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.

P3R2 Day #18 (173.8, LIW +2.0)

Wow, it's been awhile since I updated! Vacation was fun.... I gained and have been above LIW since I got back (I was more than 2 lbs under when I left). I have been over the 2lb range once since returning, but the next day the scale went back down even without a correction day. I haven't been very good about the no sugar/no starch rule. I am amazed that my weight has been as stable as it has been considering what I have been eating.
I was planning to end my break over the weekend by taking shots Sat and Sun, and then starting the VLCD today, but I was concerned that my HCG might not be potent anymore (I mixed it about 45 days ago, and I have left it out of the fridge for a couple days on accident). I tested it with a pregnancy test and the line was very very faint. I don't want to take a chance that its not working, so I decided to wait until later this week to start. I have HCG but I don't have the bacteriostatic water to mix with yet... I have ordered it and it should come some time this week.
Because I am right at the 2lbs above LIW mark, I am going to stick to P3 foods today and hope that the scale will move down tomorrow.
I am nervous to start another P2, considering how the last one went (cheating all the time!) But I am also so excited at the thought of losing more weight. My goal for the next round is to lose 15 lbs in 23 days. I think if I really focus, and stick to the protocol that it is possible. Then I plan to take a short break and do another 23 day round with a goal of 15 more lbs. If I do that, I will be very close to my goal of 135-140 by the end of September! I need to keep focusing on the goals I want to reach to help me get ready to start again.

P3R2 Day #6 (169.2, LIW -2.6)

I have been losing the past 3 days and I am not complaining! I even had cheesecake the past 2 days and have still continued to move down! Maybe, just maybe I will start back on the shots below my LIW. That would be so great! But who knows... vacationing this week, I might gain a little. I am planning to stick to the no sugar/no starch and stay within my calories, for the most part on vacation. I will probably have some potatoes and carrots in my tin foil dinner, and maybe a taste of the raspberry shakes that Bear Lake is famous for! I'll just play it by ear. Even if I gain a little, I am still safe on being within range. I doubt I am going to gain 4.8 lbs it would take to require a correction day (knock on wood).

I don't know if he reads my blog, but I wanted to wish my little brother HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! Happy Birthday Zach!

P3R2 Day #4 (170.4, LIW -1.4)

Hey everybody! My break has been great so far! I have been under my last injection weight the whole time... so different from last time I went on Phase 3, when I had to do a correction day right away and it seemed like every 3 days or so for awhile! I have decided that when I go back on the shots, I will do 23 days, then take a 2 week break again at the end of August, and do one more 23 day of shots. I am really hoping to get to or close to my goal of 135 by the end of September this way. I am excited at the thought of just getting it done and being in maintenance for the fall and the holidays.
The biggest problem I am having is stomach aches from sugar alcohols. They are the best tasting sugar substitutes, but they can cause "gastrointestinal discomfort". Apparently, they ferment in the stomach creating large amounts of gas, which causes... well, my stomach blows up like a balloon and HURTS. Sorry if TMI, but if I can help someone else get through the low carb world with this knowledge, it's worth it. Ha ha.
I think that's all for today. More later...

P3R2 Day #2 (170.8, LIW -1.0)

Hey everybody! Today is day 2 of my scheduled phase 3 break. I gained 1.6 lbs from my weigh in yesterday, which is OK because yesterday I was 2.6 lbs below my LIW weight of 171.8. It seems pretty normal to me to gain on the first day of P3 because of the new volume of food, so I am not worried about the gain. I finally saw 169.2 on the scale yesterday which was nice, but doesn't really count since it was on the second day after my last injection. Nice to know it exists though, and I WILL see it as soon as I get back on the HCG!

Happy Weekend! More later!

P2R2 VLCD #25(?) (171.2)

Sorry I have been MIA... I haven't been on the computer much. When I'm not at work, I've been outside with the kids at the pool, the park, etc. Trying to enjoy what we have left of summer!
Anyway, I decided to have my last injection before my break be Tuesday. I really need the break to get my head on right for the second half of this round. I am kind of worried though because even P3 foods are not sounding too appealing to me (I know, what's up with that?) I have been craving carbs like crazy and that is what I've been cheating on... I really want to maintain during my break and I want to do things right. I want to get back on the loosing train in 2 weeks, and don't want to have to backtrack to get where I am now. I am hoping that when I start eating high fat, the carb cravings will go away.
I need to get some more HCG because I don't have enough shots left to complete a full 23 days after my break. So far I have always gotten it through a prescription from my doctor. But this time I just want to order it online. I am completely confused about how to do that and what I need to order so I am going to go check out info on that. But if any of you have any advice that could help on that, please share!
Have a great day everyone!

P2R2 VLCD #20 (171.2, +/-0)

Yesterday I didn't get a chance to post... had a .6 loss yesterday and today a big fat zero. It's frustrating but really, this week my body has given some good losses so I will just try to keep that in mind as I go through today! I better get up and get doing something. I have laundry to fold and kids to get ready for the day, and it's already 11am! LAZY Saturday morning! Have a great weekend everybody!

P2R2 VLCD #18 (171.8, +0.2)

I had a hard time again yesterday people! I felt hungry a lot, when I shouldn't have! I ended up eating a couple handfuls of light microwave popcorn, a few nibbles of the hamburger/rice casserole I made the family for dinner, a couple slurps of Emma's shaved ice (with ice cream in the bottom... yum), and I took a bite of a sugar cookie I made the kids last night, but spit it out when I realized what I was doing. Anyway, I am just hoping that today will be easier. I have only 5 days until I take my last shot before the break and I really want to make those days count! I don't know why I was extra munchy yesterday... I think my hunger was more psychological than physical. I was home most of the day because of Emma being sick and that means I was close to the kitchen all day. I find it much easier to stay on the diet when I am busy and distracted. Hopefully today will go better.

P2R2 VLCD #17 (171.6, -1.0)

Down another pound today. 10.4 lbs lost this round. I am doing much better now. I think I needed to get some days done with no cheating to get in the groove. I think I might take measurements today. I haven't done that since I started this round, so it will be interesting to see what's been going on with the inches.
Have a great day everyone! Emma is sick so it looks like I will be staying home with her today!
Oh, and a shout out to my baby sista! Happy Birthday Hambone!

P2R2 VLCD #16 (172.6, -2.0)

I lost 2 lbs overnight. Woo hoo! That's a very good thing. I am hesitant to celebrate success though, as I backtracked last time I had a big loss. So I will be reserved about it, stick to the diet, and see what tomorrow brings. I am almost to 10lbs lost for this round... 9.4 is the total right now. 5 of those pounds were above my LIW, so some of that was making up for lost ground (aka vacation!). But I am getting close to a new decade... 160's... and I really hope to see those numbers before my break. I can take my last shot before the break next Monday, and then on Thursday I can start eating P3 foods. I might wait until Tues for the last shot... I will just wait and see how I feel. Next Friday is a holiday here in the state of Utah and I really don't want to deal with the diet that day if I don't have to, so I will be off the low calorie diet by then. I plan to start this round back up on August 3 after we get back from vacation. That will make this a 2 week break, which is the longest break that you can take and get right back on the HCG. I will have about 17 shots left to do then. I am really thinking I could feasibly make it into the 150's by the time I finish this round in mid-August. That would be happy, happy, happy. I don't know if I will do another round of HCG in the fall or not... I will have about 20 more pounds to lose after this round and I am undecided on how I am going to approach that.
I will stop rambling now so we can all get back to work! More tomorrow!

P2R2 VLCD #15 (174.6, -.6)

Hello all. I stuck to the diet yesterday even though it was difficult. We had a family dinner for my sisters birthday yesterday and I felt deprived because the food looked so good. But I made a commitment to myself and I will stick to it. I am glad to see a loss today, even if I am not all the way back down to my lowest weight. Hopefully tomorrow. I really want to be in the 160's before I start on my break.
More tomorrow!

P2R2 VLCD #14 (175.2)

I am up 1.8 lbs from the last time I posted. I think all the deviations from the diet (aka: cheating) have caught up to me. Yesterday I decided to stick to protocol, and did well until last night. I was giving my daughter some cold cereal as a snack, and ate a few piecesI kept eating the cereal and ended up having a whole bowl with milk and 1/2 banana. I don't know what is wrong with me, why I am having such a hard time sticking to the diet this time around. I have a little over a week until I reach the minimum shots, and then I think I will take a break for 2 weeks (which is the longest break you can take). I am going on vacation during that time but also need the break to recommit myself. I need to make this next week count and see some losses. I am officially going to commit here to stick to protocol until the break. I will post every day as part of that commitment, to keep myself accountable. I am setting a goal of seeing the 160's by the break, so that is a 5.4 loss over the next week that I am aiming for.
I'll be back tomorrow on a report of today!

P2R2 VLCD #12 (173.4, -1.0)

Yeah! Lost that gain from yesterday plus some! So far, in 11 days of the diet this round I have lost 8.6 lbs... even though 5 of those lbs were above LIW, they are still a loss. I think that's pretty good considering all the deviating I have done. Yesterday included... I just wasn't well prepared again. My mom also pointed out that maybe I have realized that I can get away with more than I thought before. That could be true. Regardless, I am happy for today's loss. I am really going to try to stick to the protocol today and see what I get tomorrow. I am seeing the 160's getting closer and I would love to see those new numbers in the next few days.

