August 27, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 3 (proteins only), Day 3 of 21
I made a goof (inadvertent, hence the word goof) over the weekend. Since I loaded for 2 days (48 hours), I thought I stop taking the drops for 48 hours before entering P3. So, I stopped taking the drops on Thursday morning, thinking by 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, I would be in P3. WELL, I ate to protocol, didn't go gang busters on anything (in fact, I had about the same food as my friend who is on the same schedule as me), and ... she lost 0.5, and I gained 2.4. Ruh roh.
The only difference? She loaded for 72 hours, so her Last Dosage Weight (LDW) day -- meaning, the last day she took drops -- was Wednesday, a full 72 hours before P3 on Saturday. So, I learned a good lesson. STOP DROPS 3 DAYS PRIOR TO P3, no matter how many days I load.
Lesson learned.
So, I'm working my way back down.
As of this morning, I dropped 0.7 pounds of the 2.4, so I'm within that 2 pound LDW above window. I'm eating clean today (meaning, P2 foods, just more of them). Hopefully, in a day or two, I'll be back at or under LDW.
That's the promise I made to me, to you and to God. This time, if I see a gain, I'm not going zany with Correction Days. I'm going to eat clean (P2 foods, just more of them) and let it come off naturally. That way, the up and down won't happen (or be as frustrating when it does).
So, off I go. I hope, when you check back tomorrow, you will see that my weight has said, "Off I go" as well.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
R4P2D33/33 - That's all she wrote, baby!
August 24, 2012
R4 (Round 4, the 4th time I've done all of these phases), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 33 of 33
Today is the last day of P2 food for this Round. Hallelujah, with a capital HALLELUJAH! This morning, I dropped 0.6 on the scale, bringing my grand total (not that today's weight counts, as it's yesterday that I have to stay at, as my Last Dosage Weight or "LDW") to 84.7 pounds down since July 23. I'll take it.
Today, I'm eating bison (I always call it buffalo, but I just read the package and it's clearly bison, which must be different?) for my meat choices today, as I have run out of chicken. You're supposed to alternate and not eat 2 servings of the same meat in P2, but, what's a girl gonna do? I'm NOT cooking one more 3.5 ounce chicken portion just to get me through today. So, I'm buffaloing it up today. Yes, buffaloing isn't a word. But, frankly, I think it should be.
Also, as I was packing my lunch today, I realized I only had 1 apple left (that boat-load of grocery shopping, you'd think I wouldn't be short on anything ... but I am going to the apple orchard tomorrow, so no worries), and I need to eat 2 in a day in P2. So, I read somewhere (it's all blurring into one big brain blob ... hey, that was alliteration, or the "repetition of consonant sounds" ... I'm like a dog getting distracted by a squirrel right now) that you can substitute a tomato for an apple in P2. So, I ate bison, 2 medium tomatoes and my grissini breadstick for lunch. Woo hoo. Tonight, I'm going to a friend's house (I'm sure she'll have yummy, comfort food going), so I'm coming armed with (yes, you guessed it) more bison, a cucumber, an apple and grissini. My goal is to get as far below LDW as I can before tomorrow morning. That means, 2 pounds. Which, in 0.8 ounces, will put me in a new decade. I won't stay there for long (you usually don't keep the 1 - 2 pound drop after LDW, since the weight you lose in these 2 days, after stopping the drops, are "normal" fat depletion, not the abnormal fat depletion that stays off). Anyway, I'm not worried. I just want to see that new decade on the scale. Even just once, before I hit it HARD in October when I start Round 5.
So, what do you have planned for the weekend?
Mountain climbing?
Taking over a company?
Pillaging?
Running the country?
Sounds great. I plan on sleeping in. :-)
R4 (Round 4, the 4th time I've done all of these phases), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 33 of 33
Today is the last day of P2 food for this Round. Hallelujah, with a capital HALLELUJAH! This morning, I dropped 0.6 on the scale, bringing my grand total (not that today's weight counts, as it's yesterday that I have to stay at, as my Last Dosage Weight or "LDW") to 84.7 pounds down since July 23. I'll take it.
