HcG Diet

eating, eating, eating.......

2009-06-03T06:49:00.001-07:00

I'm on track with my workouts this week. Today's was kind of lame, I didn't feel like I had the energy for it today. I did turbo jam for 40 minutes, but I only burned 347 calories, usually I burn a lot more than that. Yesterday I jogged for 35 minutes.

I haven't been doing that great on the whole eating. I'm a little disappointed about that. I'm doing fine for maintaining, but I'm not doing good for losing. It's not even that I'm eating too much, but I feel like I'm eating too many carbs. It's so tough though.

On Monday night I did do some binge eating. :( My husband was out and I just kept eating and eating. My stomach was not happy about it at all either.

So I have some work to do with my eating. This week we are doing a lot of recipes from southbeach for dinner. I need to get back into my smaller portions and then not do seconds. Last night Gary made Chicken Jambalaya from the southbeach book, I thought it was super yummy. I had seconds, but then I looked and saw that the serving size was 1 1/2 c, so I didn't eat too much more than I should have. I'm so used to servings being more like 1/2 c or 1 cup, so I probably only had 1 cup the first serving, then I probably had one more cup the second serving. Not too bad.

Time to make my breakfast and lunch and get to work.

Jogging, jogging, jogging

2009-05-30T09:04:00.000-07:00

Jogging this morning was tough. I so did not want to do it, but I forced myself and I am happy that I did. This morning was a 45 minute jog. There was many times I had to tell myself "I can do it, I can get through a whole 45 minutes" and I did. I jogged 4 miles and burned 600 calories. Yay. I needed to burn that many calories after the pizza I ate last night. I ate way too much.

So I hover around 180 - fluctuating around there, but I decided to check my body fat percentage this morning, and on 5/7 after stopping the HCG I was 178.8 and 43% body fat and today I am 180 and 40% body fat. So I think I'm ok with staying around 180 since my body fat percentage is coming down. I know that the weight will drop soon enough.

Tomorrow I plan on doing another 45 minute jog in the morning and then we are going to Out of Africa zoo so we will be walking the majority of the day too, so I will be getting a ton of exercise this weekend.

So I did the southbeach phase 1 thing last week (except for yesterday), so now I think I will start adding back in the good whole grain carbs and eat the recommened amount from sparkpeople and then 2 days a week I will do the super low carb (less than 100g) and see how things go. I really want to see the scale drop though. I know I need to just be patient, it will happen.

On to today......

2009-05-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing too bad the last two days. Yesterday I had planned on doing turbo jam, but my husband had the computer hooked up to the tv and I had no clue how to change it to the dvd player so out for a jog I went. I really hated that jog too. I think my pace was too fast because I really wanted to stop and walk and I actually did a couple times. Everytime I checked my pace it was between 10:12-10:46 min mile. I did stop after 20 minutes and then did 4 HIIT intervals - only 15-20 seconds each. But after my legs were jelly and I was so tired. I was super tired yesterday all day.
I did super good on my eating until my husband bought berry sherbert. He was looking for sugar free ice cream for me and it was right next to the sherbert (which is my favorite) and he grabbed the wrong one. So I had some last night, but instead of only giving me one serving he gave me 2. But in the big scheme of things, my nutrition counts weren't too high.

On to today.... this morning I was so procrastinating all morning. But I got my butt in gear and did some yoga. No cardio though. I need to start doing some weight stuff for my flabby arms though. I'm tired of the flab.
Oh, I had something yummy for my morning snack. I usually have 0% plain greek yogurt and then I will put something in it to make it taste yummy. This morning I decided to put my medshape protein powder in it... oooh, so good. A ton of protien too. So I had strawberry banana greek yogurt. But then at lunch I was bad. It's TOM so.... that's my excuse. I had a sourdough chicken club (no bacon) from Jack in the box. Tonight I don't think I will be much better - I hate this time of the month, I lose all my resolve. Like right now I really want some chocolate. A twix bar would be great, but I also know I would feel so guilty afterward when I saw my carb count for the day.

Yesterday I was wearing some size 12 capris, (the same ones that I just got in a size 10 as well) and they felt so huge. I had the big gap at the waist band in the back. I hate that. Today I'm wearing my other size 10 capris that feel a little big and a small shirt. I feel so small.

Well, I guess that's it for today.

Another day in the life.......

2009-05-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Shannon - Awesome job on getting into the 180's. That's so exciting.

Not sure what was up with my scale this morning, but I was super excited to see 176.9, but I didn't really believe it since yesterday I was 180.6, so I got on my other one and I was still around 180 on that one. So I weighed again after I got back from jogging and it was 179.9. I'm happy with that. Back in the 170's.

Jogging was so hard this morning. It's been over a week since I've done anything. But I did it. I did have a side ache and the whole time I kept telling myself I just wanted to stop and walk, but I pushed myself to keep going. I jogged for 25 minutes and then cooled down for 5 minutes. My pace is getting consistently faster too. I'm pretty proud of that. Pretty soon I will be jogging a 10 minute mile.

I'm doing good on my eating. I had a salad with shrimp for lunch today. I also bought some hummus at costco, so I had a little of that and then I will have the rest that I brought for my afternoon snack. For dinner last night I had 2 servings of the cabbage rolls and 2 servings of salad, I was so starving. Tonight we are having steak salad. Yummy!

I figured out a plan for this week and next for exercise. Today was jogging, tomorrow will be turbo jam, Friday 30 min jogging and yoga, Saturday 45 min jogging, Sunday 45 min jogging. Monday will be my day off from now on because I have a hard time on Monday anyway. Tuesday & Thursday- jogging and yoga, Wednesday & Friday - turbo jam, and Saturday & Sunday - jogging. I will see how that goes and if I like that then I will continue with that plan for a while.

My goal right now is to be able to buy a smaller pair of jeans for our vacation we are leaving for June 19th. I have 2 pairs of size 14 jeans. I haven't really bought any jeans because I don't wear them often enough that I have needed to get a smaller size, but I would really like to buy some from Aeropostal and I want them to be comfortable and not tight. So that is my goal, to lose enough inches that I can fit comfortably into a 11/12 pair of jeans from Aeropostal before June 19th. If I can do smaller that would be better, but right now I will settle for 11/12. I'm wearing my 11/12 capris from there now and they are a little tight, they are wearable, but tighter than I want the jeans to be.

Maintenance Day ???

2009-05-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Not sure what day it is. I guess just another day living the life.... I have been slacking on my blog and I have been slacking on my healthy eating and I have been slacking on my exercise. My brother and sister in law and niece were here for a couple days, so I didn't eat that great while they were here. I wasn't super bad, but not as good as I should have been. Then I got sick and was in bed for 4 days. When I'm sick all I want is carbs, I had grilled cheese sandwiches, grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, let's just say I was on carb overload. But now I'm feeling better and ready to get back on track. I decided to get myself back on track I would eat food from the south beach phase 1 plan for a week and see how I do and if I feel like I need to do 2 weeks I will. What I like about it is that it's basically the food I am supposed to be eating but it gives me some good ideas for some variety. It's still no sugar, no starchy carbs, but also no fruit. We will see how I do. It's strange eating veggies for breakfast, but I did it this morning.
I was supposed to get up this morning and get a good work out in since I haven't worked out in over a week, but I had a hard time sleeping around 3:00 and then when I finally fell back to sleep it was about time to get up, so I was lazy and slept instead. I figured it was probably a better idea since I have been sick. But I feel like I have so much energy today, I needed that workout. So tomorrow I will get up no matter what and jog for 20 minutes and then 3-4 HIIT intervals and then possibly 30 minutes of my yoga dvd.

Yesterday we went to JC Penny and guess what I got..... size 10 capris. How awesome is that? I'm wearing them today and they fit great. I actually bought 2 pairs, but different styles. The other is also a 10 but it will take a little bit before I can wear them comfortably. It still just amazes me that I am a 10/12. That's so exciting. I have a picture to post, it is so amazing how thin my face and neck are looking. I need to do a side by side comparison again so I can really see the difference.

Today's food:
Breakfast:
protein powder in my coffee
sliced yellow and red peppers
Snack:
4 oz 0% plain greek yogurt w/splenda and vanilla
Lunch:
Homemade chili (kidney beans, black beans, lean ground beef, ff sour cream, low fat cheese)
sliced yellow and red peppers
Snack:
1/2 c edamame
Dinner:
Slow cooker cabbage rolls
salad

Another Thought.....

2009-05-18T12:45:00.000-07:00

When it comes to low carb items that say the total carb is 15, but then the net carb count is 5, (because of the fiber and sugar alcohol and whatever), do I really get to count only 5 carbs?

Maintenance Day 10

2009-05-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

180.6 this morning. Poop! Weekends are so tough. Not so much to stay on track, just tracking period. On Saturday my brother, his wife and their baby got here. We went to Costco and my sister in law bought me a hot dog. I didn't eat it all, but that made my fat count go way up. At some points during the weekend I didn't feel like I ate enough and at other points I felt like I ate too much carbs and fat. It's tough finding the right balance between carbs, fat, and protein to make up the calories you need.

Yesterday we went to Castles and Coasters, which is an amusement park. We didn't do a ton of walking because it's not that big, but a lot of standing around while I held the baby and they rode the rides. I did have some ice cream while we were there. It was super hot and that sounded good. I drank a ton of water. For dinner we went out to Chinese food, so not the healthiest, but I didn't do too bad. I ate a lot of protein.

Today I'm at work and for breakfast I had 2 kashi strawberry flax waffles, they were just ok. I need to figure out a yummy topping for them that's healthy. My eating today should be pretty good. My carbs are a little higher than I would like, but I just don't know how to keep them low and still get my calories up. Not to mention that I like carbs. Right now they are at 111g for what I have planned for the day.
I didn't get my butt out of bed and jog this morning. I was tired and I feel kind of guilty for that. So tomorrow I will jog for 45 minutes again to make up for today.

Does anyone know what a good balance of carbs, fat, and protein is once we have finished the diet? I still have some weight to lose, I don't know if I should go back to healthy eating following sparkpeople recomendations or if I need to really watch the carbs still. I would love to have some steal cut oatmeal for breakfast, but I'm scared of carbs. I hate that.

Maintenance Day 8

2009-05-16T08:04:00.000-07:00

178.9 this morning. So the scale is going in the right direction. I was super hungry last night so I had a kashi granola bar after dinner last night. It did the trick, I felt full and satisfied. There's lots of protein and fiber in them, so that should make the carbs ok. I still only had a little over 100 carbs, so I don't think that's too bad.

This morning I got up and I jogged for 45 minutes. 4 miles!!!! I'm so proud of myself. It really was a mental thing though because about 11 minutes into it I started thinking I can't do a whole 45 minutes, I need to walk now. Then I realized what I was doing because I can easily jog 25 minutes so why was I feeling that way at only 11 minutes. Totally mental. I jogged over to the park and jogged around there until I only have 15 minutes left then jogged back home. That way I wouldn't have the choice but to jog the whole 45 minutes. Towards the end I had gone just under 4 miles and only had a minute or so left, so I sped up my pace because I wanted to make the 4 miles. My average pace was 11:09 minute mile. I'm pretty proud of that. I know it doesn't seem that fast, but for me it's great. I had a goal on the nike+ website to run 5 workouts at less than a 11:35 min mile pace. I've got 2 of them down, 3 to go and then I will look at what my average has been and set a new goal. Eventually I will be running a 10 minute mile on a regular basis.
And now thinking about it, I ran more than a 5 k. That's pretty exciting.

Today I had a pretty big breakfast. I had some greek yogurt with strawberries and kashi go lean, I had a protein shake, and I had a piece of oroweat light toast with almond butter. I decided since I burend over 500 calories this morning I should refuel with a good/big breakfast.

I took my measurements this morning and I'm pretty happy. Even though the scale is being a brat this week, the tape measure was nice. I lost 3 inches this week over my hips, ab area, rib cage and bust and thighs. Not too bad. I guess my working out is paying off. Hopefully the scale will decide to be nice soon too.

well, now I have to go grocery shopping. My brother, his wife and daughter are going to be here from Oregon in a couple hours so I have a busy weekend.

Maintenance Day 7

2009-05-15T06:32:00.000-07:00

179.4 this morning. I'm just being patient and waiting for the pounds to just drop. I've worked out every morning this week. I'm proud of myself. This morning I did my turbo jam. I have a feeling I'm going to be sore tomorrow. Well, I've been sore all way, my lower body from the jogging and now my upper body from the yoga yesterday. I don't think I had my heart rate monitor in the right spot for half the workout, my heart rate seemed to low so I moved it around and then it was better, but it said I only burned 415 calories, I'm sure it was more than that though.

Tomorrow my plan is a 40 minute jog and if I have some energy left 4 HIIT intervals.

Some advice

2009-05-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

I track my food pretty closely, I try to track everything before I eat it. Today, this proved to be very useful. I had planned on getting a salad from the cafeteria at work and I brought some steak to go on it. So I went and started loading up from the salad bar. I got lettuce, cauliflower, some garbanzo beans, shredded cheese, sunflower seeds, croutons, and craisins. I got some dressing in a container on the side. I came back to my desk and I put each thing into sparkpeople. I didn't get much of any of the extras, less than a tablespoon of each besides the veggies because I know they are higher in fat. Anyway, I ended up picking off all the craisins because that would have put my carbs so high up and they really weren't worth it. This just showed me how important it is to track your food before you eat it, so you don't make a mistake and end up feeling guilty or whatever later.

For my food that I have tracked and plan on eating today, my calories are low, so I'm going to probably do a protein shake for "dessert". That will up my calories and protein without upping my carbs and fat. As long as I stick to the plan it's:

1012 Calories, 80 g carbs, 23 g fat and 124 g protein.

so basicaly my advice is plan and track your food before you eat it and stick to the plan.

Maintenance Day 5

2009-05-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm tired this morning. Maybe just really relaxed from the yoga I just did. Yep, that's right I got up and did my yoga dvd. Well all of it except the ab work. I don't think I've ever really done the ab work on that dvd. I guess at some point I need to try it. But I did everything else, 36 minutes of yoga and I feel great. I want to do yoga at least 2 days a week for the stretching and flexibility and balance.

This morning I am 179.3. Tomorrow I will jog for 20 minutes and do at least 4 HIIT intervals.

I was really great on my carbs yesterday:
1379 cal, 50 carbs, 44 fat, 139 protein and 123 oz of water

It looks a little high on the fat, but I was looking back at my food diary from when I was in maintenance last time and I really focused on keeping the carbs down but didn't really worry about the fat and I maintained and even lost some days. My fat ranged from 25-60 depending on the day but the carbs were always under 90.

Yesterday I went to lunch, I over did it at lunch. I ate too much because it was good, there was a point where I though, "I should stop, I don't feel full, but I should stop" but I didn't, I kept eating and I ate all my meat and all my tempura and the 4 slices of california roll. When I got back to work I was soooo over full! I didn't eat my afternoon snack. Even though my calories and stuff were ok for yesterday, I should have stopped eating when I got full.

Maintenance Day 4

2009-05-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

I remembered why I hate that damn 30 day shred video, 30 seconds of jumping jack and 30 seconds of push ups. So I didn't do that very long. I ended up getting my butt outside and jogging. But I even had issues with that. I had thoughts the whole time about stopping and not wanting to continue, but I kept going. Then halfway through my IPOD died. I was so not happy. My son used it at school yesterday and didn't think to charge it for me. Music really does make a huge difference in my motivation. I still finished my jog even without it, but since I didn't have my ipod I didn't get to see how far I jogged or what my pace was. I did work out for 32 minutes this morning though. My legs are so sore still. I guess that's a good thing, but it made it really tough to walk up the stairs at work this morning.
Today I'm wearing my 11/12 capris from Aeropostal with barely any muffin top. I'm so happy.

Ok, so the scale was 179.0 this morning. That's .9 down from yesterday. So cutting back on my carbs helped. I am going to keep my carbs under 90g a day and see how I do with that. We were going to have spaghetti for dinner tonight, but today is my day to go for sushi. Really all I want is the tempura, so we are having steak for dinner instead.

