Starting P3 Today...

So, I was originally going to try to stay on HCG (in P2) for the duration of my weight loss.  However, I changed my mind and am now entering P3.  Today I took my drops in the morning and haven't taken any more since.  So, my weight from this morning is now considered my LDW (Last Drops Weight or the weight I was when I last took drops...  for those doing injections, it's referred to as LIW).  I've lost almost 43 pounds in the 50 days.  Nearly 48 pounds lost if you count the weight I gained from loading (which I do, as you know from my first post).  Woo Hoo!!  I think that's pretty good.  =)  And I managed to do the entire 50 days without cheating once!!  I'm pretty impressed with my willpower.  =)

From today, I have to remain on the 500 calorie diet (without drops) for 3 days and then I can increase my caloric intake to around 1200-1500.  No sugars or starches but I can have cheese again!!  I miss cheese!!  =) And there are so many cheesy recipes for P3 that I really want to try...  I can't wait!!  =)  I'll be sure to let you know all about them and what I think of them when I have them.

The hardest part of this diet is being around people who are NOT on it and who aren't extremely considerate of what I can and cannot eat...  For the most part, they try to hide the sweets that they have but since we all use the same kitchen, I usually find the sweets fairly easily.  Also, since I've been losing weight, my Dad has decided he's going to go on a diet (not HCG but a lower calorie diet than what he had been eating).  Well, he sucks at sticking to his diet.  I try to encourage him but it's hard because he's constantly trying to negotiate with me as to what he can eat....  "Just one more handful of peanuts..."  He has also become a sugar addict, it seems like, because he has to have the sweets that the rest of the family hides from me.  His lack of commitment is pretty discouraging as well.  But I'm sticking to this.  Hopefully for the long haul.  I plan to stick it out until I've lost all the weight I want to.  I've joined MyFitnessPal.com and made some HCG friends on there who help to encourage me and I'm also a part of a private HCG group on Facebook and the people in that group are really encouraging as well.  The Facebook group is having a meet-up in Las Vegas in June.  It would be kind of fun to go...  but I have so much to lose, I doubt I'll want to show off my new self at that point.  =)

Well, that's all for now.  I'll check back soon.  =)

R1 P2 D50
Today's Weight:  328.0
Total Lost:  47.8 pounds

Correction Days

So, if you find you're not losing at all (stalls / plateaus) or you made a big mistake the day before, I'm going to try to keep track of different ways to get those losses back.  Here are some that I've come across (thankfully, I haven't had to do one yet!!)  I'll add more as I come across more.  =)

BITS AND PIECES DAY:  Prepare 500 calories of your favorite P2-friendly protein, separate into 1-oz to 2-oz portions, then eat 1-2 oz of protein every 2 hours, skipping the veggies and fruit for that day.


EGG DAY:  6 eggs throughout the day. One recommended way is to have 2 scrambled eggs for breakfast, two boiled with mustard for lunch and two for dinner.

Daylight Savings Time Ended...

I hate when Daylight Savings Time ends.  I know we "gain" an hour but I hate it because it gets darker earlier and that sucks.  Why don't we just go into Daylight Savings Time and stay there?  When DST ends, it's sooo depressing.  =(

I joined a private group on Facebook for people on HCG.  Everyone is really encouraging.  I've joined up with three other women who are staying on HCG until the 21st of November.  Then they're getting back on it December 24th, so they'll be 'loading' the day before Christmas and Christmas day.  I think I'm going to do it with them.  Well, as 'with them' as you can, since they don't live near me.  =)