Today, I'm eating bison (I always call it buffalo, but I just read the package and it's clearly bison, which must be different?) for my meat choices today, as I have run out of chicken. You're supposed to alternate and not eat 2 servings of the same meat in P2, but, what's a girl gonna do? I'm NOT cooking one more 3.5 ounce chicken portion just to get me through today. So, I'm buffaloing it up today. Yes, buffaloing isn't a word. But, frankly, I think it should be.
Also, as I was packing my lunch today, I realized I only had 1 apple left (that boat-load of grocery shopping, you'd think I wouldn't be short on anything ... but I am going to the apple orchard tomorrow, so no worries), and I need to eat 2 in a day in P2. So, I read somewhere (it's all blurring into one big brain blob ... hey, that was alliteration, or the "repetition of consonant sounds" ... I'm like a dog getting distracted by a squirrel right now) that you can substitute a tomato for an apple in P2. So, I ate bison, 2 medium tomatoes and my grissini breadstick for lunch. Woo hoo. Tonight, I'm going to a friend's house (I'm sure she'll have yummy, comfort food going), so I'm coming armed with (yes, you guessed it) more bison, a cucumber, an apple and grissini. My goal is to get as far below LDW as I can before tomorrow morning. That means, 2 pounds. Which, in 0.8 ounces, will put me in a new decade. I won't stay there for long (you usually don't keep the 1 - 2 pound drop after LDW, since the weight you lose in these 2 days, after stopping the drops, are "normal" fat depletion, not the abnormal fat depletion that stays off). Anyway, I'm not worried. I just want to see that new decade on the scale. Even just once, before I hit it HARD in October when I start Round 5.
So, what do you have planned for the weekend?
Mountain climbing?
Taking over a company?
Pillaging?
Running the country?
Sounds great. I plan on sleeping in. :-)
Thursday, August 23, 2012
R4P3D32 of 33 - REPOST (sorry for the Blog issues) -- I'm rounding the Round 4, Phase 2 Finish Line
August 23, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2), Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) #32 of 33
Well, my friends, I have hit my Last Dosage Weight (LDW). Today, I am 84.1 pounds off (that means, I lost 24.1 pounds in R4. Of course, only 7.1 of those are new territory. But, I hit some milestones and made up for (redeemed, I will say) the pounds I gained from "stress eating" in R3P3/R3P4, and then moved the needle down a bit. I'll take it. I'm "down" with down. I'm satisfied. And, I am determined to make R4P3 (remember, P3 is eating proteins for 21 days to stabilize the weight I've lost) count this time.
In order to make this P3 count, I did some menu planning for P3 (at least the first week or 2). I plan on eating approved foods, but less of the, "stay away from veggies and fruit" motto I had adopted (and that's not plan, really) in the last 2 of 3 Rounds. I only ate meat and cheese in the first week. And, I wasn't eating enough calories. So, this time, I'm eating my veggies too, and approved fruit.
That said, last night, I did a boat-load (I should say, CR-V load, as the back of my car was full last night) of P3 grocery shopping last night. Here's my grocery list (for you HCG-ers or those trying to eat low-carb who have asked me what I can and do eat in P3):
I should be good until about February 2020 with that amount of food. Just kidding. But, clearly, you can see I wasn't kidding when I said car-load, huh? I can mix it up a bit, with "treat" things in P4. For example, I bought a couple of small loaves of pumpkin+chocolate chip / banana / zucchini bread at Fresh Market 2 weeks ago & immediately froze them. I might have some in P4, maybe with my Gram, since she loves sweets. When I go to Tanner's this weekend, I'll probably buy some caramel too ... yum, apple fritters).
Uh oh. Mind on the game, Julia. Mind on the game.
I'm back. Okay, so today and tomorrow, I keep eating P2 foods (two 3.5 ounce meat portions of either white fish, chicken or very lean beef/bison, a tomato and either a cucumber, onion, some spinach, 2 grissini bread sticks, 1 Tbs of milk, and 2 apples). Even though the drops are done (which is why this is called, "Last Dosage Weight" since it's the last day I took the drops -- this morning), I need to be 48 hours without drops in my system before I go to P3. I loaded for 48 hours, I have to wait 48 hours to get them out of my system. If I start eating P3 right now, I'll gain. That's what I did in Rounds 2 & 3 ... I "couldn't wait" for P3, so I ate P3 for dinner on my lat night in P2. And, duh, Julia! I gained. So, this time, this trap of a mouth is saying NO to P3 until Saturday morning at 8 a.m. That'll be about 48.5 hours since I took my last drops. Then, hello eggs for breakfast!