Oh, I took my wedding rings in last night to be sized. I have 2 wedding bands and my e-ring. I'm going to have them all soldered together also. When they checked the sizes one band was 8.5, one was 8, and my e-ring was 7 3/4. I had my e-sized when I got it but not the others. Since they are soldered together they are supposed to be a little bigger than they would be if it was just individual, and I'm having it reduced to a 7. That's so exciting. I don't get them back until tomorrow night though, so my finger feels very strange without them.

Maintenance Day 3 Update

2009-05-12T19:09:00.000-07:00

I had a little more carbs than I planned, but not too bad. And the carbs were not from anything starchy. After dinner I didn't have enough calories and I was hungry so I had a protein shake made with milk. So I went 5g of carbs over what I planned.

I drank plenty of water today. I feel really good about today, so hopefully I will either be the same or less on the scale tomorrow morning. So here's hoping for 179.9 or less. (but hoping for less)
Just need to restate my plans for tomorrow. (It helps me stick to them) I'm going to get up at 5:00am and do my 30 day shred dvd and then I also want to do my yoga dvd. I feel like I need some stretching. My thighs are so sore from the HIIT intervals this morning.

Calories:
1172 cal, 88 carbs, 32 fat, 156 protein
100 oz of water

Maintenance Day 3

2009-05-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Cutting the carbs today. I gained 1 lb from my last injection weight. Yesterday I ate 124 g carbs, today I am planning 83 g carbs. I'll see if that makes a difference on the scale tomorrow. If not then I will switch the grapes in my afternoon snacks for something with less carbs.

I had a great workout this morning. I jogged for 20 minutes. I have a goal of doing 5 runs at a pace faster than 11:35 minute mile, today was my first run under that time. My average pace was 11:19 minute mile. After my 20 minutes I did HIIT. I only did 3 intervals and I was exhausted and my legs were jelly. I couldn't even jog home after that. When you think about it, it sounds so easy, you sprint for 20-30 seconds and then walk for 45-60 seconds, you repeat 7-8 times. Easy right? Not so much if you are doing it right. When you sprint, you need to give it all you got and sprint as fast as you possibly can. I was pretty proud of myself because during the sprints I was going at a pace of 6:30 minute mile for 20-30 seconds each time. When I think about watching the biggest loser, Jillian had them on the treadmil running at a 10 (which is a 6 minute mile) for 30 seconds, so I'm almost running at the same pace as them for their HIIT intervals. Not too bad. Thursday I will add one more HIIT interval.

Well I have to get to work now.

Maintenance Day 2

2009-05-11T09:43:00.000-07:00

First I will respond to jamasmom comment. Thank you for your comment. For me it's a little different because even though I was doing the HCG, because I was doing it through a clinic the eating program was altered a little. I was already eat more protein than Dr. Simeon's protocol. When I did maintenance before, I added in a little bit of carbs from whole wheat type products a little at a time and watched my weight very close. My main thing is that I can't realistically live on the whole low carb thing long term, so I want to slowly start adding the healthy carbs back in and seeing how they affect my weight. Like I said, I'm not going to go crazy and start eating baked potatoes, french fries, a loaf of sour dough bread, 2 cups of white rice, lots of pasta..... nothing like that. I will be making healthy carb choices, if I want pasta it will be whole wheat pasta made with whole grains, if I want rice it will be brown rice, if I want bread, whole wheat bread made from whole grains, and it will be a smaller portion than I used to eat. I know this is a lifelong change but it also has to be something I can live with, and right now I can't continue eating super low carb.

Ok, so on to my morning..... I was going to get up super early so I would have time to jog, (like 4:45am) but as I woke up I saw it was still dark, so I pushed snooze on the alarm, I slept till 5:30, I really should have gotten my butt out of bed at 5:15 because it was light enough then, but I was tired. So I got up, got dressed and went out to jog. I didn't have a lot of time because I had to be back and showered and somewhat ready for work by 6:30 because I had a meeting I had to call into from 6:30-7:30, then I have to leave at 7:30 to get kids to school. Anyway, I go out and turn on my IPOD and find that all my music has been synced to my itunes, so all my playlists were gone and all the music that I got off my husbands computer and my son's computer were gone. I was not happy. So I had to spend time getting my music together, I ended up only having about 10 minutes to jog. I was not too happy. I got home took a shower and got dressed, called into my meeting that ended up lasting only 6 minutes. If I would have known that it was going to be that quick I could have jogged for 30 minutes and then got home called into the meeting then took my shower and got ready for work. O'well, I guess that's how it goes for a Monday right?

I just got done eating my fage plain 0% greek yogurt with some sliced strawberries and a packet of splenda. Yummy! I love that stuff. It's so thick and creamy and filling. It's a great snack. Lots of protein too.

The plan tomorrow is to get up at 5:15, jog for at least 20 minutes, then do HIIT. I want to do at least 6 intervals tomorrow. I will see how that goes, but my goal will be to work up to 10 intervals. Maybe I will be able to do 10 tomorrow. :)
On Wednesday I think I will do my Jillian Shred, then Thursday I will do HIIT again, then Friday Jillian again, Saturday I will go for a long jog. We'll see how that plan goes this week.

Maintenance Day 1

2009-05-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

I ate a little too much fat yesterday I think. Yesterday I was 177.2 and today I'm 179. I'm ok with that as long as I don't get to 180 again. Tomorrow I start working out. I'm going to jog at least 3 days a week and then do my jillian shred at least 2 days a week. I set a goal to be at 166 by June 19th, which is when we leave for vacation. That's 2 pounds a week, hopefully I can lose more than that, but I'm not gonna kill myself doing it.

So I went and weighed in yesterday and I so wasn't happy with my counselor person. I can't eat that boring diet anymore, I've had enough. That doesn't mean I'm going to go all crazy and eat bad, but I'm going to give meself more options on stuff that I like. She was just lecturing me about still being on the diet and that I need to be reading labels (which I do) That's the thing, I've never had a hard time maintaining my weight once I lose. I know how to eat healthy, it's just a matter of doing it. I did HCG because it was a quick easy way to lose. Even though I get tired of the food, it really is a quick and easy way to lose. Now I will maintain, but I will have days when I eat like a regular person. There is no way I can live a low low carb lifestyle my whole life.

This morning my husband made me pancakes using whole wheat flour so they were pretty healthy, and I had some banana slices and peanutbutter on it. I only had one and I was full. Today I'm eating a little "worse" than I should, but it's mother's day and I wanted my pancake and I really wanted pork ribs, but instead we are having pork loin so they are less fat, and fat free baked beans and corn on the cob.

I've already got my meals planned out for the whole week. I'm ready to keep losing. Tomorrow I'm going to get my butt out of bed at 5:00 and jog for 30-40 minutes. That should burn about 300 calories, maybe a little more. I'm actually excited to do this phase of my diet.

I hope everyone is having a great mother's day!!!!!

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 48

2009-05-07T06:29:00.001-07:00

Today is my last injection day. I took my measurements and everything for the whole program.
This morning I'm down to 178.1. That's 2 pounds from yesterday.
I have lost a total of 37.8lbs and 33 inches during the two rounds on HCG. I went from a size 16/18 to a 10/12/14 depending on the clothes. The 14s are usually a little big but some 12s are still tight.

I'm pretty happy that I'm in my 170s. On Monday I will start jogging every day and then I will do my Jillian Shred dvd at least 3 days a week and see how I do, hopefully that will keep me losing. For my eating, I will continue the low carb, but not as low. I will try to stay away from white starches as much as possible and eat as clean as possible.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 47

2009-05-06T06:28:00.001-07:00

180.3 today. So tomorrow as long as I follow my normal weight loss pattern I should be 179.9 for my last injection. Now that I think about it, I wish I was gonna be further into the 170s than just 179. I don't want to fluctuate into the 180s at all. Today is the last day I ever want to see the 180s, so as soon as I start eating more food, I'm going to work out so hard to make sure I'm further into the 170s so I never have to think about the 180s again. I did just measure myself though and I haven't really been losing any inches - it's been a while since I have lost any inches. That's a little discouraging.
It's funny, as excited as I am to be done with the diet and be able to eat food again, I'm a little scared. I don't want to gain or just stay the same. I want to keep losing. I'm just going to have to work my little butt off so I can make it even littler. :)
Woo hoo, tomorrow is my last injection..... I'm so excited.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 46

2009-05-05T06:30:00.000-07:00

180.7 this morning. I'm down 21lbs this round, and 35lbs for the whole hcg treatment. I have 2 more days of injections, so hopefully I will be 179 on Thursday morning.
I bought some clothes from Aeropostal on Sunday. I'm pretty excited that I can wear pants/capris from a "skinny girl" store. It's been so long since I've been able to buy clothes from any store I want. I bought some 13/14 capris that I can wear comfortably right now and some 11/12s that I can wear, just not so comfortably, but I can actually button them.
Last night the family had spaghetti and I had zucchini with spaghetti sauce. It was yummy. I also had 1 m&m that my father in law said I had to try. They were good, but not anything I couldn't live without.
I guess that's about it for today, I have to get ready for work now.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 45

2009-05-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Only 3 more days of injections. Oh, I can't wait! Ok, I just don't get it. It seems on the weekends I just stay the same or go up a little. It's so weird. Today I was back to 181.2, tomorrow I better be down more. I'm a little worried though because I still have cramps, in fact today I have cramps, a backache and a headache.

I'm already making plans for sushi lunch next week. I know I'm supposed to still go easy on the starchy carbs and sugar for the next 2 weeks, but I know that as long as I do it in moderation and watch it carefully I will be ok. That's what I did last time and it was fine. I already told my husband on Saturday I'm having a banana with peanutbutter. (Well probably only half or a quarter of the banana since it's so high in carbs) It will just be so nice to not be so restricted when we go out to eat or even when we eat at home. That's the main thing I'm looking forward to. I still plan on eating super healthy and clean on a regular basis, but knowing I can have ice cream if I want will be nice.

I guess that's about it for today.......

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 44

2009-05-03T10:28:00.001-07:00

It seems on the weekend my weight either goes up or stays the same as Friday's weight. It's been 182.1 Saturday and today. I think it's partly because of that time of the month. I felt really fat yesterday, my pants didn't fit right either. We went out to dinner and bowling with friends last night and I tried on jeans and some capris and they both left me with a huge muffin top no matter which shirt I wore, so I ended up wearing some cute sweats. We went to dinner at Chuy's Mesquite Grill, they have really good food and healthy options and very reasonably priced. Then we bowled. I still had some awful cramps so I only bowled two games and then gave up. I'm feeling better today though, so hopefully the scale will show me something positive tomorrow.

I'm counting down the days until my last injection and then the days until I can eat like normal. Only 4 more days of injections (not including today) and only 7 more days of eating like this (including today). Yay!!!!! Then I can start working out more and eating more yummy food. I can't wait to have some greek yogurt with sliced strawberries. So yummy!

Well, I guess I got to get moving...... grocery shopping and getting my son some shoes, a little more house cleaning and then hopefully relaxing by the pool with my book.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 42

2009-05-01T09:28:00.000-07:00

181.2 this morning. Yay!!! Not bad - down 2.6 lbs this week, even with my cheats last weekend and it being that time of the month. Oh and let me tell you, I'm miserable today. I have such bad cramps and I just wanted to stay in bed today with a pound of chocolate and a heating pad, but I'm at work instead. Only 1.3 lbs and I will be out of the 180s!! I can't wait.

I don't have a lot to say today so I guess I will keep this short.....

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 41

2009-04-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

181.6 this morning. If I keep losing .4lb a day then I will be just down to 178 on my last injection. I wish I could be less than that, but that's probably realistic. Hopefully after my last injection I can continue to lose 2 lbs a week. That still will take forever to finish, but I'm gonna try it.

So I have retired 3 pairs of pants this week. All my 14's. They are getting way too big. The ones I wore yesterday I didn't even have to unbutton them to take them off. Now I only have 2 pairs of size 12s. I guess I'm gonna have to go try on some clothes and see if I can fit into size 10s yet. The size 12 capris I bought weekend before last are kind of big around the waist. I need to take my clothes to the resale shop and see if they will buy them and then see what they have that I can buy. Maybe I will do that tonight.

Yesterday I wasn't feeling good. My son has been sick for 2 days and I think I may have what he has. Just feeling yucky and feeling like I'm going to throw up. So I didn't eat dinner when I got home. I made the family soup and grilled cheese and before I went to bed I had a protein shake. So far I feel ok this morning, but it's usually after I eat that I start feeling yucky. We'll see how today goes.

Gotto get ready for work now.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 40

2009-04-29T09:42:00.000-07:00

Yay - 182.5 this morning. The scale did say 182.1, but of course I weighed myself more than once and it stuck with 182.5 2 other times, so I'll go with that. That's 1.1lbs since yesterday. I'm pretty happy with that. My pants are still feeling bigger and bigger. The pants I was wearing yesterday I gave to my oldest son, he's doing some modifications to them so he can wear them. Basically making the legs "skinny". He's wanted some cords but hasn't been able to find any he likes.

I'm counting down the days now. Only 8 more days after today for injections and only 10 more of eating like this. Woo hoo!!!!!

Another tired morning. I didn't get up and work out. I know I need to just force my butt to get out of bed because once the injections are done and I'm eating like normal I will need to do it whether I want to or not and it would be better to get into the habit now.

I did an official measurement this morning and have to share. My waist is down from 36 to 29.5 and my ab area on my stomach went from 44 to 36. That's pretty awesome. My hips still need some work but they are down from 46 to 40.5. Things are moving right along and I'm happy with my progress. I posted my weight loss on facebook this morning and put on there that I've lost almost 20lbs in 5 weeks and one of my friends commented that she's only lost 4 lbs in 5 weeks. That just shows how hard it is to lose on your own and how easy it is with hcg. If I can do it anyone can.

Picture

2009-04-28T15:49:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to post a picture of me from my trip home this last weekend. It's of my new hair......

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 39

2009-04-28T13:22:00.000-07:00

I was back down to 183.6 this morning. I didn't get up and jog again. I've been so tired and it's one of two things or both.... either still catching up from the weekend or because it's that time of the month. That's one thing I hate about HcG - it makes me have a period when I normally wouldn't. I just hate that because mine are miserable.

I prefilled all my shots for the rest of my time. I still have enough for at least an extra week in my bottle. As much as I don't want to waste it, I really want to be done now, so I don't think I will use what's left in the bottle. I'm so happy that I only have 9 more days after today of injections and then 2 more days of eating this way and then on to "REAL" food. Woo hoo!!!!!

My pants that I was wearing today, I bought a couple months ago, they are size 14s and they were pretty much falling off. They are the cords that I bought so they have always been perfectly fitting and then a little bit loose and now way too loose. My wedding rings are also super loose. That is annoying. I can't wait till I'm done so I can get them sized and they can be perfect again.

I just had a thought..... does it really matter what my weight is as long as I'm wearing size 8 when I'm done? I mean if I'm 183 and a size 12, then what if I'm 160 and size 8? Size 8 was my goal so if I make it, does the weight really matter? Then my next thought is 'will I be happy in a size 8, or will do I want to be a size 6?' I guess I will figure it out when I get there. Another thought... once I stop the HcG in 9 days, and I start exercising hard again, I'm assuming the weight loss will be different than it has been, I wonder how all that is going to work. hmmmmm so many thoughts today.

I guess that's it.....

