Day 67 - 1st Day of Phase 3

Well, I'm starting Phase 3 officially today!!!!

I've lost a total of 30.4 pounds and 52.5 inches since starting the drops on June 14th.  I've slacked off the last week or two and didn't stay as set on the protocol as I should have and maybe could have lost more but I wasn't mentally into any longer and was having personal things going on.  Even with the cheating and not staying on protocol, I haven't gained any.  I've been stable around 145 for since the 8th.  My LIW (Last injection weight) was 146 effective 08-17-11 and so far, I've been below that weight since then.

Front Beginning and End of HCG (Phase 2):

Beginning

 

End

Right Side Beginning and End of HCG (Phase 2):

Beginning

End

Left Side - Beginning and End (Phase 2):

Beginning

End

Back Side - Beginning (Week 3) and End (Phase 2):

Week 3

End

I made a low carb pizza for lunch and the crust was made out of cheese and eggs... it was super yummy and like eating the topping of the pizza without crust but stayed together!!!  The crazy thing is, it had as many calories in two slices as I was eating per day for the last 9.5 weeks.

My goal at this point is to learn stabilization, eat better, exercise at least 20 minutes a day and not gain for the next 3 weeks.  After that, I plan on trying to lose the last 10-15 pounds I'd like to lose on my own by learning my limitations and exercise.  If I haven't gotten close by my birthday, I have decided to do another short round (23 days) as I won't ever do a long term dosage again.  I'll try to update at least once a week to document how I'm doing during stabilization.

For further following into the next Phase, please follow my new blog HCG Diet Phase 3... www.jesshskrphase3.blogspot.com
I DID IT!!!!

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Stats:
End of VLCD
Weight: 144.6 (-30.4 lbs)
Waist/Midriff: 27.25 (-6.75")
Waist: 27.5 (-8.5")
Below Belly Button: 32.5 (-3" since 07-28-11)
Chest: 34.5 (-3.25")
Chest - Under: 28.25 (-4.5")
Chest - Upper: 30.25 (-5.25")
Hips: 34.5 (-5.5")
Thigh - Left: 19.75 (-4.75")
Thigh - Right: 19.5 (-4.75")
Calf - Left: 13 (-1.25")
Calf - Right: 13 (-1.5")
Bicep - Left: 10.25 (-2")
Bicep - Right: 10.25 (-1.5")

Day 62

Well today is the last day of week 9!!!! I'm down 30 pounds and 50" so far.  I'm going to do 1-2 more days on the drops then be done with this part and move on to the next phase.

This last week has been a huge roller coastal ride and I haven't been as focused nor dedicated.  I think mentally I'm starting to check out and ready to be done with Phase 2.  In the last week I lost 5.25" but only 0.8 pounds...

I had Chipotle on Thursday and limited the items I wasn't supposed to have by making them minimal... I didn't have a gain so I was happy.  Yesterday we did a BBQ and I hate 5 peanut butter cookies but they were homemade by grandma and super yummy!!!!  Over the weekend, I only had a .2 gain so I wasn't to unhappy with myself... Today, I did chipotle again but I went a step further and got chips, I feel so bloated and trying to drink more water but I keep forgetting to drink the water...  Must drink my water!!!!!  The going to Chipotle tonight is the reason I'm not stopping the drops tomorrow as I planned as I know I will not like my weight in the morning.

Well that's all I have for now... Till next time...

I AM STILL DOING THIS!!!!

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Day 49

Well it's been a week since I posted last... I didn't have a whole lot to update this week except that I got into smaller clothes, YAY!!! I also went shopping for some new shirts as I was swimming in my current shirts.

Today is the last day of week 7... the final countdown is on to start the next phase.  I'm hoping to get into the 130s prior to ending this last bottle.  I'm at 149 right now and hope it's a combination of water weight.  I had a net gain of .2 pounds over the weekend, a mixture of eating late on Saturday, not enough sleep Saturday night, getting up too early on Sunday and being in the heat/sun for too long.  Hopefully I'll have a big loss day tomorrow or Wednesday to release some of the water if needed.

Well that's all I have for now...

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

STATS:
Weight: 149
Waist: 28.75
Chest: 34
Hips: 36
Thigh - Left: 20.75
Thigh - Right: 20.75
Calf - Left: 13.5
Calf - Right: 13.25
Bicep - Left: 10.5
Bicep - Right: 10.5
Total: -26# and 41.5"

Day 42

Well it's the end of week 6, tomorrow starts week 7!  I got my new bottle in the mail today and have a day or two left of my current bottle.  I'm hoping to lose at least 16 between now and finishing the bottle and that will leave about 5 more pounds to lose on the following phases.

I wanted to finish the week in the 140's but I ended today at 150.4, only .5 pounds away from what I wanted.  So close...

Well I've now lost a total of 35.25" and 24.6 pounds since starting and have lost 37.75" and 25.2 pounds since the last day of loading.  So at 24.6 pounds in 42, I'm still averaging about .58 pounds a day in losses.  So since I've had this current bottle since the 5th and have had it for about 17 days and I'll get about 1-2 more days and if I keep at my average, I should lose another 11-12 pounds roughly before ending, that will put me in the 130s and I've said that if I get to the 130's in this next bottle I'm done with the drops, if I'm not to 130 yet, I'll be starting another bottle.  I have to say, I'm ready to start on new foods but I can be patient, it's already been 42 days or 6 weeks!

Well that's about all I have for this update.  I'll catch up the rest later. 

I AM/CAN DO THIS!!!

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Day 39

Well I've been losing 1 pound a day yesterday and today and it's even during TOM.  I'm down to 152.4 pounds, almost to the 140s!!!! I ordered my next and hopefully last bottle of HCG yesterday.  I'm hoping to get as much off as possible to I don't have much to lose on my own but we will see.  Maybe I'll do one more bottle to avoid another round and lose the last pounds a little easier.... Hmmm decisions, decisions. I just can't make up my mind.

