooked and ready to go! I also recommend having some decent knives... I have never chopped so much garlic in my life! I have never cooked so much in my life come to think of it! I never thought I would have time to cook every meal for myself, one of my biggest time savers was making a crock pot full of chicken broth once a week. I measured 3 100g servings of chicken breast and threw that in the crock pot with spices, garlic, onion, and celery. When It was done you now have 3 cooked portions of chicken and broth that you can use as a base for soups. Oh and Veggie Wash! How could I almost forget that- while I would love to buy everything organic it is just not realistic on my budget so I wash everything throughly with Veggie Wash. I do however try to buy organic meat.

Day to day: Keep a detailed log! In addition to this blog I hung a sheet a paper on the wall of my bathroom above the scale It helped to have one detailed sheet of everyday weight, weekly  losses, and measurements. Speaking of measurements..TAKE THEM! I know in the beginning you don't really want to know but now that I see how much they changed within 2 weeks I really wish I knew what they were to start with.

Also logging what you eat daily helps to distinguish what you may be sensitive to. It took me a while to realize that I could not handle the Braggs liquid Amino's that I was using as salad dressing and a meat marinade. I also realized I had smaller losses on the days I had beef. The faster you can recognize what is causing your small loses or stalls the better! I also found http://cronometer.com/ to be a great tool for tracking what I ate and keeping a tally of my calories.

My guilty pleasures: Wondercocoa! 1tbs cocoa, 1tbs your milk allowance, and one dropper of vanilla Stevia.  Makes a delicious chocolate sauce for strawberries. I barely ever used my tbs milk, but when I did this is what I used it for! Also I love jumbo lump crab meat, it is so yummy and you can eat so much of it for 100grams! I oddly don't like fish and finding out about my beef sensitivity this was a good break from chicken. Muir Glen organic tomatoes- The idea of opening a can becomes completely foreign on p2, but when you are burnt out on cooking their tomatoes plus tomato paste make a quick and easy tomato sauce for numerous uses and meals.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Last day of VLCD! P2 reffecltions

I am surprised this day is here! My last day of the 500 calorie diet- half of me is doing the happy dance, the other half is cowering in the corner!! Most people would think after 35 days of eating only 500 calories a day I would be jumping over the moon to be able to add more foods to my diet, but it is actually a little scary. There is a comfort and simplicity in knowing two fruits, two vegetables, 2 100g portions of a meat, and sometimes a bread stick or melba toast.


When I was a freshman in college I weighed around 145-150 and was a size 4-6. I have always had really healthy eating habits and had been moderately active. My second semester of sophomore year I transfered colleges and was living in an apartment by myself. I was dating someone that had horrible eating habits and they begin to infiltrate mine, combine that with working overnights where pizza and Chinese food were hospital staples and before I knew it I found myself at 182 in Dec of 2007. I have been around this weight for the last 3 years. In December I went home to Florida to see my family for Christmas then we went to the Philippines for 2 weeks. It was an amazing trip but after spending 2 weeks in a county full of tiny Asians and looking at the pictures where I felt like a blimp, it became clear that I was no longer happy and needed to make some changes. In January my heaviest weigh in was 189.2 I was already eating pretty healthy so I tightened that up even more and added more exercise, in march I was down to 178.2 but wasn't having luck at getting the scale to budge any further. 


Enter HCG!! I started hHCG on 3/21 at 181.4 the summary of my first round looks like this so far: 
Week 1:-5.2lbs
Week 2:-5.8lbs
Week 3:+0.8
Week 4:-5.2
Week 5:-2.6

Measurements from 4/3 VLCD 12 to 4/25 VLCD 33
Bust: -2 inches
Chest-2.2 inches
Waist: -2 inches, 
Hips: -1.5 inches 
Thighs: -1.4inches
Arms: -1 inch. 
I really wish I would have taken measurements when I started!!
18 pounds from HCG! over 36 days for an average loss of 0.5 pounds a day. I would have liked to do a little better but even with the cheats I am still right on target with the expected 0.5 t0 1 pound loss a day. 25.8 total loss since January!! What an experience.
 

Monday, April 25, 2011

Day 35 and 36, last days of P2?

So it is official, I am sick! :( Day 35 was -0 which was okay considering the cheats... Today would be day 36 and I woke up with -1.4 loss! I am considering whether yesterday should be my last day of drops or not.