Whoah there, Nellie. Maybe I should say, "Hi, eggs." Hello sounds like I plan on eating a dozen.
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2), Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) #32 of 33
Well, my friends, I have hit my Last Dosage Weight (LDW). Today, I am 84.1 pounds off (that means, I lost 24.1 pounds in R4. Of course, only 7.1 of those are new territory. But, I hit some milestones and made up for (redeemed, I will say) the pounds I gained from "stress eating" in R3P3/R3P4, and then moved the needle down a bit. I'll take it. I'm "down" with down. I'm satisfied. And, I am determined to make R4P3 (remember, P3 is eating proteins for 21 days to stabilize the weight I've lost) count this time.
In order to make this P3 count, I did some menu planning for P3 (at least the first week or 2). I plan on eating approved foods, but less of the, "stay away from veggies and fruit" motto I had adopted (and that's not plan, really) in the last 2 of 3 Rounds. I only ate meat and cheese in the first week. And, I wasn't eating enough calories. So, this time, I'm eating my veggies too, and approved fruit.
That said, last night, I did a boat-load (I should say, CR-V load, as the back of my car was full last night) of P3 grocery shopping last night. Here's my grocery list (for you HCG-ers or those trying to eat low-carb who have asked me what I can and do eat in P3):
- Red/yellow/orange peppers
- Spaghetti squash
- Cherry tomatoes (I LOVE those, but can't eat them in P2, because they have more natural sugar content, which can cause a stall in the VLCD P2)
- Mixed salad greens
- Jicama (can't wait to try that ... it's supposed to have the consistency of an apple, but the flavor of a vegetable!)
- Celery
- Avocado
- Mushrooms
- Sweet onions
- Green onions
- Strawberries
- Watermelon
- Cantaloupe
- Apples (well, not yesterday ... I'm buying apples at Tanner's Orchard on Saturday). For you non-locals, it's a great apple-buying spot in the late summer, early-autumn.
- Frozen cauliflower (for my oh-so-yummy cauliflower bake!)
- Steel-cut oats (I almost wrote GOATS ... yikes, those would hurt). I'm going to try having them at the end of P3, even though they are carb-y (no, that is not a word, and yes, I did just use it)\
- Black olives
- Green olives
- No sugar added (agave nectar only -- again, at the end of P3) strawberry jam (my fave!)
- Mary's Gone Crackers (spelt grain, again, breaks down like a veggie, not a carb)
- Duke's Mayo (only kind without sugar)
- Whole green chiles (I'm making chile rellenos soon --- eggs, cheese, chiles, yummy!
- Spaghetti sauce (checked for sugars ... hard to find, but I found some, vodka sauce, actually!)
- Lara bars ("gone nuts" flavor -- all nuts)
- Natural peanut butter (I know which brands to buy, but if you do, be careful, many of the "natural" brands have honey, agave nectur, high fructose corn syrup in them ... the non-naturals have stuff with "-oxe" or "-ose" at the end, and that is a chemical form of sugar ... it's in EVERYTHING I tell you!)
- Fage Greek Yogurt (plain is the only one without sugar, so I'll add Stevia to it and fruit ... I have some 3-year-old frozen Michigan blueberries in my freezer I will use)
- Laughing Cow French Onion cheese wedges (35 calories a wedge) which I put in the peppers (I'm also going to try making stuffed peppers, with quinoa or farro instead of rice -- it tastes like rice, but it a natural product that breaks down as a veggie carb, not a "bad" processed carb in the body)
- Eggs (LOTS of eggs)
- Kroger brand low-sodium bacon (it's the only one I've found ANYWHERE without some form of sugar in it (HCG-ers reading this, pay attention!)
- Jimmy Dean's savory sausage (roll -- again, the only one I've found without sugars of any kind ... yes, I'm going to make a bread-free egg casserole!)