I have found that I do great with beef and have been having it for both meals.  Here was dinner tonight:

Grilled sirloin with grilled cucumber.  I decided to experiment with the grilled cucumber last week and really liked it so it's a new mix to the veggies.  Going to go get home grown tomatoes tomorrow and maybe buy no salt added french green beans as some say they do good/okay with them so it will add something else new to try.

Well I'm down 22.6 pounds and 33.75" and I have 3 days left of week 6.  I'm still averaging about .58 pounds a day and I was at .6 so I really haven't varied off of my average even with the stalls/small loses I've had.

I CAN DO THIS!!!

Day 35

End of week 5... Down a total of 20.2 pounds and 30"!!!!  I finally looked in the mirror this morning and just felt smaller!!!! I can't tell you how much it makes it all worth it! 

I also decided today that since I will need a new bottle to get through to the 1st, I don't want to stop short, I will probably finish off the bottle instead of stopping on the 1st so that will probably add an extra week to the drops.  Hopefully I continue to lose while taking them and if I don't, then I know it's time to move on to the next phase.

Well I don't really have anything else to share...

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Stats:
Weight: 154.8
Waist: 31.5
Chest: 34.75
Hips: 36.75
Thigh - Left: 22
Thigh - Right: 21.5
Calf - Left: 13.75
Calf - Right: 13.5
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 33

Well it's been a few day's since I've posted.  I'm currently at 156.6 pounds and have 2 full days left before starting week 6!  I'm hoping to continue with losses of an average .5 - .6 a day to hopefully be in the mid 140's before ending the VLC days.  If I can do that, I think I can do the rest on my own and not need to do another round.  Lets just hope for a good stabilization period!

I'm wondering, since I never had an issue with gaining and could eat anything if I can keep myself active if I'll be able to get back to something similar.  I don't mean eat as much as I want or anything like that but to not have any sensitivities to foods and am able to eat the foods I enjoy without a drastic effect from them.  I'm thinking/hoping as long as I can keep my activity (gym) up along with water intake and watch my portions/servings I can maintain and loss to get to my goal of 125 - 130 by Oct 12th!  If I maintain and don't lose during phase 3 and start losing in phase 4, I'll have 7 weeks to lose and with a healthy average of 2-3 pounds of lose a week that would give me 14-21 I can lose and be okay.  So if I end this round (phase 2) at 147 and stay there through phase 3 (3 weeks) that would give me 7 weeks to be between 126-133, that would be great!!!! I know though since I haven't been there in about 8-9 years this may be hard and since it will be close to my goal weight/suggested weight this could be challenging and losses may not be 2-3 pounds, I'll just see what happens and go from there... One day at a time!!!  But it is great to know that my goal is completely reachable at this rate!  Worse case, I do a short round starting (loading) on my birthday and finish in time for phase 3 to end around Thanksgiving.

Well that's all I really have, I've found that Hy-Vee has the Walden Farms products so I got a few of them tonight along with the zevia pop.  Also, the meat locker sales lean ground beef ($3/lb cheaper) and Hy-Vee carries the 95/5 $2 cheaper than Whole Foods and our farmer's market in town is picking up so I may not have to do the KC trips much if at all anymore, save more money, YAY!!!

I CAN/AM DOING THIS!!!!

Stats:
Weight: 156.6
Waist: 30
Hips: 37.25 (-.25)
Thigh - Left: 22
Thigh - Right: 21.5
Calf - Left: 13.75
Calf - Right: 13.5
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 29

Well it's the first day of week 5!!! 3 Full weeks left to go... I'm over half way through phase 2.  Well I was still at 158.2 today, I'm probably going to do an apple day tomorrow if there isn't a loss still. 

After reading posts on the hcgdiet forum, there are mixed things about it and even Dr S's protocol says you can do it but its more a mind game then it actually helps with anything.  Stalls basically happen in the second half of the phase due to your body "reshaping" and catching up to the losses, I have lost 3" from yesterday even though their wasn't a weight loss so maybe it is okay after all.  If I see a difference (positive) on the scale tomorrow, I'll skip the apple day but if it doesn't change or goes up, I'm doing the apple day.  I'm only down 16.8 pounds since starting 29 days ago and that's after 4 weeks or 27 days of VLCD.  That's averaging a loss of .57 pounds a day which is still above or within the average and I was at .6 pounds a day average so I guess I'm still there.  At that average and doing this for 21 more days, I'm hoping I will really be down another 10 pounds before going into phase 3.  That will put me in the 140's!!!!  After that, I would think I should be able to lose the last pounds on my own between eating right and the gym and getting very close to 125-130 by my 30th birthday in Mid October as that will give me 2 months after maintenance phase to lose and at a healthy loss of 2-3" a week that would be 16-21 pounds healthy I can possibly lose.  After doing this much discipline for 50 days, I think I can manage a couple of months of eating better and working out.  So hopefully, I can get to at least 148 by the time I finish VLCD in 24 days.

Well since stats and ticker are the same, I won't be adding them again today.

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Day 28

2nd day without a loss, I guess it's better than a gain.  I only lost 3 pounds this week, not happy about that.  Today was the last day of week 4 and I've lost a total of 16.8 pounds and 22 inches since starting the drops.

I tried shrimp for the first time yesterday, definitely not my thing.  The texture is just horrible to me, crunchy and bubbly at the same time.  Next time I will try it in the stuffed tomato recipe and see if it chopped up helps the texture to be better.

I've been drinking at least the 4 bottles of water a day as required and eating protocol but must have hit my first stall and/or this is the weight I held for a while and I need to get through this rut and I'll start losing again.  If I don't lose by Wednesday, I'm going to do an apple day and hope that helps, an apple day may be a little hard though.  TOM is getting ready to start next week also, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it.