So there is really not a good time to get sick but this timing seriously sucks because I have two finals this week and 3 next week. Now I want to nip this in the bud so I have been in bed and drinking tea like its my job! Now I worry that with the HCG on board my body is working to burn the fat and maybe not going to put as much effort into my immune system? Is this a crazy thought? I was pretty sure last night I was going to  make it my last drop day but when I see -1.4 on the scale I really hate to give it up! Its only 4 days early and my health has to come first... so I think I am going to make the final decision...  uh this is so hard... but like any good ex boyfriend I know HCG will always be there for me!

So this means 2 more days of the VLC (very low calorie)...just today and tomorrow, ahh! Moving into P3 (stabilization) has been an exciting and scary thought for awhile now. There isn't a lot written on P3, just no starch no sugar so I feel like that leaves a lot of room for error. The goal is to stay 2 pounds above or below your last injection or drop weight. So even though my weight today was 163.4 (so close to being in the 150's!) my LDW will be yesterdays weight of 164.8. This could be good because it gives me a little more leeway in P3. Hopefully since I am close I can loose the rest in P3 by adding back in exercise. I am kinda excited about getting back into exercise especially since school will be over in 2 weeks and I will actually have time!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Sick or Allergic?

Either way not happy! So step back to Saturday -1.4! That was a happy surprise considering I woke up feeling very bloated and just kinda gross.  A little worried  TOM is creepy back up which is bad news considering it caused a week long stall last time! "Lunch" at 5am was strawberries and curried chicken with cabbage, snack: Melba toeast. Dinner at 7:30pm was crab browned on the stove with steamed asparagus. I do love the amount of crab you get to eat for a 100 grams!

Saturday night was my last night working with my coworker who I have worked 11 hour long shifts with every single weekend for over the last 2 years, so a mini celebration was mandatory. I decided to make a P3 pie so if I had any it want that bad of a cheat and if there were leftovers I could eat them in a couple of days. :) I made the strawberry cream pie with an almond crust. I just recently bought a food processor (which I am in love with!!) so making the pie was a snap, I then got ambitious and made whip cream and chocolate mouse!  I got to work and for the celebration there was a Venti Starbucks waiting in the refrigerator for me... this time it was at least skim milk! Last time I actually lost after drinking this so I wasn't overly concerned. I had a tiny bit of the pie but skipped my meat and fruit.. now I do have a peanut and cashew allergy but have never had a problem with almonds. Dreaming about making almond butter with my new food processor had been all I can think about lately!! Not to long after eating I noticed my throat began to really hurt, after a while I took a look at it to find pustules on the back of my throat. Now my peanut allergy manifests itself as mostly a contact allergy.. mouth ulcers and itching. So I am unsure if I am allergic to almonds... which would make me really sad-I was looking forward to all the awesome almond flour receips I could make in P3! Or I am just getting sick.. I didn't get much sleep yesterday... uh either way it sucks!

I popped a Benadryl and will see how I feel when I wake up! grr

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Not so smooth of a move

Warning, I said when I started this blog that it was going to be a no holds bared.. and I hold true to what I type! So a common problem with this diet can be constipation, I didn't have any problems with this until this week. All week I have been feeling a little tight and uncomfortable in my lower abdomen so I decided to try Smooth Move Tea, you drink it before bed time and it should take affect 10 to 12 hours later. I woke up with painful stomach cramps, I had a BM but then continued to have diarrhea throughout the morning. I got ready for class and left for campus with my stomach still not feeling exactly normal, at 4pm while sitting in class another bathroom run became extremely necessary! So in conclusion, Smooth Move tea works, but you might want to make sure you don't have a long car trip or an important meeting the next day!

So day 33 and I am up +0.6 poutty face! I am wondering if it is bounce back from my cheat or the beef. I was previously concerned that beef my cause me to stall, Thursday's meal consisted off leftover corned beef, a small amount of cabbage, an apple, Grissini, a red grapefruit, steak, and steamed green beans. Fridays meal was strawberries, steak with pesto, one cucumber, curried chicken, cabbage, Grissini, and an apple. I didn't want to have steak again but I was running late for class and already had a 100g portion in a zip-lock bag that I just threw on the George Foreman. We shall see what the scale has to say when I wake up later today!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Day 32

Stepped on the scale this morning and...... -1.4!! All my sins of cheating has been absolved. It was my friends birthday yesterday which meant dinner and drinks. Instead of being stressed about not being able to go or eat with my friends I was very happy because the restaurant of choice was 9 Irish Brothers- as the name alludes it is an Irish pub style restaurant. This means corned beef and cabbage! I know corned beef is not exactly on protocol but I figured it was as close as I was going to get to an on protocol meal out. I got a half portion and only ate half of it. Obviously worked out just fine! Lunch that day was grilled chicken with pesto sauce and a cucumber, and an apple as my mid day snack. Just 8 more days left! I really want to lose about 4 more pounds to get into the 150's by the end of my p2.. fingers crossed!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The good, the bad, and the pictures!