- Cottage cheese (it was hard to find one without sugars, but I did, in the end -- it's in almost everything in one form or another!)
- Milk (whole!)
- Devonshire clotted cream
- Heavy whipping cream
- Sour cream
- Cream cheese
- Ground sirloin
- Bison
- Lamb
- Veal
- Crumpets (I know, I know, carb-a-rama ... I won't eat them until P4, but I was there, they were there, and they went right into my freezer)
- Shrimp (I will soon be making Linda's Mom's recipe again -- shrimp grilled in butter and garlic!)
- Cashews (I'm staying away from them for the first few weeks)
- Ezekiel bread (it's a spelt grain bread that is whole grain, but, again, breaks down as a veggie, not a starchy carb)
- Ezekiel tortillas
- Ezekiel sandwhich wraps
- Ezekiel English Muffins
Uh oh. Mind on the game, Julia. Mind on the game.
I'm back. Okay, so today and tomorrow, I keep eating P2 foods (two 3.5 ounce meat portions of either white fish, chicken or very lean beef/bison, a tomato and either a cucumber, onion, some spinach, 2 grissini bread sticks, 1 Tbs of milk, and 2 apples). Even though the drops are done (which is why this is called, "Last Dosage Weight" since it's the last day I took the drops -- this morning), I need to be 48 hours without drops in my system before I go to P3. I loaded for 48 hours, I have to wait 48 hours to get them out of my system. If I start eating P3 right now, I'll gain. That's what I did in Rounds 2 & 3 ... I "couldn't wait" for P3, so I ate P3 for dinner on my lat night in P2. And, duh, Julia! I gained. So, this time, this trap of a mouth is saying NO to P3 until Saturday morning at 8 a.m. That'll be about 48.5 hours since I took my last drops. Then, hello eggs for breakfast!
Whoah there, Nellie. Maybe I should say, "Hi, eggs." Hello sounds like I plan on eating a dozen.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
R4P2D31/33 -- Tomorrow is my Last Dosage Weight Day
August 22, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 31
So, tomorrow's the big day. It's the last day for me to take my HCG drops for Round 4, which means, whatever I weigh in the morning is "it" for my Last Dosage Weight (LDW) that I need to work to stay at (or below by no more than 2, or above by no more than 2 pounds) in Phase 3 (all proteins). P2 is that 500 calorie a day thing. I'm ready to be done with it, even though this is the only Phase where and HCG-er actually loses weight (or is supposed to). I'm not supposed to go below 2 pounds in P3 because that's when my body is stabilizing to realize THIS is my new highest weight. Phase 4 (eat what I want in moderation), I actually can continue to lose there, by eating healthy, with the occasional treat.
This is me, thinking of having milk staring Saturday:
I had really hoped to be about 2 pounds lower than I am right now (to be in a new decade), but it's okay that I am where I am. It's a nice 84 pounds off even. Of course, I could always have a 2 pound loss tomorrow, but I doubt it. I've had 75 ounces of liquid today already and haven't used the restroom once. Yep. I'm a camel.
As of this morning, I've lost 24 pounds this Round, so I made up for my gain in P3 and P4 last time, and took off another 12-ish pounds. It's not great (I'd be TWO decades down more than now if I had watched what I did in R3 closer), but it's still in the right direction. DOWN! I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- Round 3 was hard, but it was worth it. It taught me that I have to be constantly vigilant about keeping this weight off. It's not about denying myself in P2 (that I am just about done with ... can I say that again?!) and then binging in P3 and P4. I'd never done that before Round 3. But, by the last 2 weeks in R3P4, I was eating naughty food every day for at least 1 meal. I guess that's okay (meaning, no gains) if you stabilize well. But, even then, I don't really want to be eating junk. My stress levels wanted me to. This time, I'm less stressed (thank you, Lord, and you who prayed for me and talked me through it and encouraged me). And, I'm humbled by my R3 experience, that I am not (hear that, Julia? NOT) going to gain again. If I do, it won't be because I'm eating Taco Bell and DQ. It will be because my body is doing something. I won't know what, but it won't be because I'm shoving food in my gob.