So, I'm still on HCG.  I've lost some more but not nearly as much as I wish I would.  I also started my period again.  =(  It started a few days ago (four or five?).  I'm blaming my period for my little losses these past few days.  Since I started it, I've only lost 0.2 pounds every day.  I know, at least it's still a loss but when you have so much to lose, it's somewhat discouraging.  Maybe if I think of it more as about 1.5 pounds a week...  but even then, that's a little disappointing.  I guess I got so used to the big losses.  I kept trying to tell myself that the big losses would end.  You're told to only expect about a 15 pound loss per month, which is about 0.5 pound per day.  I know, when they sell you HCG they say you can lose 1-2 pounds per day but that's just for the first week or two, it seems like.  Total, I've lost a little over 33 pounds.  Which is good, considering I've only been on the diet about the same amount of days...  It's better than what people tell you to expect to lose (the 15 pounds) but if I take a month off during the holidays (I'll still be on P3 which is still a restricted diet without the HCG drops), then the 33 pounds over two months will end up being 16.5 pounds per month...  Well, we'll see how much I lose by the 21st of November.  I'm really hoping I hit 40 or 45 by then.  That would make me feel soooo good!!  =)  I know, I shouldn't obsess over the weight but the inches lost but I don't know how many inches I've lost yet and, just like the pounds I have to lose, I also have a lot of inches to lose.  More pounds are lost than inches most of the time for me, so I like the bigger numbers.  =)

Anyway, I'll keep you posted with what's going on.  Obviously I'm not as good at 'blogging' as I was at the beginning (daily) but I haven't forgotten about you / it.  =)  I'll still keep you posted.  =)

Here's the stats as of today (I should try to do this every time I post...  sorry about that!!)
Round 1
Phase 2
Day 34
Total Lost:  -34.6
Today's Weight:  340.8

Still Haven't Cheated!

I didn't realize a week had gone by since my last post.  Wow.  Anyway, I had ordered some new HCG from Meridian Health Labs about a week and half to two weeks ago and I got it.  I took it for 5 or more days and I barely lost any weight.  It was disheartening.  I have 3 more bottles of my original HCG (but I bought them a few years ago, so I thought newer HCG would be better) from Mediral (called HCG Detox).  I went back to using it yesterday and today I had a 1.8 pound loss.  I love my old HCG.  Yesterday I also read that if you hit a plateau, one thing you can do is take 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and mix it with some water, then drink it.  They said not to take small amounts throughout the day but to get it all over with at one time (not like chugging it or anything, just drink it normally), so that's what I did.  I don't know if that helped with my weight loss but I'm going to try to drink that every day, just because I've read it's good for you and your digestion.  I don't know if it's the reason why I've been bumiting all day today or what, but I have been.  Fun, huh?  OK, so only two times (and I think I'll be doing it again soon) but still.

I still haven't cheated on my diet or anything.  So far I've lost 26.6 pounds (that includes my two load days...  without those two days, I've only lost 22 pounds, but I prefer to go with the higher number).  If I hadn't started taking that crappy Meridian Health Labs brand of HCG, I probably would have lost more!  Grrr.  Anyway, I've learned my lesson.  I just need to find out if I can get my money back on the ones that I didn't open (two bottles and a shake mix!!)  I joined a group on Facebook for HCG users (it's private, so you can only join if you're invited) and a lot of them like Meridian's HCG pellets but not many of them have tried the drops.  I've been trying to find out from others where they buy their HCG because I know I'm going to need more eventually - especially since I have about 190 pounds to lose (although, now it's only like 160 pounds I have to lose!  =)

Last night my Mom took some "before" pictures of me.  For future reference (and for future photos) I was wearing a black spaghetti strap tank top and black shorts.  So, I'll try to wear the same (or similar) outfit for my other photos to come.  Eventually I may even share my "before" photo with others.  But for now, I'm keeping my fatness a secret (well, as much as a morbidly obese person can keep their fatness a secret).

Just Carrots Soup (not for HCG P2 or P3)

Ingredients

• 1 lb baby carrots
• 1/2 large onions, diced
• 2 tablespoons cumin, powdered
• 1 tablespoon chives, dried and sliced
• 1 tablespoon dried celery flakes
• 1 teaspoon garlic, powdered
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2-1 teaspoon mustard, finely ground (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)
• 1 pinch cumin seeds (optional)
• 5 tablespoons Braggs liquid aminos
• water ( probably about 8 cups)