I first must start by introducing my blog editor: Stewart

He is very helpful, especially when attempting to lay on the key board!

Alright now that the crazy cat lady is out of my system.. lets talk diet. What I forgot to mention on my last blog entry was that I also got my hair done! I was feeling feisty so I went short and red. Nothing says new you like new hair, I have heard that you are not suppose to dye your hair while on the HCG.. but like we discussed I am vein! lol . I also kinda decided that Monday was going to be a skip day since I was out of HCG, not like just skip the HCG but more like everything.. within reason of course. I had grilled chicken and steamed asparagus for lunch but dinner was another story... Went to the banquet feeling fabulous in my new dress! Passed on the dinner rolls as they went around the table, had a salad with the smallest amount of ranch dressing, baked chicken breast-pulled the skin off, one bite of carrots, and two bites of mashed potatoes. Then the apple pie that had been sitting in front of me all night started taunting me so I had 3 bites of that. Since we are always in scrubs my friends and I decided we couldn't let all this gussying up go to waste! Enter the bar, now I haven't had a drink in awhile so I new I needed to go easy- whats more easy than may chick drink of choice- Malibu and coke. I knew it was wrong but hey it was my skip day! It felt good to be able to go out with friends and just act normal, not worry about having to come late to miss dinner.


Wake up in the morning, weigh in -0.4! What! The HCG gods are smiling up on me!! I had a crazy busy day on Tuesday, I had a huge test that night so I didn't want to run home between classes, but I could go all day without eating... so I went with a friend to Panera for a study session. I was still high on my cheat so I had a cup of soup and salad with dressing on the side.


When I got home my HCG was waiting for me! I had been gone all day but apparently it came at like 10am, wow Healthremedies.com was really awesome about changing my order to overnight shipping and getting it out right away! Alright, now that the HCG is back in my possession I guess I have to get back on the wagon. Dinner: 100g steak pan cooked and topped with Pesto (chicken broth, fresh basil, and 3 cloves 
of garlic zapped in the blender) steamed green beans and strawberries.


Woke up and weighed.. +1.2 I knew it had to be coming, no one gets away with cheating on HCG! Its day 31 so I am back on strict protocol but its only 9 more days!!


So unfortunately I cant post new pictures without posting old pictures:
                                                    Jan. 2011 At my heaviest probably 188
                                                      January 24 2011 for Christine's birthday 185.6

Wow looking at the pictures makes it really weird! Enter HCG Days!
                                                    April 9th VLCD 18 169.6 Cheesy smile with the calf!
                                           April 19 VLCD 28 165.8

 



Monday, April 18, 2011

As promised.. Day 28 and 29

So I get to work Saturday at Midnight and my co-worker says "You should go look in the fridge!" I am already worried because I know that means some type of food treat... She got me a venti cinnamon dolci latte from Starbucks... my weakness! And of course it wasn't skinny :( I couldn't not drink it that would be rude! It was sooo sweet and delicious, I rationalized by telling myself well I never you use my tbsp of milk, and I skipped my fruit and Grissni hoping the carbs will even out- If you have ever looked at the amount of sugar in those things... you know better!

I get off from working my fabulous 11 hour shift and stop by the grocery store on my home to get the essentials- more apples and veggies! I was feeling I needed to mix my proteins up a bit so I stopped by the seafood counter to get some crab and shrimp. All of a sudden there was an 18yr old in a white coat directly next to me telling me I should try the fish he cooked. I politely declined-I actually dont like cooked fish, I like sushi and other forms of seafood but not fish-Yes I am aware I am weird. He continued to linger in awkward conversation before saying "I need to get a bandaid" and walking away. Very weird... It is however always a confidence boost after working a long shift and feeling like you look like shite to have someone hit on you!

