P3 week 5

Ok 1 more week after this one to do P3 and then off I go to P2 again!

Last night I went to the Outback with Mark and had a beautiful salad with half of a chicken breast in it with ranch. Had a discustingly delicious brownie/ice cream/whipped cream/ hot fudge dessert ... and immediately was ready to just get pj pants on and let my belly be free. LOL I have not eaten that much food in a long time. And I was stuffed.

This a.m. I skipped breakfast and ate an apple on the way home. Lunch was a Cobb Salad from Quiznos with ranch dressing. Dinner was a 2 egg omelet with a Laughing Cow Cheese wedge and some raspberries. Oh and then a half of a cup of ice cream - but its ok, the ice cream is all gone and I won't be buying any more that I love. :)

My AF is screwing with my stomach and I haven't weighed in today - so tomorrow may either shock me because I have gained a ton or shock me because I ate all that an was still able to stablize. I am amazed that I can pretty much eat anything I want (in moderation) and still stay within +2 or - 2 of LIW. verrrrry cool!

I have some more friends who are interested in doing the diet and I'm very excited to be motivating people! With such an amazing result - it's so worth the 4-6 weeks of drastic change. And seeing me keep the 24 lbs that I lost OFF for another 6 weeks is amazing in itself. I am truly ready to get back into P2 and lose another 24 lbs.

It definately can be done with some willpower and the readiness for change.

P3 - LIW +2.5

Yikes!

Well my AF showed up not 1 or 2 days early - but 6 days early. She's screwing with the scale and today - my body. I hardly ate yesterday because I was outside taking advantage of the beautiful weather, let alone stuff I shouldn't have had - so I know its her adding to the scale.

I am seeking measured droppers that fit 4 oz bottles ... and a friend recommended that I go to the Yahoo Groups and find the HCG dieters. I did this and signed up.
I immediately realized that I couldn't hang out there. People are stupid. period.

One girl was told by a friend that the HCG diet is only good while you are taking it - and just like the Atkins, once you stop, you gain it all back. So this person got all down on herself and the diet, pigged out and gained 4 lbs. Now she needs some encouragement to stick with the diet and help her not to do that again.

c'mon! seriously?!?! You can't do a diet (ANY diet) and not maintain it somehow. It has to be a life change. Obviously her friend isn't hip to the notion that going back to your old eating habits will make you have the same results = getting fat again. You can't eat spinach & shrimp for 6 weeks and lose awesome weight and then start going thru the McDonalds drive thru and not expect to see a gain.

Oh and most of the posts on there are ways around the Protocol. Some kind of noodles that have no carbs/calories/fat that people are eating on P2. I never read about those on the Simeons Protocol - and I would never entertain the idea of eating them. I survived P2 once before and with great success - why would I do it wrong the 2nd time? There are ways to eat eggs instead of meat, salad dressings that people have used that didn't affect their loss. I mean, if you want to eat that stuff or fit the diet into your life - have at it. Good luck. I personally have fit my life into this diet as it was written and refuse to alter it.

This is just one of the many times when talking about this diet, I have to remind myself that everyone is not like me. Everyone is not like me. Keep saying it to myself and get unaggravated - and am able to be somewhat open minded about whatever someone else is doing. Besides, I know the results I have had, as well as others have had and it's very motivating.

Maybe I'm mean. Maybe I'm just honest. I just hold myself accountable and expect others to, too. When they don't - it irritates me beyond belief and I just have to stay away from the situation. So, no more HCG Dieters Group for me. :)

I'm happy to have found others who actually do the diet the way it was intended, and do not give themselves permission to cheat - they movitate me!!

P3 - LIW +1.5

Good morning!

Well I have alot of personal stress going on right now and will admit that I ate more peanuts and dried fruit yesterday than real food. I expected to pay for it this am on the scale - and guess what? Still within the 2 lbs + or - which is amazing to me. I have never been so aware of my body, or been able to tell when I've gained 3 lbs, like I am now. Getting on the scale every day is a great thing, on a diet or not.

I am anxious to start P2 again. Easter Weekend is supposed to be my loading weekend but I don't know if I'm going to do that...I will have a house full of company that weekend. I wanted to go out and have a huge dinner with Mark on that weekend, so I might start early or late.