So, check back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to blog again, and the little needle will be to 85 pounds off. I'm wearing size 16s now, by the way. That may not sound small, but when I started this, I was at a (am I really going to share this?!?!) 24/26 ... closer to a 26. I'm not ready to share exactly what I weighed, but I'm pretty sure I will in R5 (which starts October 13 ... 4 days shy of 1 year on HCG).
See you tomorrow!
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 31
So, tomorrow's the big day. It's the last day for me to take my HCG drops for Round 4, which means, whatever I weigh in the morning is "it" for my Last Dosage Weight (LDW) that I need to work to stay at (or below by no more than 2, or above by no more than 2 pounds) in Phase 3 (all proteins). P2 is that 500 calorie a day thing. I'm ready to be done with it, even though this is the only Phase where and HCG-er actually loses weight (or is supposed to). I'm not supposed to go below 2 pounds in P3 because that's when my body is stabilizing to realize THIS is my new highest weight. Phase 4 (eat what I want in moderation), I actually can continue to lose there, by eating healthy, with the occasional treat.
This is me, thinking of having milk staring Saturday:
I had really hoped to be about 2 pounds lower than I am right now (to be in a new decade), but it's okay that I am where I am. It's a nice 84 pounds off even. Of course, I could always have a 2 pound loss tomorrow, but I doubt it. I've had 75 ounces of liquid today already and haven't used the restroom once. Yep. I'm a camel.
As of this morning, I've lost 24 pounds this Round, so I made up for my gain in P3 and P4 last time, and took off another 12-ish pounds. It's not great (I'd be TWO decades down more than now if I had watched what I did in R3 closer), but it's still in the right direction. DOWN! I've said it before, and I'll say it again -- Round 3 was hard, but it was worth it. It taught me that I have to be constantly vigilant about keeping this weight off. It's not about denying myself in P2 (that I am just about done with ... can I say that again?!) and then binging in P3 and P4. I'd never done that before Round 3. But, by the last 2 weeks in R3P4, I was eating naughty food every day for at least 1 meal. I guess that's okay (meaning, no gains) if you stabilize well. But, even then, I don't really want to be eating junk. My stress levels wanted me to. This time, I'm less stressed (thank you, Lord, and you who prayed for me and talked me through it and encouraged me). And, I'm humbled by my R3 experience, that I am not (hear that, Julia? NOT) going to gain again. If I do, it won't be because I'm eating Taco Bell and DQ. It will be because my body is doing something. I won't know what, but it won't be because I'm shoving food in my gob.
So, check back tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to blog again, and the little needle will be to 85 pounds off. I'm wearing size 16s now, by the way. That may not sound small, but when I started this, I was at a (am I really going to share this?!?!) 24/26 ... closer to a 26. I'm not ready to share exactly what I weighed, but I'm pretty sure I will in R5 (which starts October 13 ... 4 days shy of 1 year on HCG).
See you tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
R4P2D23/33 - I've shed the world's largest ball of tape is
August 14, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2), Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 23 of 33
Ten days left in R4P2. Ten days and at least 5 pounds more to go. I'd really like to lose 7 more pounds, to have me securely in another decade (that means, 2 pounds into that decade). It'll be a decade. On the scale, if you remember, I call every 10 pounds a new decade. For example, if I weighed 140 pounds (ha! I wish!), when I got to 139, I'd call that a new decade. So, at least I'm moving towards a new decade, even if I am inching there, 1/10th of a pound at a time.
This morning, I lost another 0.6 pounds from yesterday when I stepped on the scale. Normally, I don't like losing anything, but I am LOVING the numbers I am seeing on the scale, so I happily say good-bye to pieces of myself one little ounce by another. I'm currently close to another personal milestone for me, which is the bottom of this "decade" -- I believe I haven't weighed that weight since maybe April of 1996. There were lots and lots of years where I just didn't step on the scale. Obviously, you do not get to be the weight I was by staying conscious of your weight. So, I measure my progress by the weight-loss attempts I've tried over the years. I did a weight-loss attempt in the Spring of 1996, Spring of 2001, 2003, 2006, 2011 ... and then by the fall of 2011, I tried HCG. HCG has been the only thing that works. 80.4 pounds down this morning, and still going strong. As of Friday, I will have stuck with this for 10 months. Never stuck with anything that long, so that bodes well for future success.
