Hi everybody!
I have completed my first day of VLCD, and I am still alive. Seriously, I was really scared all day yesterday (which was the VLCD day 1) that at some point I was going to get weak, headache, nauseous, etc. because 500 calories in a day is new territory for me. I had no idea what to expect from my body. And while I *did* have some psychological hunger, I never felt really physically hungry except when it was time to eat. I feel much more confident that this is something I can do again today, tomorrow, and so on.
The great news is that I am down 3.6 lbs! That means that I have lost the weight from my loading days plus an extra pound! I don't expect every day to have such a loss, but what a great way to start this protocol!
For anyone who cares, I will tell you what I ate yesterday.
Lunch: 3 1/2 oz of lean organic steak, grilled on the George Foreman, a small tomato sliced with salt, and a melba toast. For a snack a few hours later I had an apple.
Dinner: 3 1/2 oz of lean organic ground beef, w/ 1 melba toast ground up, 1 T milk and some seasonings mixed into the meat (garlic salt, onion powder, and mustard powder). I also had 2 handfuls of fresh spinach with a couple strawberries sliced on top and balsamic vinegar. After dinner, I took a couple more strawberries and ice and put them in the blender with a little stevia. Dinner was so delicious and satisfying!
I finished eating at about 7:10pm (not supposed to go past 7), and I also had a piece of sugarfree gum in the afternoon, which I am not sure is allowed or not. I did not use any lotion. I didn't use conditioner in the shower, but instead I just sprayed a little of my daughters leave in conditioner, so I could comb it out. I wore powder instead of foundation for makeup. I still used my chapstick... I just don't know how I can possibly give that up. I drank about 100 oz of water, and had to use the bathroom ALOT. All in all the day went really well.
I think the most difficult part of this for me is my emotional desire to eat. I felt sad passing the convenience store I usually stop in on the way to work for a diet soda and sometimes a snack. It kind of feels like I am losing an old friend. There is really no reason for me to go into a convenience store for a very long time, unless I just need a water. And really the only way I can snack is to take something from a meal and use it as a snack, like I did with the apple. But one of the reasons I am doing this is to remove all emotional eating for awhile and alter my relationship with food. I can't expect not to feel any grief about changing things with one of my most reliable and dependable friends!
I think I can do this! I am determined to stay on the protocol as perfectly as I can. More later!
By the way, for those of you who don't know, the name of this post "P2R1 VLCD 2" means "Phase 2 Round 1 Very Low Calorie Diet Day #2". This is how I will name most of my posts so that I can clearly document my progress. And although I am reporting here about the VLCD day #1, I am actually on day 2, but it is still morning. I hope that's not too confusing!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Injection Day 3, VLCD #1
Hi all!
Today is my first day of the very low calorie diet (VLCD). It is still morning, so I haven't eaten anything, but have been drinking lots of water.
This morning when I weighed myself, I had gained 2.6 lbs during my loading days. From what I have read and heard from others, this seems to be pretty normal and will hopefully come off pretty quick.
Yesterday, I made about 12 portions of chicken and froze them so they are convenient and ready to go when I am busy. I figure I will probably need to do that every weekend while on this strict diet, because I am a very busy person. I made chicken sprinkled with lemon pepper on the George Foreman grill. I also made baked chicken with a coating of melba toast ground up and garlic salt mixed in. I used non-stick cooking spray which I am thinking may not be allowed... I'm not quite sure. It says it is 0 calories per serving though so I hope it won't affect my results. I also noticed after preparing all this chicken that the lemon pepper and garlic salt have *SUGAR* listed as an ingredient! Can you believe that! Garlic salt is my absolute favorite seasoning! I guess I will start using garlic powder and salt to get the garlic salt flavor.
I administered my own injections yesterday and today. I did them in alternating thighs and it was no big deal! Yesterday I didn't even feel the needle go through my skin, and today was just a tiny pinch! So I really have no anxiety now about giving the shots to myself.
Well, that's all for now~! More later!
Today is my first day of the very low calorie diet (VLCD). It is still morning, so I haven't eaten anything, but have been drinking lots of water.
This morning when I weighed myself, I had gained 2.6 lbs during my loading days. From what I have read and heard from others, this seems to be pretty normal and will hopefully come off pretty quick.
Yesterday, I made about 12 portions of chicken and froze them so they are convenient and ready to go when I am busy. I figure I will probably need to do that every weekend while on this strict diet, because I am a very busy person. I made chicken sprinkled with lemon pepper on the George Foreman grill. I also made baked chicken with a coating of melba toast ground up and garlic salt mixed in. I used non-stick cooking spray which I am thinking may not be allowed... I'm not quite sure. It says it is 0 calories per serving though so I hope it won't affect my results. I also noticed after preparing all this chicken that the lemon pepper and garlic salt have *SUGAR* listed as an ingredient! Can you believe that! Garlic salt is my absolute favorite seasoning! I guess I will start using garlic powder and salt to get the garlic salt flavor.