Well at this point, I have nothing more to say.

I won't update my signature since it hasn't changed since the last time.

Stats: well since I've only lost 2" this week and 3 pounds there is no point in putting the stats again today, they haven't changed much since 2 days ago.

Day 26

Now me and the scale are getting along!!! I hope this continues but I'm sure it won't.  Down another 1.6 pounds to 158.2 pounds!!!  That's 2.8 pounds in 2 days or 3.4 pounds in 3 days!!!  I can get used to this rate, it's like the beginning days all over again.  I may get out of the 150's before ending this round after all!

I tried on the bridesmaid dress I wore last June and remember losing weight to fit into it, well I got it on today with less troubles than a year ago... still a bit snug but I know now I'm right where I was or a little less than I was last June!!!  Another 15 pounds and I'll be where I was when I first moved back to Missouri 3 years ago.  I have decided to do one more bottle after I finish this one to lose the most I can and then I will go into the maintenance phase and then slowly add the other foods and will be going back to the gym and hope to lose any additional amount on my own.  If after my birthday I haven't gotten there yet, I will do another round so I have lost the weight by around Thanksgiving.

Went to the golf course with Bob this morning to the driving range and hit some balls with him, I have to say, that's more physical work than you'd think and the most I've probably done since starting this diet.  I need to start doing my abs again to make sure that if/when this stomach fat goes away, there is muscle definition underneath (only downfall of seeing not as big of gains)!  I've had 10 glasses of water (5 bottles) so I treated myself to finally having my Gold Peak Tea!  It's my first one or my first drink not water in over a week.

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Stats:
Weight: 158.2
Waist: 158.2
Chest: 35.75
Hips: 38
Thigh - Left: 22.5
Thigh - Right: 22.5
Calf - Left: 14
Calf - Right: 13.5
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 25

Yay!!!! Finally broke 161's and skipped all the way to 159.8!!! Down 1.2 pounds... I guess drinking the water pays off.  I'm currently on my 5th bottle for the day so hopefully I see just as good results tomorrow.

I had a chicken taco salad for lunch and spicy chicken chili for dinner tonight.  I keep "cheating" and sneaking a few baked cheetos in place of one of my melba toast, so far they haven't hurt me so I continue to do it... shhhh! :)

Well other than I'm down 15.2 pounds since beginning the HCG drops, I don't have much else to say...

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Stats:
Weight: 159.8
Waist: 30.25
Chest: 35.25
Hips: 38
Thigh - Left: 22.5
Thigh - Right: 22.5
Calf - Left: 14
Calf - Right: 13.5
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 24

Well, the damn scale wasn't as great as I wanted it to be but I did drop another 0.6 pounds from yesterday so I'm down exactly 14 pounds and at 161.0!!! Hopefully tomorrow it's under 161!!!!

I had beef for both meals today so I'm hoping that won't be a big issue when weighing in the morning, but I am on my 4th bottle of water already... Debbie motivates me at work to keep the drinking of water up as she was getting ready for bottle 6, I think, when we left.  I was only on bottle 3.

I have asparagus grilled up to have with my roast for dinner tomorrow or lunch on Saturday.  I'm going to do a chicken salad for lunch tomorrow with the ground chicken I cooked up last night.  Hopefully salsa as my dressing will taste okay.  I'm going to attempt to mix lettuce and tomato again tomorrow but won't do but 1/2 of a small tomato plus what's in the salsa.

I CAN DO THIS!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

Stats:
Weight: 161.0
Waist: 30.5
Chest: 35
Hips: 37.5
Thigh - Left: 22.25
Thigh - Right: 22.25
Calf - Left: 14
Calf - Right: 13.75
Bicep - Left: 10.75
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 23

Well I missed another day on the blog.  Sorry about that! 

I wasn't too happy with my progress yesterday as I woke up gaining 1.0 pound.  I was back down to 161.6 today and I swear I better be at 160.something or lower tomorrow!!! I've been in the 161's since last week!  I don't want them or anything higher any longer!!!

I decided to try the ground chicken breast for dinner tonight.  It was odd but good for chicken... I'm a beef girl not a chicken girl.  I mixed it with some tomatoes and salsa and made it as a taco using lettuce leaf.  It wasn't bad with some fajita seasoning as well.

I forgot also yesterday to take my pictures for the start of week 4 so I took them today.  I'm going to load them all to a folder on my computer so I can actually see the difference from week to week.  I will let you know when I decide to actually post them, it may not be till the after, after pictures!

I still need to decide if I want to end this next week and take the 6 weeks off then do a 23 day cycle and end on my 30th birthday, I would guess based on how I'm doing so far I'd be down about another 2-3 pounds by next Tuesday and then I'd lose maybe another 13-14 during the 23 days of the next round which would put me roughly around 145 pounds at the end of the 2nd round.  I want to lose more than that so if I continue on to the 40 days, I should drop about another 8-10 pounds off putting me about 150 pounds roughly.  I'll then do my 3 week maintenance and then slowly add the sugars and carbs and then after a few weeks of that, actually try to lose more on my own and hope to get another 10-15 off by the middle of October.  That gives me the average of 2-3 pounds a week for healthy weight loss on your own so hopefully I can do it!  If I don't get to 130 by the time of my birthday, I'm going to start another round on my birthday and go the 23 days and end around Thanksgiving unless I'm doing good losing on my own by then.... Hmmm, decisions, decisions...

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

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Day 21

Sorry, for the delay... I wasn't around my computer to update my blog since Thursday.  I ran out of the drops and did not get them in yet, according to the tracking, they should be here tomorrow so that will be a relief.  I've managed to have one gain day Friday to Saturday, only 0.2 pounds.  I cheated a little over the weekend starting with a beer on Friday so I'm guessing part of the 0.2 pounds is from sodium as I had quite a bit of sodium on Friday night.  Since then though I've lost 1.2 pounds and today am finishing my 3rd week and have lost a total of 13.8 pounds and 20"!!!!