I'm getting to the place where, I'm over 1/2 way to my weight-loss goal (in fact, in about 12 pounds, I will be at 2/3 of my weight loss goal!). I'm very happy about that. I definitely have lost the World's Largest Ball of Tape (that's right, they weighed it!), or, maybe a 10 year old girl (?) at this stage. No wonder I'm wanting to swim, right by bicycle and hike (which I did, all 3 days last weekend, and wasn't at all sore). I'm trying to live it up before it gets too cold to do my 3 favorite physical activities.
I don't have much more to say at this point, besides repeating myself, so I guess I'll sign off. I hope you have a wonderful day, and, if you feel like it, reach out to me and let me know how I can pray for you. It's SO honoring to be able to pray specifically for my friends.
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2), Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 23 of 33
Ten days left in R4P2. Ten days and at least 5 pounds more to go. I'd really like to lose 7 more pounds, to have me securely in another decade (that means, 2 pounds into that decade). It'll be a decade. On the scale, if you remember, I call every 10 pounds a new decade. For example, if I weighed 140 pounds (ha! I wish!), when I got to 139, I'd call that a new decade. So, at least I'm moving towards a new decade, even if I am inching there, 1/10th of a pound at a time.
This morning, I lost another 0.6 pounds from yesterday when I stepped on the scale. Normally, I don't like losing anything, but I am LOVING the numbers I am seeing on the scale, so I happily say good-bye to pieces of myself one little ounce by another. I'm currently close to another personal milestone for me, which is the bottom of this "decade" -- I believe I haven't weighed that weight since maybe April of 1996. There were lots and lots of years where I just didn't step on the scale. Obviously, you do not get to be the weight I was by staying conscious of your weight. So, I measure my progress by the weight-loss attempts I've tried over the years. I did a weight-loss attempt in the Spring of 1996, Spring of 2001, 2003, 2006, 2011 ... and then by the fall of 2011, I tried HCG. HCG has been the only thing that works. 80.4 pounds down this morning, and still going strong. As of Friday, I will have stuck with this for 10 months. Never stuck with anything that long, so that bodes well for future success.
I'm getting to the place where, I'm over 1/2 way to my weight-loss goal (in fact, in about 12 pounds, I will be at 2/3 of my weight loss goal!). I'm very happy about that. I definitely have lost the World's Largest Ball of Tape (that's right, they weighed it!), or, maybe a 10 year old girl (?) at this stage. No wonder I'm wanting to swim, right by bicycle and hike (which I did, all 3 days last weekend, and wasn't at all sore). I'm trying to live it up before it gets too cold to do my 3 favorite physical activities.
I don't have much more to say at this point, besides repeating myself, so I guess I'll sign off. I hope you have a wonderful day, and, if you feel like it, reach out to me and let me know how I can pray for you. It's SO honoring to be able to pray specifically for my friends.
Friday, August 10, 2012
R4P2D19/33 - Every Round is different, like snowflakes
August 10, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 19 of 33
Well, I'm over half way done with R4P2 (that sounds like a Star Wars robot). I have exactly 2 weeks to go until this weight-loss portion of the HCG Round (4) draws to a close. Then, it's maintain that weight, maintain that weight, maintain that weight. This time, I have a plan to do it.
I'm eating P2 foods (just more of them), plus more fruits and veggies, the first week in Phase 3 (P3) -- proteins. I'm NOT going to eat peanut butter (YUM!) the first week. I'm going to eat cheese and dairy sparingly. I can eat them, but I still need to fill in the cracks (as Hobbits would say) with P2 foods. Not fill in the cracks with meat and cheese in week 1 of P3. That's what causes instability. I'm preparing myself mentally for that now, so I don't sabotage myself and go gang-busters on cheese sticks or something. I stabilized well in R1, because I followed the directions (what I outlined above). R2 and R3 -- and this is a normal thing for people -- I went a little "rogue" and went straight into P3 foods. Um, follow the directions, Julia. You're not THAT special where you can do your own thing.