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 38

2009-04-27T10:22:00.000-07:00

I will be so happy when I'm done with my injections. I'm sad that I'm not closer to my goal weight, but I will be happy to eat again. I'm getting so bored again with the food. I had a really hard time this weekend. We had roast beef and veggies on Friday night and I had left over roast beef all weekend, but not really any other veggies. On Saturday I drank my protein shake for breakfast and then snacked on roast beef and an apple, then we went to the zoo and I had a hot dog (no bun just the hot dog), not the healthiest protein, but still protein. We walked around the zoo for 3.5 hours. My hips and back were sore when we were done. Then we went to red lobster and I wouldn't say I was bad in the big scheme of things, but I was bad since I'm on HCG. I had a margarita (they didn't have any shirz, it's the only red wine I like), I had 1/2 of a biscuit, I had a couple tastes of salad dressing, I had grilled salmon, crab legs, and steamed broccoli, but then I also had 3 coconut prawns dipped in the sauce. I didn't feel that great afterward either. Not only guilty but my stomach wasn't happy I ate so much.
Breakfast Sunday I had an egg white scramble with veggies and some strawberries, for lunch I had some roast beef and an apple, and then I went to the airport and was "bad" again. I got a roasted turkey panini, it had mayo on it, I tried to just eat the turkey and tomato and tried to get off the mayo, but I had a little just cuz I couldn't get it off, and I also had a couple bites of 1/4 of the bread. On the plane I had a bag of beef jerky. So I ate a lot of protein this weekend and really not too much on the carbs.
The scale this morning was 184 something - I didn't even care since it was over 184 again. :( I also didn't drink enough water this weekend.
So, 12 more days of eating like this and then I can start adding in some dairy and healthy fats.
I'm to the point again where it's super hard to stay on track. Not because I'm hungry, but more because I'm tired of the boring food. I was thinking, what I should have done is only 4 weeks at a time and then took a break. Make sure I didn't gain anything during the break and then when I started again I would have had some big losses again. At this point I will be lucky to get to 179 by the time I'm done. I will still have about 30-35lbs to lose. I will try to lose it on my own, but if I haven't done well by the end of summer then I am going to do another 4 weeks and hopefully make it to my goal.

Well, I need to get to work.....

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 35

2009-04-24T07:39:00.000-07:00

A little bummed today.... the scale went back up to 183.8 this morning. Not sure what's going on with that. I'm going to ask if the jogging could affect that. I was hoping to see a lower number since I have been jogging and I drank a ton of water yesterday. Maybe I'm retaining some of that water for some reason. I was super thirsty yesterday. I drank 127 oz of water all day. I got up and went to the bathroom 3 times last night.

I'm leaving today to go to Oregon for the weekend. I'm going to try really hard to be good all weekend. It will be tough, but I can do it.

Actually now that I think about it, I do feel a little swollen and puffy this morning, my rings are a little tight. So I must be retaining water. Not sure why though.

Last night I was sitting on my son's bed talking to him and I could actually sit with my knees "hugged" up to my chest with my arms around my knees. I don't know how long it's been since I could do that. I feel like I can sit like a skinny girl. It's so exciting. I wonder when I will start seeing myself as a skinny girl? I know I still have a ways to go, but I wonder if my opinion of myself will change or if I will always see myself as the fat girl. I guess I will see as time goes on.

I was going to do yoga this morning, but I didn't. Kind of lazy this morning I guess.

Well, I need to go eat some breakfast and get my son to school and finish getting ready to go home for the weekend. yay!!!! So excited!

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 34

2009-04-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

182.9 this morning. I'm loving that. I got my butt out of bed and went out for my jog this morning. My legs were so totally protesting. My thighs and hips were burning from the get go. But I just slowed my pace and worked through it. I went pretty slow today, but I still jogged 2 miles straight with no walking. It took me 23 minutes - but that's ok.

I'm getting frustrated with clothes! I know, it's a great thing that my clothes don't fit, but it gets annoying. I know I've complained about this before. But seriously, I like my pants to fit a certain way and when they are too big in the crotch area or saggy in the butt area it is annoying!!!! And that's what my pants are doing today. The awesome part though, I just bought these pants in February I think (well, that's not awesome cuz I only got to wear them about 2 months), but they were tight when I bought them. I couldn't even really wear them when I first got them because they were uncomfortable tight, and now they are so loose. So of course that feels great, I just get frustrated because it means one less pair of pants I have to wear.

My husband and I have been planning on getting a tattoo each. It was kind of our wedding gift to each other, but we haven't done it yet. I decided this morning, we are doing it as soon as I'm done with my weight loss - that will be like my ultimate reward for losing. I can't wait.

I guess that's about it for today......

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 33

2009-04-22T06:37:00.000-07:00

I was so tired this morning, I didn't get up in time to jog this morning. I'm a little bummed about that, but right now as long as I do it every other day I will be happy. Once I get done with the hcg and start eating more then I will make sure I work out 5 days a week. I also think I'm ready to start doing yoga once a week and after hcg I want to do it a couple times a week.

Loving the scale today.... 183.4, I'm almost down 20lbs this round. I'm super happy about that. Right now I'm about where I was the first round with weight loss. At day 31 I was at 18.7 lbs down, today is day 33 and I'm down 18.3 lbs. So, if I can get to 175 by the end of my HCG, I wonder how easy it will be for me to lose another 25-30lbs on my own. Maybe I will try my Jillian work out dvd again after the hcg. Maybe since running is so much easier, maybe that dvd will be easier too. Then I will have my strength training done and I'll keep running and that will get my cardio done. Oh and then there is also swimming since it's getting warm now. I can hop in the pool some mornings too.

Last night was data night. We went to burger king for dinner. We had a conversation about how little I eat and my husband doesn't think he could eat so little, then we started talking about what he eats all day and he eats small snacks throughout the day and they satisfy him, but then when it comes to dinner he eats big portions and usually eats two servings. To me, it seems more psychological than anything. I mean if the smaller portions keep him satified throughout the day, then he should be able to eat a smaller portion for dinner and be satisfied. Who knows if he will actually try it though and see if my theory is correct.
We went and watched a movie - we saw "Just not that into you". I've been wanting to see it, but whenever we thought about it I didn't feel like going, so last night it was playing at the cheap theater, on Tuesdays it's only $1.50 a ticket. It was a really good movie. My husband even liked it. I guess we will have to go there more often - $3.00 for us to see a movie on data night is not bad at all.

Well, I've got to get ready for work........

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 32

2009-04-21T06:36:00.000-07:00

What a great morning already. I'm going to say my official weight this morning is 184.3. I actually did see 183.8 on the scale but I tried a couple more times just to be sure and got 184.3 3 times - so I will go with that.

I just got done with my jog this morning. I feel so accomplished. I walked for 2:30 min and then I jogged the whole rest of the time. I jogged 2 miles and 22 minutes straight. Oh my gosh, I can't even express how proud of myself I am. I didn't jog last night because it was like an oven out. I guess the heat has started. it's supposed to be 100 today. So I will be jogging tomorrow morning too, and then I will have to figure out what to do Thursday and Friday cuz my step daughter will be here.

Well, I just wanted to post really quick cuz I'm so proud of my jogging..... got to get ready for work now.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 31

2009-04-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

So today I was back up to 185.1 - not totally sure why. The two things I can think of is possibly the running because my legs, hips, abs and back muscles are a little sore, so maybe my muscles are retaining water. The other thing I can think of is for dinner last night I bought a rotisserie chicken and I ate a little of the skin on it. Not sure though. I guess I will see what the scale says tomorrow.

I will hopefully go jogging when I get home tonight. I didn't go this morning because this is our Monday to have my step-daughter, so I didn't feel comfortable leaving while she was sleeping when my husband wasn't home. Especially since she got sick before she went to bed last night.

I guess I don't have a whole lot to say today.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 30

2009-04-19T08:12:00.001-07:00

Yay - 30 days done already. So here are my stats for 30 days and overall:

Today: 184.3
30 day losses
Pounds lost: 17.4 pounds
Inches lost: 12.5 inches
Overall HCG losses:
Pounds lost: 31.6 pounds
Inches lost: 27.5 inches

Not too darn bad!!!!

I got my hair done yesterday. I will take some pictures later and post one. It's not exactly what I wanted, I guess I misunderstood what my stylist was asking when he asked if I wanted to keep my bangs the same, I thought he meant in the picture I showed him but I guess he meant the same as I usually do, so they are shorter than I wanted them for the style I was going for, but it still looks cute. It feels so different. I probably got about 4 inches cut off the length.

Last night we went to our friends house to watch the UFC fight. She made meatballs and pasta salad and had a veggie tray, chips and guacamole. Obviously all I could eat out of that was the veggie tray..... I put a roast in the crockpot with some taco seasoning and water, once it was cooked we shredded the beef and then took stuff for tacos. I made a salad out of it. It was yummy and the tacos were a hit with everyone else. Later she made chocolate fondue and had strawberries, bananas, and pound cake to dip. It looked so yummy, but I just had a couple strawberries. There was beer, water or pop to drink - I drank water. So, we went to a party and I stayed totally on plan. It was great. I am glad though that for the next UFC party I will be done with my injections and will be able to eat regular food. We are hosting it next and I'm thinking of doing Asian salad rolls, kabobs, maybe a seven layer dip - so for the most part it will still be pretty healthy - but I will be able to have the yummy dessert.

Today I went out for my jog. I'm so proud of myself. I walked for the first song (3 min 30 sec) and then I jogged the rest of the time, which was a little over 17 minutes straight. I walked for about 30 seconds in the middle just because I was trying to switch to a different song on my ipod. It really is amazing how much easier running is once you've lost some weight. Last year at this time when I was losing on my own for the wedding, I was slowly increasing my jogging time and the longest I was able to jog at one time was about 6 minutes. I went 1.7 miles. I know that doesn't seem like much, but for me it's a huge acomplishment.
So I think my next jogging workout will be a HIIT session. I will warm up and then all out sprint for 30 seconds and then jog for 60 seconds, I will do that at least 8 times, and then cool down. It doesn't sound like a huge work out, but it is a great one that keeps your body burning all day long. When I did it last year the fat melted away.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 29

2009-04-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

184.7 this morning. Couldn't be happier about that. (Well I guess it would be even better if it was magically 175 or something) I got my nike+ thing yesterday so I went out and tested it out this morning. Can I just tell you, having 30lbs gone really makes a difference when trying to run. I started off walking, my plan was to walk one song, run one song, and continue switching that way for about 20 min. When I was done running the first song, I could have run longer, I walked the next one, then ran the next one, then realized my ipod wasn't playing them in the order I had them set (I wasn't too happy about that) so I walked a little bit of the next song and then ran the rest of it and then walked to cool down. When I was running it was a pace of about a10:45 mile, and when I walked it was about 16:30-17 min mile. Not too bad. I went almost two miles. I think tomorrow when I do it I'm going to pause my workout when I'm walking and only track the jogging part so I can see exactly how far I run and how long I run. I'm also going to jog 2 songs at a time and see how that goes.
Now it's time for me to get up, eat some breakfast, take a shower and get ready for my weigh in at medshape then off to get my new hair style. I will post a picture of my cute new hair.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 28

2009-04-17T09:48:00.000-07:00

I'm steadily losing .4-.6 of a pound a day. I'm super happy with that. This morning 185.1.
Ok so last night I was taking a shower and washing my torso area and I felt something hard on the right side, I started feeling and freaking out thinking it was a huge lump, then I felt on the other side and same thing. So I thought "ok, maybe it's bone that I haven't felt in a long time because it's been covered by fat?" After I got out of the shower I went and felt the same area on my son and sure enough he had the same thing. Apparently it's the top of my hip bone and it's been covered with fat for so long I didn't even know there was bone there.
After posting my picture yesterday, Shannon left a comment about the difference between my before pic and now so I did a comparison and the changes are huge. It's so exciting. It makes me feel so good to see that. I mean I see little changes in the mirror but since I see myself every day it's hard to see the changes, but seeing the two pictures side by side - it was really amazing. Almost embarrassing I was ever that big. But never again!!!!!!

Tomorrow night we are going to a friends house to watch the UFC, I'm going to put a roast in the crockpot with some taco seasoning and then take stuff for tacos for everyone else and I will have a taco salad. It was the only thing I could think of that would work for everyone.

Oh I forgot...... I'm getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow. I'm going for a new sassy cut, I think it's time - I just turned 34 and I'm losing weight, so it's time for a new hair style too.

I guess that's it for today......

Cycle 2 Day 27

2009-04-16T10:17:00.000-07:00

185.6 this morning. I love seeing lower numbers on the scale, it's so exciting!!!! Today I'm wearing my size 12 pants and let me tell you - they feel great. Not too tight like there were when I bought them, not too loose like a lot of my 14s, they just fit perfect and feel great. I couldn't stop looking at myself in the full-length mirror this morning. I'm even going to attach a picture. I still think it's so weird that I'm in the 180s and wearing medium shirts and 12/14s. When I weighed this much over 6 years ago I was 14/16 and I think extra large in shirts. So either I'm losing weight differently or the sizes have changed over the years. That's something I'm going to ask when I go in on Saturday.
I didn't drink much water yesterday or the day before, so I'm gonna try to up that today and see if I have an even bigger loss tomorrow - even though I am happy about the losses I have been having this week. About 1/2 lb a day is nothing to complain about.

Here are two pictures, one is a little blurry but it shows my full body in my cute size 12s.

Cycle 2 Day 26

2009-04-15T06:01:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo 186.2 today. I guess my birthday didn't really stall me. Yay. Yesterday I was so busy at work, I didn't eat like I should and I didn't drink much water. I need to make today better and drink a lot more water. I'm down 15.5 lbs in 3 weeks. That's so exciting.
I'm going home to visit my family next weekend. I'm hoping to be around 180 or even in the 170's before I go. That would be so great. I've almost lost 20lbs since the wedding and since everyone has seen me, and almost 60 since I moved here. That's amazing when I think about it. It's taken a long time, (almost 3 years) but I'm getting there. I'm sure it will be a tough weekend for me to stay on track, but I'm going to try hard.
I ordered some new shorts from lands end - size 12. I hope they fit. I also tried on some of my old clothes last night - mostly old navy stuff. Most of the 14s fit, they are just a little tight, but they can zip and everything. After putting them on though, I don't know if I like any of them anymore. They are from probably 7-8 years ago, and styles have changed so much since then. So, I may just get rid of them.
Well, I'm hungry, time to go eat breakfast and get my food ready for work today.

Cycle 2 Day 24

2009-04-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's already day 24. This round is going so fast, it's kind of amazing. I'm half way done - well, time wise. This morning I weighed in at 187.5. Not quite as far down as I would like to be, but not bad considering how I ate this weekend. We went out of town for the weekend. I was pretty good until yesterday. It was my birthday and somehow I convinced myself it was ok to eat a little crappy food. I wasn't super bad though. I had half of a flour tortilla at lunch, I had a whole one at dinner, I have a little sour cream, some bites of black beans, and then probably about half of a piece of Kahlua ice cream pie - oh it was so yummy. I also had a little bite of this or that, that everyone else was eating. But I drank a lot of tea and water and feel good about the rest of my food for the weekend. Today I'm trying to cut my fat as much as possible. I'm drinking protein shakes for my meals and snacks during the day, along with an orange and some veggies and then for dinner I will have steak and lots of tea and water. Hopefully that will kind of counteract my food yesterday and get my body back in weight loss mode. We'll see. The good news is I don't have anymore special events coming between now and the end of this round, so I will eat perfect the rest of the time.

My husband and I talked and instead of buying more HCG I will go on their maintainence plan and then try to exercise more and see if I can lose the rest on my own. If it feels like it's taking too long, then I can always change my mind and do one more round.

I'm almost down 15lbs since I started this round and almost 30 since I started doing HCG and that's with over a month off and gaining 8 lbs back during that month off. That's pretty good. Last year when I was losing for the wedding it took me 6 months to lose 20lbs and that working my ass off. I'm really happy about my results so far.

I've decided I'm going to start running again. While I'm on HCG I will just do about 20 minutes a day, but I will step it up when I'm done and in maintainence. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time - I've had the goal for about 2 years now to be able to just go out and jog my whole workout and enjoy it. My husband got me a new IPOD for my birthday so I ordered the Nike+ sensor and receiver so I can track my runs easier. I'm pretty excited about it.

I guess that's about it for today.

Cycle 2 Day 20

2009-04-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

This morning one scale said 186.9 - it wasn't accurate, not sure what happened with the scale, but I was excited for a moment. I hopped on the other scale just to see and no - it was 188.2, so I tried the other one a little while later and it was 188.7 - so I don't know how it came up with the first number.