P2R2 VLCD #11 (174.4, +.4)

Oops, the scale moved the wrong direction! TOM showed up and yesterday I was very unprepared with food. When I got home at 9pm I realized I had only eaten 300 cal and I was feeling hungry. Tried to make a P2 legal shake in my magic bullet and it was BROKEN! I had made the kids some 94% fat free microwave popcorn for their movie night and I devoured half a bag. I didn't go way over calories but all these things combined must have contributed to the gain. I also didn't drink much water yesterday... and I drank some diet soda. No soda today! It can't become a habit!
I don't have to work today (at least, not at work!) so I will have a much easier time with preparing my meals. Here's to hoping that tomorrow brings a loss of todays gain plus some more!

P2R2 VLCD #10 (174, -2.4)

Wowza, I had a great loss overnight! Yesterday I didn't post but lost .4. This morning, 2.4 pounds, GONE! So the total is now 32.2... I am no longer obese, people! Merely overweight! Now I can start looking toward no longer being overweight, but HEALTHY!
I have a really busy day ahead so I have to go, but wanted to share my great news!

P2R2 VLCD #8 (176.8) Total Loss: -29.4

Down 1.6 from yesterday, and I am .2 below LIW! Yeah! So glad to have broken through LIW! I expected to take a few days to get there, so I was shocked to see those numbers this morning! I am feeling ready to stick to the diet and have a good week of losses. Yesterday I did well and didn't have hunger problems. So let's hope today is more of the same.
More later!

P2R2 VLCD #7 (178.4)

Yes, I am up 1.2 lbs from the last time I posted. The holiday turned out to present quite the challenge and apparently I just wasn't up to it! Friday night while we were camping out at the parade route, I caved and ate a piece of pizza at about 11:30pm. I have to be honest... it tasted SO good and when I was finished, I felt satisfied (not hungry) for the first time in a week.

The next day I intended to stick to the diet, but when we were still out at festivities at 2pm, and I hadn't packed myself a lunch, I decided to just take the day off and start again today. So I ate Taco Bell for lunch and a hotdog with all the side stuff (and dessert) at the BBQ with the family. And some stuff in between. I did this knowing that I would be losing a few days of progress.

I really have no regrets about the weekend... it was a relief to just give myself permission to enjoy the holiday, food and all. This was much different than Easter, when I never even considered cheating, not even for a moment (or all of round 1, for that matter)... I don't know why. But I'm pretty sure I will never try to diet on the 4th of July again... at least not this diet!

It's hard to explain but going off protocol yesterday was actually very empowering. It helped me to realize that choosing to do this diet is exactly that... a choice. Each day that I stick to it, I choose to do so, and I *could* stop anytime I want. I am doing this because I want to and because I have an important goal I am working for: a healthy weight. I know it seems a little crazy that my indiscretion gave me the insight I needed, but it did.

It's also a relief to break my perfect no cheating record from last round. I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to be perfect, and it just isn't necessary (or even healthy).
One more thing that I have realized is that the loading days are a very important part of this diet. I didn't take it seriously this time, and I really truly think that is why this first week has been so hard. In Pounds and Inches, Dr. Simeon says

"One cannot keep a patient comfortably on 500 Calories unless his normal fat reserves are reasonably well stocked. It is for this reason also that every case, even those that are actually gaining must eat to capacity of the most fattening food they can get down until they have had the third injection. It is a fundamental mistake to put a patient on 500 Calories as soon as the injections are started, as it seems to take about three injections before abnormally deposited fat begins to circulate and thus become available....
The time and trouble spent on pressing this point upon incredulous or reluctant patients is always amply rewarded afterwards by the complete absence of those difficulties [hunger!] which patients who have disregarded these instructions are liable to experience [me!]. "

Today I have not had a problem with hunger and I am really hoping that this is how things will continue. I have been on the shots for 8 days now, so the HCG should be doing its job. I hope I can get the weight that I gained off quickly and be moving downward an onward!
Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back tomorrow.

P2R2 VLCD #5 (177.2)

Down .4..... tomorrow for sure should take me below my LIW of 177 right? Total loss since starting is 5 lbs (including the .2 of load weight) but like I said, I am not really counting until I get to LIW. I just want to get there!
Yesterday was better than the day before... I felt more energy and less hungry. Hopefully today will be more of the same. I am going to make some of the P2 "cookies" today so I can have a treat for the 4th. We are going to a BBQ at my mom's house so I will probably get a nice filet mignon to grill and that will be a treat too. Isn't it amazing how food is such a big part of our life, and especially on holidays? You don't realize how much until you take it away! I got through Easter, and I will get through the 4th just fine too!
More tomorrow!

P2R2 VLCD #4 (177.6)

Down 1 lb today. This brings me .6 from my last injection weight, which I am hoping (with fingers crossed) to pass tomorrow. I am not counting my losses until I get past my LIW.
Yesterday was rough. I woke up with a migraine. Luckily I had medication that I recently discovered (thanks Dad!) that works like a charm on migraines so it went away pretty quickly. But it just wasn't a good start to the day. I was feeling down and hungry most of the day... I think I was really physically hungry because I overate things like lettuce and cabbage. And I ate 3 grissini's instead of 2. I am wondering if I didn't load with enough fats.... I don't know. I ended up eating 600 cal yesterday... all allowed foods, but just more than I was supposed to.
Last night ended on a better note. I realized that part of the reason I was feeling down was the prospect of eating the same boring foods for weeks on end. I was feeling like there were no treats. So I spent some time online collecting recipes to try that are P2 legal. There are some pretty creative cooks on Happily Thinner After and I am thankful for those who think of ways to incorporate the allowed foods into new recipes! That gave me a bit of a boost. I found a recipe for almond macaroons and chocolate cookies that are P2 legal. I am especially excited to try "Biz's spinach berry smoothie" (spinach, strawberries, cocoa, cottage cheese and sweetener). I can have 2 of those in a day and still have a meal. My sister is probably laughing right about now at what I am getting excited about. I was telling her the other day that red wine vinegar with sweetener is a good dressing. She said "good is relative to what you can have". So true!
I also decided last night that I am only going to commit to the minimum days this diet can be done... 23 days... for right now. A friend made that suggestion (thanks Linda!) and it has really helped me to think that I will only be doing this for 23 days vs 40 something. Actually 19 more days now. At the end of the 23 days I can re-evaluate and keep going if I want to.
Anyway, I better get going for the day! I'll be back tomorrow!

P2R2 VLCD #3 (178.6)

I didn't post yesterday because I was out of town and forgot to take my scale. Today showed a loss from Monday of 3.6lbs, which brings me +1.6 from my last injection weight from the last round. I am hoping tomorrow or the next day I will be in new territory.
I'm going to keep this short today because I have so much I need to be doing. But I will be back tomorrow with another update!
Have a great day folks!

P2R2 VLCD #1 (182.2)

Hi folks. Today is very low calorie day #1 for me! I got through the loading days with a net gain of .2 which is AWESOME... considering I am 5 lbs above LIW, I am so glad that I don't have even more pounds to get off to get to where I was. I enjoyed brownies, ice cream with hot fudge, cheesecake, a twix candy bar... lots of sugar people. I know loading days are more about the fat but I figured there was plenty of fat to go along with that sugar! Jorge took some "before" pics of me last night. So this time I really will have some before and after pics to post.

Today we are taking a little overnight trip to Park City with my mom, sister and all our kids. It should be fun. I thought about not starting the diet until after our little trip but decided against that. I am so ready to start losing more weight... it doesn't matter if I have to pack my measly 500 cal and take it with me tonight!

So my plan for this round is kind of tentative but here is what I am thinking. We are going to Bear Lake July 30- Aug 2, so I will take a P3 break while we are there (no sugars/no starches). I will take my last injection before the break on July 27 or 28, which means I will have 29-30 days of the vlcd (skipping once a week this means I will have 25 effective injections by then). Then after the trip I will get back on the diet for the rest of my shots which should be 15-20 more. I am going to play it by ear but I might even order some more HCG from the internet and make this round go a little longer... I need to research it and see if I can do that. I think doing another 30 days or so after the break would be great and would get me that much closer to my ultimate goal. My mom recently lost weight and moved from a size 8 to a 6. She has a whole chest full of size 8 jeans just waiting for me. Nice jeans that I can't wait to fit into. I really want to be able to wear those jeans when fall starts!

Anyway, that is what I am thinking. Have a great day everyone!

Round 2 Phase 2 Load Day 2

Hey everybody! Long time, no blog! Sorry...I have been so so so busy. Life is always like that I guess. But you can expect to hear a lot more from me over the next few weeks because as I have officially started Phase 2 Round 2. Yesterday was my first shot, today is my second "load" day and tomorrow I will start the very low calorie diet. I am very excited to lose some more weight!
Today my weight was 181.8, which is 4.8 over my LIW. Although it did drop after vacation to 179, as soon as I was over the stomach flu, it went right back up. I didn't worry about it too much since I knew I was starting round 2 very soon. It is kind of sad though to start this round knowing I need to lose 5 lbs just to get to where I was. Oh well, it is what it is.
Well, I don't have much else to say except I will be back tomorrow to update you!