Directions

1. Clean and cut carrots. In halves, slices, however you want. The smaller the carrot pieces, the faster this will be finished.
2. Put carrots in large pot on medium heat and add enough water to cover them fully. Add diced onions.
3. Once water comes to a boil, take a hand potato masher and mash the carrots and onions. Repeat often over a 30-45 minute period. Optionally, you can remove half or all of the mixture to a blender (or use a stick blender) and puree it for a finer, easier creamy soup.
4. Add spices listed (all are optional if you don't want to have all of them or you can add your own preferred spices) and the 5 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos. Be sure to stir thoroughly. (You may want to add more water to make your soup more liquid. I recommend adding 1 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos to every cup of water added. If you want a 'saltier' soup, just add more Bragg Liquid Aminos since it's healthier than salt.).
5. Lower heat to low-medium and let simmer for 10-20 minutes. Then serve and garnish if you want to. =).

My Weekend...

Saturday I slept in some and when I woke up I took my HCG, weighed myself and found that I hadn't gained or lost any weight since my previous weigh-in the day before, had some coffee and a piece of fruit. That was sort of late in the day, so I decided to skip lunch.  I took some HCG around 4 or 5pm, just to be safe.  We had some carrots in the refrigerator that were starting to grow again (seriously.  Some of them were sprouting roots and where the green leaves had been, they were starting to grow back!).  My sister said to throw them out but I said they could be used (even though I knew I couldn't eat them, as carrots are not one of the "approved" HCG vegetables) so I boiled them up and mashed them with a hand potato masher, I added some spices and stuff.  Then I took some more HCG before dinner and I had my recommended amount of everything (not extra, which I debated about doing since I had skipped one meal).  My family had rice, pork chops and the carrot soup I had made.  I had a piece of chicken and some fresh baby spinach which I had microwaved and added garlic powder, curry powder and dijon mustard to.  It was good.  My family was impressed with my made up carrot soup.  It seemed more like a lentil stew or something.  I was pretty impressed with it too (I tried a couple spoonfuls of the broth) and I would have really liked to have had some of it.  Oh, well.  It was easy to make and I can make it again some other time.  =)

Sunday I weighed myself and I had gained 4/10ths of a pound!!  =(  So depressing.  I came to the conclusion that it was either because I had skipped a meal (probably that!) or because I'd had an apple, which I've read can effect some people differently, even though it is an "approved" HCG fruit.  I really think it was the skipping of lunch though.  I suppose it could have been the couple spoonfuls of carrot soup broth too...  Later in the day I made some microwave dog biscuits that I found a recipe for on food.com.  I changed things up a little in it.  I'll maybe post the recipe sometime.  Anyway, my dog and my Dad's dog didn't eat any of them but my sister's dog loves them.  At least someone does.  =(  I tried to make them somewhat healthy and instead of adding salt, I added Bragg Liquid Aminos.  I also added some flax seed meal.  I gave some to my other sister for her to take home and give to her three dogs.  I don't know if they liked them or not because she hasn't told me.  They were easy to make though.  The recipe called for them to be in the microwave for ten minutes but the first batch started smoking after 5 minutes and then the smoke detector went off.  Needless to say, the first batch was ruined.  The other batches came out fine.  I put them in for 3 minutes and that seemed to be enough time.

Anyway, my Mom and Dad left Sunday to go to Canada to visit my Mom's brother.  So my sister and I are here and fending for ourselves.  =)  Last night I had more chicken and spinach.  That seems to be my "go-to" meal.

Today I weighed myself and I lose about 2 and a half pounds, so Yay!!  I'm so glad!!  I was getting worried - even though it was only one day of no gain/loss and one day of a small gain.  I'm going to really try not to ever skip a meal again.  =)  For lunch today I grilled a piece of tilapia (fish) from Schwan's on the George Foreman grill.  It was frozen and took only about 15 minutes.  Easy peasy!!  =)  It was good too.  I added some garlic powder and some curry powder to it.  =)  I also had my spinach staple with it.