I must say though, this time I have been so much more hungry than last round. Mostly at night after dinner. I go weigh in tonight, so I will ask about that and see if they have any suggestions. I haven't been doing that great on water this week though, so that also might have something to do with it. So I need to get on track with that. It's not that I don't drink any water, I drink at least 64+, but not 100+ like I should.

I was happy with what I saw in the mirror after I got dressed this morning. I didn't have the whole muffin top going on. That made me super happy.

I guess that's it for today.

Cycle 2 Day 19

2009-04-08T12:52:00.000-07:00

Last night I ate regular food at dinner. I didn't eat a lot, but at a Chinese restaurant it is hard, or at least I told myself that. We ordered family style so I had a little of everything. I wasn't stuffed or anything so that's good. After dinner we took the boys for ice cream, I had a taste of each of theirs, but I didn't have any of my own. This morning the scale wasn't too bad 188.7 - so up a little. I also noticed though that I was a little puffy this morning, so maybe the salty food had something to do with that.

We are going away for the weekend, so we will see how well I do this weekend. I'm not going to stress about it, but I'm going to be as good as I possibly can when we are eating out for almost every meal.

I also didn't do that great on water yesterday. For some reason after the weekend, I'm really slacking on water. I also haven't gotten any cardio in ever since my dr appointment for my toe. I'm really slacking on things. I need to get my butt in gear and get to losing the weight. Maybe we will go hiking or something this weekend.

bored

2009-04-07T16:22:00.000-07:00

I'm bored, so I guess I will post one more time today. I feel like "hungry hungry hippo" today. I'm so hungry. Last night was the same way. I ended up having 1 extra fruit last night, some unsweetened apple sauce. Today I have eaten my normal stuff that I eat at work and I'm still starving. I really hope I do ok at dinner tonight.

One thing I notice I have been doing differently this time around is taking bites of stuff I shouldn't have. They are tiny bites, but still. On Sunday Hope and I made cookies, I ate half of a tiny one and then spit it out because it wasn't as good as I thought it would be so it wasn't worth it. But I've also had a little bit of rice a roni (like 1 grain of rice), a little bite of pasta roni, just a little bite of things here and there. Not sure how that affects things - but it doesn't look like it's too bad.

Well, I've wasted enough time - now I can leave work. :)

Cycle 2 Day 18

2009-04-07T11:22:00.000-07:00

I've been slacking on my posting again. I've been doing good though. I was 188.2 today, that's down 13.5 since I started. I'm actually wearing a pair of size 12 pants today. They were a little tight on my thighs when I first put them on, but they are just fine now. I've also noticed all my button up shirts seem too big. I took out the measuring tape this morning and I don't see any difference in inches yet though - kind of weird.

I'm getting bored of the food again. I'm so tired of grilled chicken and steak and fish. I want spaghetti and tacos and...... I think you get the picture. I did go to lunch on Saturday with friends. I was good, I had lettuce wraps with no sauce. They were pretty good. Today is my son's 16th birthday and he wants to go to Chinese food for dinner. Not sure what I will eat there. I guess I will see if they can just do some chicken and steamed veggies or something.

I guess that's it for today......

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 12

2009-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

190.8 today. Woo hoo. I'm now down 10.9lbs since I started. That really isn't bad for only a week and a half of low calorie eating. One thing I notice this round (this may be TMI) is that when I have a BM it feels like my stomach is so much lighter as soon as it comes out. Last time I didn't really notice that.
My toe is feeling better today. It's still bleeding a little but it doesn't hurt. I think it should be fine to do some sort of work out tomorrow.
I forgot my protein shake today, so I won't have any protein for my morning snack, just apples.
I don't have much to say this morning......

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: Perfect on plan
Workout: none - doctor said
Green tea: 1 cup
100-120 oz water: 115 oz

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 11

2009-04-02T18:54:00.000-07:00

192.2 this morning, so it looks like I'm going down again, just slower now. I didn't work out this morning, another lazy morning. Then I went to the doctor and had them "fix" my ingrown toenail, so now I have a doctors excuse for not working out for a day or two. Other than that I'm totally on plan though.

We had trout again tonight. It's a little high in calories though, so I might not have it again for a while. But it is really really yummy. Gary grilled it and it reminded me of when my dad used to fry it for me for breakfast when we were camping. He'd catch it fresh and then fry it up with some pancakes on the side. So good!

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: Perfect on plan
Workout: none - lazy
Green tea: no tea :(
100-120 oz water: 100 oz

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 10

2009-04-01T12:35:00.000-07:00

This morning I was back down a little 192.7. So, I've either hit a stall like I did the during the first round and by Saturday I will lose a couple pounds or it's because this is the 4th week on my birth control, and if would be the week I would have my period and my body knows that so it's holding on to the weight. I guess I'll just continue what I'm doing and wait and see.

This morning I was lazy and didn't get up and work out. I will try to get a walk in tonight though.
Yesterday I only had 4 g of fat. My skin is getting dry though. I'm gonna use some lotion tonight.

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: Perfect on plan
Workout: complete (20 min turbo jam)
Green tea: complete (1 cup)
100-120 oz water: 115 oz

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 9

2009-03-31T07:16:00.001-07:00

:( this morning I was 193.3 - I'm guessing maybe the extra food on Saturday is catching up with me, or that time of the month is going to be a pain in the ass this week. I did have a nice BM this morning and my stomach felt a lot lighter and not so bloated. I also think that I need to not weigh myself until Saturday so I don't get discouraged this week if the scale doesn't do what I expect.

I got up and did my work out this morning. I really wasn't that in to it though. I did burn 177 calories though in 20 minutes, so that's not too bad. I've already drank 32 oz of water. I love that - getting 1/3 of my water in before 7:00am.

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: Perfect on plan
Workout: complete (24 min walk)
Green tea: complete (1 cup)
100-120 oz water: 95 oz

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 8

2009-03-30T12:45:00.000-07:00

This morning I was at 192.2, I guess the extra food I ate on Saturday caught up with me. I've been feeling so bloated and gassy the last 2 weeks. I thought that it was just the crappy food we had been eating on vacation because I felt that way all that week, but now since I've been on this for a week I'm still feeling that way. I really hope it goes away soon. This week is also that time of the month, so that could be part of why the bloated feeling is sticking around.

Yesterday we went to the movies. I cut up some steak and some apples and put that and some cherry tomatoes in a bag and took that with me to munch on during the movie. That worked out great.
I didn't work out yesterday, I decided to take Sunday's off. This morning I also didn't work out, I couldn't get my butt out of bed this morning. So Gary and I are going to walk tonight. I told him not to let me out of it.

I hope the scale is better tomorrow.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 7

2009-03-29T08:02:00.000-07:00

191.7 lbs today. That's 10 pounds since Monday. Woo Hoo!!!!! I can't wait to see what I'm at tomorrow for my official weigh in for the week.

Yesterday I ate alot. I didn't eat anything bad, just a lot because I stayed up later than normal and I think the extra calories I have been burning are making me more hungry too. I had 2 extra protein shakes. So nothing as bad as I wanted. We went bowling last night with some of my friends from work. Gary and I ate dinner before we went. We had steak and veggies. (Yummy, by the way) Everyone else ate at the bowling alley - pizza, onion rings, burgers...... looked so good, but I didn't have any of that. I did have a vodka and diet though. Which isn't bad, but I didn't have to have it. I drank lots of water yesterday - 132 oz. :)

Today I'm pretty sore, not sure if it was the jogging yesterday, the bowling last night, or falling out of the hammock yesterday.

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: on plan – except two extra protein drinks
Workout: complete
Green tea: complete
100-120 oz water: 132 oz

I guess that's it for today.....

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 6

2009-03-28T08:43:00.001-07:00

Woo hoo, 192.2 this morning. I'm back to where I was before we went on our honeymoon!!!! Now it's all downhill from here, into new numbers. I had my weigh in at the clinic yesterday and she said I still have 6 weeks of HCG left, so maybe I won't have to buy any extra. Hopefully I will get to goal or at least close to goal in 6 weeks.

I just got back from taking Katy for a walk. I decided not to do my turbo jam video since my Gary is home. I would have had to kick him out of the bedroom while I did it, so I walked instead. We were only gone for 20 minutes, but that's good. There is a park by our house, so we walked to the park and then I jogged around it, I only had to walk maybe ¼ of it, which isn't bad since I haven't jogged in almost a year. Jogging/running has never been something I have been strong in. Even in jr high and high school, if I could get away with walking around the track I would do it. Last year when I was trying to lose for the wedding I decided that I really wanted to enjoy running. I was working up to being able to jog for at least 30 minutes straight. I never quite made it, but I could do 7 minutes and then walk for 1 and then jog for 7 again. I was doing pretty well. So I decided that when I exercise outside my first goal will be to jog around the park without walking. Once I can do that then I will set a new goal and eventually get to my 30 minutes straight.

Yesterday I was more hungry than normal. It was either because I was home or because of the exercising the last 2 mornings, since I'm burning more calories than my body is used to on this diet. I went ahead and had a protein shake in the evening and that helped. So I had a little more protein and calories than I should have, but it was a medshape shake instead of junk.

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: on plan – except one extra protein drink
Workout: complete
Green tea: complete
100-120 oz water: 118 oz

Calories for yesterday:
763 Calories
36 Carbs
16 Fat
120 Protein
118 oz Water

Well I guess that's it for today……

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 5

2009-03-27T08:48:00.001-07:00

Weigh in: 194.8 – that's 6.9 pounds down since Monday. Pretty darn good.

Goals from yesterday:
Eating: Perfect on plan
Workout: complete
Green tea: complete
100-120 oz water: 125 oz

Calories from yesterday:
705 calories
53 carbs
13 fat
101 protein

I got up and worked out this morning. 20 minute turbo jam and I drank 32 oz of water with it. I did something different for breakfast this morning because I'm working from home. I had 4 egg whites scrambled with some mushrooms and green onions, and some strawberries with a little milk and splenda. I'm going to have a cup of tea pretty soon. I have a dentist appointment today and my weigh in at medshape. Tomorrow we are going bowling with some friends from my work; I will have to eat dinner before we go so I won't be tempted to eat all the junk food at the bowling alley. No beer either – o'well, short term sacrifices for long term gains – right?

Well, that's all I got for now…..

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 4

2009-03-26T10:52:00.001-07:00

I was at 195.7 this morning. This is actually where I was at before I took my shower yesterday morning, so I didn't lose anything. But still 6 lbs since Monday is pretty darn good and I'm not going to complain!

It's funny, on the mornings I make the commitment to exercise; I wake up later and have a harder time getting out of bed. All week I have been waking up between 4:30-5:00am, this morning I had to force myself to get up at 5:30, and then I stalled and found other things to do, but I finally got myself motivated and did my 20 minute turbo jam video. But since I stalled I didn't have time to get on my computer this morning, as a matter a fact I almost had Beu to school late. We just barely made it. No stalling tomorrow. I had already drunk 32 oz of water before 6:30 this morning too. I love getting my day started like that. J I think on Saturday morning I will do the longer turbo jam video for more of a workout.

For my goals that I set yesterday:
Eating: On plan all day
Workout: complete
Green tea: complete
100-120 oz water: 125 oz

This morning I haven't been super hungry like I had been the past mornings. That's a great thing. Well, that's about it for now. I will update more later.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 3 update

2009-03-25T19:25:00.001-07:00

So today was a good day. I noticed this morning I am feeling great, so it's the HCG, the weight loss, or the healthy eating – or maybe all three. I was just eating dinner – steak and grilled veggies. I have to say I really do love eating healthy. I'm not saying I don't like the junk, but I do like healthy eating too. I had 2 big cups of green tea today and I'm drinking my last 32 oz of water, so I should have just over 100 oz of water today. I'm going to work really hard to always drink 100-120 oz of water a day and at least one cup of that will be green tea. Tomorrow I'm going to get my work out in as soon as I wake up. Those are my main goals for this round of HCG. Last round the only thing I cared about was making sure I didn't cheat on the eating plan. I was successful with that, so now I need to add in the other two goals and see if that increases my weight loss. I have 4 more weeks of HCG paid for, so it would be great if I could lose the rest of the weight in the next 4 weeks , not sure though since I only lost 25lbs in the first 7 weeks. I still have about 45 lbs to lose – so we will see how quickly I can do it.

I usually get on my computer in the morning and check my email, myspace, facebook, etc….. but tomorrow I will not allow myself to get on the computer until after I have done my work out. No excuses!!!

My calorie stats for today are:
679 Calories
47g Carbs
13 g Fat
100 g Protein
100 oz of water

Till tomorrow……

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 2 update

2009-03-25T05:24:00.001-07:00

Tuesday (day 2):

This morning hasn't been too tough. Not like yesterday. I'm forcing myself to hold out for lunch until 12:00. I ate breakfast around 6:30 and then had my snack at 9:30, so I should be able to make it till 12:00 if I stop thinking about it. Today I had my "protein coffee" and strawberries, then apple slices and some chicken, next will be apple slices, chicken, cucumber, celery and grape tomatoes, and my afternoon snack will be the same and dinner will be trout (not sure how I'm gonna cook it yet though) and some veggies. I can't wait for the trout, I haven't had that kind of fish in sooooo long.

I drank 32 oz of water this morning before I left for work, I went to the bathroom before I left too and by the time I got to work I was dying. It hurt so badly because I had to hold it so long. I'm sure that didn't help the UTI. I've had some tea this morning so I think that helped me not feel hungry too.

Dinner was yummy. I baked the trout with salt and pepper and then I put some lemon juice on top when it was done. I also had some steamed broccoli and 1 strawberry because I wanted something sweet. I still feel kind of hungry, I may have to have some tea tonight.

My calorie stats for today are:
610 calories
43 g carbs
10 g fat
92 g protein
119 oz water

Wednesday morning (day 3):

My morning weigh in was 196.6lbs – 5.1 pounds in 2 days. Woo Hoo. Have I said how much I love HCG? I just wish that I was starting at my LIW instead of 10 lbs heavier. I would be 187 today instead. But I can't think about it like that. Today's food plan is pretty much the same as yesterday, but probably steak for dinner instead of fish.

I was hungry last night. I had a cup of tea and was still hungry, so I just went to bed. So I was good. On my way home from work I had cravings for peanut butter banana pancakes, but I was good and just had my fish and broccoli.

Well, that's about all I have this morning….. till later.

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 1 update

2009-03-24T05:40:00.001-07:00

Monday continued (day 1):

Ok, today has been tough. I even cheated a little. I did go back and read my blog from the first couple days of the first cycle and day 1 was tough then too. I'm hoping tomorrow gets easier. I've been hungry, I have a headache, I feel weak. I had coffee with protein powder in it and some strawberries with 1 tblsp of milk for breakfast, I had some apple slices and a protein shake for a snack, lunch was supposed to be 2 oz of shrimp, cucumber, grape tomatoes and apple slices, but I also went to the cafeteria and got a salad – not a bad choice except I had a little dressing on it and some sunflower seeds. Other than that I was good though. For my afternoon snack I have more grape tomatoes, cucumber and some grilled chicken, oh and the rest of my apple slices. The other tough thing is that they have stopped buying the big bottles of water for us at work, so that means no tea because there is no way to get hot water and I have to bring water with me to work. It's going to be a real pain in the butt trying to get my water in each day.

It really is amazing how much just 10 lbs can make a difference in how I feel. That's about what I gained last week on our honeymoon and I can see it around my waist. I can't wait for it to come back off. Since I'm still on Eastern time, I'm going to try to use that to my advantage and keep in the habit of getting up around 5am and getting in some cardio. Before we left on vacation I was sleeping as long as I possibly could, but all last week I was waking up around 3:30 or 4:00am our time (which was 6:30 or 7:00am Eastern time), so I want to try to stick somewhat to that now that we are home again. I did force myself to sleep till 5am today but then I didn't get up and exercise, instead I tried to get caught up on email and stuff. But tomorrow I'm going to get my lazy butt out of bed and get a work out in, and I'm going to try super hard to stay in the habit. I'm hoping that if I keep consistent with that I will see better weight loss this time around. (Not to say 25lbs in 45 days wasn't good.)