My two friends who are new to the HCG diet are doing fabulous and both can't believe how the weight is falling off of them. I think I'm as excited as they are!!

2.5 weeks til P2!

Ok so this week I can have carbs. yay! :)

This a.m. I weighed in at 162.5 which is good ... and tonight I'm going to Albany with my amazing boyfriend and I'm going to cheat on my diet for the 1st real time. LOL I have some personal stress going on and I feel the need to have a beautiful dinner with him and not think about HCG/Low Carb/No Carb. So there!

I have 2 new friends doing this diet now and they both just started Monday with the VLCD ... I asked them to check in every morning with me.

1. it holds them accountable to more than just themselves
2. it makes my day to hear their success! I think I'm just as excited as they are - and it's not my success!

HCG is life changing ... and I just truly believe in it if you follow it the way you are supposed to.

I am getting my ex husband to jump on the bandwagon. He is not healthy - and bottom line - my kids need a dad. Whatever I have to do to help him, I will. I'm thankful that we have a great relationship and that I am able to help him be healthier. Wish us luck!

impatience...

should be my middle name!

I have a couple of friends starting P2 - one took her first HCG does this a.m. and is on her loading days and another is starting monday.

I am WICKED excited for the both of them and am jealous - as I want to start P2 again! One of the newbies asked me "why?!" when I said I wanted to start the HCG again - I am guessing because of how the 500 calorie diet looks overwhelming - but I thought it was easy. Being told what to eat is so easy for me - this P3 is hard!

Anyhow - I have people asking me daily how my diet is going or how they can read about it - which makes me very happy. It has been life changing for me and I know that my friends/family will also benefit from it.

The scale today was at 163 - so I'm 1.5 lbs up from LIW (161.5) - but the protocol says this is ok. I'm able to get it back down if it does up - so I'm feeling pretty much in control.

I do realize that I can't have jars of peanuts around the house unless I take the time to measure out portions... because it is VERY easy to eat waaaay more than you are supposed to.

Next thing you know you had beef jerky and sunflower seeds ... and have to count that as your dinner because you ate all of it. yikes.

holding steady...

had a rough weekend stress wise which kinda helped the cause ;) ... holding at my LIW of 161.5.

I even cheated a bit both weekend days ... thankfully the scale stuck.

Tonight I went shopping for some new clothes - as we have an important meeting at work and I have nothing that fits - that isn't jeans.

I found a pair of khakis at Old Navy which are size 12 and kinda big - but comfortable. I tried and tried to find a cute top to go with it and was extremely frustrated. The tops were either extremely tight or too big and sloppy looking. I didn't find one that I liked.

So. weight is good. last week of 'no carbs' and onto 3 weeks of 'low carbs'. :)

This picture was taken in Salem Mass. on one of Marks adventures with me, in October 2008. I was around 180 lbs. and fairly comfortable with myself. One of the perks of being with someone who makes you feel amazing is that you are comfortable. I look at it now and I see my belly, my chin, my thighs... all so different now!

pics

2/3/2009 (pink) 3/11/2009 (white)

2nd week P3

Ok I think I have it down.

I promised myself I'd be honest on this blog so I'm admitting when I do things that you shouldn't do - or that I would tell someone else not to do. :P

I had a few beers Saturday night. (GASP!) I paid dearly for it.
Monday I weighed in at a whopping 165. My LIW is 161.5.

I decided that I wasn't doing a steak day, that I just needed to grasp the food thing and get control. A friend of mine who followed the HCG protocol reminded me that I'm supposed to do a steak day. My comeback was that I understood that, but I am going to do P2 again - and the 'resetting' wasn't for the rest of my life.

So I got control of my diet. Breakfast. Lunch. Snack. Dinner. water water water.

Tuesday 3/10 I weighed in at 163.5 - which is ok as far as the -2/+2 of LIW.
Wednesday 3/11 I weighed in at 162.5 - which is AWESOME!

The diet thing scares me though, as far as if you don't eat enough, you gain. You eat too much, you gain. It's scary!

I also found www.sparkpeople.com and really like it! Check it out!

day 5 weigh in

My LIW is 161.5 lbs.