Get home, time for more drops! I grab the bottle to re-dose my  and notice there are some papers and mail looking very suspicious on my .. put the HCG bottle down investigate the papers to find my cat had diarrhea all over my carpet! And the papers he used to cover it up was my scholarship application for nursing school! UHH... now I would never hit an animal... but I kinda wanted to beat him! Clean that up, go back to grab my HCG realize- as the bottle is dripping all over my hand and hitting the kitchen counter... that I obviously did not close the lid when I put the bottle down in a haste. Now, I had already put in an order for a new bottle that was supposed to ship Monday because I was running low.. I immediately begin licking it off my hand like a fiending crack addict! Now I am in a panic because I realize that I have maybe enough for 3 more doses at the very most...  but... but.. I am not reading to move into P3 just yet!!

I stressed about what to do because I have been losing weight so consistently all week. I had originally planned on only doing 23 days but since I had a week long stall I wanted to go as long as I could to avoid having to do a second round. I still have about 16 pounds to loose for my ultimate goal weight so I was very conflicted about what to do.. I settled on that being my last does day and moving on to p3 and I would just have to do a second round.

I took a nap, got up, and weighed -0.2. Small but a pleasant surprise after the Starbucks sabotage! Went to meet friends for a free Carolina Liar concert on campus, the concert was supposed to start at 5 with 2 open acts so we decided to to meet at 6:30 to avoid the opening acts. Upon arriving we discovered the opening acts hadn't even started yet... so we went to a local coffee shop to kill some time. I was starving and a little light headed because I hadnt eaten since 9am, I decided to get an iced latte with skim milk a sugar free syrup this is P3 acceptable so since I am moving there might as well start now! I am glad I had that because I didn't get home until 11:00pm!

So this brings us to today (Monday) -0.4 What! Still losing!! I cant let the good times stop just yet! I called my HCG supplier and had them change my order to overnight shipping! So things may get a little sketchy since I took the last of my drops this morning and my new ones wont come until at least tomorrow. I am going to try to go the full 40 days as long as the losing continues. Tonight should be interesting though because I have a dinner banquet for work, will have to work hard to go cheat free! 

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Day 27

-0.8 I have a huge story to tell but that will have to wait for me to get home! Don't let the suspense kill you! lol

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Yawn

So for the newbies I should probably explain a little about my weekend schedule. Monday through Friday I am your average fun outgoing stressed out college student, but on Friday at midnight I transform into a critical care technician for the veterinary teaching hospital. Unfortunately no pumpkins or fairly godmother are involved just some scrubs, sleep deprivation, and whiny vet. students. So due to the complete 180 weekly schedule flip I have to do some creative timing with my eating. My schedule normally goes something like: wake up Friday morning eat lunch, bring apple to eat while at school, be in class until 4:30 go home and A). drug myself with half an Ambien to sleep for about 4 hours then wake up make dinner and go to work. B). Do homework, run errands, do something with a friends realize I am to wired to sleep and its to late do anything about it.. make dinner go to work, crash because I have been up for 24hrs. Now B was my normal behavior but I have been trying to go for option A more recently-not really crazy about the Ambien but I think thats less destructive on my body then staying up for 24+ hours. Midnight now becomes the new day so I bring my meat and veggie and eat that around 4 or 5am and then have my fruit for "breakfast" around 9am. Come home, pass out wake up, make dinner, and do it all over again! Sunday is more fun because it involves staying up as long as possible, taking a 2 hour nap, getting up and finding something to something to do to keep me awake till I can go back to sleep around 10pm and be on a normal schedule again for the rest of the week. So there is a little explanation if you feel days jumble together on here!

So back to Thursday, went shopping! Got a fabulous dress for my dinner banquet, A top that can be dressed up for a nice function or worn with jeans for a night out, a cute pair of flats, and new make up that isn't as heavy. On the makeup issue-I am aware that you are not supposed to wear any.. but I am young, single and possibly vein! I have been wearing Estee Lauder double wear foundation and it does not seem to have any affect on my weight loss so I am sticking with it! I recently switched to double wear light since my skin is much clearer and I no longer need the heavier foundation. I did not tackle jeans yet, after 2 hours of shopping I don't think my friend was up for that painstaking task. Another day in the near future!

Lunch red grapefruit, ground round turned into meat balls- I was short on time, needed to finish the beef and still had marinara sauce in my fridge. Dinner: chicken that I previously used to make chicken broth with grilled quickly to give it a crisp with grilled asparagus and an apple. I used just a little balsamic vinegar on the chicken to give it a hint of flavor- not really sure if this is on protocol or not.