The afternoon hasn't been bad. So it looks like it's the same as last time, I had a hard time in the morning at first, but by afternoon I was ok. So I will have to see if I can eat a little more in the morning until I'm back in the groove of things.

Tuesday Morning (day 2):

Today I weighed in at 199.6. Woo hoo!!! 2.1 lbs down since yesterday. That's what I like to see. OK, so this is the last time I am going to say this for the rest of my life. I will never see 200 pounds again! Yesterday was the last time.

Last night I was a little hungry after dinner. I would have loved to have some strawberries for dessert, but I was good and didn't eat anything after dinner. I had a piece of gum instead. Today there will be no "cheating". My husband grilled some extra chicken last night so I have plenty of food for lunch and snacks today.

I got up early this morning, but didn't work out. I came home from vacation with a urinary tract infection and I've been having a lot of pain around my kidneys, so I don't want to overdo it yet.

I hope today is easier than yesterday. Till later……

VLCD Cycle 2 Day 1

2009-03-23T05:43:00.000-07:00

So today is the first day of VLCD. I'm a little nervous to be honest. I'm worried that I'm not in the same mind set I was when I first started in December. And then I think about the fact that by May I will be to my goal weight. It still seems unreal to me, but I'm sure it will sink in as I start dropping sizes again.

So today is a protein coffee and some strawberries for breakfast, more apple slices and probably a protein shake for morning snack, more apple slices and some salad for lunch, more apple slices and some sort of protein for afternoon snack and grilled chicken or steak and veggies for dinner. Lots of water. Sounds so yummy......

201.7 lbs this morning. I can't wait to get back under 200. Kind of sad that I said I would never see that number on the scale again once I got under it and I did. It's also a little scary for when I'm totally done. What if I don't maintain. I did pretty good for a couple weeks, but then last week just went crazy. I know part of it was because I told myself that I could eat whatever because I would just lose again once I started HCG again. And I know that when I'm done, I will be done, there will be no more cycles to lose the weight again, so I will have to be more careful next time. I will also be exercising when I'm totally done. So I should be ok.

I will update after my day 1 is over......

I also wanted to post a recent picture....

Back in the saddle again....

2009-03-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

I am back from my honeymoon and ready to get going again. Last week I ate like there was no tomorrow. Well, not really. I ate a lot of junk, but I could barely eat half of what I ordered and I was stuffed. It was rather disappointing since we were eating out most of the time, I would order something really yummy and then I could only eat 1/4-1/2 of the meal and then I would be stuffed and if I ate any more I would be stuffed beyond being miserable. I weighed myself when I got home last night, but that was at night, so I'm waiting for my husband to wake up so I can weigh myself this morning. Last night I was back up to 202 - I'm hoping to be under 200 this morning though. *nope, i just weighed myself, 200.5 - that's my official starting weight.

I started my shots yesterday, so yesterday and today is my loading days. We will be grocery shopping today and trying to remember how to eat right. Tomorrow will be day 1 VLCD. I can't wait to see where I am next Saturday. It will actually be nice to get back to eating healthy again. All week as soon as I ate I was so tired. I'm sure that had a lot to do the food we were eating.

Monday 3/2/09

2009-03-02T17:48:00.000-08:00

I've been slacking again on my posts. I've been sick the last couple days. I have a cold and feeling pretty miserable. I went in for my appointment at Medshape on Friday and I was 192.8, which is what I was 3 weeks before that after I stopped my injections and the last time I weighed in the clinic. So I was pretty happy about that. On my scale the last couple days I have been fluctuating between 189-191. I'm pretty happy about that but because I have been sick I haven't been really watching what I'm eating and I'm drinking a ton of carbs because of all the juice I'm drinking for the vitamin c and probably having a ton of sugar from the cough drops and cough medicine I have been taking. I hate being sick, I'm such a baby.
Only 1 week and a half until we leave for our honeymoon and then I will be back to injections around the 21st or 22nd. I have decided if I want to start them on our last 2 days of the honeymoon and use those as my loading days or if I want to wait until we get home and do loading days on Sunday and Monday. I'm leaning towards starting the injections on Saturday, then have Saturday and Sunday as my loading days, that way I will have Sunday to go grocery shopping for VLCD food and start that on Monday.
I guess that's all that's going on in my maintenance world....I will try to do better at posting daily again once I start the injections again.

Wednesday 2/25/09

2009-02-25T09:20:00.001-08:00

I weighed in at 190.4 today. Last night I stayed within carbs and calories and fat and I even had 3 candy cane hershey's kisses. I got the disapproving look from my husband on the hershey's kisses, but I figure if I'm good on my calories, carbs, and fat - then it's ok right? I'm still lighter than I was yesterday, so that's good.
It's so weird that without HCG I'm ok with eating less than 1200 calories. Some days I eat more, but for the most part I'm right between 1150-1200 on normal days and I'm not hungry. I can remember last year at this time and I was dieting, I had the hardest time eating 1200 calories a day, I was always so hungry. It was really tough to get my calories down that low, and now I have the hardest time getting my calories above that.

Tuesday 02/24/09

2009-02-24T11:55:00.001-08:00

I was back to 191.3 today, so it looks like I can successfully maintain as long as I don't go too crazy on the carbs and sugar.
Today I am eating:
breakfast - coffee with 2 svg's of flavored protein powder
snack - 4 oz plain 0% greek yogurt with sliced strawberries and a little splenda
lunch - leftover green chicken casserole, apple slices and snap peas (the green chicken casserole is low fat, low calorie and somewhat low carb)
snack - 12 almonds and 1 babybel light cheese
dinner - grilled chicken and grilled veggies

I haven't put that in my calorie counter yet, so it may be light on the calories, if it is I will add something for "dessert" after dinner or I will eat extra dinner.

I really wanted to get up this morning and do turbo jam, but I'm so lazy in the morning. A year ago I was getting up around 5am and working out every morning, I know I can do it, I just need to force myself to get into the habit again.

Monday 2/23/09

2009-02-23T17:45:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted the last couple days. Thursday I took my kids to a concert 350 miles away. I didn't really eat much. We had lunch on the road but I was good, I had a burger with no bun and about 1/4 svg of fries. Then we couldn't really find anything to eat for dinner around the concert venue, when we did find something the 4 of us shared it. I had one mini burger with no bun, and 2 pieces of french bread (I know what was the point of no bun on the burger huh?)
Then on the drive home I had an energy drink, and a ton of sunflower seeds. I only got about 1 hour of sleep before I had to get my butt to work. I was actually down to 189.0 on Friday and Saturday morning. I was pretty happy about that. I was supposed to go to my weigh in appointment at the clinic but someone was supposed to come and replace my windshield and they never showed up, so I sat at home waiting and wasted my day. I was "bad" on Saturday, we ordered pizza. I only ate the thin crust, but throughout the day I had 4 pieces. On Sunday we went to the Renaissance Festival, I ate lots of junk. Well not really lots, but a lot more than I usually eat. I had a turkey leg, then I had half of a crepe with strawberries and whipped cream, 2 chocolate covered strawberries, some cinnamon roasted almonds, an italian icee and some lemonade. So I didn't eat a ton, but it was more than usual and junk. I told my husband between now and the honeymoon (which is 3 weeks away), I have got to be good. Back to eating mostly like the HCG phase but bigger portions. I'll probably eat cheese and greek yogurt and almonds, but I need to eat clean instead of this junk I have been.
It's tough though, it's like once you start eating like crap again, it's so easy to continue and it's hard to get out of that rut again. But I've got to, I don't want to gain anything back. This morning I was 193.0, I'm scared to see what I will be tomorrow because I'm assuming it will take a day or two to catch up with me.
My husband went grocery shopping today though and got all of our healthy food for the week, so we are ready to be good.

Wednesday 2/18/09

2009-02-18T11:53:00.000-08:00

Last night I ended up having taco bell. It was date night last night and my husband and I went to look at and buy a truck, so we just ate on the way. I still was pretty low on calories, carbs and fat - so that is good. (1010 cal; 74 carbs; 26 fat; 127 protein) This morning the scale was back to 191.9 - so I'm happy about that.
I ate half of a almond butter and jelly sandwich today. It was good. It was on whole wheat bread. A little high on the carbs and fat, but as long as I stick to my plan for dinner I should be good.

Tuesday 2/17/09

2009-02-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

I was 193.4 this morning. So up from yesterday, I guess the food I ate this weekend finally showed up. Today I'm cutting back on my carbs and calories and being super good. Right now with what I have planned for the day I'm at 671 cal, 44 carbs, 12 fat, and 103 protein. That's without dinner, so now I need to figure something good for dinner. Maybe just some grilled chicken and veggies, that should keep my counts good for today. I have a weigh in appt at the clinic on Saturday, so I want to make sure I'm back at the 192.8 (or less) that I was the last time I weighed there.

Last night I wasn't super hungry, I could have probably gotten away with not eating dinner, but my husband grilled some steak, it was so good that I ended up eating the whole huge thing. But it was good.

Rant about clothes sizes

2009-02-16T10:54:00.001-08:00

I'm really tired of different brands and even pants in the same brands not fitting the same. I only had 2 pairs of pants to wear to work and 1 pair of jeans for the weekends, so on Friday I went to JC Penny and tried on some A.N.A. pants and jeans in 14 and none of them fit. (This is the same brand that I bought 2 pairs of pants recently in 14s and now they are really loose on me.) I tried on some other brands and I ended up buying 1 pair of 14s and 1 pair of 12s. The 12s are snug and I will wait a while to wear them, but I can zip them and move around just fine.
Over the weekend we went to a couple stores to see if I could find some jeans. I tried on some levis size 14s and there is no way they would even come close to fitting. I refuse to buy anymore 16s since I can fit in some 14s and even some 12s. So I broke down and went to the Lane Bryant outlet and bought 2 pairs of size 14 jeans. At the outlet, they still do the regular sizing instead of the right size or whatever it is. The jeans I got are low rise and feel really good on. I'm happy with them.
It just gets really frustrating that you can't pick up any 14 and put it on and know it will fit.

Lunch today, I feel like I was pretty good. I did go have sushi, usually I order a combo that has 2 entree options and then salad, miso soup, rice, and 4 california roll slices. I ordered the tempura and teriyaki beef for my 2 entrees. I ate the salad and the soup, I ate the 4 california roll pieces, the beef and 2 pieces of the tempura. I have 5 huge pieces left for my afternoon snack. I didn't touch the rice. Usually when I go there I eat the whole thing and could probably eat more, but honestly I was feeling just fine after the salad and soup and probably didn't NEED to eat any of the rest. I'm proud of myself. I feel like I'm doing pretty good with my choices and my self control. With all the choices I had during the weekend, I did really really good too. I finally feel like I'm in control when it comes to food. Now hopefully I can continue that.

Monday Morning

2009-02-16T07:21:00.001-08:00

After I calculated my calories for yesterday I decided not to eat dinner. Between breakfast and lunch I ate soooo much fat and carbs, I didn't think my body needed anything else. I had originally planned on doing a steak day today because I figured the scale would not be nice today, but I was at 191.8, so far I haven't gained anything. Since I didn't gain, I ate breakfast, I'm going to keep my carbs as low as possible and watch my weight and see how it goes. I am supposed to do one more week of no sugar and no starch, but I'm wondering if I need to since I didn't gain at all this weekend. I was pretty good though for the most part. I really want some sushi though. I was thinking about going for lunch today, but I'm not sure, I might just be good and go to the cafeteria and have a salad.

Valentines Weekend

2009-02-15T15:58:00.000-08:00

I feel like I didn't do too bad this weekend. My husband and I went away for the weekend. That was so nice. But I did eat things I normally wouldn't. But in the big scheme of things I think I was pretty good. Saturday morning we went out for breakfast, I got an omelet and it came with hashbrowns, I told myself I would just try a bite, so I took a bite and it was way too crispy and it didn't taste good so I spit it out. It wasn't worth it to waste the calories and carbs on something that didn't even taste good. At lunch I had one bite of a fry and I did have a grape martini. Oh my gosh, the martini was so yummy. Other than that I only drank red wine. We also stopped at the candy shack, I got a couple sugar free truffles, oh my gosh they were so good. For dinner I was a little tipsy from the wine I had been drinking, so I didn't have very good self control, we went to a mexican restaurant and I had a chili relleno and I also ordered flautas, the flautas weren't very good so I didn't eat them. Breakfast today I was "bad". I had eggs benedict (with the english muffin) and a couple bites of the hashbrowns. That was really good. Then my last bad thing of the day was a burrito from Rubios. When I got home I got on the scale and it said 194.8. Not too bad since that was in the afternoon and after eating. I'm hoping the scale is nice to me tomorrow morning.
Tomorrow is back to healthy eating. No sugar and no starchy carbs. I think for dinner tonight I will just have a protein shake.
So that was my weekend.

Maintenance Day 10

2009-02-13T10:03:00.001-08:00

This morning I was 191.8. So basically I am maintaining, which is good. But I was kind of expecting to still see losses. In a normal world if I was eating around 1200 calories, no sugar and no starchy carbs and my fat is coming from olive oil, almonds, cheese and beef - then you would think I would be losing something. A little frustrating, does anyone have any insight? I will ask the clinic, but I don't go in until next Saturday.

Maintenance Day 9

2009-02-12T11:42:00.000-08:00

I woke up in the middle of the night hungry. I haven't had that happen in so long (well since before the HCG). I got up and had 2 oz of steak and about 1/2 of blueberries. I figured that was a good choice. I mean I could have chose the huge brownie that my mother in law sent the boys for Valentines day. It looks really yummy and it was just sitting on the counter, but instead I was good and had protein and good carbs. So when I got on the scale this morning I was up a little higher than I wanted to be, so I'm not counting it, since I did eat in the middle of the night. I will see where I am tomorrow. This weekend my husband and I are going out of town - it's our 2 year anniversary of when we first got together. I hope I can be relatively good this weekend.

Maintenance Day 8

2009-02-11T08:41:00.000-08:00

Last night we had taco salad for dinner. It was so yummy. I wanted more, but I couldn't tell if I wanted more because it was so yummy or if I was actually still hungry, so I decided to drink some water and chew some gum. That did it - I wasn't hungry still - it was just yummy. I didn't have anymore, instead I'm having it for lunch today. :)
For breakfast this week I have been having an egg white and a whole egg scrambled with 1 pc of turkey bacon and then coffee with a scoop of medshape protein powder. It's kept me pretty full in the morning. This morning my husband got home from while I was making my lunch, so I asked him to make me breakfast. Food always tastes so much better when someone else makes it. :)
Still didn't work out today. I really need to get going on that. I felt kind of fat this morning. My pants didn't seem to fit like they did last week around my stomach. The scale said 191.3. Well, the scale is frustrating me because I get on and it says 191.3, then I get on again and it says 192.7, I try again and it says 192.7. I don't get it. I tried my other scale and it said 191.8 - so I'm going with the 191.3 today. That's up from yesterday, but it's not bad. Now if I just get the exercise in there, I would go down.

Maintenance Day 7

2009-02-10T11:16:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling like I'm eating too much at each meal, and then I feel sick to my stomach about an hour after I eat and by the time it's time to eat again, food is the last thing that I want. I've been trying really hard to get my calories up, but it doesn't seem like my body wants that. I called the clinic today and they told me it's ok to not eat the full maintenance calories and to eat what my body needs, but to make sure I'm still eating frequently. So based on that I'm going to listen to my body and just eat enough to keep me satisfied and see how that goes. She also told me that my carb range and fat range sound good. So I'm happy with that.

I didn't work out again this morning. I was cold so I didn't want to get out of bed. I know - excuses. I even woke up at 5:15, so I had plenty of time. I just need to get into the habit of it again and just get my butt out of bed and do it. Yesterday morning I was 191.2 and this morning I was 191.0, if I keep losing at that rate I can lose 7 lbs by the time I start my injections again. I would be happy with that.

