R2P3D11/21 - Homemade Popcorn & Exercise at Night = Correction Day

February 16, 2012

Round 2, Phase 3 (Proteins) Day 11/21

Yep.  I did it.  I went against my better judgment and made popcorn (1/2 c.) in coconut oil last night.  I read on the HCG forum that 1/2 c. of homemade popcorn is approved eating in stabilized P3 and P4.  Last Round, I had an entire bucket of movie-theater popcorn when I went to see Sherlock Holmes, and didn't gain.  Well, this morning, I gained back what I lost from the egg correction day.  This has brought home several messages:

1. Today is a do-over, so no worries!
2. Every Round is different -- I knew that, but in typical me form, I thought (or at least hoped) I would break the pattern and all of my Rounds would be the same -- yah right.
3. Perhaps they meant 1/2 c. of POPPED popcorn was okay.  Because I couldn't even finish my 1/2 c. (uncooked) of popcorn, because it popped into so much!
4. Don't eat carbs (under the recommended 100 carb mark in a day) the day AFTER doing a correction day.  I probably should have let myself stabilize.
5. Exercise in P3 (unstabilized, which I'd say I am since I've done 3 correction days, now, in 11 days) is unwise ... it makes your body retain water.
6. I'm not eating enough calories.  That can make you gain.  Can you believe that?  I tracked my food yesterday, and I came in 100 calories UNDER where I should be to maintain.  You'd think that would make me lose?  But, in this protocol, where we are re-setting our hypothalamus (sp?), we HAVE to (and they aren't kidding) eat our calories.  I haven't been eating enough of them.

So, here I am, correcting again.  Since I just did an egg-day 2 days ago, today, I'm doing a steak and tomato day.  That means, no food until after 3 pm (it'll be after 6 pm for me, by the time I get home from work).  I'm pretty confident that the weight will come off.  But, will it STAY off?  Fortunately, it's only 3 pounds above LDW, and it's not 54 pounds back.  GOOD.  But, it's taught me not to hurry this.  Just take it as it is ... I'm going to be eating carb-clean as much as possible for at least 11 days (when I enter Phase 4, eating in moderation), and hopefully, by then, I'll be stabilized.  We'll see.  Either way, I'm going to basically eat Phase 3 foods in most of Phase 4.  With the ocassional pizza night, or meal out with friends.  But even then, I'm removing as many carbs as I can from my menu.

Tonight, I'm going to "redo" my menu.  I believe I'll be having my eggs and sugar free bacon (all fine) for breakfast, some chicken salad for lunch (with a pepper), and I think for dinner, I'll have a big spinach salad with blue cheese and some rottisserie chicken (I think).  It's not much different that what I normally have eaten in P3 this time around, but I'm hoping all of the veggies will do their work.  Oh, and I'll eat a Lara bar and maybe a handful of nuts.  Maybe.  Gotta get those calories up!