Okay, I'm talking in third person. Julia hates it when she does that. OOOH, she -- I mean I -- just did it again. :-)
Last week was a tough week for me, but I stuck with it. The entire week (I think more like 8 days), I went down 1.2 pounds. It was my slowest loss week yet (comparing Rounds 1 - 4). This week, since Monday, I'm down 3.3 pounds (0.9 of that was this morning). What have I done differently? Well, when I felt VERY hungry (which isn't normal on HCG, but sometimes happens in week 2 or 3 for me), I doubled my protein allowance. The 2 days I did that (T and TH), I ended up with a 1.2 and a 1.1 loss. So, maybe I'll do that from now on, when I need a kick start. One thing I've learned is, every Round is different.
So, I finally got below my lowest weight since August 2001. I've beat that "record" by 2 pounds as of this morning. I have, at most, 7 more pounds to lose before I'm at my 1996 weight record, then, another 20 from there before I beat my 1994 record. After that, it's 30 more pounds before I weigh less than my bar days, AND less than I ever have as an adult (don't worry, Mom, it's still perfectly within my weight-range for my height and age). So, add that up, and I have 57 pounds left to go ... anything after that is ... well, I can't say cake, because it's too high in carbs. How about I say ... it'll be steak (that rhymes with cake & is protein).
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (P2) Very Low Calorie Day (VLCD) 19 of 33
Well, I'm over half way done with R4P2 (that sounds like a Star Wars robot). I have exactly 2 weeks to go until this weight-loss portion of the HCG Round (4) draws to a close. Then, it's maintain that weight, maintain that weight, maintain that weight. This time, I have a plan to do it.
I'm eating P2 foods (just more of them), plus more fruits and veggies, the first week in Phase 3 (P3) -- proteins. I'm NOT going to eat peanut butter (YUM!) the first week. I'm going to eat cheese and dairy sparingly. I can eat them, but I still need to fill in the cracks (as Hobbits would say) with P2 foods. Not fill in the cracks with meat and cheese in week 1 of P3. That's what causes instability. I'm preparing myself mentally for that now, so I don't sabotage myself and go gang-busters on cheese sticks or something. I stabilized well in R1, because I followed the directions (what I outlined above). R2 and R3 -- and this is a normal thing for people -- I went a little "rogue" and went straight into P3 foods. Um, follow the directions, Julia. You're not THAT special where you can do your own thing.
Okay, I'm talking in third person. Julia hates it when she does that. OOOH, she -- I mean I -- just did it again. :-)
Last week was a tough week for me, but I stuck with it. The entire week (I think more like 8 days), I went down 1.2 pounds. It was my slowest loss week yet (comparing Rounds 1 - 4). This week, since Monday, I'm down 3.3 pounds (0.9 of that was this morning). What have I done differently? Well, when I felt VERY hungry (which isn't normal on HCG, but sometimes happens in week 2 or 3 for me), I doubled my protein allowance. The 2 days I did that (T and TH), I ended up with a 1.2 and a 1.1 loss. So, maybe I'll do that from now on, when I need a kick start. One thing I've learned is, every Round is different.
So, I finally got below my lowest weight since August 2001. I've beat that "record" by 2 pounds as of this morning. I have, at most, 7 more pounds to lose before I'm at my 1996 weight record, then, another 20 from there before I beat my 1994 record. After that, it's 30 more pounds before I weigh less than my bar days, AND less than I ever have as an adult (don't worry, Mom, it's still perfectly within my weight-range for my height and age). So, add that up, and I have 57 pounds left to go ... anything after that is ... well, I can't say cake, because it's too high in carbs. How about I say ... it'll be steak (that rhymes with cake & is protein).