P3/4R1 Day 34 (179.6, LIW +2.6)

Hello everybody! I am back from vacation and over my weight range but I am not too stressed about it. It has already come down quite a bit... I came back weighing in at 183.2, 6.2 over LIW. That was Wed afternoon, so that probably was a few pounds up from my morning weight, that I normally go by. Yesterday I was at 181, and today 179.6... I took my scale on vacation but stopped weighing after a few days because it was just too stressful. There wasn't much I could do in terms of correction days because the food available was largely out of my control. I ate a lot of junk and thought for sure I would have 10 lbs to lose after all that. I am amazed that its not more than it is.
I am not doing correction days because they are supposed to be done on the day the gain happens. I was advised by Biz at HTA's bootcamp to just eat "clean" and high fat and my weight should come down on its own. I have tried to eat high fat but have been having a hard time because I have had a stomach flu for a few days, and am not hungry for stuff like that. Last night I had pasta and toast for dinner because all I could stomach were carbs. But the stomach flu is probably helping get my weight in check. ha ha
I rescheduled my Dr. appt to get my new prescription for HCG to next Thursday because I am not feeling well and don't feel like leaving the house (I was supposed to go today). Next week will be 6 weeks since I have been off the shot (middle of the week)... I will most likely start the shots again next weekend.
So there's my update!

P3/4R1 Day 25 (177.8, LIW +.8)

Hello all! Things have been going well in the weight department. I have now gone 7 days with no correction days in there. I have started eating some carbs, very slowly. I have had corn on the cob, corn tortilla chips, (yes, I like corn! :), ketchup, and some high sugar fruits like pineapple and some melons. So far so good. Today I was the lowest I have been during this maintenance phase.

I made an appt with the doctor who prescribed my HCG for next week. Its a follow up so he can document my weight loss (and maintainance!) and so I can get another prescription for the liquid gold! I am excited to start back on the losing phase, but I know I am going to miss eating all the delicious stuff I have been able to enjoy on maintenance. I have to remember though, its not forever, and I look forward to seeing how I feel and look at the end of round 2!

So one more thing, and if you don't like the TOM talk you can just stop reading here (dad!)! TOM is late...very, very late. I am talking today is the 10th day he is late. I have taken two pregnancy tests. The first one came out invalid. The other showed negative. I have heard of others whose cycles got a little screwy after taking the shots, so that is most likely what is going on. But I have to admit, it's had me a little nervous. I love my babies, and I do want another, but NOT RIGHT NOW!

I will be travelling to the East Coast for about a week, so I don't know how often I will be able to get on here. It's quite possible that it may be more often since I won't have to worry about work, cleaning the house, etc. But I am planning to take my scale and weigh everyday just to stay on track. Although I probably won't do an extreme correction day while on vacation, if needed I will just be extra careful and keep my menu really simple. I am so glad to have a week of stability under my belt before leaving on this trip.

Goodnight everyone. Sweet dreams!

P3R1 Day 23 (178.4, LIW +1.4)

Folks, I have gone 5 days without having to do a correction day... I am thinking maybe my weight has finally stabilized. I hope so! I am officially done with the 3 weeks no sugar/no starch but I am going to be introducing new foods very slowly. Honestly, I wouldn't mind eating the way I am right now for the most part, but I think its important to start getting the whole grains back into my diet and make sure my body stabilizes with those before I start back on the losing phase. I think I will go get some Ezekiel bread today and try a piece of toast in the morning (Ezekiel bread is a low carb, low glycemic index sprouted wheat bread). 2 days ago I had some corn on the cob and ketchup (oh, I missed my ketchup. I know, I 'm just like a 5 year old).... anyway, they didn't seem to cause any problems. I have also had a few pieces of pineapple and melon which are new fruits for me (higher sugar/glycemic index).
I am really busy today getting the family packed and ready to leave town next week. So I will go now, but just wanted to check in and let you all know how things are going!
More later!

P3R1 Day 18 (178.8, LIW +1.8)

Well, my "non egg/nut day" seemed to work... I lost 1.2 lbs! ha ha I'm pretty sure its more about me feeling better today and not so sore and achy... less water retention. TOM still isn't here... I wish he would just come already and get done (just so I could wait for him to come again next month, right?)
Tonight I made "mashed potatoes" with cauliflower. So good. Much better than the ones I had at Ruby Tuesdays my first day of Phase 3. I cooked the cauliflower in the microwave, covered for about 10 minutes (2 bags of frozen cauliflower). Then I put them in my kitchen aid with the whisk attachment. Added some butter, half and half, a dollop of sour cream and about 3 egg whites (to get them light and fluffy). They didn't get really smooth like mashed potatoes with the kitchen aid, so I ran them through the magic bullet which did the trick... they got super smooth and creamy. Then I topped with some shredded cheese which melted and wallah... faux mashed potatoes. I think I could always eat those in place of mashed potatoes... they would be really good with gravy. Diego (20 year old son) and his friend showed up unexpectedly at dinner time... I was a little nervous how my little experiment would go over with them. I know they liked them because there were none left after dinner... Diego finished them off. And I made quite a few. They were pretty good... I will be making those again for sure.
I also made sugar free/flour free brownies tonight. They are pretty good, but I have heard they are even better the next day. Jeffrey ate one... he said he didn't like it as much as the normal brownies I make, but he kept eating his until it was gone. Emma ate hers with no problem. Jorge said he didn't like them but he ate 2 or 3 (ha ha). Instead of sugar I used half splenda and half xylitol, pulverized in the magic bullet. In place of flour, the recipe calls for ground flax seed. It has a lot of fiber, so I imagine we won't be having any problems in the bathroom the next few days here in our house... if you know what I mean! (Grandma, you want some?)
Well, time to get the kids in bed and get to bed myself. More later!
ps... In about 3 weeks I am going to be back on the VLCD! I am excited to get smaller!

P3 R1 Day 17 (180, LIW +3.0)

I woke this morning to a gain of .6... I'm really not surprised because today I am SICK. My whole body hurts, I'm congested, etc. I couldn't sleep well last night because of the congestion. I was planning to do an egg/nut day, which I started out with, but have deviated from that as I couldn't stand the thought of another egg or nut. I really just want toast or something like that... comfort food... but instead had a bowl of puffed millet, which is a type of grain that tastes kind of like cereal in milk. I also had a pumpkin/cream cheese/cinnamon concoction, which was also in that comfort food category. I decided being sick I am just going to do the best I can today and see what the scale says tomorrow, and not worry so much about correcting. I am pretty sure that a large part of my weight gain is water retention from TOM, and also being sick I am sure doesn't help that at all. I am drinking lots of water and have been lying down all day. Hopefully I will be back up and normal tomorrow. If I need to do a steak day tomorrow I will.

P3R1 Day 16 (179.4, LIW +2.4)

Sorry people, I know I have been missing in action. I got really busy, and then yesterday, I just plain didn't want to post because I was upset (you'll find out why) and then today was busy again! The good news is, I got my garage cleaned out! If you have seen it, you know that is a HUGE accomplishment! We still have a lot of stuff out there, but now it is all nicely organized and there is space for the cars. My favorite thing about having it clean is that it will be easy for the kids to go in there and get their bikes, scooters, etc. But boy am I tired!
On to weightier matters (ha ha pun intended). 2 days ago, my weight stayed the same as it had been for the two days before that, which was a good thing. I was actually starting to feel like I was getting stable and feeling happy about that. Then, I woke up yesterday morning to find that I had gained 2.8 pounds overnight! Yes, you read that right, 2.8 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was 4.4 over my last injection weight and I was freaking out not just a little. I knew that TOM was on his way (he still hasn't arrived) but I really couldn't believe he could really have the big of an effect on me. Anyway, I did an egg/nut day yesterday and had a 2 lb loss this morning. But I'm still over 2 lbs... you aren't supposed to do 2 correction days in a row, but in between do a day of "clean" eating meaning you stick mainly to the items eaten on phase 2, but in larger quantities and adding fats to them. So I have done pretty well with that today... had eggs for breakfast and dinner (cooked in butter). For lunch I had a noodle-less lasagne that I made the other day (eggplant is used in place of the noodles and it is GOOD)... that wasn't totally "clean" because of the cheese but I ruined the chicken salad I was making for lunch by accidentally pouring about 1/2 c of minced onion into it... yuck. Anyway, we will see what tomorrow brings and roll with it. I'm still not completely sure if the gain was just from TOM... I know that must have something to do with it, but I also have not been feeling the best this week, and I noticed last night that I have some cold sores in my mouth which I get when I am sick, stressed, etc.... so maybe being sick or stressed contributed. I don't know.
I am really tired and have a headache so I am going to go for now... but I will really try to get back on in the morning and do an update! Tomorrow shouldn't be so busy! (day of rest, right?)

P3R1 Day 13 (178.4, LIW +1.6)

My weight was the same today as it was yesterday, which is a good thing! I would like to lose a little to get closer to my last injection weight, but I am still within the acceptable range so I am just glad I didn't have a gain! Things are going well, there is not much to report. I have a busy day today so I am going to keep this short so I can get going! I hope you all have a fantastic day!