Maintenance Day 6

2009-02-09T11:25:00.000-08:00

I know all I've been saying the past couple days is how scary it is to be eating again. I don't want to see the scale stay the same or go up, I want it to keep going down. I'm eating lunch right now and so feel like throwing up, it just seems like so much to eat. 6 oz of chicken, some asparagus and some apple slices. It's not too much to eat, the whole meal is less than 300 calories because I'm not eating the whole apple with lunch (I snack on it throughout the day). My calories for the whole day are only 1148. But I honestly can't imagine eating any more than that.
Last night I was a little hungry around 7:00pm so I had a protein shake and I was fine. So my calories ended up being over 1200 for the day. I know that I need to be eating more since I don't have the HCG in my system, but it's so hard. I just hope when this is all over and I'm at a healthy weight, I will also have developed a healthy relationship with food.

I didn't get up and work out this morning like I planned. I was so tired when the alarm went off at 5:30, so I slept till 6:00am. Tomorrow morning will be easier because I can do it even if I get up at 6:00 because I only have 2 kids to get to school instead of 3. So that's my goal again tomorrow, it's only 20 minutes out of my morning, so there is no reason not to do it.

Maintenance Day 5

2009-02-08T07:16:00.001-08:00

I'm having a hard time getting the right balance of carbs, fat and protein. It's actually kind of scary being able to eat again. Before I just knew how much protein I could have, 2 apples (or strawberries.....) and veggies. I didn't have to worry about how many carbs I was taking in, and I knew I wasn't really eating any fat except what was in my meat, I didn't have to worry about calories. It was easy. Now that I'm logging everything and trying to eat enough calories but still keep the carbs and fat down, it's tough.
I logged my food for the last week of VLCD and I was averaging 600-750 calories, about 45-50g carbs, around 100g protein, and about 10g of fat. So I guess if I'm basically doubling my calories (I'm supposed to be around 1500-1600) then I should be doubling everything else right? So far I'm staying pretty steady around 1150-1180 calories, but the last two days my carbs have been high - 88 and 115, but it's mostly from fruit and milk. Today I have my food planned out - 1180 calories, 66 carbs, 31 fat, and 164 protein. When I originally put in my planned food, I had less than 1000 calories, so I added two protein shakes. I am having a hard time figuring out what to eat to get my calories up, but keep my fat and carbs somewhat low. Any suggestions?

Today we are taking the kids to see a movie, so I think I will take my apple slices to munch on instead of popcorn and candy. Now that the HCG is out of my system, I'm still not craving any sugar and I still don't miss it. We were looking at sugar free ice cream yesterday, and I just couldn't buy it. I don't feel like I'm ready to put that kind of stuff back into my diet yet.

I was also thinking this morning that if I keep eating at the calorie level I am, I should still be losing weight. But I wonder how long my body will be happy with 1200 calories a day. Tomorrow I'm going to do 20 min turbo jam in the morning. I'm gonna try to do it every day this week and see if I see any results. It would be cool if I could be down in the 180's before I start injections again in March. Realistically if I can still lose 2lbs a week I could be close to being in the 170's by the time I start again - that is if I don't gain any when we go on our honeymoon. :) That's what I'm going to focus on between now and the honeymoon.

Maintenance Day 4

2009-02-07T06:13:00.000-08:00

Last night's dinner was so good. I felt so guilty after eating it though. I know I shouldn't have, but after eating so little and no fat for 7 weeks it seems really weird eating more and fat. I had an omelet and fruit. Total was about 1125 calories. I'm supposed to be eating about 1500 calories a day. I think next time I do the omelet I will do it with 3 egg whites and 1 whole egg. That would take some of the fat out of it. My omelet had 1 pc turkey bacon, and 2% cheddar cheese, but it was still pretty high in calories and fat.

This morning I'm going to have a tall skinny vanilla latte. Not sure what I'm eating the rest of the day.

Maintenance Day 3

2009-02-06T11:14:00.000-08:00

I guess I need a different title for my blogs now. My last injection was Tuesday night. I talked to the nurse last night and she agreed that a break might be beneficial for me right now. I plan to start up my injections on March 22nd.

Today I'm so hungry. I planned my food just like any other HCG day, but I upped my protien at breakfast. I've ate my lunch and some of my apple slices and I'm still hungry. It's gonna be strange getting used to eating more food and bringing more food to lunch with me. And now I guess I will have to track my calories again too. (I hate that)

So now that I'm not doing my injections, as much as I wanted a little more freedom with my food, I'm kind of scared. I don't want to gain and I don't want to maintain, I want to keep losing! I've decided I'm going to try harder to get exercise in. One thing I'm not happy about is that even though I lost 3% in body fat I also lost lean muscle mass. I was 109lbs when I started and now I'm 102.8lbs, so I want to see if I can get that muscle mass back before I start the injections again.

I had a banana this morning with breakfast. It was nice. Not sure what we are having for dinner tonight yet, but I'm going to go shopping this weekend and get some greek yogurt and some fat free sour cream and not sure what else. I still can't really have many carbs (at least not the ones I really want - potatoes, rice, oatmeal, pasta) but I can have dairy --- oooh and cheese. I can have an omelet - I'm so excited!!!! I think we will be having omelets for breakfast tomorrow!

HCG Diet - Day 50 - 2/5/09

2009-02-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

Wow, day 50. Crazy!!! I still have my headache and I'm still feeling miserable. Last night I didn't eat dinner again. I really wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich last night and since I couldn't have it, I didn't eat. Well then I had a dream about hot dogs. The first hot dog I had ketchup and relish on it, then I had another hot dog with ketchup, relish and peanut butter and grape jelly on it. If you ask me, it's bad when I start dreaming about hot dogs with peanut butter and jelly on them.

I was supposed to have an appointment on Saturday, but I called and moved it up to today. I think I want to start a break now, I want to eat. Maybe if I start now I will have better luck maintaining while we are on our honeymoon. Then I will start back on the program after we get back and go another 5-9 weeks. Part of me is scared to stop now, but I haven't really lost anything in over 2 weeks and I've been miserable the last two weeks. So it's time for a change - I think. My last injection was on Tuesday night, so that means it's almost time for me to up my calories and fat. Woo hoo - cheese, nuts, milk and yogurt - here I come!!!! :) I know it's the little things that make me happy. Ooh and pork! Now hopefully the nurse will agree with me.

HCG Diet – Day 49 – 2/04/09

2009-02-04T13:09:00.001-08:00

I've been slacking on my blogs….. it's been really busy at work this week and last night was "date night" so I was busy last night too. This really is the period from hell. Sorry if that's TMI. It's been over a week and I'm still flowing heavy and my head is killing me today. My weight was up 2 lbs today too. I'm sure it's all cuz of TOM. Sometimes I hate being a woman!!!!!

So yesterday I retired some pants. I bought them in December, they are a 16 and yesterday when I put them on they were too big to be comfortable. It's a nice feeling but also frustrating to spend the money on clothes I can't wear very long. At this point I only have 3 pairs of pants for work and 1 pair of jeans that I'm comfortable in. But the jeans are almost ready to go too.

HCG Diet - Day 47 - 2/2/09

2009-02-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

Not a bad day today. We tried Mahi Mahi for dinner, it wasn't bad. Seemed more filling than tilapia. It was a pretty busy day at work and ended with a tension headache.

I wore a shirt today that I haven't worn in so long and even when I did wear it, it was a little tight and I only wore it a couple times - but when I put it on it actually fit like it was supposed to. Woo Hoo.

I'm finally close to getting out of the 190s, only a little over a pound to go. Maybe I will be lucky and see 189 on the scale tomorrow. Probably not, but I can hope right? Till tomorrow.....

HCG Diet – Day 46 – 2/01/09

2009-02-01T06:57:00.001-08:00

Here are my stats after 45 days of this diet.

Starting:	Current:	Loss:
Weight: 215.9	Weight: 191.4	24.5 pounds
Calf: 15	Calf: 15	No loss
Thigh: 22	Thigh: 21.5	½ inch
Hips: 46	Hips: 42	4 inches
Ab area: 44	Ab area: 37	7 inches
Waist: 36	Waist: 31	5 inches
Ribs: 37	Ribs: 33	4 inches
Bust: 40	Bust: 36.5	3 ½ inches
Arms: 13	Arms: 12	1 inch
Neck: 13	Neck: 12.5	½ inch

I think I've done pretty well. The clinic says you can lose up to 30 pounds in 45 days, so I guess 24 ½ pounds is pretty good. I won't lie, I wish it was 30 pounds, but if I think about it this way, almost 25 lbs in 45 days that would make almost 50 pounds in 90 days – that's pretty good. This morning when I was measuring and weighing myself, I was looking at myself in the mirror and I really can see a difference. My husband made a comment yesterday that I look like I've lost more in my hips, so it's nice that it's noticeable. Maybe later I will try on some clothes and see what I can fit into in my basket in my closet.

Well, that's about all I have to post this morning. Maybe I will post more later.

Day 45 evening update

2009-01-31T17:04:00.001-08:00

I'm feeling a little better tonight. I'm happy my headache is pretty much gone, but now I have cramps. Oh, the joys of being a woman. :( For lunch today we went and got a rotisserie chicken from the store deli. I just ate some of the chicken breast and an orange. It was pretty good. I also have been craving a pepsi or rootbeer, so I got a diet pepsi. I've never been a real pop drinker, but every once in a while I will want one, so i gave in to it. For dinner tonight my husband grilled some steak and I sauteed some onions and red peppers in some taco seasoning and water, we sliced up the steak and added it in and had fajitas. Mine was minus the tortilla of course, and no sour cream, but it was pretty good. There's lots of left overs, so I will have something to eat tomorrow.
I'm really hungry right now though, so I thought I would type instead of eat. Maybe I should have went to my appointment today and talked to her about taking a break from the HCG sooner than planned. But then I also think I'm just having a hard time because it's that time of the month. I'll see how I continue to feel this week I guess.
I don't like that I need to eat my fruit during the day, I really want dessert. Maybe I will have some tea or something - maybe that will help with the sweet and the hunger.

HCG Diet - Day 45 - 1/31/09

2009-01-31T08:53:00.000-08:00

Well I didn't post yesterday because I felt like crap. I have barely ate Thursday or yesterday. When I think about eating, I don't want protein and veggies, I want carbs. Not even bad carbs, I want oatmeal, a sandwich on whole wheat bread, french fries (sliced potatoes baked, not fried). I'm having such a hard time. I've just stayed out of the kitchen as much as I can because I don't trust myself. I know it's not the best thing to do. Yesterday I did have a piece of cheese. Last night my husband made steak, so I had some steak, veggies and an orange. The most food I have had since Wednesday night. Since Thursday I've been crying off and on. At first because of my head hurting so much, then yesterday it was usually when I would see commercials for food. This is so hard right now. This morning I got up and took a shower and felt so dizzy and weak. I would love to have some oatmeal for breakfast or a pancake. But I ate the rest of the steak from dinner and some strawberries instead. I also haven't been drinking much the last 2 days. I hate feeling this way.

So my weight today was 192.1 - which is probably not real since I haven't eaten much or drank much. It's so frustrating that I'm still in the 190's. I've been in the 190's for over 10 days now.

I have my appointment today, but I think I'm going to reschedule. I really don't want to go today. I just want to stay in bed one more day and hope I feel better tomorrow.

HCG Diet – Day 43 – 1/29/09

2009-01-29T08:43:00.001-08:00

I am feeling absolutely miserable today. I have a headache, major PMS, and just feel sh*tty all over. I do not want to be at work, I just want to be in bed with the covers pulled over my head and left alone all day. I actually haven't felt this bad because of that time of the month in over 6 months. I was so hungry last night, and my husband has some Hershey's kisses on his night stand, do you realize how hard it was for me to not eat one last night. And of course when I mention it to him, I get the "resist temptation" speech. I just wanted to say "what the F ever!!!!" He's always so supportive, but he doesn't get how it feels during that time of the month and how much harder things are. All I could think about was food last night…. lasagna, tacos, pancakes with peanut butter and bananas, macaroni and cheese….. I think you get the point. I think he was getting annoyed with me, at least he sounded like it.

So yesterday our system that I support at work was down all day, so I actually took a lunch and went "shopping". I actually just tried on clothes, I didn't buy anything. I tried on 4 pairs of size 12 pants. The first pair went on and buttoned with no problems. They weren't uncomfortably tight, but they were slacks, so they should have been loose, and they were tight like jeans – but they still went on. The second pair went on and almost buttoned but not quite. They were a little looser in the legs though than the first pair. The 3^rd pair went on, but super tight and no way did they even come close to buttoning. The last pair, I got to mid-thigh and then gave up. All 4 of these were different brands – so it's interesting how different brands sizes are so different. I have 2 pairs of old Old Navy jeans, they are size 16 and they are super tight and I can't even button them. But I have some skirts from there that are size 14 and they fit ok.

Today I didn't get up and work out. I woke up early enough, but I felt sore from yesterday so I just stayed in bed where it was warm. Maybe I will go for a walk tonight, but not sure yet. I am not seeing any difference on the scale and I'm sure that's because of it being that time of the month. So not fair.

HCG Diet – Day 42 – 1/28/09

2009-01-28T08:11:00.001-08:00

This morning the scale was pretty much the same, but I measured my hips and stomach area and I lost an inch in both spots. That makes me happy. I would be totally fine with the pounds coming off slow as long as the inches keep coming off. The number on the scale doesn't really make as much difference as the inches coming off and being able to fit into smaller clothes. I was thinking this morning, I've never posted my actual inches, so after I measure myself on Saturday, I will post my starting and my current measurements.

Last night's dinner was great. We went to Red Lobster, I had salad with lemon squeezed on it (that kind of sucked), then I had broiled lobster, shrimp and scallops and steamed asparagus and broccoli. It was yummy. And I have the leftovers for lunch today. I will admit, after they brought the biscuits and my husband was eating them, my mouth was watering and I could almost taste them, but I drank my iced tea and looked the other way. The waitress was really great, and made sure my food was prepared exactly as I asked. I was going to get the wood grilled but she had the kitchen manager come talk to me about it and he let me know they do put oil on the grill, so I went with the broiled instead. I was very proud of my husband at dinner last night though. He's one of those clean your plate kind of guys, no matter how full he is. Well last night he left ¼ of his entrée because he was full. It's all about baby steps right?

This morning I got up and did 20 minutes of turbo jam. I love that work out, it's short, fun, and a great calorie burn and I always feel it in my abs after. So, that's 2 days in a row of 20 min exercise. Not sure if I will do anything tomorrow morning since I have to take my step daughter to school in the morning in addition to my boys. But we will see if I get up early enough. It's also nice doing that in the morning because I always drink a ton of water – so I already have 32 oz down before 7:00am.

TMI warning!!!!!!!

Maybe a little TMI – but it seems as though with HCG, my body is deciding to go only 2 weeks between periods. Totally sucks. Based on my birth control, I shouldn't start until next week, usually it would be Wednesday or Thursday, but I've already started. I'm on the nuva ring and my doctor has me go 4 weeks then switch it and do that for 3 months and then the 4^th month go 3 weeks and then take a week off to have my period. But since I've been on HCG, I've had a period every month even though my ring is still in. Very frustrating since when it is that time of the month you don't lose!!!!

Well, I guess that's it for today – or at least for now.

HCG Diet – Day 41 – 1/27/09

2009-01-27T08:42:00.001-08:00

After yesterday, I think my stomach problem happens when I eat and then lay on the bed and watch tv. It rarely happens after I eat at work, and last night after I ate we went shopping, and it didn't happen. It started to as soon as I was done cuz I was laying on the bed waiting for my husband, but as soon as I got up it stopped. We had baked tilapia and steamed broccoli for dinner last night. It turned out pretty good. I put a Cajun rub on my husbands and on mine I squeezed fresh lemon and some ground pepper. It was good. My husband is in the process of trying to lose 20lbs, so he's all about eating healthy with me. Last night he had brown rice with his, but for the most part he has been going without carbs at dinner and eating the same as me, just in a bigger protein portion.

Today is our 6 month wedding anniversary. I decided that we are going to go to Red Lobster for dinner, and I just won't have the extras that I wanted, I want to see the smaller number on the scale more than I need the coconut prawn or the cheddar muffin.