I administered my own injections yesterday and today. I did them in alternating thighs and it was no big deal! Yesterday I didn't even feel the needle go through my skin, and today was just a tiny pinch! So I really have no anxiety now about giving the shots to myself.
Well, that's all for now~! More later!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Injection Day #1
I know, I know, I just posted, but I thought I would break things up a little by starting a new post to report on how things have gone on my very first HCG day!
This morning I had my first shot, which my husband gave me in my "buttock". It felt like a very tiny pinch and that was that!
The first 2 injection days on the HCG protocol are called "load" days. You are encouraged to eat as much fat as you possibly can on these two days. Dr. Simeon's explains that it takes time for the HCG to fully start to work at releasing fat into the blood stream, and the load days are needed to stock up normal fat reserves for the coming days of the "Very Low Calorie Diet" (VLCD) that start on the third day. He says that those who do not "load" sufficiently pay a large price during the first few days of VLCD when the HCG has not yet taken full effect.
Naturally, when I learned about the load days, I was like "OK, this is one part of the diet I will have NO PROBLEM with!" Know what? It hasn't been as easy (or enjoyable) as I thought! I am questioning if I have even loaded enough. I really haven't been that hungry. And I don't know if its the HCG taking effect already or if I am just SO READY to start losing some weight! Most of the things I ate today did have a lot of fat in them, but I wouldn't say I was force feeding myself, which is recommended. Well, tomorrow I will *try* (sigh) to eat all the fat I can.
I have felt fine all day and am VERY excited to be on my way to some serious weight being released from this body! My doctor told me he expects that if I follow this protocol exactly, I can expect to lose about 30 lbs in the next 40 days! Unbelievable, huh?
More tomorrow...
This morning I had my first shot, which my husband gave me in my "buttock". It felt like a very tiny pinch and that was that!
The first 2 injection days on the HCG protocol are called "load" days. You are encouraged to eat as much fat as you possibly can on these two days. Dr. Simeon's explains that it takes time for the HCG to fully start to work at releasing fat into the blood stream, and the load days are needed to stock up normal fat reserves for the coming days of the "Very Low Calorie Diet" (VLCD) that start on the third day. He says that those who do not "load" sufficiently pay a large price during the first few days of VLCD when the HCG has not yet taken full effect.
Naturally, when I learned about the load days, I was like "OK, this is one part of the diet I will have NO PROBLEM with!" Know what? It hasn't been as easy (or enjoyable) as I thought! I am questioning if I have even loaded enough. I really haven't been that hungry. And I don't know if its the HCG taking effect already or if I am just SO READY to start losing some weight! Most of the things I ate today did have a lot of fat in them, but I wouldn't say I was force feeding myself, which is recommended. Well, tomorrow I will *try* (sigh) to eat all the fat I can.
I have felt fine all day and am VERY excited to be on my way to some serious weight being released from this body! My doctor told me he expects that if I follow this protocol exactly, I can expect to lose about 30 lbs in the next 40 days! Unbelievable, huh?
More tomorrow...
About Me
Hi everyone!
As the first post on this blog, I thought I would explain who I am and why I'm blogging! I have decided to try the HCG diet, and I want to document my progress and (fingers crossed) success! I will post as often as I can about what I am experiencing and how much weight I am losing. I hope to get some pictures on here, because you know what they say... "A picture is worth 1000 words!" I will also post links to information that has been helpful to me in researching and implementing the diet.
And now, a bit of history about me and my weight!
I am 37 years old, mother of five children. I have struggled with my weight since I was a child. I have tried MANY diets and have even been successful at getting to a healthy weight a few times in my life! I have tried almost everything...
Atkins, Ephedra, excessive exercise (I ran a marathon about 10 years ago and still didn't get thin!), Overeaters Anonymous, low calorie, low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers, Alli, SlimFast, Body for Life... just to name a few!
The last time I was at a healthy weight was almost 4 years ago. I did Weight Watchers and lost 47 lbs in 6 months. It felt great. About 2 weeks after I reached this weight (seriously!), I got pregnant with my youngest daughter. So I never learned to maintain that weight because, well, I was pregnant! After giving birth, I had about 35 lbs I needed to lose. I went back to Weight Watchers, a few times since then, but have not had the same success I did before. I don't know why for sure... I have stuck to the program for months at a time and have experienced very little weight loss. Maybe I crossed a threshold with my age and metabolism? Maybe I cheated too much? Maybe I didn't hang in there long enough? I would give up after a few months because it didn't seem worth the effort.