I realized with my cheating that there are a few things I can still eat and not gain that I enjoy and as long as I keep my water intake up when having so much sodium I should be good after this diet is over.  Friday night I had a beer, hotdogs (fat-free, turkey) and some baked cheetos.  Saturday, I went out to eat and ordered lettuce wraps and kept the amount I ate at the sitting to about a serving and didn't eat the rice noodles.  The rest of the day I was good.  Sunday, we had a BBQ to go to and I had pork (the only meat option), I only ate a small portion, about an 1/8 of a cup of potato salad, corn on the cob, pineapple, grapes, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers in sauce.  During the day though, I had a few Wavy Lays potato chips. 

Today, I had a few baked cheetos and the rest of my lettuce wraps.  Friday, I only had 507 calories, Saturday I was at 479 and Sunday, even with all the other foods, I only had 578.  I know since I'm out of drops I should be increasing higher than that, but I'm not overly hungry nor starving.  Starting tomorrow, especially with the drops being back, I will be back on the no carbs.  I've not had the Melba Toast since I was eating the chips or baked cheetos.

I got some more meat from Whole Foods on Saturday and some more veggies from City Market on Saturday as well. 

Well that's all I have that's been going on the last few days so until tomorrow...

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

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Stats: (Monday, July 4th)
Weight: 161.2
Waist: 30.75
Chest: 36
Hips: 38
Thigh - Left: 22.5
Thigh - Right: 22.5
Calf - Left: 14
Calf - Right: 13.75
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11

Day 17

No new changes today.  I still lost, 0.6 pounds down, my net inches from yesterday was no change.

I'm more hungry today, I realized my drops were lower than I thought and didn't last near as long as they were supposed to.  I ran out this afternoon and didn't get my 30 drops today.  I called HCG Bottle to see if they could expedite my shipping as it was ordered yesterday and is usually 2 days shipping and so I wanted to know if they could overnight it so I wouldn't go to long without it since this weekend is a holiday.  They normally say they won't expedite but would email me in a couple of hours to let me know and I have not yet heard from them.  Hopefully it will be here soon as I don't want to gain and I don't want to feel hungry.

A little irritated as I write this, I've done well with Bob's eating drive-thru as he eats it in the other room and even the frozen pizza but tonight, he wants to order pizza for his brother but instead of delivering it to their place, he wants to bring it here, I asked that he respect that I'm hungry since I'm out of shots and not have it brought here as Godfather's is my favorite.  He just left with them and I think his comment was going to go get pizza as he walked out... Seriously, have some decancy and understand how I'm feeling for one time!  Okay, I'm done with that. 

For the first time since I started the VLCD, I hit 500 calories!!! Okay, I hit 492 or something like that but I'm normally at 440-460 so I hope I still have a loss.  Well, I'm going to go finish my current bottle of water and maybe one more before going to sleep to see if that will help curb the hunger!

I CAN DO THIS!!!! (need the drops ASAP though)

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Stats:
Weight: 163
Waist: 31.5
Chest: 35.75
Hips: 38.75
Thigh - Left: 22.75
Thigh - Right: 22.75
Calf - Left: 14
Calf - Right: 13.75
Bicep - Left: 11.25
Bicep - Right: 11.25

Day 16

I really don't have anything new today... but part of my goal through this is to keep a daily update and status of this journey so I'll add the basics in today.

I lost 0.2 pounds only but it's still a loss!  For some reason the last couple mornings when I weigh, the scale registers no change or an increase and I'll wait about 10-15 minutes and try again and it shows a decrease. I read a comment on the forum page of the forum website I use (www.hcgdietinfo.com) and it said your sleep habits and the amount of sleep you get can effect your initial weigh-in in the morning.  I've been more tired the last couple mornings like I haven't slept well so maybe there is some truth to that.  I have to say though, that I've had more energy than I've ever had since starting this diet and taking my daily vitamins to avoid getting drained.

I didn't figure out the numbers as to what I've lost in inches from yesterday but I believe there was a loss.

That's about all I have for today, nothing new to report food wise... OH... I finally got my 4 bottles of water (the suggested amount) complete by the end of the day today!!! I've also had 12oz of hot tea this morning and drinking my reward, 32oz of gold peak tea!!!  Mmmm... my favorite tea!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

No update on stats again, I'm being lazy.  I'm leaving off my ticker thing as there wasn't a change on it since it doesn't do to the decimal point.  But the total lost so far is 11.4 pounds since starting HCG and 11.8 pounds lost since starting VLCD so baby steps and positive results daily... I'll take it!!!!

Day 15

The first day of the 3rd week!  Started with what I thought was my first day of no change... Wasn't happy at all.  I took a shower and tried again as I've heard your sleep and other factors can effect your weight first thing in the morning and WOW... it was down .6 pounds from yesterday.  Guess I hadn't quite let myself rid all the fat yet.

I made meatloaf tonight (4 little mini ones).  I have to say, the homemade ketchup was alright when making it but after baking, it was a little strong of the apple cider vinegar.  I ended up scraping it off and since I hadn't had a full vegetable with it, I had 1/2 a tomato.

I'm slowly making my water amount.  I should have 3 bottles and a tea done before bed but still need to get to 4 bottles in a day.

Well I don't have my stats with me to update my stats but I do know that I lost another 1.5" from yesterday morning along with the .6 pounds.