This morning I woke up when my husband left for work at 4:30am. Usually I fall back to sleep, but for some reason this morning I couldn't. So I got out of bed sometime after 5 and then I tried my yoga DVD, but I just couldn't get into it, so I took one of the dogs, put on my headphones and headed out for a walk. I walked for 20 minutes and did 5 sprints somewhere in the middle. I feel great, I'm happy I did that. I miss doing that. I used to do it every morning. Most mornings I would alternate walking and jogging to see how long I could jog at one time and then usually every other morning I would do HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). I would warm up for 5 minutes – usually start with a walk and then jog towards the end, then I would alternate 20-30 second sprint as fast as I could and then walk for 30-60 seconds and then do it again. I would usually do 6-8 of those rounds and then cool down for 5 minutes. It's great because it really helps melt the fat and keeps your metabolism going all day. So, I really want to do that at least 2-3 days a week and see how things go with the scale and the tape measure.

One thing that really annoys me right now is that my hips aren't doing the same as my stomach and waist. I have a jean sun dress that I would love to wear with a white or black t-shirt underneath. It's a size 14, and I can put it on and zip it up and it fits, but it's still snug around my hips, but it's kind of big on my upper body. The pants that I bought last weekend are big around the waist but fit perfectly around my hips. If my hips would just give up and let the fat go, I could totally be in smaller sizes.

I talked to my husband about my idea of taking a break after Feb 24^th to the end of our honeymoon and then starting 6 more weeks and he seems ok with it. This weekend I will talk to the nurse and see what she thinks about it.

HCG Diet – Day 40 – 1/26/09

2009-01-26T10:56:00.001-08:00

One more day down….. how many more to go???? Ok, so this morning when I drank my protein coffee, my stomach was fine. I ate some apple slices and it was fine. Then I ate some steak and strawberries and it started making some noises and not feeling too great. It's ok now though. For lunch I am also eating steak. For dinner we are having tilapia. So I will figure out what food it is that is giving me issues. Maybe it's the vegetables, because I haven't eaten any yet and my stomach is ok right this second. I will see at lunch if it starts acting up more.

Today I have a dull headache again. I think I'm allergic to coming into work. (Ha ha)

I was researching last night and saw some tips for maximizing your weight loss, so I've decided I'm upping my tea intake, I'm going to start doing yoga 1-2 days a week and then going for a walk for HIIT 2 days a week. Hopefully that will make some difference in my losses. I finally got out of the 200s, but now I'm stuck in the 190s for 15 days and I'm not close to getting out of them yet. This morning I was 194.5. If things continue the way they have been, I don't expect to be in the 180s by my weigh in on Saturday, so I need to figure out how to help things along. So I will try some different things and see how they affect me this week.

It's a little frustrating and overwhelming to think in 40 days I have only lost 21lbs and I have 43 days left of injections and my goal starting this was to lose 60lbs total, and I've still got 39lbs to go. I realize this is the fastest I have ever lost weight, it's an average of .5lbs a day so far, but it should have been a lot more by now. And you would think with such a low calorie intake and such a low carb intake I would be losing a lot more. But o'well, I'm doing what I can control and that's eating the way I'm supposed to. I will add in the tea and a little exercise and see how that helps and go from there. I do see myself as smaller when I look in the mirror, so that is positive. I still can't imagine myself at a size 8, but I will get there. I think I will see where I am on Feb 24^th. Depending on where I'm at I may take a break then so when we go on our honeymoon I will be able to eat a little more freely and then when we get back I can start again. I would still have 2 weeks left from the package I purchased and then I could buy 4 more weeks of it and hopefully that would get me to where I want to be, but I would be able to enjoy our honeymoon without always worrying about how what I am eating is going to affect the work I have done. Obviously I won't be able to go all crazy and eat tons of junk, but I also don't want to have to worry about if something has sugar or starch or whatever. I want to relax and have fun – and drink!!!! I'm going to see what my husband thinks and decide from there what I want to do.

HCG Diet – Day 39 – 1/25/09

2009-01-25T13:56:00.001-08:00

Today I started with a yummy coffee. (Medshape has a vanilla caramel protein powder) My husband brought me home starbucks coffee, so I added some of the vanilla caramel powder in it, almost as good as a caramel macchiato. It was really yummy.

Ok, so question for anyone out there. It seems like every time I eat my stomach starts gurgling and making all kinds of noises and I seem kind of gassy. Is anyone else doing HCG having the same experience? I've been trying to do some research, but haven't found anything yet.

Today I cleaned up the kitchen, finished up the grocery shopping, and now I'm lying around watching season 1 of Gilmore Girls. Earlier I tried on all my jeans, trying to find something to wear grocery shopping and I ended up wearing my sweats. I'm at that in between size, all my bigger jeans are uncomfortable because they are too big, but all my smaller jeans are still a little too tight. My hips still fit in my bigger jeans, but my stomach area has lost a lot of the pooch so that area is really loose in the bigger jeans – so that makes them very uncomfortable. The smaller jeans are uncomfortable when I button them. I can get them buttoned, but I'd rather be comfy then stuffed into my jeans.

I guess that's it for today…..

HCG Diet – Day 38 - 1/24/09 post 2

2009-01-24T14:39:00.001-08:00

Ok, the official weigh in is 195.6 - so I've finally lost 20lbs since I started. The nurse looked over my food for last week and suggested that I cut out the ground beef or ground turkey and eat my fruit earlier in the day and see how that goes this week. She also told me that it's my choice about cheating on Tuesday, but that it will set me back 3 days. I really want to see a loss next week, so I don't think we will be going to Red Lobster. We will go somewhere, but somewhere that I will just order protein and veggie, not somewhere that I will want their soup and their bread and all the other junk they have and we will save our red lobster gift cards for our honeymoon when I can eat more of what I want.

So, that's my update for today.

HCG Diet – Day 38 - 1/24/09

2009-01-24T07:59:00.001-08:00

Last night was nice, my husband made dinner (well, he makes dinner a lot but….) he grilled steak and veggies and baked potatoes. Of course instead of the baked potato, I had ½ an orange. The food was delicious.

So far today I'm not happy with the scale. I will wait till 9:00am to decide for sure, but right now it (at 6:30am) it says 195.9 with no clothes, so I thought I would put on the clothes that I wore last week when I got weighed and guess what – 197.2 – so it looks like I haven't lost anything all week. I will wait till 9:00 since that seems to be when I weigh my lowest. But still, it's so frustrating. I read others blogs and they weigh every day and get discouraged when they don't lose one day or 2 days, but it looks like I've gone 7 days and not lost a damn thing. I guess I will see what the nurse says. Maybe if I don't have any loss this week I will have a double loss next week? 10 lbs maybe? Probably not since I was planning on cheating on Tuesday.

Ok, so my scale says 197.0 with clothes on. I'm bummed about it. Why haven't I lost anything this week? Well I'm gonna get ready for my appointment and grill the nurse about it and see what needs to change this week. I will post this now and post more later.

HCG Diet – Day 37 - 1/23/09

2009-01-23T08:49:00.001-08:00

I didn't post yesterday; I was pretty busy all day at work. I had a dull headache most of the day yesterday and barely ate all day. I had my mocha in the morning, and then I had some ground beef, snow peas and cherry tomatoes for lunch, and then when I got home I felt like throwing up, so I wasn't going to eat anything, then right before bed I was super hungry and I ended up cheating. Not a huge cheat, just 2 small bites of spaghetti sauce. The only thing that was bad about it was that the sauce has sugar, but other than that it's ok, and it was only 2 small bites. Hopefully it won't make any difference. Today I still feel like throwing up and still have a dull headache. Not fun at all!

I've finished 5 weeks now; I have 7 more to go. I'm almost half way there. Yay!!!! Today I had my mocha, and then I stopped and got some jr whoppers from burger king for my protein today. Hopefully I will be able to eat them. I'm going to talk to the nurse tomorrow about the way I've been feeling this week and see if she has any suggestions.

Wow, I don't really have a lot to post. Hoping for a good day on the scale tomorrow.

HcG Diet Day 35 post #2

2009-01-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

I made myself some soup for lunch. I bought some organic low sodium chicken broth last weekend, so I used a cup of that, 4 oz of lean ground beef that I formed into 6 meatballs, and then I added the veggies that my husband grilled for dinner last night, it was pretty good and nice and filling. It really helped too because I really wanted some carbs – but now I feel ok.
For dinner I made taco salad, I used the salsa that I made this weekend, it was really spicy, but the meat didn’t taste that great. Now I really want something sweet and something other my normal fruit. Today just seems like a day I could cheat so easily. Next week is our 6 month wedding anniversary and we are planning on going to Red Lobster for dinner, I really want at least one coconut prawn with the sauce, and one of the muffins, maybe a drink and maybe a couple bites of desert. For the rest of the meal I will be good, protein and veggies. I wonder how bad that will set me back, and is it worth it? I mean at Christmas I still lost even though I had some potatoes (loaded and yummy) and a bite of fudge and drinks. I’m going to talk to the nurse on Saturday and see what she says. I really don’t want to lose momentum, but I also don’t want to pass up the little celebrations either. I know I don’t have to have all the junk, I could just have the healthy stuff, but it’s not often that we go somewhere like that, so if we do go I want to eat what I want and enjoy it. And if I just have one coconut prawn, one muffin (or even just half) and forget the drink and have a bite or two of desert, that really isn’t adding that much, but it is sugar and fat and starch. Ok, I will stop thinking about it until my appointment Saturday.
On Saturday I also have an eye doctor appointment and it is before my medshape appointment, so I’m planning on weighing myself in the morning since I will drink water and eat before I go to my appointment. Although I want to see a nice loss on their scale too so it’s recorded. But I don’t want to wait until almost 1 to eat or drink anything. Oh, what to do, what to do.
Well I decided to chew some gum and it’s helping with my sweet tooth, so that’s good.

I just got done eating some strawberries dipped in Walden Farms chocolate syrup. Not the best chocolate covered strawberries I've ever had, but they did the job. Now I will drink a little more water and go to bed.

HCG Diet – Day 35 - 1/21/09

2009-01-21T09:55:00.001-08:00

Only 48 more days…..

So today I have a killer headache. I think it's a sinus one. It started coming on last night, and it's been awful since I woke up. So I'm home today, drinking lots o'water and tea and hoping it goes away soon. I am headache prone, and I haven't had a major painful headache since I've been on HCG until today. It's been really nice. But the last time I had a bad sinus headache like this I ended up getting sick for 2 weeks. I hope that's not what is happening again. I'm such a baby when I'm sick and I will want chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches – which are not on my approved food list.

This morning I did get up and try to get ready for work. I felt awesome in the outfit I put on. It was a size 14 skirt that I haven't wore in a long time, a t-shirt that a week ago was a little tight, and a button up white shirt that was also a little tight last week and today they looked awesome on me.

I think that's it for me today. I'm gonna go lay down my spinning/pounding head.

HCG Diet – Day 34 - 1/20/09

2009-01-20T11:10:00.001-08:00

Ok, so when I did my title today, I couldn't remember what day this was – day 33? day 34? day 35? – who knows. I've been doing it so long now that all the days run together. But I looked at yesterdays and see that it's day 34.

So yesterday someone at work made a comment about me losing weight. I was so happy that someone could finally tell. I'm sure part of it was the smaller clothes, usually I am wearing baggy pants, just because they are too big. Today I'm wearing my other pair of new pants, the ones that were a little snug when I tried them on, today they are super comfortable, not snug at all. It's so nice. I think tonight I will try on a couple of my size 14 skirts that are in that basket waiting for me. Maybe I won't have to go back to my 16s at all if I have enough 14s that fit for me to wear to work. I'm also going to go through my shoes that are in the garage and see what is starting to fit and what ones I would actually wear and get rid of the rest.

Today I'm still feeling kind of yucky. Not sure what is going on, but if I eat my stomach starts feeling crappy and I feel like puking.

I started making the list of things that I want to do everyday – on Sunday I crossed off "take the kids to the movies", yesterday I crossed off "give myself a pedicure", tonight I will cross off "go for a walk with my husband". Some of the others I'm going to do this week are: Clean my stepdaughters room (we need to get rid of some of her toys she doesn't play with and clothes that she either won't wear or are too small), go through my shoes, and yoga. I need to think of two other somewhat easy things to do Thursday and Friday. Weeknight stuff can't be too time-consuming.

Last night for dinner we had a flank steak on the grill and I sautéed some zucchini, onions, yellow squash, mushrooms and snow peas. I used some beef broth to sauté the veggies. They were really yummy. Tonight will be similar, except it will be grilled chicken. I think tomorrow night will be taco salad so I can eat some of that salsa I made.

HcG Diet Day 33 – 1/19/09

2009-01-19T09:53:00.001-08:00

Another day…… yesterday when we went shopping I bought some really yummy smelling coffee beans, so I made my protein mocha this morning. It was pretty good. Not quite as good as starbucks, but not bad. I brought some sliced strawberries with Walden Farms marshmallow dip for my morning snack (along with a protein shake), then some chicken, snow peas and cherry tomatoes for lunch, and another protein shake for my afternoon snack. The marshmallow dip is actually pretty good. Maybe I've just been deprived of sugar long enough.

I so love my new clothes. My pants fit awesome; I even have to wear a belt. I took a picture this morning of me in the new pants and shirt, so I will post it later. - Here is the pic.

I found a bottle of Fiji water that is 50 oz. So I'm contemplating on buying more of them or just refilling the bottle. I know refilling the bottle is not a good idea, but it makes life so much easier for me. If I drink that one bottle before I leave work every day and then come home and drink my 32oz cup, I will have drank enough water for the day.

I'm not feeling that well today. Ever since I had my snack I have felt like throwing up. Maybe I just want to be at home today instead of at work. But I hate feeling like this. I feel like if I burp or something everything is going to come up.

I guess that's all I got for today……

HcG Diet Day 32 – 1/18/09

2009-01-18T16:00:00.001-08:00

Happy birthday to my mom!!!! I remember the year that we went to Olive Garden for my mom's birthday. Yummy!!! I guess it can be a good thing that I don't live in the same state as my mom. I don't think there is anything I could actually eat at Olive Garden – but it's so dang yummy!

I'm hungry this morning. Just waiting for my hubby to come home from work, he's going to stop at Starbucks and get me a coffee so I can add my chocolate mint protein powder to it. Mmmmm, can't wait. I think I will also have an egg white "crepe" with strawberries this morning too. I'm also going to make strawberry vinaigrette for my steak salad I'm going to make. I'm also going to make some chevy's salsa. Maybe some broth or cabbage soup. Gosh, that's a lot to make today, and I still have grocery shopping to do, laundry to do and a kitchen to clean.

I was going to post this earlier, but then I got busy doing something and forgot to. Today was good, I had my starbucks for breakfast, then we went grocery shopping and then I bbq'd the tomatoes and jalapenos for the salsa, then we took the boys to a movie. We saw Notorious. It was pretty good. I came home and made the salsa, it turned out yummy, but spicy. I wish I could eat it with some chips. We've been kind of bad the last 2 days, we had In and Out burger yesterday for dinner and Burger King tonight for dinner. I am always good, just the meat and lettuce and tomato and a huge ice tea for me, but it's still not the healthiest. I also had some yummy raspberries – I said they were my fries.

Gotto take the boys to a concert now. Tomorrow is another week at the office. I wish I could work from home all the time, but o'well.

HcG Diet Day 31 – 1/17/09 – Post 2

2009-01-17T12:59:00.001-08:00

I've been very itchy last night and today. Last night it was mainly my arms and today it's my legs. Not sure if it's cuz my skin is dry, or if it's the HCG releasing toxins from my fat that is making me itchy.

OK, are you ready for all my excitement? I'm hoping it will just explode off the page. Let me just give you a recap of my day….
Woke up too early to mention, I measured and took pictures, then waited "patiently" for my appointment.