This past fall (2008) I started graduate school. Even though I am not a freshman, I certainly did gain the "Freshman 15" (or 20). Right now I am at an all time high, 9 months pregnancy weights included! YIKES! Ideally, I would like to lose 60 lbs.
I heard about HCG first from my sister in law... her parents did it and had great success! Then I heard of a friend of a friend, and then starting hearing more about it at work. When I first heard about the diet, I said "of course you lose weight if you are only eating 500 calories a day! Anyone would lose weight that way!" It seemed very unhealthy to me. I have always been very afraid of making my metabolism even worse by starving myself. My body is already so efficient at storing fat, I'm sure I would outlive MANY people in a famine. Also, I am someone who plans life around food, so the thought of 500 calories a day sounded way out there to me. Totally impossible.
As I continued to struggle with my weight, and continued to see the HCG people having success, I wondered more about it. I decided to do some research. Long story short- there is a lot of controversey surrounding this weight loss method, but to me, the theory behind it makes sense. I am planning to follow the original protocol written by Dr. Simeon (1950's) in his manuscript "Pounds and Inches" (type it into Google and you will find lots of places you can read the entire thing for free). He is the utmost authority on the topic, and is very good at explaining the mechanism he believes to be at work with this method. I also sifted through the research and came to a satisfactory conclusion that it is worth trying. If you are interested in knowing what I read that made me a believer, let me know and I will post some links to studies, etc.
So here I am. I am going to do this HCG thing. And I really believe it's going to work for me. I have been in this fat suit long enough. I am ready for the real Brooke to come out and play! :)
As the first post on this blog, I thought I would explain who I am and why I'm blogging! I have decided to try the HCG diet, and I want to document my progress and (fingers crossed) success! I will post as often as I can about what I am experiencing and how much weight I am losing. I hope to get some pictures on here, because you know what they say... "A picture is worth 1000 words!" I will also post links to information that has been helpful to me in researching and implementing the diet.
And now, a bit of history about me and my weight!
I am 37 years old, mother of five children. I have struggled with my weight since I was a child. I have tried MANY diets and have even been successful at getting to a healthy weight a few times in my life! I have tried almost everything...
Atkins, Ephedra, excessive exercise (I ran a marathon about 10 years ago and still didn't get thin!), Overeaters Anonymous, low calorie, low fat, low carb, Weight Watchers, Alli, SlimFast, Body for Life... just to name a few!
The last time I was at a healthy weight was almost 4 years ago. I did Weight Watchers and lost 47 lbs in 6 months. It felt great. About 2 weeks after I reached this weight (seriously!), I got pregnant with my youngest daughter. So I never learned to maintain that weight because, well, I was pregnant! After giving birth, I had about 35 lbs I needed to lose. I went back to Weight Watchers, a few times since then, but have not had the same success I did before. I don't know why for sure... I have stuck to the program for months at a time and have experienced very little weight loss. Maybe I crossed a threshold with my age and metabolism? Maybe I cheated too much? Maybe I didn't hang in there long enough? I would give up after a few months because it didn't seem worth the effort.
This past fall (2008) I started graduate school. Even though I am not a freshman, I certainly did gain the "Freshman 15" (or 20). Right now I am at an all time high, 9 months pregnancy weights included! YIKES! Ideally, I would like to lose 60 lbs.
I heard about HCG first from my sister in law... her parents did it and had great success! Then I heard of a friend of a friend, and then starting hearing more about it at work. When I first heard about the diet, I said "of course you lose weight if you are only eating 500 calories a day! Anyone would lose weight that way!" It seemed very unhealthy to me. I have always been very afraid of making my metabolism even worse by starving myself. My body is already so efficient at storing fat, I'm sure I would outlive MANY people in a famine. Also, I am someone who plans life around food, so the thought of 500 calories a day sounded way out there to me. Totally impossible.
As I continued to struggle with my weight, and continued to see the HCG people having success, I wondered more about it. I decided to do some research. Long story short- there is a lot of controversey surrounding this weight loss method, but to me, the theory behind it makes sense. I am planning to follow the original protocol written by Dr. Simeon (1950's) in his manuscript "Pounds and Inches" (type it into Google and you will find lots of places you can read the entire thing for free). He is the utmost authority on the topic, and is very good at explaining the mechanism he believes to be at work with this method. I also sifted through the research and came to a satisfactory conclusion that it is worth trying. If you are interested in knowing what I read that made me a believer, let me know and I will post some links to studies, etc.
So here I am. I am going to do this HCG thing. And I really believe it's going to work for me. I have been in this fat suit long enough. I am ready for the real Brooke to come out and play! :)
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