Friday -0.4 small loss but still a loss! I feel like this may be do to the beef- I had a little more than 100 grams because it was getting ready to go bad and what was left wouldn't make up a complete serving, the poor college student cant afford to waste food! Apple on the way to class, stats lab was canceled so I ran errands-went to get more shrimp but the butcher I go to was out.. sad day! Bought some fresh green beans that I was really excited to make- needed a break from cabbage and asparagus! Lunch was grilled chicken with a touch of balsamic vinegar and the green beans sauteed with fresh garlic and a touch of the Braggs liquid Amino's-now I know I said I was dropping it but I couldn't resist it was so delicious with the green beans! I was running late for work so I topped some of the pre-made chicken with some marinara sauce and then ate and apple on the drive to work. I didnt think about the 2 apples in one day until now.. woops! Some people feel this is a no no. We shall see what happens!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

I like this game!

Down 0.6 this morning! Keep it coming! So I love shopping, but for the first time I am a little nervous about it! I was going to wait until I was completely done with my P2 round, because whats the point in buying clothes that may not fit in another two weeks, but I find myself needing a new outfit for a dinner banquet. Someone asked me if I felt like I was loosing a lot of weight and if I could tell a difference in my clothes, I was just like well they dont fit but that has kinda always been the story! I am kinda a funny body shape so it has always been difficult to get clothes that fit right, my best friend tells me I am an upside down pair. I have big boobs and absolutely no ass, so my jeans are always falling off no matter what size they are, however my jeans that were my fitted jeans are now falling off like the rest of them! So I am a little nervous to see what size I will be now that I am down 17.4 pounds.

Instead of the Nalgene I drank a whole bottle of lemon lime Perrier yesterday, the heartburn from the marinara sauce has been killing me! Oh speaking of the Marinara sauce: A). I had chicken meatballs and marinara sauce for lunch yesterday with a navel orange for breakfast. B). It is supper easy to make-I cheated and didn't use the recipe out of the cook book. Instead I used one small (4oz) can of tomato paste-no sugar or anything added, a can of Muir glen organic fire roasted tomatoes, some garlic powder and Italian seasonings, and half a packet of Stevia. This is also great because it makes a very large quantity of sauce to use at later dates. It felt kinda weird to be opening can since everything I have eaten for the last 25 days has been fresh or homemade. I am getting used to all the cooking but will admit that I am getting a little lazy about chopping fresh garlic for every single meal. Late snack was a gala apple, then dinner was steamed cabbage and curried chicken. I also had my super antioxidant dragon fruit tea- very yummy and even better as an iced tea.

Off to the mall to get a lighter make up- in thickness, not shade- they don't make a lighter one! :( Another good part of this diet is that my skin has a much nicer complexion-funny what happens when you take all the chemicals and crap out of your diet!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Hooray! Otherwise known as day 24

-1.8 Today! I am finally back on the train! Having good loses makes this so much easier to stick with. I have a dinner banquet to attend on Monday so I will have to make the decision if I want to move on to P3 so that it will be alittle easier to eat whatever food is served, but if the losses keep up of course I don't want to quit!

Yesterdays menu included: a jazz apple (which i highly reccomend! Very yummy) 10 shrimp cooked with a whole onion and garlic until the onion gets all carmelized.  I never thought I would consider eating a whole onion as a vegetable for my meal. Dinner was chicken meatballs and homemade marinara sauce- delish! The heart burn afterwards however was not as desirable. Strawberries for dessert. I am dreaming about the p3 days when I can have the chicken meatballs with marinara and CHEESE!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Day 23

So this was the day I had been telling myself I just had to get to and then I would be almost done with this. Seeing as last week was a dismal failure day 23 is coming and going. On the super awesome extremely positive note -1 today! I needed that I was so getting ready to be done. I am now 0.2 less than last Monday, so hopefully this can be an awesome week and I can say goodbye to P2.

I do have to note that although I did not lose much weight last week I did loose as far as the measurements are concerned. I take them myself so they aren't perfect.. Bust- same for those that know me this isnt a shock. I was a size 4 and was still a D/DD. Chest -1.2 inches Waist- somehow up an inch.. either incorrect measurement or maybe things are redistributing? Hips-0.5inches Thighs -1.4inches Arms -0.3inches.