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

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Day 14

The end of day 14... tomorrow starts the first day of week 3!!!! It's going faster than I thought and the food has been alright and kept me focused.  After 14 days of tracking, I'm down a net total of 10.6 pounds (11.2 pounds since starting VLCD on day 3, 11 days ago) in 13 days!!! In inches I've lost a net 11.75" (13" since starting VLCD)!!!! I know the numbers show it, but I'm still not excited... I am definitely happy about the loss in only 2 weeks but since those inches are in various spots in spot increments, I haven't seen a huge difference in my clothes.  They were very snug before and this morning I was able to put on my work pants and not feel stuffed in them but they were still not really lose.  The other visible thing I've really noticed is my ring.  I used to have trouble moving it or taking it off and not, if I'm not retaining water, it will slide right off!

Last night I decided to cook up my meals for the week... I had two dishes of chicken asparagus, two dishes of stuffed chicken, two dishes of buffalo chicken strips and one Mexican cilantro chicken dish.  The Mexican cilantro dish was pretty good today at lunch and I had the stuffed chicken tonight.  It didn't taste quite as good as the first round but I used Chinese spinach instead of regular spinach.  I need to go to the store tomorrow after work to get tomato paste to make ketchup to make some mini meat-loafs for my other meals.

We may be going to Columbia for Bob's niece's 5th birthday on July 10th.  I'll probably still be in phase 2 but hopefully by then I'll be down another 15 and may be able to wear a swimming suit to enjoy the huge water slide they rented for the birthday.  We will see... I'm still not at bikini point yet so I'll decide at that time or as it gets closer.  I'd like to be around 145-150 (max) before considering a bikini again.  I do have a swim suit cover/dress so that may be getting used as well.

I think at this rate, I'll be doing a second round later this summer so I'm done by my birthday and at my goal weight before turning the big 30!!!

I CAN DO THIS!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Nutrition Facts For Foods

Stats:
Weight: 164.4
Waist: 31.75
Chest: 36
Hips 39.5
Thigh - Left: 23
Thigh - Right: 23
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14
Bicep - Left: 11.25
Bicep - Right: 11.25

Day 12 & 13

I completely forgot to post yesterday.  So I'll post today for both Saturday and Sunday...

I started my day yesterday driving to the KC City Market.  It was a wonderful farmers market and I was super impressed with the amount to choose from and the prices.  I got all of the below for $17.50!!!

After cutting it up and storing it buy size, I have enough vegetables for about 9 days!!! I'll have enough to get through to the next weekend to go back. I also took a trip to Mission, KS and checked out Whole Foods Market.  I got some organic foods that I'm going to try out as they go with the diet.  I went to go get the flavored stevia drops but they were about $15 a bottle and that seemed a bit high to me, so I didn't buy it.

I came home and made a taco salad for lunch and tried the skim cottage cheese and tomato for dinner.  I had an apple while in KC and then had an orange after eating dinner last night.  I've found when I eat a late fruit snack, I don't lose as much so I'm going to try to keep from having anything after 7:30-8pm.

I'm going to go get more chicken today and grill up enough for the week for lunches.  I bought some 95% fat free beef at Whole foods and will probably make some more taco salads, it was pretty good.

So far since Friday, I'm down 1 pound and at 165.2 as of this morning.  Only .2 more pounds and I'll be down 10 pounds and closer to the 150s!!!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Stats: (Sunday)
Weight: 165.2
Waist: 32
Chest: 36.5
Hips: 39
Thigh - Left: 23
Thigh - Right: 23.25
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14
Bicep - Left: 11
Bicep - Right: 11.5

Day 11

Today was a better day!!! It started out with a loss of .8 pounds so I'm down to 166.2 from 167 yesterday.  I can handle that.  Now if only TOM would go away, I could start losing some more.

I don't have a lot to update or say today.  I had my normal left overs for lunch and for dinner, I grilled chicken and asparagus.  I didn't have but one fruit today as I think the double fruit is what's starting to slow me down.  I didn't have melba toast at lunch but decided to have it as my evening snack with some sugar free strawberry jam.  It was super yummy, just hope the scale is okay with it tomorrow.

Well I don't have my stats handy to update them so I'll update and add that tomorrow.  Going to City Market in KC tomorrow to get produce as I'm almost out.

I CAN (and am) DO THIS!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Day 10

Today wasn't a good day, yes I lost but only .2 pounds... I'm not overly excited by this as you can tell.  Not sure if it was the 7oz of cabbage or if it's that monthly visit still causing this very little weight loss.  After figuring out the calories and carbs from dinner last night I was a little high on carbs due to the cabbage. 

I'm sort of full still from my dinner of beef and tomatoes tonight and only had one fruit today.  I think an extra apple with the amount of carbs in them may be a little to much after yesterday.  I had left over roast beef again tomorrow and I will have one more serving left after that. 

I'm about out of vegetables and only have a few apples left so I'm going to the farmer's market in KC on Saturday to load up for the next week or so.  Wonder if I can freeze some of the veggies or meals if I make them up ahead of time?  Hmmm, I'll have to do some research this weekend.

I decided to look at the calendar tonight, if I go the full 40 days, I won't be done till late July with phase 2 and then I'll have the 3 weeks of maintenance which puts me to around Aug 22.  That seems so far away when I look at it like that but I am already 10 days down... what's 30 more?!  I don't want to quit till I get the 35 pounds off or the 40 days whichever comes first.  I've thought about doing the 23 days, doing the maintenance for 3 weeks then 3 weeks of normal and then starting another round.  Maybe if I can lose around 30 pounds by my 23 days, I'll think about it.  30 pounds lost in 23 days would put me at a good rate and put me down to 145.  If I did that and maintained or lost, I'd only have 23 days more to do and only need to lose 15-20 pounds on that round... I'll have to think about this.

Well that's all I have for tonight.