Friday, August 3, 2012
R4P2D12/33 - I'm 1/3 of the way done
August 3, 2012
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (Very Low Calorie) Day 12 / 33
Yesterday was my 1/3 of the way done with R4P2 mark. The first third went pretty well, tracking about with the other Rounds. I'm definitely out of the honeymoon part, because I'm looking towards August 25 when I'm in Phase 3 (proteins). Actually, I think that's good, because this time, I am preparing myself WAY early (you know how I hate sneak attacks) that for the first week of P3, I'm going to eat P2 foods, just more of them. No jumping full-force into a vat of cottage cheese and skarfing down other cheeses and non-P2 (but protein rich) foods, like peanut butter, etc. I'm going to ease in. I did that in Round 1 Phase 3, and had success. I think I was stabilized after 1 week. In Phase 3 in Rounds 2 and 3, I dove in (mouth open), and had a VERY difficult time stabilizing. So, how about I follow the directions? DUH, Julia. Okay. If I have to. I guess. (Yes, that was a random Red Green quote.)
So, I'm at 75.8 pounds off. I've decided, if I'm still nickel and diming the weight loss by next Tuesday (when I will be in week 3 of 5), I'm going to do an apple day. I've done one apple day around that same time each Round, and it's been a help. For one thing, it's a change from P2 food. For another thing, it's highly satisfying (I love apples and the crunch). For another thing, it kick starts the weight-loss, and gets past a plateau. For those of you who are new to reading this, or don't remember what it is, it's eating 6 apples (only) in a day. Sounds like a lot of apples and a little of anything else. But, it's okay. ONCE a Round. So, I'm planning on trying one out this Round. The 3 times I did it (Rounds 1, 2 and 3), I lost 3.0, 2.5 and 2.7 pounds. I could use a loss like that to jump start my system again. I've gotta get off the last pesky 1.5 pounds to get back to my Round 3 LDW (that's right, I haven't gotten back to it yet, even though I've lost 15.3 pounds this Round). No condemnation. I'm doing the right things. So, all is right with the world.
I hope you have a good weekend. If you're in the mid-West, like I am, I think it's going to be another scorcher.
Round 4 (R4), Phase 2 (Very Low Calorie) Day 12 / 33
Yesterday was my 1/3 of the way done with R4P2 mark. The first third went pretty well, tracking about with the other Rounds. I'm definitely out of the honeymoon part, because I'm looking towards August 25 when I'm in Phase 3 (proteins). Actually, I think that's good, because this time, I am preparing myself WAY early (you know how I hate sneak attacks) that for the first week of P3, I'm going to eat P2 foods, just more of them. No jumping full-force into a vat of cottage cheese and skarfing down other cheeses and non-P2 (but protein rich) foods, like peanut butter, etc. I'm going to ease in. I did that in Round 1 Phase 3, and had success. I think I was stabilized after 1 week. In Phase 3 in Rounds 2 and 3, I dove in (mouth open), and had a VERY difficult time stabilizing. So, how about I follow the directions? DUH, Julia. Okay. If I have to. I guess. (Yes, that was a random Red Green quote.)
So, I'm at 75.8 pounds off. I've decided, if I'm still nickel and diming the weight loss by next Tuesday (when I will be in week 3 of 5), I'm going to do an apple day. I've done one apple day around that same time each Round, and it's been a help. For one thing, it's a change from P2 food. For another thing, it's highly satisfying (I love apples and the crunch). For another thing, it kick starts the weight-loss, and gets past a plateau. For those of you who are new to reading this, or don't remember what it is, it's eating 6 apples (only) in a day. Sounds like a lot of apples and a little of anything else. But, it's okay. ONCE a Round. So, I'm planning on trying one out this Round. The 3 times I did it (Rounds 1, 2 and 3), I lost 3.0, 2.5 and 2.7 pounds. I could use a loss like that to jump start my system again. I've gotta get off the last pesky 1.5 pounds to get back to my Round 3 LDW (that's right, I haven't gotten back to it yet, even though I've lost 15.3 pounds this Round). No condemnation. I'm doing the right things. So, all is right with the world.
I hope you have a good weekend. If you're in the mid-West, like I am, I think it's going to be another scorcher.
Before I sign off, I'd like to mention one more thing. Monday is my older nephew's 7th birthday. So, please join me in praying for Samuel August to have a blessed birthday, and for this to be a year when he makes a decision for Christ -- and that he will grow to be a man after His own heart and be used by Him for His purposes!
Happy birthday, sweet Samuel boy (the picture on the left was from August 2010, and on the right is June 2012)!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)