So in addition to my increase in water- I choked down my 33oz Nalgene and a large mug of green tea! I am also working on logging my meals so I can easier tell what causes gains. Yesterday I had 1 red grapefruit, one Melbatoast, 12 steamed asparagus, grilled chicken- it had previously been marinated and grilled in braggs, this was the last of it. Dinner was 15 shrimp grilled with lemon juice and fresh garlic-delish! with steamed cabbage and 10 strawberries.

Yesterday I met up with my friends for are weekly dinner, I came late after they had already eaten. Then they moved the part to Steak and Shake- I got nothing, said I wasn't doing dairy this month- I have done the vegan thing off and on plus it is a no no for my GERD so no one questioned it. I then went to the movies where my friend had a gigantic bucket of popcorn, I also said no thank you! The popcorn was actually harder to pass up then the milk shakes. I can easily pass up food at restaurants its the home cooked food offerings that always get me in trouble!

Monday, April 11, 2011

day 22

+0.2 It is getting more and more tempting to be done at day 23 but then that means having to do this all over again. I am trying to stick to the plan of doing this last week, and I started a new challenge of drinking at least one Nalgene of water a day. We will see...

Sunday, April 10, 2011

day 21.. grr

UHH +1.4 Something is not working here and the only thing I can think it may be is the Braggs liquid Amino's. I talked to some other HCG-ers and some said they were sensitive to the Braggs as well. I am going to cut that completely out and closely examine everything from there. I was using it to marinade chicken, dip asparagus in, and as a salad dressing so I don't like that I don't have it to put on my salad anymore but if it helps get me back on the weight loss train it will be worth it. The plan is to do one more week strictly on protocol and if I am not losing move on to phase 3 and do a second round of phase 2- very low calorie. If I am doing well I may consider going longer... we shall see. I just know this plateau is driving me crazing!!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

day 20

Uhhh scale says 0.. this has been a really hard week. I had an apple day yesterday and todays menu has been an apple, Mexican chicken soup, melba toast, steamed cabbage, grilled chicken, grissini, and strawberries with wondercocoa. Plan is to go this week completely spot on protocol and then possibly move onto to p3 depending on how everything is going. I would like to be in maintenance by my birthday (June 18) so I can enjoy dinner and drinks without feeling guilty!

Friday, April 8, 2011

Day 19 Maybe cheaters do prosper?

A friend wanted to make dinner plans with me for Thursday.. I was in full out panic mode because I didnt want to say no but since I had just cheated on Monday I didn't want any temptation. In a stroke of genius- If I do say so myself, I suggested doing a picnic since the weather was improving. I will bring a salad with grilled chicken, some ice tea and strawberries. Perfect solution a share-able on protocol meal! Well I should of know better since the last time this friend invited me over for a potluck style dinner he fried a whole turkey, made gallons of vegetarian soup, and then preceded to make onion ring and anything else he could deep fry. It was a little chilly so we decided to stay in which worked because he made a whole tray of bruschetta, deviled eggs, and a strawberry rhubarb pie. After constant berating I tried a very small piece of bruschetta, had my portion of spinach and grilled chicken with a little liquid amino's, and was doing very good. I tried to leave before the pie was served but of course I got you cant leave without trying the pie. I tried one small piece and it was delicious!

I was very hesitant to weigh today.. especially because I was at a stall and already contemplating an apple day. -0.6! The first considerable loss in 5 days! I should also mention that all I had previously had before the dinner party was an apple, cabbage, and one Grissini. So maybe the cheat wasn't as bad because I hadn't eaten all my  allotted food on top of the cheat?

I decided to do an apple day anyways just in case my body was even thinking of stalling. I wanted to be done by day 23 and it is so close, so I feel like I really need to loose everything I can this week so I dont have to stretch this out that much longer!

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Day 18

So I bought a new scale.. with the loss or gain of a pound being so important I didn't want to worry about whether it was right or not. I am counting yesterdays weight as zero because today I was only -0.4 down from Tuesdays weight... Soo frustrating... Maybe another apple day?