Tonight I cut up three chicken breasts that my Mom got.  I found out that one of those giant chicken breasts can be divided in half in order to equal 3.5oz (on average).  So, I'll be having one of those pieces for dinner tonight.  The others I put in individual snack-size ziplock bags and added spices to each one.  Here's the spices (if you were wondering):
1.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Dijon Mustard, Curry Powder, Garlic Powder  (you knew that would be in there!!)
2.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Miami Spice Chicken Seasoning
3.  Grace's Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
4.  Curry Powder, Garlic Powder
5.  Bragg Liquid Aminos, Mrs. Dash
That leaves the other one for tonight which I've seasoned with Grace's Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and Garlic Powder and I'll grill it on the George Foreman Grill.

If you were also wondering, I still have my period.  It's still pretty heavy.  Definitely heavier than it has been in the past.  It seems to be heavier during the day rather than at night.  I also seem to have cramps every other day (on average) that hurt enough to require me to take some Advil.  I wish that it would all just go away.  Grrr.

800 Calorie Protocol

This is the 800 Calorie Protocol that a friend told me about.  I'm not doing this but I may do it at some point.  I'll share what I'm doing at the end of this post.  All of these are for use with the homeopathic HCG which is applied under the tongue.  Once the homeopathic HCG (HHCG) is applied under the tongue, try to leave it there for 15 minutes to allow for it to be absorbed more thoroughly.  Then swallow what's left (I usually drink water to help wash it down).

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Eat BREAKFAST of:

• 3 egg whites (may mix watery veggies & spices with it)
• Fruit

Eat SNACK of:

• Fruit

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Eat LUNCH of:

• 4oz (raw weight) protein
• 1.5 cups one approved vegetable
• small salad

Eat SNACK of:

• Fruit

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Eat DINNER of:

• 4oz (raw weight) protein (no red meat for dinner)
• 1.5 cups one approved vegetable 

Tips:

• No red meat for dinner.
• No fruit with or after dinner.
• Eat salad with lunch.
• Never skip a meal.
• Always eat breakfast.
• Always wait 15-20 minutes before eating once you've administered HCG.

----------------------------------
What I'm doing....

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Weigh for the day.

Have my coffee and a piece of fruit.

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Eat LUNCH (4oz [raw weight] protein, 1-2 cup veggies [includes salads])

Take HCG.  Wait 15-20 minutes before eating.

Eat DINNER (4oz [raw weight] protein, 1-2 cups veggies [includes salads])

Late-night SNACK of fruit.


According to my friend, I shouldn't be eating a piece of fruit after dinner but when the rest of the family is having some kind of dessert after dinner, I want to eat something, so it's best if I eat fruit rather than be tempted by whatever they're having.  I figure if I stop losing weight at some point, I'll rethink this idea.  =)
I'm also thinking about not having red meats for dinner anymore.  Granted, I don't eat a lot of red meat on this diet but I figured there must be a reason for the 800 calorie protocol to suggest not having it for dinner.

I wake up late (it used to be around 1pm but now it's around 11:30am), so breakfast is kind of pointless for me.  That's why I do the fruit.  I also don't eat my "lunch" until around 3pm or so.  And we usually don't have dinner until 8-10pm (depending on what night it is).  I go to bed around 2:30am.  For a normal person, it might look something more like this...
Wake - 8am
Breakfast - 9am
Lunch - 12pm
Dinner - 6-8pm
Sleep - 12am
It ends up being about the same amount of time in between meals, just at different times of day.  I think it works out pretty well for me the way it is.  If I start waking up earlier at some point, I'll try to adjust my eating schedule.  =)

Some Weight and Calorie Ramblings...

I lost two pounds since yesterday!  Yay!!  So, now I'm down almost 14 pounds.  I don't think I've mentioned how much I weigh and I hate to do it because I'm so embarrassed by it but I'm going to just get it out there.  When I started this whole thing, I weighed about 380 pounds.  I know.  WOW!  Disgusting!  Repulsive!  etc.  Get it over with.  I'm doing something about it now.  I know I just let myself get to that point because of my depression and not wanting to live, etc.  My depression isn't gone but it's under control somewhat, so that helps. It's really hard to get motivated when your mind is pulling you down.  So, now is probably the better time to do something about this.  A few years ago I lost weight too...  70+ pounds but I ended up gaining it all back because my depression got bad again and I just gave up.  I was also on the protein diet, so it was very limiting (granted, you could eat all the meat you wanted to eat but that get's really disgusting after awhile).  I know this diet is limiting too but it has a way to get out of it slowly that should (if done correctly) allow you to eat about 2000 calories once you're done.  We'll see.  I read somewhere that, in order to maintain your weight, you should figure about 100 calories for every pound.  So, I would really like to get down to 190 pounds.  Therefore, I could eat about 1900 calories a day and maintain my weight.  Another website I went to gave two different websites to figure what your caloric intake should be to maintain your weight and they were different.  Out of curiosity, I entered my current weight (before the diet) and the one site said to eat 2'450 calories while the other site said 5'182 calories.  I took the two numbers, added them together and then divided by two to get the average.  The average was 3'816 calories, which was basically my original thought of 100 calories for every pound.  =)