P3R1 Day 12 (178.6, LIW +1.6)

Today the scale registered a 1.2 loss from yesterdays egg/nut day. Although it turned out to be an egg/nut/steak day. I was feeling really hungry all day (I think TOM is on his way)... I ended up eating 2300 calories! And instead of just eating almonds, I also had some macadamia nuts, which were so yummy. I am happy with that loss (especially with eating that much!), but I am going to be very careful today with the dairy and see if I can get a little lower.
I did some research yesterday about the high fat diet, because Jorge expressed some concern about it on Sunday. I understand the concern; eating a high amount of fat is really so counter-intuitive to all that I have ever believed about how to eat healthy. I decided I need to educate myself about this to decide how I want to eat long term, and how I want to feed my family. Of course I have only just begun my research, but I did read what I thought was a very good and informative article about fats and what they do in our bodies. It is very long and gets down to the nitty gritty details about the chemical make-up of different fats, and the chemical and biological processes in our bodies that require fats... but I think it is a very good read. Here's the link if you are interested... "The Skinny on Fats" by Mary Enig, PhD.
Well, its off to work I go today so I need to wrap this up. Have a great day and yippee for a short work week!

P3R1 Day 11 (179.8, LIW +2.8 YIKES!)

I didn't post the past few days because I was so busy (and boy, did I ever hear about it from Grandma! Love you!) Basically, my weight stayed the same on Saturday, went up .2 on Sunday but was still in range. This morning I was up 1.2 from there, which took me over the 2 lbs. So today I am doing an egg/nut day. I am eating eggs and raw almonds today, which should cause a loss tomorrow and get me back within range.
I think the gain may be due to the coconut bars I made yesterday... I think I ate 4 or 5 of them. Looks like I have a hard time controlling myself with bakery items even if they have no sugar or flour in them! They were yummy.
Happy Memorial Day to everyone... let's all remember to thank those who have served our country to protect the freedoms that we so much enjoy!

P3R1 Day 8 (178.4, LIW +1.4)

Went up a pound today, but still within range. I am being more careful today. Yesterday I ate a lot more than I should have... I had to travel for about 3 hours for work, and driving for that long gets boring, and boring means I want to eat! (How to change that?) Something interesting... I was getting tired during the drive, so I decided to get a caffeinated soda to help wake me up. I got a diet cherry coke and took a few sips... and then my stomach started feeling uncomfortable, and I got the hiccups, which I couldn't get rid of. I realized that my body really wasn't liking the soda (even though my taste buds were)... so I stopped drinking it. Its crazy, because I used to drink soda instead of water... a lot of it. I am so glad to be "clean" from it and more aware of how it really affects my body.
Today I am trying some new recipes. I have pumpkin cream cheese muffins in the oven right now (doesn't THAT sound yum?) Yesterday I managed to limit myself to 2 cream cheese muffins that I have in the freezer, but they are almost gone. I have heard rave reviews on the pumpkin kind. I made some riced cauliflower that I am going to somehow incorporate into our dinner of stuffed peppers (might add into the stuffing mixture, or serve on the side somehow). Riced cauliflower is simply a head of cauliflower that I grated, then covered and cooked in the microwave for 8 minutes. Amazingly, it is light and fluffy like rice, and apparently takes on the flavor of whatever it is served with. How cool is that? For breakfast this morning I had Hot Pumpkin "Cereal"... it is made of ricotta, an egg, pumpkin and 2 T. flaxseed. It was so so so yummy, and really did have the taste and texture of hot cereal. I put 2 T of half and half on it along with some sugar free maple syrup. I will most definitely be eating that again... usually I want something sweet for breakfast, and it was sweet and very filling. Oh, and one more thing I recently made were "oopsie" rolls... they are made of separated eggs (with the whites beaten stiff... this gives the rolls their structure), and cream cheese. Last night I had a hamburger on two of them and they really are a decent substitute for bread. Today I had a chicken salad sandwich on them, yum!

P3R1 Day 7 (177.4, LIW +.4)

Well, egg day did its job and I got back down into range. Lost 1.8, and that was even with some cocoa bark, almonds, and cheese added in. Now I am hoping to just stay within range for more than a few days, but I guess we will see. They say the first week of Phase 3 is the most "tumultuous" because the body is not stabilized yet at this weight, hopefully next week will be a little more uneventful.
I have to run but wanted to do a morning update for all those who check in the a.m.! (Grandma!) I will be getting home late tonight because I have to go on a road trip for work and then Jorge and I are going to look at a King sized bed we might be buying... (yea! We need a king... it gets squishy when the kids sneak into our bed at night ha ha).
Have a great day everyone!

P3R1 Day 6 (179.2, LIW +2.2)

UGH! I gained 1.6 this morning, so I am doing another "correction" day to get under the 2 lb limit. I am doing an egg day... I will eat eggs all day and drink lots of water. I'm glad to have something to try other than steak day... I really didn't like not eating until dinner, and then I felt sick after eating the steak last time.
Why did I gain so much this morning? I think there are two reasons. One is that I made a recipe for cream cheese muffins yesterday, and by the end of the day I had eaten 6. Yikes (they are really good, obviously). Also, I was up late last night making lunch for Jorge and I to take to work, and was feeling snacky so I was taking bites of this and that... I shouldn't be eating late like that. Or it might have been that ONE crouton I accidentally ate in my salad at Chili's last night (ha ha!) Either way, I am confident that egg day will get me back down within range and tomorrow I can learn how to eat just 1 (or 2) cream cheese muffins! Moderation is the name of the game!
I hope you all have a great day!
More tomorrow!

P3R1 Day 5 (177.6, LIW +.6)

Hey everybody! I was thrilled this morning to see that scale moved down a pound, giving me a little more wiggle room within the 2lb range I have to work with! Now I am only .6 above my last injection weight, that's a relief. I really don't want to have to do another correction day (but will if called for, of course!) Can you believe I lost a pound and ate 2000 calories yesterday? I have been eating right around 2000 calories every day since starting P3... it just amazes me that my body isn't packing on the weight after eating 500 cal/day for 47 days. That just reassures me that the HCG really does work the way I think it does.
Well, I've gotta run... still need to eat breakfast and get myself and Emma ready to leave for the day. Have a great day!

P3R1 Day 4 178.6 (LIW +1.6)

Today at weigh in I had gained .8 from yesterday, bringing me to 178.6. I am 1.6 over last injection weight. I was thinking I would most likely have to do a correction day today, but was lucky that I didn't cross that 2 lb threshold. Tomorrow might be one though, it's getting pretty close!
I am feeling better today and a little more confident that I can do this and learn to maintain my weight. Its definitely an adjustment to go from watching the scale drop nearly every day to watching it bounce right around the same weight. Even though I am enjoying the new foods, it will be nice to get back to Phase 2 and start losing again! (I've got awhile before then though).
Today I made "Cafe Rio Pork" and the tomatillo dressing they have there. For the sweet pork, instead of using coke and brown sugar in the crock pot, I used diet coke and splenda. It turned out really yummy. I think I am going to try baking up some of the no-carb rolls (oopsies) because that pork would be really yummy on a sandwich. We had it in salad, the way they serve it at Cafe Rio (of course I didn't have a tortilla, beans or rice like I normally would). It was really tasty though, and I was happy to see that my no sugar substitutions worked!
I hope you are all having a good day. More later!

Phase 3 Round 1 Day 3 (P3R1 #3)

Hi everybody. So sorry I missed posting yesterday. I have been busy, and yesterday I just didn't feel like writing because I was a little down. When I weighed yesterday morning, I was 179.2 (177 was my last injection weight, so I was 2.2 lbs over). So yesterday, since I exceeded the 2 lb threshold, I had to do a steak day. It was frustrating that the first day of eating on phase 3 caused me to gain so much that I needed to do the steak day, but hey, it i happens. Luckily, steak day worked, as this morning I woke up to a 1.4lb loss, to 177.8 (.8 over LIW, which is acceptable).
Phase 3 is more challenging than I expected. During Phase 2 (very low calorie diet) all I could think about regarding phase 3 was all the food I could eat and how great it would be. But I feel really full and heavy a lot of the time (this is so different from the low calorie part, where I always felt light and never really full). I worry from day to day that the scale is going to go up too far. I am sure this will get easier as time goes on. I am so glad I have the bootcamp on Happily Thinner After. It is very comforting to have a group there that are all in the same boat that I am. It is also so nice that they have people with a lot of experience mentoring those like me who are new at this.
Today I ate cheese for the first time since starting the protocol (besides the cottage cheese that was allowed). Lots of people have problems with cheese so it will be interesting to see what the scale says tomorrow.
Well, I have to go get some stuff done before bed so I think that will be all for now!