Ok yesterday (Day 4 of LIW)I was at 164 lbs. (FREAKING OUT! +2.5 of LIW!)
This am after watching what I ate yesterday I am at 163 lbs.
The protocol says I can be +2 or -2 lbs from the LIW ... so now I'm where I should be as opposed to over.

I do not want to do a steak day - so I'm going to watch my diet today and tomorrow and see where I am on Mondays weigh in.

This diet is HARD! It is like a free for all and not knowing what to eat makes it difficult. I'm just going to try really hard to stay in the guard rails, even if I don't know what they are. LOL

day 4 of P3

Today I woke up and made a 2 egg omelet with a handful of mushrooms and a piece of 'laughing cow' light swiss cheese. A friend of mine recommended it, as it's lower fat than regular cheese, one serving is 30 calories, and it comes in a couple different flavors. Being that she is a great source of information - I bought some and it is yummy!

Lunch was a 6 oz (pre cooked) (lean) burger w/ some ranch dressing on it (that I made myself because I couldn't find any at the store that didn't contain sugar in it.). I had a side of asparagus and some trail mix.

In the afternoon I had some celery with another 'laughing cow' cheese wedge.

I got home later than I had wanted (6:30ish) and made some shrimp with garlic and dried onion flakes in some olive oil. I ate that with a beautiful salad that consisted of italian blend lettuce, some cucumber, some tomato, sunflower seeds, sliced up strawberries (probably a no no but only 4 pieces), bleu cheese crumbles, and my ranch dressing again.

While watching Nip/Tuck - I had some trail mix mixed with some peanuts. This is my downfall right here. I seem to have to be eating. Something in my mouth all the time. bad bad bad.

So that was it. Now I'm having some hot tea with Stevia - which is a life saver.

Tomorrow when I get on the scale I'm probably going to be mad, but I'm holding out until Monday to see where my weight is. I am not freaking out over 2 lbs, but know its important to stay within that range.

frustration ...

Through this whole HCG diet, I've been very positive about following the manuscript as it is written.

Alot of people try to fit this diet into their life, when in fact, you have to fit your life into this diet. Period.

The frustration is that people do whatever they want and then wonder why it didn't work for them as far as losing weight.

If you aren't a vegetarian, you don't get to eat cottage cheese! Why cheat or mess up the diet as it is written - as it works.

There are a couple websites that I like to visit as far as the HCG diet.

On one of the websites I visit daily - there is a forum where people ask questions.
Can I use Splenda? sweet n low?
Can I eat brocolli? Can I use chap stick?
What happens if I fell off the wagon and ate a cupcake?

Holy crap batman! Read the manuscript! Then re read it again. Every time I read it, I learn something new or read something that I didn't quite get the last time. It's amazing!

There is a gentleman who has done so well on the HCG diet - and he answers alot of questions for people on this website. He has the patience of a saint, as I am usually yelling at my screen because people ask the same questions over and over. And the answer is usually "NO" to what they are asking. I find him extremely helpful and I don't know how he doesn't flip his lid.

This isn't the easiet diet that I've ever done, but it is very effective. I've made alot of changes in my life for this diet and am very proud that I've stuck with it as I have. I do have to remind myself that not everyone is like me and is able to get in a 'zone' and just do whatever needs to be done. I struggle with remembering this, but I try.

Also, I had seen alot of blogs that were not very consistent as far as following the diet, for one thing. I found it extremely hard to follow someone in the HCG adventure, who wasn't even following the manuscript. If someone cheats every other day or wants to give up every third day - I have no interest in what they say. I understand that *some* people need encouragement and I'm all for it! But if you don't have faith in yourself - who the heck will?

I decided to make my own blog to be entirely honest about this diet and my experiences. There has to be more people like me, who just want the truth and to do the HCG truthfully as it was written. I hope they find my blog and that they find it helpful.

1st week of P3.

What I'm learning - is that this is scary to me!

On the VLCD (very low calorie diet) that I did when I was taking the hCG 2x a day - I knew what I could eat. I knew exactly what to put into my mouth and what NOT to put into my mouth.