For lunch today I had 3 hard-boiled egg whites (I gave the yolks to my Dad) and spinach with the dijon mustard and Bragg Liquid Aminos on it.  This time I didn't heat the spinach in the microwave.  It was still good.  =)  I don't think I could eat that meal every day but it was nice to have for a change.  Besides, I was all out of chicken at the moment.

I still have my period.  I know, it has only been a few days but it's so heavy that it seems like longer.  I have to  wear a tampon and a pad, just to be safe.  I'm sure you wanted to know.  =)  Usually the heaviness lasts for a day or two and then it's just fairly light to average for 5 or so days.  I wonder when this is going to go away.  What if it never goes away while I'm on this diet?  Yikes.  That would be horrible.  I suppose, if that really happened, I'd have to eventually go off the diet.  Though, that would suck big time because I'm actually losing weight.  Oh well.  I'm not going to worry about that unless it happens.  =)

I'll probably add more later tonight...  or just tomorrow.  We'll see.  =)

Still on the Diet

I know a day or two have gone by since I was last on so I didn't want anyone to think I'd gone off the diet.  I'm still on it.  Still losing.  =)  So far, 10 days on it and I've lost 11.6 pounds.  And that 10 days includes my 2 days of "loading".  So, technically I've only been "dieting" for 8 days.  When you think of it like that, it's even more impressive!!  =)

Today the family had Subway for lunch.  I got a salad from there with grilled chicken.  I only ate half of the chicken and I removed the mushrooms and olives that were on it because they're both canned and I didn't know if those were allowed, since most canned veggies are not allowed on the diet.  I put Bragg's Liquid Aminos and some Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning on the salad and it was pretty good that way.

For dinner the family had chimichangas (sp?) and I had 3.5oz of chicken breast on a bed of baby spinach.  The spinach was fresh and the chicken was from a couple days ago.  I just put the spinach all over the plate (probably about 2-3 cups of loose spinach leaves) and then I put the chicken breast on top, popped it in the microwave for 1 minute and it was done.  Then I put a little dijon mustard on the spinach and on top of the chicken breast as well as some Bragg's Liquid Aminos and some more Mrs. Dash.  It was really good!!  I'll have to remember that for other things when I want to season them.

Anyway, that's it for now.  I just wanted to bring you up to date.  =)

Celery "Stuffing" Recipe

Celery (allowed amount) sliced (thinly sliced, or however you like it)
seasonings (to taste)
salt (I used Bragg Liquid Aminos but I don't know if that's considered "off protocol")
garlic
basil
marjoram
oregano
sage
small amount of water (if not using Liquid Aminos)

You could probably add some crumbled grissini or melba toast to it too but I didn't.

Then I just microwaved it for about 2 minutes in a regular microwave-safe bowl.  I like my celery a little crunchy still, but if you like it soft, you could microwave it for longer. 

I just thought I'd share this because it's actually pretty good (I'm not normally a big fan of celery) and it was super easy to make.


I was thinking that you could also put the stuffing inside your allotted amount of meat (chicken would be good, it seems like) and wrap it.  Then bake it with the chicken.  Yum!  =)

Better Day

So, from yesterday to today, I lost 5 pounds.  Yay!!  I feel better about the diet now.  =)  What's irritating though, is my scale.  On my scale this morning I weighed 341.  I know better than to believe it, so I came down to my parents scale and on their's I weighed 363.  22 pounds different!!  So irritating!!  However, my Mom has weighed herself on my scale and then on her own scale and she weighs the same.  It obviously doesn't know how to calculate super fat people properly.  I wish I could get a new scale but...  they can be so expensive.  Especially if you need one that can withstand (and work) for super fat people.  Sucksssss.