Maintenance Phase (P3R1) Day #1

Hello everybody! It is a beautiful day! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I am eating! Actually, I am not literally eating this minute, but I have had some really yummy foods today, which has been a welcome change. It's kind of surreal eating stuff other than the very low calorie diet foods. Especially the fats.
My weight was up a little bit this morning, to 177.4 (.6 from yesterday)... I am not really worried about it. I think its just one of those normal fluctuations. Like I said earlier, the time to worry and take action is when those upper or lower 2 lbs are exceeded. We will see what tomorrow brings.
For breakfast today I had 2 eggs scrambled in butter (oh, yum) and an avocado (double yum). For lunch I had chicken salad made of canned chicken breast, mayonnaise (the real stuff), chopped up celery, a few cut up grapes and some seasonings, and I ate that in little romaine lettuce "boats". Oh my, it was so good. I made some coconut bark (aka cocoa-crack because some say its more addictive than crack! ha ha). It is made of coconut oil (which is, by the way amazing, if you like coconut), cocoa powder, vanilla and sweetener (I used Splenda). It is really good. I can't wait to play around with the recipe and try things like peanut butter, nuts, coconut in it, stuff like that. It is melt in your mouth good... hard to believe its so good for you!
This morning I realized that most of my life I have been trying to avoid fat like the plague. As I put butter in the pan to cook my eggs, I realized that the only times I have allowed myself to eat butter as far back as I remember is when I am in diet rebellion mode. I am so interested to see if I really can be healthy and maintain my weight on a diet with a good dose of healthy fats. There's still a part of me that is skeptical, but I am willing to try this and make adjustments as necessary. So far, the HCG protocol has worked for me exactly like Dr. Simeons said it would, so I'm going to keep trusting it!
One thing I noticed was that after eating my breakfast, I was not at all hungry again until about 2pm. Even walking through Costco with all the samples and the smell of pizza wafting through the store, I had no desire to eat. I think one of the benefits of having a good amount of fat in the diet is the satiation that fats give.
This morning I also went to the gym. I ran (OK, jogged) for about 20 min and walked on an uphill incline for another 10 or so. I really didn't want to overdue it, as I haven't really worked out since January, before I had pneumonia. I am just going to do what feels good at the gym, and what I did today felt very good. I look forward to working out often while I am on this maintenance phase.
Tonight we are going to dinner with my parents, who invited us out to celebrate the "end" of the low calorie part of the diet. They are so supportive and generous and I appreciate them so much! Thanks mom and dad! We are going to Ruby Tuesday's, because they have mashed cauliflower (kinda like potatoes, but not) that I have been wanting to try. I am going to have a steak, mashed cauliflower, and a salad with ranch dressing. Doesn't that sound good? I just hope that I will be hungry by the time we get there around 5... like I said my breakfast stayed with me a long time, and lunch may be the same way!
Well, this is getting pretty long, but I had a lot to say (as usual). I hope its a beautiful day for everybody else reading this! Time to go take a shower (with conditioner! and then lots of lotion after! woo hoo).

P2R1 VLCD #46...the last day of very low calories!

Hey folks. Do you know I am so excited that tomorrow, I get to eat different? And use lotion and conditioner? And work out? Have I mentioned any of that? huh? huh?
It's kind of weird and liberating to not be trying to lose weight right now. So liberating that I ate almost 800 cal yesterday... and I am pretty sure I will go over the 500 today, because I'm already at 400. But it is all Phase 2 legal foods I am eating, and today my weight didn't budge, so I'm not too worried about it. I do feel more hungry, which could mean that the HCG is getting out of my system and it also may be partly psychological, knowing that I'm movin on from the VLCD for a while! My tummy was a little uncomfortable last night, presumably from the extra food I ate. I wonder how its going to feel tomorrow when I eat triple, maybe even quadruple what I have been eating. Should be interesting.
I took my measurements this morning, which I *will* keep doing even in Phase 3. Many people say that although they are maintaining their weight, they continue to lose inches. I'm all for that! Here are my final measurements, for your viewing pleasure...

Body Part-- March 28 ----May 14 ----Inches Lost
Waist --------- 39" ----------33.25" ---------5.75"
Bust ------------46" ---------- 41.5" ----------4.5"
Chest --------- 40" -----------35" -----------5.0"
Hips ------------49" ----------44.5" --------- 4.5"
Thighs---------- 42" ---------- 38" ----------- 4.0"
Bicep -----------13.5" ------- 12.75" ---------- .75"
TOTAL: 24.5"

I decided, I might as well post my weight on here too. It's a leap for me, putting it out there for all of you to see and know how much I weigh. But it will make it easier to keep you updated on my maintenance... and does it really matter? I have no problem with strangers on the internet knowing how much I weigh... its my skinny family who I hesitate to tell. But, it's just something I need to get over.
Here goes... my starting weight was 203.6 (yikes), and after I had my loading days it went up to 206.2 (double yikes). Those are some numbers I never ever want to see again on the scale. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my whole life, pregnancies included. My last injection weight was 177, with my final loss (starting from post loading weight) at 29.2 lbs. That is how much my 3 year old Emma weighs. It is crazy to look at her and realize that is about the mass of fat that is off my body.
Today I am at 176.8, but my maintenance will be focused around that 177 weight. If I go up to 179, I will take immediate action to get it back down. Same goes if it gets below 175. In 6 weeks I will start this crazy awesome Phase 2 journey once again, and start movin' down from here.
I still haven't done after pictures to post, maybe we will do that tonight. I definitely want to document my progress in pictures. I'm a little sad I didn't take good before pictures, but I will just make do with pictures I have of me from right before I started.
Well I hope you all have a great day... make it a good one! Thanks for checking in with me!

P2R1 VLCD #45 (day 1 no injection)

Yesterday I made a decision, that if I saw a good loss this morning (.8 or more) I would take the last 2/5 of an injection that I have left and call today my last injection weight (LIW). (LIW is very important for the next 6 weeks, as that is the weight I will be trying to maintain within a +/- 2 lb range). If not, I would consider yesterday my LIW and would just start Phase 3 (3 weeks no sugar no starch) a day early (Friday instead of Saturday). Despite my best efforts, I saw only a .2 loss this morning, so an early P3 it is. Jorge had the idea to go to the sauna and try to sweat out that .8/lb last night... so we went to the gym and *did* sweat *alot*, but I kept telling him that it wasn't water I wanted to lose, because I would have to maintain that loss! Besides, I drink so much water in the sauna that I don't think my body has a net loss at all. Either way, we had fun doing it.
So I missed my 30lb goal by .8 but I have come to terms with it and know that it is only a matter of time before I hit that goal along with many more! I figured that this morning it would be good news either way... either I would hit my goal, or I would know that P3 would be here one day earlier. So it will be the early P3 and I am content with that.
So today and tomorrow, I will remain on the 500 cal diet while the HCG leaves the building. Friday will open up a whole new world to me of more choices and lots to learn about stabilization and maintenance. Oh, and the lotion. My skin is in dire need of some serious moisture... can't wait til Friday baby!
I will take some Round 1 "after" pics and post them along with some befores in the next few days. I will also post my final measurements and inches lost, probably tomorrow.
Have a great day everybody!!!!!

P2R1 VLCD #44

Down 1 lb today (woo-hoo!). 29.2 lbs to date. But I have some other news. I measured the amount I have left of HCG after my injection this morning, and it is only 2/5 of a dose. I am trying to figure out if taking too small of a dose tomorrow and considering tomorrow's weight my last injection weight would mess up my ability to stabilize at that weight or not. It may turn out that today is my last injection. I don't know what it is with me and running out of HCG, I must not measure very well or something. Well, either way, this has been an extremely successful 6 1/2 weeks of releasing fat from my body! I am thrilled with the results, even if I am a little sad not to get all the way to that nice round number of 30lbs! But it's only a number, and the fact is that .8 isn't going to significantly change the way I look or feel.
I'm going to talk to some other people who are more experienced with this protocol and see what they think I should do. But as of right now I am thinking today might be it.
If today is my last injection, that means I continue on the very low calorie diet today, tomorrow, and Thursday, and Friday I can starting eating on the next phase (and using lotion! Can't wait for that!) I'll keep you posted!!!!!
Have a great day everybody!

P2R1 VLCD #43

Good morning everyone...! The sun is shining and it looks like another beautiful day! I love spring.
I also love it when my body lets go of weight! Today I had a loss of .6, bringing the total to 28.2... I'm getting a *little* nervous as I only have 2 more days to weigh in to get to my goal of 30 lbs. I am *so* *so* *so* close! 1.8 lbs more~ please body please! I don't know why it feels so important to get to this number, I just really want it! I am going to be very strict today and tomorrow... and drink lots and lots of water! I am still a little sore from the yardwork over the weekend, so I *could* still be hanging onto some water. Regardless of whether I lose any more on this round though, I know I have come so far in the past 6 weeks... whether my final number is 28.2 or 30 lbs, the positive changes are all still there. I am thrilled with the results of the HCG protocol and I am *so* glad I followed my intuition to try it.
Well, I better go give myself a shot! Only 2 more left after today... hmmmm that's weird! I've gotten so used to that being part of my morning routine.
And to finish up this post, I would like to share some words of wisdom that my dad has shared with me on many occasions... "Don't put beans in your ears!" and "Always remember, wherever you go, there you are" (Love you dad!)
More later...

P2R1 VLCD #42

Happy Mother's Day !

Today I have no news as far as my weight goes. This morning, Jeffrey (my 7 year old) brought me breakfast in bed (strawberries and herbal tea). He asked me last night to tell him what I could have on my diet, and he wrote it down. He is so sweet. This morning, he brought the tray of food to me (cut up strawberries and herbal tea, NOT pancakes as indicated in the picture ha ha). After I finished eating, I realized I hadn't weighed yet! So literally, there is no news today... oh well.

I only have 3 more weigh-ins (last injection is Wed) to lose 2.4 more to get to my 30 lb goal. I am keeping my fingers crossed and am going to drink lots and lots of water today, hoping to see a good loss in the morning!

I hope you all have a beautiful Mother's Day!

