Saturday, February 27, 2010

I'm baaaaack.... R4C2VLCD13

Hey folks. I have been back on the diet and injections for 13 days. I haven't updated for a couple of reasons. First, sheer embarassment. I gained 7 lbs during my break... just about half of what I lost during cycle one of this round. It wasn't until 2 days ago that I was able to start on some new losses for this round. So basically, I took a 17 day break, gained 7 lbs, and took 11 days on the VLCD to lose it again. UGH. I got out of control over the break. I did OK at first, but there were two problems I am aware of. First, I ate sugars and starches which is a big no no before the weight loss has stabilized (3 weeks). I ate them in abundance. Second, I didn't do correction days at all. Had I done a steak or egg day on that very day when my weight crept up past 2 lbs over LIW, things would have probably ended very differently and I might be much further along in my weight loss! Oh well... it is what it is. I have a feeling I will always be taking two steps forward, one step back. The important thing is learning from these experiences so I can do better next time, and continuing to move in the right direction! I really really really don't want to lose this same weight over and over again. I am taking another break starting in about 4 days. I have friends coming to stay from out of town and Jeffrey's birthday coming up. I need to break for all that. I am thinking a 5 day break is all I will take, and start right back up. I am excited to get into some unfamiliar territory over the next month or so.
So there's my update. Ciao!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

VLCD 25, 2nd day no injection

Today is the last day of the low calorie diet before I take an 11 day break. As of my last injection weight for this round, I have lost 14.8 lbs. Not bad... my goal for each short round I am going to be doing is 15 lbs. I have had some cheats over the past few days, without which I am sure I would have passed the 15 lb mark. But the fact that I started cheating just confirms to me that I need a break. I feel satisfied taking the break and accepting the 14.8 lb loss, even if it is .2 shy of my goal for this round. My main goals during the break are 1. to maintain within the 2lb mark... I don't want to lose the same weight again! and, 2. Well, take a break. When I start back in 11 days, I want to feel rejuvenated and ready to stick to the diet again. I expect that I will do this cycling of 23 days VLCD, 10 day breaks for the next couple of months until I reach my goal, or get very close.
So there you have it! More later.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

VLCD 15

Hi all. I've been on the very low calorie diet for 15 days now, and have lost 12.4 lbs. This past week has been a bit slower than the first, but I lost more inches this week than last... Last week I was down 4 inches and this week is 4.5, so a total of 8.5. I'm glad I measured... it helps when the losses are smaller. I think its kind of funny though, that small losses right now are .6 a day. That is over 1/2 lb each day! Crazy!
I still haven't decided how long I will do this round. The shortest I can go is 10 more days of the diet. I am just going to see how I am doing when I get there, and decide then.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

VCLD Day 10

I don't have a lot of time but wanted to post that I have lost exactly 10 lbs as of today! 10 lbs in10 days is so awesome. That is not even including the load weight (which wasn't a lot, but still)...
Anyway, I just wanted to share my good news! Upward and onward!
Have a great day everyone!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

VLCD Day 8

Today is the 1st day of the 2nd week of the VLCD. Things are going great. I have lost 8.2 lbs and 4 inches in 1 week. I am very happy with those numbers! I am really feeling in the groove of the diet. I am not feeling hungry, angry or deprived, the way I did the last time I tried to do a round. I am just thankful that the weight is coming off! I am thinking a lot about what to do when I get off the VLCD. I am trying to reflect on what I did wrong this last time and how to be more successful at maintaining when I get to my goal, for the long term. I cannot keep losing the same weight over and over again.
School starts in just 2 days. I will be cooking and freezing a lot of things that I can easily grab and take to school with me. I wish I had a few more days to get my kids, myself and the house organized so that everything will run smoothly. But I will just do the best I can and hopefully the rest will take care of itself!