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Day 17

So I have been sitting at 170.something for the last 3 days now, so I was ecstatic when I saw I lost -2.4 pounds this morning! I was in disbelief so I stepped on the scale again to check and it said the same thing.. yay! Grab my pen to write the weight down on the sheet on the wall that has all my weights on it.. forgot what the decimal point was so I stepped on the scale again and it said that I gained 2 pounds.. Now obviously this isn't right.. tried again and it was up another pound. So obviously my scale is funky or I am gaining weight by the second.. enter mental breakdown. I gave the scale a break and took a shower, weighed again and now I was -5 pounds.. which would be awesome but very unbelievable. I am thinking I need to buy a new scale but I am very hesitant to because I have been seeing great numbers and a steady decrease-what if a different scale says I weigh 10 pounds more? Its like a bad relationship you know he is lying to you but you stay because it makes you happy lol

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

day 16

So I only gained +0.2 after my cheat! I can live with that, just crossing my finger that I am back on track tomorrow!

yeah so... I cheated

Its day 15 and I had been pretty much cheat free... emphasis on had. The idea to have dinner at my house totally back fired. I made the soup and some rice which everyone ate and no one noticed that I didn't put rice in mine, then more friends showed up one bearing banana bread and another brought tortilla chips and made fresh guacamole. I was doing good until I made a comment about how good the banana bread smelled- "Oh, well you didn't even try any!" cuts me a slice... I am hearing horror movie music as it comes closer to me. I couldn't refuse to eat it.. I had a tiny square and it was delicious. As a background note aunt flow has come into town, which is commonly a set back for many people. With that on my mind I decided to have a couple chips with guacamole.. I figured if I was going to have a gain or not lose anything, I wanted to have a good reason for it. I only had 5 chips.. but still it was cheat none the less so I am interested to see where the scales will be tomorrow. I was planning on stopping right at 26 days but I am ok with going a couple extra days if it is needed to reach my goal weight.

I have no problem going to a restaurant and not ordering or going to the grocery store, I have no temptations from the food, I just don't want my friends knowing what an extreme diet I am on and then having to debate it with them.

Yesterday was 0.. lets see what today will bring!

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Day 14!

I cant believe tomorrow it will be two weeks already! Time has flown by.. almost as fast as the pounds have come off. -2.2 pounds today! I really wish I would have taken measurements at the start, I am down 11.6 from the HCG and 15 pounds from starting in January. I feel like that would be a enough to see a difference, and maybe I see some small ones but I am not really sure. I measured for the first time today but I will have to wait till next week to see if there is any difference.

Tomorrow should be an interesting new challenge... I decided for our weekly dinner that I would have it at my house. Last week I had an exam so when I stopped into the restaurant  later and didn't eat no one thought anything of it. On Saturday it was my friends birthday but I conveniently missed going out with everyone for dinner because of my sleep schedule, I met them out for drinks and dessert where I got an iced tea. I currently am not drinking because of my acid reflux problems, my friends know about that and don't pester me about it which is also helpful. I decided to make the Mexican soup it is really flavorful and filling, I don't think anyone will ever guess it is diet food. I am also going to make rice that people can put it in the soup, I feel pretty confident that by cooking an HCG recipe that I can control my portion, I don't really like rice so that wont be a temptation. I am more worried because people have decided they are going to bring things, which is nice but I don't want to be left with a whole house full of soda and bad things. I have been able to go pretty much cheat free for 2 weeks now so I think i can do it!

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Day 13.. the day of apples!

So I ended up trying an apple day, I got advice after I had already started the apple day that they should only be done if you reach 5 days with no losses. I don't know if I could take 5 days with gains and no losses.. that is the reason I love this diet and find it so easy to stick to- INSTANT GRATIFICATION!

Since I am on an overnight schedule my day starts at midnight so I am halfway through my apple day and have already lost -3.6 pounds!! I will wait patiently to see if it continues! I am at 172.6 The lowest I have been in 3 years!

Oh and I recently posted the cook book and website I use for all my tasty recipes, I see no reason not to eat good food even thought your ingredient options are limited!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Apple day?

Uhh so its day 12 and I have not bounced back yet from my esophageal scope. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner but a friend pointed out to me that the anesthetic agent they used is lipid base.. may also explain some of the gain. I weighed in today and 0... It is really frustrating, for a two pound wieght gain I should have at least got to eat something yummy!

It probably doesn't help that I worked an over night last night and will be working them again tonight and tomorrow night. Last weekend I had a little fluctuation when changing my schedule but it would always even out with loses. I am considering trying an apple day (when you eat 6 apples a day and drink only water.) They are supposed to be used when you hit a stall in weight loss. I have until midnight to decide as that is when my new day starts. Thoughts?