P2R1 VLCD #41

I am down .4 today, bringing the grand total to 27.6... I am happy for this loss and really wasn't expecting it. Last night I was feeling more munchy than usual, and I ended up eating more chicken than I should have. I had my portion at dinner, but as I was cleaning up, took several more bites of the leftovers. I also ate both of my fruits yesterday, because I felt I needed something else to eat last night.
Today is going to be fun. My mom is taking us (my sister and sisters in law) for pedicures and out to eat. This is something she has done for us for Mother's Day for several years. I know, how turned around is it that she takes us out. Thanks Mom! Just another reason you are the best! Anyway, its really fun, and I love me a pedicure! I will take my own oil free lotion this time... I hope the pedicurist doesn't think that's too weird! We are going to Sizzler for lunch, where I will be able to get food off the salad bar. I might order a steak, but more likely I will have boiled eggs from the salad bar along with a veggie and some type of fruit.
A week from today I will be on Phase 3! I have been following the group of Phase 3'ers on Happily Thinner After, and am feeling more and more confident about how to proceed into this new territory. It is helpful to see how others make this transition, and to know what obstacles to expect. I am so glad to have this resource... if I didn't I think I would be scared to death! The last thing in the world I want to happen is to gain this weight back! And I won't. I will do everything I can and tweak whatever it takes to get it right, so I never have to go back to where I have come from! One huge perk of the way this diet works is that it's like starting over with how I eat. Of course, I carry with me my history and habits. But I have now been eating "clean" for 40 days, and this is a great opportunity for me to slowly reintroduce "new" foods and really see the effect they have on me. Then I can figure out my long term maintenance accordingly. I *know* I was in a terrible cycle with my high sugar diet... looking back, it seems like I was always looking for my next sugar fix. Even when I lost a lot on Weight Watchers, I can see that I constantly manipulated my points to incorporate the junk food, and in turn I was depriving my body of the nutrition it really needed to function optimally. While I think I will *always* have a sweet tooth, there are much healthier ways to enjoy sweet food, and I am determined to implement those healthier new ways. My main goal is to eat a diet of highly nutritious, whole foods. I think that the more whole and unprocessed food is, the more satisfying it is... and I mean truly satisfying. Not the instant gratification that highly processed foods give, but the satiation and health that whole foods give our bodies. I have a lot to learn and figuring out how it works is not going to be a quick process but I say bring it on! I'm ready!

P2R1 VLCD #40

I am doing a happy dance today, I am 1.2 down which took me into my next "decade". I woke up at 4:30am to use the bathroom, and of course weighed myself. I had crossed into that new decade even then (although I lost .8 more before I officially weighed later in the morning). Anyway, I was so excited I couldn't go back to sleep. So I have been awake since 4:30am!!!!!
My total loss is now 27.2... only 2.8 from my goal to lose 30lbs this round. Woo hoo! I *think* I'm gonna make it! I am 5 lbs from the "overweight" BMI (as opposed to being obese)... I am not counting on that much more, but, hey, it *could* happen.
I made the P2 "pound cake" last night for dinner. I needed something different, and it was pretty darn good. I added lemon and almond extract which gave it a really good flavor (anyone who knows me knows I LOVE lemon!) I cut up strawberries and put them on top. Yum. I might have it again for lunch today. I know, I said I wasn't going to eat *any* fruit yesterday but I couldn't resist. The strawberries are just so good right now.... wow I can't believe I still love strawberries after all I have eaten!
Even though I have been feeling burned out of this diet, the fact that I am back in losing mode and the fact that I will be done with this part a week from tomorrow really helps me stay motivated to do it right. Sometimes its hard to see the forest through the trees, but what has happened to my body in the past 40 days has been truly amazing. I am so glad I decided to give HCG a try. Even though I want and need the 6 week break, I am so looking forward to the next round because then I am going to be entering weight territory that I have not been in for years. And that is exciting!

P2R1 VLCD #39

I have been on this diet for 39 days friends! And I am so ready to be done! :) After I lose a few more pounds, that is.
Today I was down .6, bringing the total to 26. I am .3 away from the next decade! I am going to try not to have any of my fruits to day, in order to insure a loss for tomorrow that will take me over the threshold. I'm not promising though. I really enjoy my fruit... without sugar in my diet, it tastes like such a treat. Especially the strawberries that are in season. They are so ripe and juicy. But I am going to stop talking about that now.
I hit another milestone today. I have a pair of pants in my closet that I have been trying on for weeks. First I couldn't get them over my thighs. Then I got them over my thighs but they stopped somewhere around my behind. Then I got them all the way pulled up but they wouldn't zip. Guess what. Today, they zipped, and buttoned, and I am wearing them! Woo-hoo! I am not going to say they aren't snug because they are... especially compared to the pants I have been wearing that have been getting more and more baggy. But they aren't obscenely snug... they are decent to wear in public (I hope because I'm at work right now). Anyway, I am SO happy to see some progress in the pant size! I have definitely changed on the top, but have been concerned that I wasn't shrinking on the bottom half (I believe I have mentioned that!) I am still way off from where I want to be (these ones I have on today are 14's)... but I am moving in the right direction! woo-hoo!

P2R1 VLCD #38

Hey everybody... sorry I'm a little late today getting this posted (Grandma! Hopefully you slept in today!) I just found out this past weekend that my other Grandma is also reading this blog. So both of the "Grands" are keeping up with me. How cool is that? I think I have the most hip, savvy, high tech Grandma's there ever were! :)

Today I am down .4, total is 25.4. One week from today will be my last shot for this round... woo-hoo! C'mon body, let's make this last week really count!!

I have had several people notice a change in my appearance in the past few days, which is a huge shot in the arm. This goes along with my experiences in the past.... it usually takes between 20-30 lbs for weight loss to show on me (it's really hard before I get to that point... kind of like being newly pregnant and sick, sick, sick, but nobody knows you're pregnant yet so you get no sympathy! ha ha)

I am *really* *really* *really* hoping that tomorrow's loss is at least a pound. Please body! Burn today! Burn! One more pound will take me into my next weight decade... Maybe once I get there I will actually tell the world what that weight is. Maybe not. You can probably guess anyway.

More later!

P2R1 VLCD #37

Down 1.8... yeah! This loss makes up for the gains over the weekend, plus some! The new total is 25 lbs. Hopefully losses will be the trend for the next 8 day left of shots. I think *maybe* I will make it to 30 lbs (crossing fingers and knocking on wood). We'll see and I'll try to be grateful for whatever else my body gives.
So I know I have mentioned that I have been reading a lot about the next phase of the diet, the no carb/no sugar 3 week phase. I read something yesterday that left me feeling a little disappointed. I have learned that the best way to transition to Phase 3 is to increase the amounts of the foods I have been eating on Phase 2, and introduce one new food at a time. This helps to identify which foods may cause problems. I guess that's OK, except that I was really wanting to try some of the new recipes and have a treat next Saturday, like coconut bark or low carb cheesecake. I still don't know what I will first introduce... I am thinking maybe cheese because that is what I am missing the most (well, besides bread, which won't be introduced until Phase 4!) Anyone out there who has already been there, done that, I would love feedback and advice about how to have a successful P3. I am going to do the "Phase 3 Bootcamp" on Happily Thinner After's website, which means that I will be checking in everyday with my weight and what I have eaten for the day. This will help me be accountable and also identify problems as they may arise. I am also planning to start going back to the gym on Phase 3. I can't wait to exercise again. I miss running.
I think that's all for now. Here's to hoping tomorrow brings me a little bit (or a lot) closer to that 30 lb mark! Have a great day everybody!

P2R1 VLCD #36

Hey everybody...
Today was a loss of .4... which is good and bad. I am still 1.2 up from Friday, hopefully the scale will keep moving down in the next few days to get rid of that weight and then some. But at least it wasn't another gain! I don't know that I could take that right now!
I am feeling so done with the diet its not even funny. I am sure when I start to see losses again, and hit some more milestones, I will feel differently. But right now its feeling really old! Feeling this way the past few days makes me wonder if I will do this long of a round again... maybe a few more rounds of 23-30 days would be better? (by the way, people, I am not questioning *if* I will do this again. I *will* do it until I get all the weight off... I am just rethinking how). I don't know, and I surely won't decide today.
So I made a BIG mistake yesterday. We BBQ'd last night. Jorge had a friend here from out of town that we had over for dinner. I took chicken breasts out of the freezer and marinated them (in completely legal stuff), but they were still frozen when I stuck them in the marinade. I was lazy when it came time to grill the chicken, so I didn't bother measuring out my portion. I figured, I have done this long enough to know how much chicken I am supposed to have! Well, with a guest at the table, I didn't want to make a big deal about portioning out my chicken before putting it on my plate, so I just took a whole piece and cut off what looked to me to be the right amount (and left the other part on my plate). So I ate "my" part, but the other portion just called out to me, and before I knew it, I had eaten the WHOLE thing! After dinner there was one piece of chicken left, similar size to the one I ate. So I decided to weigh it. Keep in mind I am *supposed* to have 3.5 oz BEFORE cooking (so that means it is even less after). Well, that piece of chicken weighed in at 7 oz, cooked! I had a sinking feeling in my stomach realizing that I had at least doubled my portion of meat! I was trying so hard yesterday to stick to the diet to a T so I could see some good results today! It turned out that my calories were still below 500 (thankfully, since no breadsticks and only one fruit), so I did feel a little better after I did that tally. I also had very low cal veggies yesterday (spinach and cucumber), which helped keep the calories down. So there's my confession.
To my credit, I made potato salad, rice, and brownies for dinner that I didn't touch. The brownies were a challenge. Very difficult. They were made from a Lehi Roller Mills mix and they look(ed) and smelled SO GOOD. But not even a small taste for me. I had strawberries instead, as I watched my family eat those very rich chocolaty brownies with ice cream. Do you feel sorry for me yet? ha ha
Well, folks, I think that is about it for today. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some good news to report!

