R2P3D16 An unexpected weight loss!

Weird things are happening! I have been on P3 now for just over 2 weeks. My weight has been pretty good about staying within the 2lb LIW range. The day after Thanksgiving was a bit rough but I got over it. Today, I am -2.2 LIW! I am thrilled and the last 5 days have brought a total weight loss of 3.8 pounds. So the question is what has changed? The only thing I am doing differently is that I have added a liver cleanse that I bought at Whole Foods. My diet and water intake are the same. I thought that I would do a liver cleanse before I started my new round to see if it would offer better results. I didn’t think I would see results this soon. Can a liver cleanse really do that much? Anyway, I am taking what I get because at 172.6 I am at a new low! I love to get little surprises like that!

R2P3D13 November 30, 2009

My last injection weight was 174.8. Today, I was 174.1. My highest weight on phase 3 was 178.1. This was the day after Thanksgiving. I had eaten really salty stuffing on Thanksgiving so I figure my big gain was a result of that. I did a steak day and it quickly fixed my problem.

I am finally starting to enjoy phase 3. My diet has expanded somewhat to include a variety of meats, cheeses, eggs, and fruits. I still keep the majority of my diet phase 2 foods but have added real salad dressings, Caesar is my favorite. Snacks now consist of cubed cheese, olives or Greek yogurt. I also drink about 3 or 4 glasses of wine a week. I still steer clear of breads and starches but I have had a few bites of chocolate since starting phase 3.

Normally, my meals include a large salad with chicken for lunch, a fruit or Greek yogurt for snack, some meat and a vegetable for dinner and a fruit or cheese for an evening snack. On Sunday, I may have breakfast consisting of an omelet with cheese but I find that I still enjoy just having my coffee with almond milk. I know every weight loss expert says you need to eat breakfast but I have found I do better without. It was that way for me when I weighed 120, too. I have not been hungry at all. If I do feel the need for something I just drink some water and have an apple.

I have noticed gains when I eat out at a restaurant where the meat or veggies may have a sauce on it. I have found ordering “naked” works best for my diet. A few items I have eaten out are the Cobb salad at Panera and the Victoria’s Filet, green beans and salad at Outback Steakhouse. I order everything prepared without seasonings or butter. I did eat at Outback one night and did not order my food “naked” and it actually tasted terrible. I have noticed that my palate has changed and that the true taste of the food is actually more appealing to me than it is when covered with sauces and seasonings.

I have also had an easier time going places that I used to associate with certain foods. Movie theaters are not a problem any longer. When I did my first round being near popcorn about killed me but now I just sit back and enjoy the film. I don’t feel the need to constantly be snacking. Eating has become a time to feed my body and not my emotions.

While being able to eat more foods has been nice I am becoming anxious to start my next round. I would like to lose 30 more pounds. I plan on starting my next round January 4^th. I would like to do a 40 day round but that will depend on how long I keep losing. I would like to be at my goal weight before swimsuit season.

R2 P2 VLCD 6: Goal Setting

Today has been a difficult day for me with the time change. I know have 25 hours I need to keep myself from going off the program. I have been doing fairly well. I was thinking about setting some goals and putting them down on paper to make them real. I came up wiht a list of mini goals that will be easier to obtain that just stating "I want to lose 75 pounds". Here is what I came up with:

Goal 1: 177.5 be overweight not obese
Goal 2: 175
Goal 3: 174 40 pound weight loss
Goal 4: 170
Goal 5: 164, 50 pound weight loss
Goal 6: 160
Goal 7: 154, 60 pound weight loss
Goal 8: 150
Goal 9: 147.8 be a normal weight not overweight
Goal 10: 144, 70 pound weight loss
Goal 11: 140
Goal 12: 134 80 pound weight loss
Goal 13:130
Goal 14: 128.6

147.9 (>25% BMI) to 177.5 (>30% BMI) for 5’ 4.5” overweight
109.5 (18.5% BMI) to 147.8 (25% BMI) for 5’ 4.5” normal weight
Under 109.5 (<18.5% BMI) for 5’ 4.5” underweight

I am trying to come up with some "treats" or rewards for hitting these goals. (This was discussed as a question of the day on spark people) A lot of people said they treated themselves to mani's and pedi's. Which work but I want to think of some other great things to use too. So, now the plan is to come up with my list of rewards.