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

Stats:
Weight: 167
Waist: 32.5
Chest: 36
Hips: 39.5
Thigh - Left: 24
Thigh - Right: 23.5
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14
Bicep - Left: 11.5
Bicep - Right: 11.75

Day 9

I lost 1 pound from yesterday!!! YAY!!!! Seeing the daily progress is really helping me stay on this diet.  I miss other foods but I'm taking that one day at a time.  My biggest miss is all carbs and pizza!!! Bob had a frozen DiGiorno (sp?) tonight and I went in to the kitchen to cook my cabbbage and chicken and I saw all the pepperonis and beef and could smell the wonderful aroma... It was very tempting to just still a piece of pepperoni but I held back and didn't do it.

Instead I finished cooking my grilled chicken on the george forman grill and sauteed some cabbage, onion and apples in the wok.  I have to say, the cabbage mixture I took from a recipe that got great reviews but it included butter... Obviously, I couldn't use the butter so I improvised and used the butter popcorn spray with 0 everything and some water.  The butter probably would have made it taste 50% better!  It's edible but not great by no means.

It's day 2 of TOM and day 2 of no drops till it's done and I haven't had any hunger at all.  I should be over TOM tomorrow and will continue the drops at that time.  I've just been eating leftover roast for lunch with a vegetable of choice that I chose in the morning.

Well down 7.25" and 7.8lbs in 8 days!!!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!




Stats:
Weight: 167.2
Waist: 32.5
Chest: 36
Hips: 39.5
Thigh - Left: 23.75
Thigh - Right: 23.5
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 15
Bicep - Left: 11.5
Bicep - Right: 11.75

Day 8

Today started out with only a drop of 0.4 pounds (and 0.5")... Lets just say I wasn't happy and thought it was something I ate yesterday and swore off strawberry shakes!  Well after reading some forums and other blogs, I found that the visit of TOM can cause you to not lose or even gain.  Well TOM is now here and visiting so I need to be patient for the next few days and hope I can at least stay even or lose even if not in a mass amount that I was so used to.

We went to go see the river tonight.  The Missouri is expecting to hit flood stage for the north side of the city by Friday or Saturday and this is only the beginning, we are told we will be dealing with this through fall.  Hopefully it stays low enough that Elwood/Hwy 36 doesn't flood or I'll never get home unless I take about 4 hours to get there instead of the normal 2 hours it should take me.  Ugh!

Well I guess since this blog is more about the diet, I'll get back on track.  My diet today was water for breakfast, an apple for my morning and evening snack.  Roast and cucumbers for lunch and since I forgot my Melba Toast, I had it has my snack after work and before dinner.

Well lets hope tomorrow starts out a bit better than today but if TOM has his way, I don't think that will happen. Till tomorrow, have a good night!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!




Stats:
Weight: 168.2
Waist: 32.5
Chest: 37
Hips: 39.75
Thigh - Left: 23.75
Thigh - Right: 23.75
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 7

One week is finally over!!!  The summary from the beginning is I'm 14% to goal for my weight loss!!!  I've lost a net total of 6.4 pounds and lost a net total of 4.75 inches!!!!  I'll take that for one week since when I was eating 1100 calories a day and burning 600-650 calories at the gym a day 5 days a week for 3 weeks, I lost a net total of about 6 pounds.  This time, I make extremely strict meals and don't snack and take it easy! :)  I have to say though, when this is done, I'm sure I will be watching things more closely and not reverting to old habits as I don't think I can handle another 30-40 days of this diet!  If I get to the max allowed to lose within 40 days of 35 pounds, I'll have 10 more to go to get to my goal.  I'm hoping at that point, giving the 3 weeks of maintenance and then slowly increasing carbs and sugars in the diet to work up to about a 1200 calorie diet and the gym, that I can lose the last 10 on my own. If not, I'll wait the 6 weeks after the maintenance time and do another round to lose the remaining amount but would hopefully only need to do the minimum 23 days of drops.

Enough about all that... I made it to lunch without having my fruit and had my stuffed chicken and spinach for lunch again.  I managed to still not have my fruit before leaving work so I got home and made another strawberry shake before having dinner.

I decided while waiting for dinner time, to cut up all the vegetables and presort them to sandwich baggies so they would be pre-measured and ready to go.  The roast I cooked last night turned out pretty good but slightly dry.  I was able to get 8 servings out of it and pre-measured those as well.

Roast Beef w/ Soy-Sesame Asparagus

Well now it's time to finish my 2nd bottle of water so I can get a 3rd and maybe 4th done by bed time and manage one more fruit although I'm not hungry.

I CAN DO THIS!!!



Stats:
Weight: 168.6
Waist: 32.75
Chest: 37
Hips: 40
Thigh - Left: 24
Thigh - Right: 23.75
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14.25
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 6

Well another positive day!!! Got up and weighed and was down another 2.0 pounds!!!!  I guess those 8 pieces of popcorn didn't hurt me too bad!

On a side note, physically, the cleansing of the diet was not agreeing with me earlier and I wasn't feeling well.  I took a nap and felt back to normal.  I'm getting a side pain more towards my back on the right side off and on and it's like a spasm and it doesn't last long but it's painful when it hits. I'm guessing it's just the body adjusting to the healthiness of the food I'm not putting into it instead of all the greasy and fatty foods.

Strawberry Shake

I finally got my strawberry shake today. I had it for breakfast, it made 16oz and I was full before finishing it!! Lunch I had the same as yesterday and tried the stuffed chicken for dinner tonight.  I had enough to make two so I made the 2nd one for my lunch tomorrow.  It was pretty tasty.  I bought a lean roast today at the store and cut all the visible fat off that I could.  It's now in the crock pot and enough meat for 8 days so I don't have to worry about lunches this week, just my vegetable.

Spinach stuffed Chicken

Well I've only accomplished almost 3 bottles of water today.  I'm going to make sure this last one is done before going to bed but I won't get to my 4th one.  I think I only had 3 yesterday as well along with a couple of iced teas.

I CAN DO THIS!!!!