P2R1 VLCD #35

GAINED .6... I am so bummed. I know it must be water from TOM but still... one day of a gain was bad enough. Between yesterday and today was a gain of 1.4! I hope tomorrow the scale will start moving down again. 2 more days of this (or staying the same) and its another apple day for me! I've got to make these last days count...

I didn't try the "pound cake" yesterday. I ended up trying a recipe for a "creamy spinach omelet" instead. I cooked some spinach until it was wilted in a non-stick pan (with a little water). Then added 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites that were beaten together. Let it cook almost all the way through. Added 2 oz fat free cottage cheese (in place of the 3rd egg white... later found out that I should have probably used only 1 oz to equal the calories of one egg white). Folded the omelet over the cheese and let it heat through. It was pretty good, although I am not a huge omelet fan. Mostly because I have never had an omelet where the whites were cooked all the way and to me that is MUCHO gross. I put it in the microwave for a minute to make sure the egg was cooked all the way, and it made the cheese get all hot and bubbly. This recipe was pretty good and gave me the cheese fix I needed. I think I mentioned yesterday, I am REALLY MISSING CHEESE!
Yesterday, I was having major cravings and I'm sure it's due to the culprit of everything these past few days... (TOM). I tried to remind myself yesterday that TOM is a good thing, a sign that everything down there is working right and that without TOM, I probably wouldn't be having any more babies (positive self talk to my body)! ha ha. I was really in the mood for comfort foods. To compensate, I ended up eating both of my fruits and 2 breadsticks (I had cut out the breadsticks and 1 fruit, and that was when I started having those big losses last week). I am really going to try to avoid eating the bread today and have only one fruit. Although I do want to try the poundcake, I don't think I am going to experiment anymore until I am losing again. Or maybe I will just try it when I get on P3, which is less than 2 weeks away. (Hooray!) We'll see.
Well, that's it for now I guess... more later!

P2R1 VCLD #34

Hello all. Today I GAINED .8... grrrrrrrrr. Well, TOM did come so it must be related to that, because I have been doing the same old same old ( Grandma! TOM is not an actual person! :) I got some more HCG, enough for 10 more shots, so that is a relief (Grandma! TOM did not bring me the hcg!) So it looks like I will be taking my last shot on the 13th, which is 11 days away. Which means I will be able to eat some different, Phase 3 food starting on Saturday, the 16th. I am nervous but really looking forward to P3. I have been collecting recipes that I am excited to try. I am really missing cheese, salads (with more than one veggie) and bread. I know bread is not an option in P3, but I have found some substitute recipes for bread-like things. For example, cauliflower can be made into pizza crust and breadsticks. There is a recipe for a bread-like item called "Oopsies" in which the main ingredients are eggs and cream cheese... people say this recipe is good for pizza crust or rolls, so you can have a "sandwich". I am getting a little burned out by my P2 options. Tonight, though, I am going to venture out and try something new. My protein for dinner will be 1 egg and 3 egg whites. But I am going to save the whole egg for my treat after dinner and make a P2 legal "pound cake", and then eat my strawberries with it. The "cake" is made by separating the egg and beating the whites until they are really fluffy, then beating the yolk with a little powdered milk, stevia, cream of tarter and lemon extract, blending the white and the yolk together, and baking. It sounds so good and I think it will be good for me psychologically to try something new. I'll let you know how it goes! (maybe I'll be ambitious and get a picture of it to post! :)
Hmmm, what else? I made a delicious soup yesterday for lunch... so good that I had it again today. I browned 100g lean ground beef, then added about 1/2 bag of shredded cabbage (picked out the carrots) and boiled it all together until the cabbage was tender. Added garlic salt to it and wallah... it is a new favorite. I haven't eaten much cabbage on the diet, so I hope that didn't contribute to today's gain. But it is rainy and cold today, and I am really wanting comfort foods, so I went ahead and took a chance and had it again. I made enough for Jorge and he liked it too... with some hot sauce added in of course. And a tortilla on the side. Oh, how I would love to eat a tortilla!
Well I think that's about all for now! Later...

P2R1 VLCD #33

.2 gone today. At least its a loss. How I would love for the scale to be moving the way it was last week! But I will take what I can get.

I had a rough day yesterday. Nothing to do with hcg or the diet... I just started realizing (again) how busy I am (especially while I'm in school) and how it takes so much time away from my kids and things I want and need to do for them. I had a meltdown and decided for a few hours to quit school. After a good cry I decided that was probably not a decision I could make without a lot of thought and consideration... so no, I have not called and withdrawn from my program. And I have time to decide if there are ways to manage the needs of my kids better while I am school, different than I have been doing the past year.
Anyway, the reason I tell you this is because I got a good glimpse into the comfort I get from food. During my crisis, I wanted so badly to stop somewhere and get something warm, gooey, and cheesy. I was on a road trip and passed restaurant after restaurant, all the while looking down at my cold chicken and asparagus that I had brought for dinner. In the end I ate the dinner I brought, and cheated (a tiny bit compared to what I really wanted) by buying some orange flavored trident, and chewing on 6 pieces as I drove. It's sugar free but still has about 5 calories a piece.
I decided to lower the dose of my hcg to make it stretch longer, but I am still worried because today when I drew it all into my syringe it still looks like its only enough for 4-5 shots. Tomorrow I will skip because I always do on Saturdays. I hope TOM gets here today... crossing my fingers.
More later!

P2R1 VLCD #32

Good morning everybody! Today I had a loss of .6, the total is 24. The average so far is .77 lbs/day. Not bad!
I am concerned because as I was doing my shot today, I realized that my hcg is looking really low. I drew as much of it as I could into the syringe to see how much it is. It looks like it is only enough for 4-6 more shots. According to what the doc told me when he prescribed, there should have been enough for *50* shots. I have only done 31 so far (because of the one day a week skips). I don't know if I mixed it wrong or if I have used too much on each shot? I have tried to be so careful in measuring it everyday.
I wanted to take the max of 40 shots this round (as per the protocol) but its looking like maybe that's not going to happen. I hope I'm wrong. I drew up as much as I could but there was still some left and its hard to say how much. The main thing I am worried about is that my period should be starting any day now. I have read that ending the shots during that time can make it really hard to stabilize in Phase 3. I don't really know why, but many have had that experience. I felt confident that I wasn't going to run into that problem, having 2 more weeks to go. I'm not sure what to do! I wish it would just start already! It's 28 days since my last started... but lately it has come as late as day 35! (I've had a few pregnancy scares because of it!) If anybody out there has any advice for me I would love some guidance! I wish I could just go get some extra hcg easily, but it takes time no matter how you get it. Unless my doc would just give me another prescription. But I don't know if he could prescribe me just a little bit, and to get a whole prescription just for a few extra shots would be a big waste of money (the hcg probably wouldn't stay good until my next round in 6 weeks).
Anyway, I will try to figure this out and let you know what I decide. Have a great day everybody!

P2R1 VLCD #31

Wow, 31 days down! A whole month! And guess what. I am DONE with school for 4 whole months! What a huge relief~!!!!!!
Today the scale stayed exactly the same as yesterday. I really am fine with it and have been expecting things to slow down, at least temporarily. This past week, I have had amazing losses. Not only on the scale, but I can see my body shrinking. It's awesome and a little strange! In a good way! 3 days ago I took measurements, and did it again today. I had gotten smaller in those 3 days (yes, days!)! My waist was down 1/4" (total: 4"), bust 1 1/4" (total: 4.5"), chest 1 1/4" (total 5"), and hips 1" (total 3 3/4") (the hips part is the most exciting as I have been asking my body to please start removing from that area! :). I think its absolutely incredible. Today while I was walking out of my office, I had a feeling that I haven't had in a long time. A sense of health and wellness and really being on my way to the me who I really am. It's hard to explain. I felt that way when I was having success with Weight Watchers, and it is a great feeling. I am so thankful to be out of that hole of despair about my weight that I have felt stuck in for sooooo long.
I am trying to prepare myself for the next phase because it is only 2 weeks away. I find it hard to believe that I felt the need to eat so much fast food and junk before starting this. I remember feeling like there weren't any other options. What? That is a huge thinking error! There is such a huge variety of healthy foods out there, that can be combined in delicious ways! I am so excited to try some of the low carb recipes I have come across. I am also excited to start exercising at the gym. I really want to start weight training and doing cardio to really help tone my muscles.
But I am trying not to focus on that stuff *too* much, because it *is* still 2 weeks away. As the weight comes off, I get about a million questions from those who want to know how I'm losing weight. I have referred some of them to this blog and assume that the more weight I lose, the more questions I will get. Therefore, I am going to really work on getting some links posted to essential things for people wondering about the HCG protocol to read. If you are thinking of doing this diet, it is so important to fully research it and understand as much as you can about it. The most important thing to read and understand is the "Pounds and Inches" manuscript written by Dr. Simeons. It is free... It's kind of long but not difficult. Especially if you are overweight. Dr. Simeons was an incredible physician and while reading his manuscript, you can feel his compassion for those who struggle with obesity. As far as I know, he himself was never obese, but he spent his whole 40 year career researching and working toward a solution to this problem. It really is an interesting read. I will post a link to it, but if you read this before I do, you can google "Pounds and Inches" and you will find several places where you can read it. Don't pay for it... it is free.
It's also important to know that as you research this protocol, you will run into those who say that it doesn't work. There is research that both "proves" and "disproves" this method. Its important to use your critical thinking skills to evaluate the information you find, and make your own conclusions instead of just believing everything that everybody says.
Well, I think that's about it for today! More tomorrow!