Now I'm not supposed to eat starches and carbohydrates. Ok. So the horizon has been opened up and I can eat whatever I want. Terrifying after watching 24 lbs melt off of my body. I don't want to screw this up!

I am on day 4 of P3 and think I have figured out my game plan for this stage.
I'm going to eat a 2 egg omelet for bfast with mushrooms/tomatoes and some cheese. Lunch will be the same stuff that I ate on the VLCD but with more protien - from 3.5 oz (pre cooked)I'm going to increase it to 6 oz. I'll eat the same veggies that I ate - but drop the fruit and the bread. A snack in the afternoon and then dinner. I'm going to do this for the rest of the week and see what the scale says.

Going on my own, I'm up to 163 from 161.5 and according to the Pounds & Inches, this is ok - as long as I stay within 2 lbs of the start weight of this phase.

I'm also going to get back on the Wii Fit - as I couldn't do that while on P2, no exercises allowed.

So here we go!

1st day of P3!

I weighed in today - and was at 160.5.

Truth be told - the last night of P2 (last night) - Mark and I made meatballs for dinner on Wednesday and since someone had to try one - I did! I hadn't cheated the ENTIRE time I did P2 - and I was able to eat high protien starting the next morning - I volunteered. Was delicious! About 10 minutes later - I was totally feeling the effects of eating it. Growls and gurgles - I think my body was in shock. No fat for 6.5 weeks and here we go - a new chapter.

This a.m. I woke up all excited to eat an egg/cheese/mushroom omelette. Mark made it and was happy that I was happy. About 3/4 of the way through the eggs I realized that I was full. This had never happened like it did this morning. Something just clicked off and I was done. I threw the rest of it away.

I got to work and had some coffee with cream - something I haven't had in 6.5 weeks either. My stomach was seriously in shock from all of this food but it was soooo yummy and I was so happy to have it!

Today for lunch, I had a fully loaded chicken salad with full fat ranch dressing - minus croutons. Oh my gosh! Amazing.

I am excited for the *new* food choices but find that I'm going to follow most of the diet that I've been eating for 6.5 weeks - as I know it's safe. I'm afraid to eat the wrong thing and wreck all the effort I have put into me and this.

ending phase 2 ...

I had taken a couple weeks of HCG that my boss had left over and was taking it. I wasn't sure when I would stop, as I didn't want to waste it.

I decided to have a friend and her kids over for dinner this coming Wednesday. I'm going to make homemade sketti sauce and meatballs...and decided that it would be VERY cool if I could actually eat dinner with everyone - being i've been doing this diet for 6-7 weeks and been eating my own food since then. Well I can't eat sketti, but I can eat meatballs and a huge salad. (I'm almost salivating as I think about this!)

Saturday (2/28) I woke up and weighed myself. I hadn't lost anything and my goal of getting into a new number (150s) was not happening today - so I decided that that was it. I dumped the HCG out and went about my day. I felt no different than when I was taking the HCG.

Sunday (3/1) - first thing I did was hop on the scale when I woke up - it's habit now! I didn't expect any changes - my period is due next week and that seems to change the loss for me. What did I see? 159.5. Shock and excitement - made my day.

We were up early and decided to run to the store for some things that we forgot yesterday - and I felt hunger. For the first time in 6 weeks or so. It kinda stopped me in my tracks when I realized what it was. I came home and had a usual lunch - and within a few bites, was satisfied. Funny how 8 weeks ago, it took much more to make me full. I have to say that I am more tired today. I think it's the changes going on. I felt this way when I started the HCG and now that I'm stopping - the same. I'm sleepy. But I know that in 2 days I'll feel great so I'm not worrying about it.

I'm ready to eat an omelette on Tuesday morning. I have decided that I'm going to pretty much stick to my diet that I am eating now - but adding more protien than 3.5 oz at a serving and adding some delicious MIXED salads! Omg! I can taste it already!

As of today - 24 lbs are melted from my body. I noticed while watching tv today that my ankles are smaller and I can tell in my skin that I've lost inches in alot of places. I know the skin will go back to normal but it's a great indication of changes that I can't see on the scale. Feet and toes are thinner/smaller, my neck is smaller, my forehead is thinner - my jawline. Amazing.