Stats:
Weight: 169.4
Waist: 33
Chest: 37
Hips: 40
Thigh - Left: 24.25
Thigh - Right: 24
Calf - Left: 14.5
Calf - Right: 14
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 5

Well it's late but I wanted to give a short update...

I lost another 2.0 pounds from yesterday!!!  For a net down of 3.6 pounds or 4.4 pounds since the gorging.

I found keeping busy made me not even think of food.  I was never really hungry and had to remind myself to eat.  So I started recording my foods and documenting the total calories.  By following the diet by Dr. S to a t, I have found that I'm not even getting the full 500 calories but roughly only 460 calories.  I'm okay with this as I'm not hungry and don't feel like I'm starving.  I even increased my vegetable amounts to try and compensate but it didn't add much and I was full.

We decided last minute to go see Green Lantern tonight... My review of the movie, it was alright but meant for a rental and not for the big screen.  Ryan Reynolds did look pretty good though and he did a good job with the acting.  The challenge was... the popcorn!!! Before Bob added the butter I did still a couple pieces, before it was said and done I ate 8 popcorn pieces, I'll let you know tomorrow how bad of an idea that was.  I also tried doing ground beef today as part of one of my meals, I guess if tomorrow the scale isn't as good, I know one thing to eliminate before eliminating the last item.

Beef and Tomatoes

 

Lunch was Beef and Tomatoes (it's my spanish rice without the rice), Dinner was grilled seasoned chicken with cucumber salad, my morning snack was an orange and I just finally had my evening snack of a few strawberries. 

Seasoned Chicken w/ Cucumber Salad

I took my melba toast with me to have at the theatre while Bob ate the popcorn, it wasn't the same but kept me occupied to not eat any more of the popcorn.  I'll post pictures on here tomorrow of the meals today.  I'll also update my stats then as well as they are in the other room and if I go in there, it's to sleep and not come back out till morning :)  Well, on that note, it's time to say good night as my eyes don't want to be open and I still need to take my 3rd round of drops.

I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Stats:
Weight: 171.4
Waist: 33.25
Chest: 36.5
Hips: 40.5
Thigh - Left: 24
Thigh - Right: 24
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14.25
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 4

YAY!!! Started the day down 2.2 pounds from yesterday and an overall loss of 1.6 pounds with the gorging days.

Last night was a bit of a struggle.  I wasn't overly hungry but yet could tell I was getting that feeling to find something to munch on before going to bed. I drank some water and decided to just lay down.  (I need to get over the eating because I'm bored thought.) I decided to go to bed and Bob woke up after sleeping a few hours and wanted something to eat.  That's fine but he wanted me to heat him something up.  Not a good idea for my first day as I know nothing he chose was going to be anything I could think of eating!  He decided on these bacon, cheese and chicken quesadilla type things and I knew I wouldn't care because I wouldn't like it to begin with.  Well, he decided he needed more than that and heated up a slice of leftover pepperoni lover's pizza from Pizza Hut... not cool at all! The pepperoni's were so tempting!!!! Then he brings it to the bedroom to eat... it was hard but I made it through it and didn't give in to the temptation!

Not giving in and keeping the willpower paid off as I lost pounds overnight.  Although, when I told Bob this, he felt the need to down play it with "it's just water weight".  Well maybe right now it is but it's still weight that came off and I'll take that as a good thing! 

After my weigh in this morning and my measurements, I went about the morning routine of getting ready and taking my drops.  Off to work I went and took my oregano tilapia and asparagus for work along with an apple for a snack.  I was in Elwood most of the morning so by the time I got back it was close to lunch time so I decided to save the apple.  I had 2 bottles of water done by the end of lunch and started on my 3rd bottle after lunch and ate my apple around 2 after taking my drops a little after 1.  This got me through the rest of my work day and I finished the 3rd bottle before leaving.  I finished by 4 bottle (YAY!!! I got to the minimum today!) just a little while ago and my reward was a 32oz Gold Peak tea!!!

Dinner I decided to use a recipe I found online for Chicken Adobe and decided to add some cabbage to the sauce while it was cooking.  It was quite salty (which I loved) but very filling and tasty.  Not something I'll make regularly but when I'm having a salt craving (usually always) it will be great to have. 

Chicken Adobe with Cabbage

Now, I just took my last set of drops for the day and as soon as I can eat/drink again, I'm either going to have an orange or make a strawberry shake... I've been thinking of the strawberry shake all day so I'm not sure which will win, the craving or the laziness....

Well that's all I have for today... I CAN DO THIS!!!!

Stats:
Weight: 173.4
Waist: 33.5
Chest: 37.25
Hips: 40.5
Thigh - Left: 24.25
Thigh - Right: 24.25
Calf - Left: 14.25
Calf - Right: 14.25
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 3

Well here it was... the first day of the VLCD!!! Only 500 calories!  This was the test of can I really do it!

First off weighing and measuring... I could tell that my enjoyment of my last anything I want meal with beer was definitely well worth it!!! I woke up and was back up 0.8 pounds from yesterday morning and only up 0.6 pounds from the first morning. 

My day started with my drops and some water.  I wasn't hungry at all.  Around 9:30 though I decided I should try a snack to get me through to 11:30 as I was sure I'd be starving by then.  So instead of a whole fruit, I did 1/2 an orange.  I think eating reminding me that I like to eat and I like food and I actually felt hungry after eating the 1/2 orange.  The feeling went away but by 11:30 I was definitely ready for lunch!!!

Lunch: Lemon Pepper Chicken with steamed broccoli.  I grilled the chicken last night and just heated it up today.  For not being a big fan of chicken, it turned out really well and I was pretty much satisfied with the chicken, broccoli and Melba toast.

I decided to spread my drops out a little more and didn't take my afternoon drops till about 1pm today, this way I also don't have to remember at 11 so I can eat at 11:30.