At my appointment, the scale said 197.2 – not the number I was hoping for, but still a good number. It's well under 200 and it's a 3.4lb loss since last week. So for my 30 days, according to their scale I have lost 17 lbs in 30 days. I would say that's pretty darn good. After my appointment I was starving and I was headed to the mall to get some jeans for my boys. I went to the food court and carefully weighed my options, it was either a salad from either subway or paradise bakery and neither sounded very appealing, then I saw the Japanese place so I looked to see what I could have there. I ended up ordering sushi without the rice, (a couple pieces of raw tuna, raw salmon and cooked shrimp), the guy thought I was crazy when I said I didn't want the rice. I also ordered sautéed veggies but made sure he didn't use oil. He asked if I wanted seasoning and I asked what was in it, he told me some of the spices then I asked if it had sugar and he looked at me like I was crazy again. So that's what I ate and couldn't even eat it all and I felt stuffed. After that I got the boys jeans and then decided I would just stop at a couple stores and try on some clothes to see what sizes I was coming in at. I didn't want to go to Lane Bryant, I wanted regular stores, so I started at Macys and I tried on a pair of Capri's and a couple shirts. I grabbed 16 and 14's for the Capri's and then 12, large and medium for the shirts. I could get the 14s on, but they would have been difficult to button, the 16's fit, but I wasn't very comfortable. As for the shirts – the 12 and the medium both fit. I ended up just getting a sweater that's more like a jacket – so I got that in large so I would be comfortable with it over things. (I can't believe that though –not an XL or 1x or even 2x – but a large) After that I decided I would try some pants on at JC Penny's. As soon as I walked in their A.N.A brand caught my eye. I saw a couple pairs of pants that I like so I grabbed them both in 14 and 16 and I grabbed 2 white shirts – one med and one large, and then a black in medium. I put the black shirt on and it fit great, so no need for the large. Then I tried on the first pair of 14's, I text my husband and my mom "OMG, OMG, OMG size 14 pants fit me!!!!!" I almost screamed in the dressing room. It was so hard to contain my excitement. That is when I really with my mom had been there with me to celebrate. The first ones are a little snug, but not uncomfortable snug. The second ones fit so perfectly. I never even tried on the 16's. I ended up buy both pairs of pant, and 3 shirts from there. I was so excited. When I got home I modeled everything for my husband and he agreed that they look great. Then I tried on a couple things that are in a basket in my closet waiting for me, an old navy skirt (14) and an old navy sun dress (14), they both fit but a little snug, so in no time I will be fitting into all my old 14s and ready to move to new territory. It's been probably 6-7 years since I've been in my 14s and I've never been in 12s or 10s or 8s. I went straight from a 2/4 to a 14 after I had kids.

I'm very happy with myself today. Super excited!!!!!

HcG Diet Day 31 – 1/17/09

2009-01-17T06:34:00.001-08:00

I'm starting to write this entry on Friday night (still day 30), but I'm not going to post it until Saturday when I post all my results for the month.

One thing I find a little strange is that on everyone else's blog that I read they talk about having infrequent BM, but I have one every day, sometimes twice a day. Since I've been on this there has only be maybe 3 days that I didn't have a BM. I take 500mg of magnesium, I also take two sugar free fiber one tablets and some days I also drink a benefiber packet in my water (which all have been ok'd by medshape for me to take while on hcg). The fiber supplements give me about 7 grams of fiber a day and then the rest comes from my fruits and veggies I guess, but I've been pretty regular.

So tonight my husband grilled chicken on the bbq, it was the best chicken I have had since I have been on this plan. He didn't even put any seasonings on it and it was so yummy. Then we went to the store to see if I could find some strawberries and they had some. I was so happy. I just got done eating 6 strawberries sliced up with some splenda and my 1 tblsp of milk. Oh my gosh, it was the best. The last 2 days, food has tasted so good to me, I really appreciate it and enjoy it – maybe that's a mental accomplishment; before I took food for granted cuz I could eat anything I wanted whenever and now it's restricted. At first I got super tired of the little choices I did have, but now I really enjoy what I'm eating.

One weird thing though, most the time after I get done eating, my stomach makes lots of gurgling and growling noises. It's kind of annoying. I also noticed that on Friday I have to pee a lot more than any other day, so I'm thinking it's because it's day 1 basically of my shots. I do my shots at night, so I do them Thursday night through Tuesday night and take Wednesday off. So on Friday I am in the bathroom so much more than any other day of the week.

Another thing that I think is great is there are a couple foods on the list that are optional, like breadsticks and 1 tblsp of milk, tonight was the first time in 4 weeks that I have had any milk, and I don't eat the breadsticks most days. I only eat them if I feel the urge for something crunchy. That makes me proud of myself, because I've always eaten everything I'm allowed when I have been on any other diet. So the fact that I pass stuff up that I am allowed is a pretty big step.

I was reading HCG Girls blog tonight and she had something on there that I want to steal. She made a list of "23 things in 23 days", she was planning on doing a round of hcg for 23 days, so she made a list of 23 things to do, one for each day. I think that's a great idea. I'm going to think about that this weekend and come up with a variation of that. Maybe 30 things since I'm starting my second 30 days now, or maybe I will make it 60 things. I'll think about it more and see what I come up with.

Ok, it's morning and I measured and I'm happy with the results.

I have lost a total of 18.5 inches since I started.
* 3 inches off my hips
* 4 inches around my abs
* 5 inches on my waist
* 3.5 inches around my ribs
* 3 inches off my bust.

WOO HOO!!!!!

Next is picture time!!!!

Here is the comparison from the time I started to today:

This is a comparison from when I was 235lbs, 2 years before HCG, then after I lost 19lbs before the wedding, and today:

Ok, I will post this now and come back later and post what my official weight loss is for 30 days.

HcG Diet Day 30 – 1/16/09

2009-01-16T11:15:00.001-08:00

Wow, 30 days. How exciting is that? Well I think its super exciting!!!! 60 days left.

Taco salad was so yummy last night. I browned the ground beef in a little beef broth and then added some cumin, some chili powder and some paprika. Then I chopped up some lettuce and tomatoes and put some salsa on it and it was delicious. My family ate the same except they had it in a tortilla. It worked out great. My husband fixed the bbq, so tonight we will all have grilled chicken and veggies. I need to go to the store – I have no fruit, so I haven't been eating my fruit. This morning I decided to go to starbucks, so I got a regular coffee and put my protein powder in it, it was so yummy. So much better than homemade coffee with the powder in it. That might be my weekly treat.

So, tomorrow is my "big" day. I will measure myself and see how much I lost in one month, and then I have my weigh in at the clinic, so I will see how many pounds I lost in one month and I will take pictures so I can compare them to when I started. Exciting stuff.

I don't really feel like my hips are getting much smaller yet because my pants stay up around them with no problem, but I do have to wear a belt with most of my pants so they stay up above my hips. I do notice when I'm tightening the belt, my stomach looks smaller and I have more of a defined waist. It still seems so crazy that in 60 more days I will be so much smaller. I was talking to my son about it this morning and he says he can't see a difference now, but I think that's cuz he's not really looking and he sees me every day. I'm not taking that personal, cuz he's a teenage boy, and I know there is a difference. But maybe he's sees it like I do – I still see myself the same as I was when I was 243lbs. And I didn't really see myself that big then, until I look at pictures of course.

I need to come up with some yummy things to eat next week. I might make some chili or something. Well, until tomorrow when I post my pictures, and my losses for 1 month.

HcG Diet – Day 29 – 01/15/09

2009-01-15T09:35:00.001-08:00

Done with another week. It amazes me that it's been 4 weeks already and almost 30 days. Just 2 more weeks and I will be halfway done with the program. I can't wait to see what I have lost on Saturday. They say up to 30 lbs in 45 days, so we will see if I will get close to that. This weekend I will measure and I will take pictures again and see if I can see a difference. I hope so. I was thinking, if I weigh 195 on Saturday, which will be 20lbs in 30 days.

Today is a good food day, or happy food day or something. I didn't feel like making breakfast or lunch before work, so I stopped at Burger King and got 2 whoppers, no mayo, no ketchup and no onion, and some apple "fries" and a medium ice tea. So for breakfast I ate one of the meat patties, the tomato and pickles and some of the apples. I'll have the other for lunch and the rest of the apples. For dinner I'm making taco salad. So, I'm pretty excited about my food today. A little different than what I have been eating. The other day I had made coffee, I made extra so I have just been heating it up and putting my protein powder in it and that's been my breakfast, but yesterday and today after I heated it up and put the powder in it was super gross; really chunky and more like I had put bad milk in it or something. I'm thinking that the coffee was too hot and that didn't agree with the powder or something. So, I have to remember when I do that to not let the coffee boil in the microwave. The things I learn.

It's kind of weird because even though I have been losing weight, it still seems hard to believe that in 2 more months I could be down to 155. Even though my clothes fit a little different, I don't really feel any different when it comes to my size. I don't know if that makes sense, but you know for so long I have seen myself as overweight, obviously I am still over weight, but I honestly don't see myself that much different than I did when I was 243lbs. Of course I do notice the differences like when I weighed that much I was always out of breath, even just laying down I would be breathing heavy, I haven't had that feeling in a long time. If I look at pictures of me from then I see the difference, I mean its 40lbs of course I see the difference, but I'm still the same person, so it's hard to REALLY see myself differently. I'm always looking at girls on TV wondering what size they are and wondering if I will look similar or what. I have no idea what I will look like when I finally finish. It's really hard to imagine because it's not that far into the future. Hopefully once I take pictures this weekend I will be able to see the difference.

I still can't get over the fact that I've been doing this for 4 weeks and only cheated twice and those "cheats" were planned before I even started the program. This is the best I have ever done on any weight loss program. I'm very proud of myself, but I also know I couldn't be this successful without the HcG and without my husband's support, and not letting me give in to temptation when I want to.

HcG Diet – Day 28 – 01/14/09

2009-01-14T12:56:00.001-08:00

Today I have been hungrier, actually hungry as soon as I woke up. I think it was because I didn't eat enough yesterday. I was so busy at work that I wasn't able to eat when I was supposed to. I only ate 8 oz of protein yesterday. So I can see why I was hungry today. So far I have eaten 9 oz of protein; I might eat a veggie for a snack a little later and then my other 3 oz of protein at dinner tonight.

It seems like my stomach is getting a little smaller. I had a lot to grab onto when I first started giving myself shots and now it seems a lot smaller. My husband was also telling me last night that I am looking good and it's starting to be noticeable. I really hope that there will be a good number on the scale; I mean realistically it could say 195 – if I'm lucky.

No injection tonight. Today it does seem harder to keep from eating stuff I'm not supposed to. I just want one bite of garlic bread, or 1 peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's tough. I guess I could have a breadstick. Not quite the same, but maybe it will somewhat satisfy. I want to go to the store and see if I can find any strawberries or raspberries. I think the oranges are also helping me stay hungry. Last week when I was eating strawberries and grapefruit I wasn't hungry at all, but I notice after I eat an orange or half an orange I'm either still hungry or hungry within 30 minutes.

I guess that's about all I have for today.

A little more on Day 27!

2009-01-13T11:26:00.001-08:00

Oh, I forgot to write about my clothes triumphs today….. so I had gone through all my clothes a couple weeks ago and got rid of a lot of my bigger sized stuff and just kept the stuff that I knew I would wear in the next month or 2, I also pulled out some of my smaller stuff. In my closet I now have stuff ranging from 12-18. (most of my jeans are 18, but my work slacks are 16), so today I wore a long skirt that is a 16 and it’s loose around the waist. I decided I wouldn’t wear my normal black sweater because it didn’t look good, so I decided to try on a jacket that I had in my closet. A size 12 that I haven’t wore since before I broke my ankle almost 6 years ago. It fits perfectly. It used to be super tight in the arms and there was no way it would button around my boobs, but today its nice and loose in the arms and would button with no problems if I had it buttoned. Then the shoes, I bought the shoes almost 2 years ago, I always have had to get an 8.5-9 just because my feet were so fat, not so much because my feet were that long, but today I’m wearing these shoes and they are really big on me, I don’t think I will be wearing them again. They are way too loose and keep falling off while I’m walking. It’s so funny the areas that I am noticing the weight loss. It’s great.
I also had burger king for lunch. Yummy! A whopper jr, no cheese, no mayo, no ketchup, no onion and then I took the bun off and a med ice tea. I'm also going to eat 1/2 of my orange. I'm so glad I asked about fast food type restaurants.

HcG Diet – Day 27 – 01/13/09

2009-01-13T10:38:00.001-08:00

Even though I'm not supposed to be weighing myself daily, my husband hasn't hidden the scale so I can't resist. I was 198.9 today, so I lost 1 lb since yesterday. That's 17lbs total now in 26 days. Not too bad.

So my compliant for day 26, it seems it's always about the food that my family is eating. Last night my husband made hot dogs and French fries for him and the kids. I got home and there was French fries left on the cookie sheet on the stove, so I asked him to do something with them so I didn't eat them. His response was, "you won't eat them." And I said something, and he said "just don't eat them" I didn't say anything just ignored his comment to his face, but in my mind I was cussing him out. As he said those two comments he did put the fries away, but sometimes he doesn't think about how hard it really is for me. I wanted to say "You try cooking food you love for everyone else for 26 days and not be able to eat and then tell me how easy it is to see some fries sitting on the stove and not pick at them." I was just trying to get the temptation out of the picture so there wouldn't be a chance of me touching it. I didn't say anything last night because as emotional as I am I would have started crying and it would have been a bigger deal than it needed to be. Today I did say something though and he realized how tough it is for me with all the other food around the house and with me cooking stuff for them that I don't even get to eat. He did say he won't make those types of comments again; instead he will just take care of the tempting food. He really is the best and he is very supportive, just doesn't always think about the things he says before he says them.

So, this morning I put some meatballs and marinara sauce in the crock pot for my husband and the boys for dinner, they can have spaghetti and meatballs tonight and meatball subs tomorrow night with the leftovers. In the other crock pot I cut ups some steak into 3-4 oz servings and cut up an onion and added a little water and half the onion to the bottom of the crock pot, then added the steaks and the rest of the onion on top. I hope it turns out good. Tonight is also date night, so we are thinking about going to a movie, it will be strange with no popcorn and milk duds and pop to drink, but o'well.

We have a Renaissance Festival every year where I live, and it's that time of year. They have such good food. So my husband asked yesterday if we are going to go this year, and I said yes we could but I can't eat anything there. It almost sounded like he didn't want to go then, but I told him just cuz I can't eat anything doesn't mean we shouldn't go. I'll figure something out. I'll have to see if I can bring my own food in with me or something. I guess I could maybe have one of the roasted turkey legs, except its dark meat so it's fatty. I'll have to talk to my girl at the clinic about it when it comes time.

Well, I guess that's it for today.

HcG Diet – Day 26 – 01/12/09

2009-01-12T14:56:00.001-08:00

I am really enjoying the protein mocha in the morning. I had one again this morning. I think when I go in on Saturday I'm going to buy the chocolate mint protein powder; I bet that would be good in a mocha. Today I'm doing well with my water intake. It's 12:30pm and I'm starting on my 3^rd 24oz bottle. For lunch I am supposed to have a protein shake, broccoli, grape tomatoes, and ½ an orange. I ate the orange and 1 c of broccoli and I'm pretty much full, so I think I will just sip on the protein shake and save the tomatoes for my afternoon snack. It just amazes me how little food I need to feel full. It really is great.

I think it was last June I bought some size 16 pants from Mervyns. They've always felt a little snug, but not to the point where I couldn't wear them. I wore them last week and they were still snug, this week they are still snug, but I can tell they are less snug. It's these little differences that I love seeing. I think this Saturday I will take pictures again and see if I can see a difference. I feel different now that I'm less than 200. That probably sounds really weird, but now that I've made it there, I feel like it's all achievable. My next big milestone will be when I hit 175.

I've decided that I want taco salad. I think I can pretty much have everything I like in it, except sour cream and olives. I found a recipe for Chevy's salsa, so I think I'm going to make that once we get our bbq fixed. In the meantime I'm going to just make a simple salsa, brown some ground beef, add some cumin and chili powder to it, and then eat that with lettuce, green onion tomatoes and salsa. Sounds yummy to me and now my mouth is watering.