I have also decided to make a gold star poster. For every pound or 5 pounds I lose I will put a gold star on it. (Yes, like Weight Watchers.) I think the visualization will help me out. I might make squares for every pound I need to lose and fill it in with a star. I will have to let you know what I come up with! :)

R2 P2 VLCD2 and dealing with the temptation of others

Wow! I awoke to a weight loss of 4.2 today! That makes me feel a lot better after being such a pig on our Disney trip! I figure by the end of the week I will be down to my LIW from R1. I am already feeling much better and just an overall cleaner feeling. My jeans I bought 2 weeks ago were loose yesterday. I am going to go broke buying new clothes. I may have to just wear yoga pants for a while and give up on buying new denim until the New Year. I was on the phone with my Mom yesterday who was asking what she should get everyone for Christmas and I told her that I wanted a gift certificate to a clothing store. Hopefully, I will have a reason to go out and get some new clothes! Another blogger brought up the topic of someone eating infront of her and the temptaions that it brought on. I thought I would share how I deal with that situation. When someone eats infront of me something that I can't have I find it helpful to imagine what that is doing to their body. For example, if someone was eating a cheeseburger infront of me I imagine how the grease and fat dripping off of it is sticking to the walls of their arteries and how that big lump of meat is sitting in their bowels giving them a bloated, painful distended belly. I know it sounds wierd but it works. I did it when I quit smoking 10 years ago and it really helped. The more graphic I paint the picture the better it works. Does anyone else do this?

Round 2 Load Day 2

After my trip to Disneyland and Southern California, I returned with an extra 5.5 pounds! I had been off the hcg for 2 weeks after a 25 day round. I was supposed to wait 3 weeks to start another round but I am so disgusted with the weight that I put on. I don't know anyone who has started another round so quickly but I am willing to take that leap to see what happens. I figure that this round will also be a short round due to concerns of immunity developing to the hcg. I will attempt to do a 23 day round but if I am still losing by then I think I may keep going.
I am amazed how terrible I feel now that I am eating regular food. My stomach is killing me! My belly is bloated and I have a general yuck feeling about me. I also noticed how much more my knee has been bothering me since I have gained back 5 pounds. I figure by next week I will be in ketosis again and feeling better. I spent the morning cutting up and grilling chicken and prepping veggies for my VLCD 1. Tonight we will go out for our last hurrah for the next month.
This is also the first time I am doing the hcg on my own and without using a clinic. I figure that if I cut the clinic out I save myself about $200. I really don't think that they did anything for me at the clinic. I actually only saw the doctor 2 times. Once at my initial visit and at one follow up visit. I did one weigh in with his office staff since he was out that day. I really don't need to pay $200 extra for that. The hcg that I am using for this round was from Pharmacy Escrow. I have not tested it but it is the same that others have used on the HCG board.

Half Way There!

I weighed 179.5 today! This is the half way point of my weight loss goal. I am super excited! My goal for this round was to get under 180 on P2. Today was my last vlcd on P2 and I start P3 tomorrow. I am excited and scared about starting P3 tomorrow. The worst part is that we are leaving town! In 5 days I will be at Disneyland. We will be staying at one of the hotels in the park. This means I will be exposed to every delicious little morsel in the park! I have a feeling that there will be a cheat coming in my near future. My goal is to stay in 3 pounds of LIW. I am already 1.5 under that. Please send good thought my way that my will power doesn't fade on me!

Day 26

This morning I weighed in at 180.5 and have lost 14.7 pounds this round. Yesterday was my last injection. I have 2 more days of VLCD. I am anxious to start P3 but I am also nervous about going outside of my small selection of foods that I normally eat. I will absolutely do another round of hcg. This is the easiest diet that I have been on. I still plan to lose another 35 pounds. Anything above and beyond that will be a bonus. My plan is to do the best I can to maintain my weight until Thanksgiving. My plan is to start another round the Saturday after that. My biggest challenge will be my trip to L.A. this weekend. I will be there for 8 days with my husband and 2 children. I have decided that I will do my best to maintain a low carb diet with a few cheats. I figure with all the walking that we will be doing I will be burning some extra calories. I guess I will give an update when I get back.