Friday, January 8, 2010

I'm Back

Hello friends. I am once again on the protocol and it is going well. I gained around 20 lbs since I last stopped... I know, YIKES... but so glad to be moving down again. I am trying to remember that gaining that weight back was not a failure, just a lesson in how NOT to do things. It seems like I have to learn a lot of things the hard way! But there is no use crying over gained weight.
I am on my 6th day of the VLCD and have lost 6.8 lbs (not including load weight, which was .6). Those numbers are great and I am happy to be moving down.
I probably won't update this blog everyday like I was doing before. I have been so incredibly busy with family, work and internship, and school starts up again next week. The true test of this round will be me sticking to the VLCD with classes starting again. I am just trying to take things one day at a time and do the best I can. I am happy that I will have 10 days or so of the diet under my belt before I go back to classes. I am in a routine which I think will be easier to stick to than trying to start after classes begin. I haven't decided how long this round will be yet. At this point I am of course committed to the short round, but I will reassess when I get closer to the end of that time period.
More later, and Happy Losing!

Friday, November 6, 2009

3 months later...

Hi everybody. I am kind of hoping the readership of this blog has died down some, because I am a bit embarassed and uncomfortable to report on what has happened with my weight over the past 3 months. But life marches on and so does my intent and desire to be healthy and fit.
At the end of August, I began to notice that I was gaining weight. I had gained about 8 lbs from the last time I wrote at that point. I decided to start another HCG Phase 2 in a frantic effort to lose the weight I had gained.
I started Round 3 at the beginning of September, right after I started back to grad school. With the beginning of school and an internship, my life became a crazy whirlwind and I found it nearly impossible to manage the strictness of the protocol while doing everything I needed to for home, school and work. I was cheating nearly every day and having a very hard time emotionally with the diet... dreading it every morning and even feeling angry that I was being so restricted in what I could eat. I thought hard about it, and decided to stop the protocol. Immediately after I stopped the shots, I went to a Weight Watchers meeting and fully intended to follow WW to maintain for a few weeks, and then start losing slowly again. And while I still think Weight Watchers is a good idea, I have not even had the discipline to write down everything I eat and track points everyday.
I spent a few weeks eating whatever, whenever, and gained some of the weight back again. About three weeks ago, I became very aware of, and panicked about the weight I was gaining. Which was about 6-8 lbs.
One day I was walking through Barnes and Nobles and came across a book "I Can Make You Thin" by Paul McKenna. As I scanned the book, I felt emotion rising up in me as I read Paul McKenna's weight loss system concepts. The four golden rules: 1. Eat when you are hungry 2. Eat what you want, not what you think you should eat. 3. Enjoy every single bite of food you put in your mouth. 4. Stop eating when you think you might be full. The simplicity was something I desperately hoped might work.
The author includes mindfulness exercises, and uses some cognitive-behavioral approaches which go right along with some of the therapy techniques I have been learning in school. Most of these techniques are aimed at helping you to overcome emotional eating. Included with the book is a CD that is meant to help retrain the brain to feel positive toward exercise and to also reprogram attitudes and beliefs about food.
I know it may sound kind of hokie, but again, some of the techniques he uses on this CD make perfect sense in the context of what I have been learning about right brain and left brain integration, the ability to change pathways in our brains, etc. Some of the things that resonate with me in this approach are 1) The focus on listening to my body, and working WITH my body instead of feeling like I am fighting against a part of myself 2) The fact that this approach is not a "diet" and I do not feel deprived at all. The advice given in this book feels so natural, and feels like something that I could truly live with in the long term.
I have been reading the book and listening to the CD every night since then. I have become much more aware of my reasons for eating, and really trying to focus on the four rules. It just feels right to wait until I'm hungry to eat. It feels so good to eat what I WANT, and to stop eating before I am stuffed. It is so satisfying to really pay attention to and enjoy the foods I am eating, While this approach is liberating, it's not always easy. Sometimes, I know I'm not hungry but I want to eat for social or emotional reasons. But when I follow the rules I feel so much better.
I have also started doing Julian Michael's 30 day shred workouts on DVD. My weight has finally stabilized and will hopefully start moving down again soon.
I still have HCG, and may choose to do it again someday when my life is less crazy. But for now, I feel good about what I am doing. I am really trying to be kind to myself, and have confidence in my intuitive ability to make choices that are good and healthy for me.