P2R1 VLCD #30

Some people have been asking me to post pictures. I am only posting face shots because I am not ready to post full body shots! Besides, most people comment to me that they can see the weight loss in my face. The first pic to the left was taken on Valentines day of this year (2009). That was a month and 1/2 before I started HCG, and sadly, I think I even put on a few more pounds between then and the time I started. The pic on the right was taken this past weekend. I hesitate to post these, because while I can see a difference I don't know if anybody else can from these pictures.

And on to today's news.... .8 lbs more off this body of mine. Total: 23.4. I was a little worried about my water intake yesterday... got to the evening and felt like I hadn't had as much to drink as I normally do. I guzzled lots of water last night and am glad to see a loss this morning! I am expecting that these losses might start slowing down in the next few days as it is going to be that time of the month. Last time I had just started the protocol, and continued losing during my period, but that was my first week, so I don't know what will happen this time. I am just trying to prepare myself not to get too upset if things slow down. Ya know what I mean?

OK, todays exciting news is about my Body Mass Index (BMI). If you look up to the left on my blog you will see my weight loss ticker that shows how much I've lost so far. On the top, it shows my starting BMI and my current BMI. Starting was 35.4 (YIKES) and current is 31.4 (better, but still yikes). 30 and over is considered to be obese. So yes, I am still obese. But I have gone down 4 whole points! Now for the exciting news. 8.8 pounds from now, I will no longer be considered obese but simply overweight. ha ha It's kind of funny that I am excited to be considered overweight. But it is moving in the right direction! I would *love* *love* *love* to reach that "just overweight" milestone during this round. Is it possible? Well let's see, I still have a little over 2 weeks (15 -17 days I think). 8.8 lbs in 15-17 days? I think its possible, but if I slow down a lot for TOM then maybe not. That would take my total loss for this round to 32.2, which exceeds my original goal of 30. Well, we will see. I am not going to get upset if it doesn't happen this time. But I would be so happy if it did.

I just keep thinking, next round (which I will finish at the end of July), I am pretty sure (hoping) I will end at "healthy". Not overweight but healthy. How awesome is that?

Well, y'all (that's for you Paula-if you're still reading!), I have to get up and get going now. I hope you have a wonderful day.

More later!

P2R1 VLCD #29

My scale is being SO VERY friendly to me! 1.2 down this morning!!!!!!!!! Total of 22.6! This is the 4th day in a row of good losses. I am so thankful... It makes it all so worth it! I am less than 4 pounds away from entering the next weight decade. Woo hoo!

So today is the first day of my 5th week. I can't believe I have been doing this for almost a month! And I can't believe this first round will be over in a little over 2 weeks. Crazy!

OK, so the pic today is something I promised Grandma I would post. She read the link all about ketosis in one of my previous posts, and I told her I would put a picture of a keto-stick showing I am in ketosis. The darker the ketostick turns exactly 15 sec after dipping it in urine, the higher level of ketosis you are in (the more fat you are burning). As you can see, this one I took a picture of was pretty dark! Usually I am more in the middle of the chart. I don't really care as long as it shows that I am breakin down some fat! I have noticed since I cut out one fruit a day, the color has been darker. I guess its because I am eating less sugar.

Anyway, what else? I am almost done with school! I have one paper that I need to edit a little bit tonight, and that is IT for assignments. Last night I watched TV without a nagging feeling that I should be doing homework. Tomorrow night is my last class. It is such a relief to be wrapping up, knowing that I have a few months off. I am going to try to enjoy every minute of my low stress summer!

Well that's about it for today! More later, for sure!

P2R1 VLCD #28

The scale went down again! .8 today, for a total of 21.4. I told Jorge last night that I wasn't expecting to lose today for two reasons. One is that I have never lost on a Sunday so far, which is the day after I skip my shot every week (I thought maybe that had something to do with it, but didn't know). Two is that my loss yesterday was so great, I just didn't expect my body to give anymore today. But it did! And I am happy!
Last night Jorge and I went out to Red Lobster for our anniversary. As a splurge, I decided to save my veggie from lunch and have 2 veggies at dinner (I have never mixed vegetables, as per the protocol), but I really wanted to have the salad (lettuce, anyway), and also a side with my crab. So I ordered the salad, and the waitress told me one of the choices was balsamic vinegar... I said "is it just vinegar?" and she said yes. When she brought me the "vinegar" it was most definitely not only vinegar (very thick and oily looking) ... she went to check and came back to say that it had olive oil and some other type of oil in it. Of course! I ended up asking for lemon wedges, and used lemon juice, salt and pepper as a dressing (it was yummy, surprisingly!). Of course I gave my croutons to Jorge. And left the tomato slices and cucumbers... I wasn't brave enough to add even more vegetables to my meal since I was already mixing two. For my main course I ordered 1.5 lbs of crab and steamed asparagus, no butter. Earlier in the day I found something online that said snow crab yields 17% meat, so I figured out that 1.5 lbs was 4.08 oz of meat. I shared some with Jorge and called it good! It was so yummy, even without dipping it in butter like I usually do. And of course the asaparagus was delish... even after all the asparagus I have eaten in the past 28 days, I still love it! Sometimes I even crave it! So glad it is allowed on this diet.
So after dinner we did something kind of weird... we went over to Gold's gym and went to the sauna. I have been wanting to go... have heard that as fat is released so are toxins, and going to a sauna helps to clear them out. So we sat in the dry sauna for about 20 minutes, and then went in the steam sauna for another 15-20 minutes. I took my water with me knowing that it was very important to stay hydrated... but my water even got hot after awhile! Anyway, it was a good night, we had fun and it was nice to go out to dinner and do something (sort of) normal even with being on such a strict diet!
I don't think I've mentioned on this blog my "cheating dreams" (I know, that sounds oh so bad ;).... I have had several dreams (or nightmares) where I ate something that was not allowed, and then after the fact realized what I had done. And I was *so* upset each time, knowing it was going to set me back several days of progress. Well, last night I had a dream where I was at some kind of a church function (dinner), sitting at the table waiting to be served, when it suddenly dawned on me "hey I'm on P2! There is no way what they are serving is on my diet!" so I got up and left! I think that's progress in my dreamland... I went from being totally unconscious of what I was doing in the previous dreams to being empowered to stop eating something I shouldn't before I did! As a therapist in training, I have become a believer that our dreams are a way that our brain works things out of our subconsicous. I'm not saying that *every* dream has deep meaning, but I really do think that these recurrent dreams are something my mind is working on while I am asleep.
Well, folks, I think that is about it for today. I hope you all have a great day!
More later...

R1P2 VLCD #27

If yesterday's loss of .6 was good news, today feels like I've won the lottery...

2.2! gone! vanished! vamoos!

I couldn't believe it! I weighed myself 4-5 times because I didn't believe it. I still can't believe it. Can you believe it?
Obviously I am thrilled. Especially because this brings me to a total loss of 20.6... 20 lbs is a huge milestone for me! Soooooooooooooo happy! I am a third of the way to my goal people!

I'm not sure why I had such a great result but I am going to keep doing what I have been the past couple of days. Something I forgot to mention yesterday is that I decided 2 days ago to cut way down on the calorie free sweeteners stevia and truvia. Stevia is allowed on this diet, and Truvia is a brand of Stevia that is also mixed with Erythritol. But I realized that I was using ALOT. I was putting the flavored Stevia into almost all my water, herbal tea, and on fruit sometimes. I am still putting it in the tea and on strawberries, but I am really trying not to put it in my water. Who knows, maybe that is making a difference. It makes sense to me. They say that Diet Coke, though calorie free, causes weight gain in some because of what it does to blood sugar levels. I wonder if the same could be true for stevia. Either way, moderation is always a good thing.
Also, after weighing all my food yesterday, I was at 499 cal before I had my last piece of fruit. Decision made, I didn't have it. I had a cup of Vanilla Hazelnut herbal tea as a treat instead. It was good, but not as good as the English Toffee flavor... mmmmmmm. I am thinking that I was *probably* going over the 500 cal a lot in the past, even though I was eating only the foods I was supposed to. Strawberries, for example, are low calorie but start to add up quickly (especially when you are limited to 500/day). And yesterday I had quite a few strawberries at lunch (10 oz I think).
I started tracking my calories at Fitday. It's free and seems to be a great resource. You type in the food you ate, select an amount, and it calculates all the nutritional information, and keeps it recorded in a daily journal. It's a lot like SparkPeople, which is also great. It's just that I have two different accounts at SparkPeople for some reason, and it gets really confusing. I don't know how to fix it, and some of my stuff is entered on one account, and some on the other. Therefore, Fitday is where I'm going to track from now on.
Anyway, that's my super awesome report for today people. Yip-dee-doo!