R1P2D8/31 - Living Through Stalls/Gains (the dreaded word on any diet)

October 24, 2011

Day 8/31

Well, it had to happen.  The weight loss had to slow down.  Can you believe I'm actually happy about it?  2 pounds off a day wasn't healthy or sustainable.  So, as of yesterday (Sunday, Day 7), I lost 0.7 pounds, and today, it was 0.3.  So, I've lost 1.0 pounds in 2 days  (which, I must remind myself, is what this diet "promises" -- an average of 0.5 to 1.0 pounds off a day, only in this Phase 2, stage of the Very Low Calorie Days).  I'm at 12.1 pounds off in 1 week.  Uh, hello, Julia.  That's something to be happy about.  However, somewhere inside is that little voice saying, "But, I wanted this 2 pounds a day to last at least a few more days."  Well, back to reality ... would it feel any better if that weight-loss stopped in 2 days or 4 days or a week?  Nope.  I'd still feel discouraged.  BUT, actually, I'm not discouraged.  Shut up!

So, I thought about it.  Am I tempted to chuck in the towel?  Nope.  Am I tempted to overeat or starve myself?  Nope.  I'm sticking with the program.  Plain and simple.  I am learning many things in this protocol (journaling my food is easy and do-able, I don't have to eat fast food every day, I can and like drinking 3L of water a day, my body feels better when I don't eat junk, I sleep better when I don't eat junk, my mood is better when I know I'm doing the right thing regardless of what the scale says ...), but one of the things I've learned that startles me is, I'm the type of person who gives up if I can't win.  Huh?  I don't care if I lose a game, or if someone gets promoted at work.  I'm competitive?  Yep.  Against myself.  If I can't excel, I don't bother.  Yikes.  I think that attitude is what has contributed to where I am today.  If I can't be svelte thin in 3 months, why bother?  Well, honey, let me tell you ... it took a lot more than 3 months to get here, so I'm in it for the long haul.

So, what did I do?  I started planning (big surprise).  Yes, that's my drug of choice.  : )

I need to be realistic.  This is going to take a while to lose over 100 pounds.  Rome wasn't built in a day.  I didn't pack on this weight in a month.  So, get overself, Julia.  Have a plan.That's when I decided (for my own benefit, and yours, if there are actually people reading this), to write more details about each of the stages.  Now, here's the disclaimer.  I don't profess to be an expert on this.  I go to Abbie and Amy and Carrie with most of my questions, because, in my life, they are the HCG veterans.  Or, I go to the web, because there are lots of HCG websites and blogs to help.  But, you are reading my page, so I'll try to help both of us by outlining what I know:

2 DAYS
This is the phase where you load ("stuff yourself") on fatty foods like avacadoes, burgers, olive oil, breads, anything that is fatty.  Yes, it seems counter-intuitive to stuff yourself on a "diet" but it's about getting enough into your system that you can sustain the first week or so, that may be the hardest (since you're going WAY down to 500 calories a day).  If you've been doing Weight Watchers, or other restrictive diets, they recommend loading for 3 days.  Begin taking drops on these days (it takes 2 days to get them into your system).  Contrary to popular belief however, the hCG used in the HCG diet protocol is a variation of the HCG form used for fertility treatments, and in a much smaller dose.  All HCG used for medical purposes is natural, but created in laboratories from sterile cells.  It is NOT extracted from women or animal urine- a common misconception.  WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!   Do not exercise during this Phase.  Concentrate on stuffing yourself.  (This was a no brainer for me, since that was the theory of my life.)
PHASE 2 --> VERY LOW CALORIE DAYS (VLCD)
21 (minimum) to 40 (maximum) DAYS
This is the 500 calories a day stage.  You take your drops 3 times a day (20-30 minutes before consuming food and 20 - 30 minutes after consuming any water).  They are homeopathic HCG drops (google it) and cost about $30 a bottle (which should last through 2 cycles of all 4 stages).  You only take the drops in Phase 1 and 2.  You can drink as much coffee & tea (caff or no caff) or water.  No other drinks allowed.  You can use Stevia in anything (it's a natural sweetner that comes from a plant).  You eat off of the food list (I'll put that on a later blog, or ... you guessed it ... google it).  You can come in under 500 calories (try not to come in TOO low) but don't go over 500.  You decide how many days you want to do based on your schedule/weight-loss needs.  You must do it 21 days (otherwise, your body will gain back what it lost) but no more than 40 days, because your body will stop responding to the HCG.   This is very important -- on the last 2-3 days of your Phase 2, stop taking your drops.  You won't be hungry, it just takes at least 2 days to get them out of your system, and if you go into Phase 3 with them in your system, you will gain.  WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!   Do not exercise during this Phase.  Concentrate on healthy eating and drinking your 2-3L a day. 

21 DAYS
This is a very important step.  It's 3 weeks of staying within 2 pounds (not 2.1 or more) above or below your last weigh-in weight in Phase 2's VLCD.  The reason this is important is, this time is when your body is re-setting your hypothalamus gland.  Google it (see a pattern?).  But, basically, it's when your body begins to read that THIS weight is your new high.  This is supposed to help keep us from ballooning back (or over) our starting weight in Phase 4.  If you end up even 0.1 pounds above or below your last VLCD weight, you must do a correction day.  They can be an all steak, egg, greek yogurt or apple day.  I haven't investigated too much with that, since I'm concentrating the most on Phase 2 right now.  Google it.  ; )  This is the phase where you eat mostly protein (I call it an Adkins-like phase) and fats ... limit sugars and carbs (which are fancy words for foods that break down into sugar in the body).  I've read that some people slowly reintroduce foods back, others go full throttle into proteins.  I'm betting, after 35 days, I'll want to go full throttle.  I believe I'll be having 1 meal of all-bacon and cheese.  Kidding.  WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!   Begin exercise in this phase.

6 WEEKS (between 1st & 2nd time through), 8 WEEKS (between 2nd & 3rd), 12 WEEKS (between 3rd & 4th), 20 WEEKS (between 4th & 5th) or FOREVER (if you only have 20 - 30 pounds to lose and you do this 1 time only)
This is the normal eating phase.  Hooray!  You shouldn't gain weight here, but if you do, you can do a correction day (I've heard).  Right now, this is like the mirage phase ... is it possible to eat garlic bread on a diet?  Evidently, yes.  Within reason.  It's not possible (nor do I want to) go to fast food everyday.  EXERCISE every day, if possible.  WEIGH YOURSELF EVERY DAY!  

Okay, I didn't see this in any of the official protocol steps, but I think, at least for me, this will help me see what makes me gain, and what keeps me the same.  Everyone's body is different, so donuts and cheese may not make John Doe gain weight, but maybe the combo does for me? 
So, after all of that, how does explaining the phases and time frames help?  Well, it shows me that since I want to lose over 100 pounds, and the only Phase where you lose weight is Phase 2, I'm not going to reach my goal in 6 months, or even a year.  Realistically, it'll take me 16 months (including no loss days or slight gain days or correction days) to get where I want to be.  But, I'll be GETTING there.  That's the point.  I won't be this size in a year.  Or in a month!  Or in a week?  Maybe!  I'll emerge from this fat cocoon, a smarter, more confident person who has healthy eating habits.  How freeing! 

I'm not racing in a sprint, but in a marathon.  I've always wanted to run one of those.  Maybe now I can.  : )PHASE 4 --> MAINTENANCEPHASE 3 --> STABILIZATIONPHASE 1 --> LOADING