Afternoon/Snack: I decided to have my other 1/2 of orange.  I decided out of habit I get the need to eat and am learning how to ignore that and tell myself I don't need to eat because I think I need to or because I'm bored.  Every time I thought I needed something, I drank my water or tea and I was good again.

The hard part of the day... coming home after work!!! I always come home (ever since elementary school) and go straight to the kitchen for something to snack on till dinner.  I had to refrain from this although I was able to still have a Melba toast or another serving of fruit but I wasn't hungry so I didn't grab anything. 

Dinner: I looked up some recipes and decided to have tilapia.  For my veggie, I steamed some spinach.

Cajun Tilapia w/ Spinach

Since I didn't have my last fruit yet and don't want to eat super late, I decided to do a dessert with my dinner and have my last fruit (apple).
 

Hot Cinnamon Apples

Now, I've only had a little over the recommended amount of water... I've had about 20 of the 33.3 ounces recommended.  Time to get my butt in gear and drink up the rest of this bottle before bed.  Tomorrow, the goal will be 3 bottles of water to get the flushing of the fat going and making sure I don't get hungry.


Thankfully, Bob made my first day easier by going to McD's and eating there before coming home from golfing... I only saw the cups of soda come in the door.  I guess, I wouldn't have cared as long as their wasn't FF.  I'm not a fan of McD's!!!


Well I need to get back to making my lunch for tomorrow... Baked fish with Asparagus... Pictures to come later and I'll let you know what I think since we all know I'm not a fish person... BTW... tonight's Cajun Tilapia was quite tasty and I was very much liking it!

I CAN DO THIS!!!!


Stats:
Weight: 175.6
Waist: 33.75
Chest: 37.5
Hips: 40.5
Thigh - Left: 24.25
Thigh - Right: 24
Calf - Left: 14.75
Calf - Right: 14.25
Bicep - Left: 12.25
Bicep - Right: 12

Day 2

Well to start the day off, I lost 0.2 pounds!!! I was pretty sure with the "gorging" it said I would gain... I'm definitely not complaining but was quite shocked at how could I eat almost double my normal day and lose 1/5 of a pound?!

Today I started the day out with my weighing and measuring along with the drops.  I popped two toaster strudels in the toaster and got my brownies ready to go for the birthday treat day!  So after my two toaster strudels, I attempted the treats about 2 hours later... 1/2 a pizza muffin, a brownie, some mexican fudge with chips and a peach cookie along with a diet pepsi, I felt like I was going to burst.  By this time, I've finished almost two bottles of water as well.  Lunch time came and I realized I wasn't hungry and forgot to take my drops so I had lunch a little later.  All I took was 2 slices of pepperoni pizza and two cheese sticks... well lets just say I couldn't handle finishing it... I was struggling to get the bites down so I gave up.  After that I never really got to the point of being able to just eat.  I grilled out burgers and some other stuff and literally had to force it all down knowing that meal, my beer and diet pepsi were going to be my last "normal" dinner for a while so I was going to enjoy it and savor all the food I could.

Now here I am telling you about how the day went.  The drops taste funny but were definitely much easier to take today.  120 seconds still feels like a very long time but it's a small price to pay to get to my goal!  So tomorrow the real test starts of the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD)... I've already made my lunch and surprisingly 3.5oz of broccoli is quite a bit along with 3.5oz of uncooked chicken.  The chicken is now grilled and the broccoli ready to be steamed.  Now to get 2 liters of water drank a day!

I CAN DO THIS!!!! (right?!)

Stats:
Weight: 174.5
Chest: 37
Hips:39.75
Thigh - Left: 24.25
Thigh - Right: 24.5
Calf - Left: 14.75
Calf - Right: 14.25
Bicep - Left: 12
Bicep - Right: 12.25

Day 1

Well I got the HCG drops in the mail yesterday and made today my first "gorge" day.  I have ate a little more than my normal day and I realized that over the last few months of being healthier to try and lose weight along with the gym, I had nothing "fatty" to eat in the house but a few things.  So I'm trying to just keep eating but am seriously full! 

The first day has went pretty well.  I was a bit nervous to take the drops as I wasn't sure how they would taste or how I was going to hold them under my tongue for at least two minutes without swallowing the drops.  By my 3rd round of ten drops, I was able to kind of master this, it's sort of like having your temperature taken as a kid and holding the thermometer in your mouth and try to breathe, not swallow and hold the thermometer (in this case the drops) under your tongue!  I forgot what that was like till today.

So, I took my drops this morning and did my first day of tracking the weight and measurements.  Grant it, I'll gain the first two days so I don't feel like I'm starving in the beginning but I'm hoping to get as close to my goal of 128 pounds with this diet.  Based on my starting weight of 175, I'm hoping to get to 135-140 by the time the drops are complete and either maintain that or lose a few more pounds during the maintenance stage of eating "normal" with the exception of carbs and sugars.  After the 3 week maintenance stage is over, I'm hoping to get back in the gym and continue to lose whatever I have left to get to 128!!!  Ok... so I'll be happy with 130-135 but would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE if I could get to the 128...

Turning 30 in October will officially make it harder to lose weight, you know the saying about once you hit 30, its harder to lose the weight!  Well I think the warning should be 25!!! At 25, the weight starting sticking and seemed to never go away no matter what I did. Before 25, it seemed like I could eat anything and everything in site and gain nothing, what happened to those days... Oh yeah, I got older (a whole 25 years old) but who really thinks 25 is getting old, I sure didn't!

Well, that's all I got for today... Now to get some rest and enjoy my last day of freedom when it comes to eating for the next 40 days (or 60 days if you count the no carbs or sugars)... I CAN DO THIS!!!!!!

Stats:
Weight: 175
Waist: 34
Chest: 37.75
Hips: 40
Thigh Left: 24.5
Thigh Right: 24.25
Calf Left: 14.25
Calf Right: 14.5
Bicep Left: 12.25
Bicep Right: 11.75