Last night at dinner I had a 2 oz. piece of chicken (60 grams, raw) which was actually fairly good sized.  I would have thought it would have been more than 2 oz.  I had put a little of Bragg's Liquid Aminos on it to season it and it was really good.  Then I had about a cup of broccoli and a small amount of cauliflower.  I also had a half of a whole wheat dinner roll.  I had an orange and a pear later.  We eat super late and then I stay up later, so it's not like I'm eating and going straight to bed.  I've heard that that's not good to do.  Supposedly if you do that, it all turns to fat.  I don't know.

I was going to start my diet about a month ago but I didn't because my Mom and my sisters were going to Michigan to visit family.  They were going to bring fudge and pasties home.  So, I decided I'd wait to go on the diet til after they got back, so I could have some fudge and pasties.  Well,  I ate a bunch of fudge but I forgot that my Mom had frozen the pasties.  Today she mentions to one of my sisters that we should have them next Monday night for dinner (every other Monday night, the whole family gets together for dinner.  My Mom usually makes hamburgers on the grill).  I kind of freaked out.  I can't believe I forgot about the pasties!!  Albeit a month has gone by (maybe longer!) and I have a tendency to be of the thought, "Out of sight, out of mind" sometimes...  so that could explain it.  But I was like, "What?!?!  I told you I was going to be going on this diet!!"  And she says, "Well, you could go off of it for a day!"  She totally doesn't understand this diet at all!  I had given her a little 2 page summary of what the diet was about and what I could and could NOT eat but did she read it??  No.  She read a little bit of it, she said.  Grrrr.  So, now I'm not sure when we'll have the pasties because I'm on this diet and want to be on it for awhile.  Another 'Ba-Hum-Bug' moment.

Last night my family had stuffing with their chicken, while I just had my plain chicken (with Bragg's Liquid Aminos).  Thanks to last night, I was craving stuffing.  So, today I made my own HCG-approved version.  I'll  post the recipe after this.  It was actually pretty good, considering it's small amount of ingredients.  And I did it in the microwave so it was fast and easy, which has always appealed to me.  =)  I was thinking, it would be really good if you rolled it up in the chicken and baked it.  Yum!  I'll have to try that next time.  =)  So, for lunch today I had a small piece of steak that was left over (about 2-3 oz, raw) from the other night and my "celery stuffing".  It was good to eat the "stuffing" with a bite of steak.  =)

Tonight my Mom made pork chops.  I cut all the fat off, cut it in half and weighed it.  It was about 70grams.  I figured that was good enough.  So, I had that for dinner with about a cup and a half of broccoli and some more of my 'Celery "Stuffing"'.  I also had half of a whole wheat dinner roll.  Afterwards, while we were watching TV, I had a tangerine.  Later I'll probably have a pear.  I can't believe how un-hungry I am.  I mean, the craving to eat is still there because that's just what I've gotten used to, but I'm not actually HUNGRY.  It's nice.  =)  I do have some self control!!  ;-)

Oh, I also started my period tonight.  Yay.  I wonder if that's going to effect my weight tomorrow.  I'll let you know.  =)

Ba Hum Bug.

So, here I was thinking that I was doing pretty good.  Well, today I only lost 2/10 of a pound.  What???  I'm pretty much starving myself (OK, it doesn't FEEL like I'm starving myself but I'm still eating very little!!) and that's all I lost.  I don't know if my HCG has expired or what.  I've had it in my fridge for a few years, so it very well could be expired...  but my appetite hasn't been super intense or anything, so I don't get it.  Well, I ordered some new HCG, so when I get it, I'll try it and see if it makes a difference.

I made soup for lunch again today.  Mushroom bouillon with some sliced radishes and a little bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos to add a little salty flavor to it.  It was pretty good.  Crap.  I just got thinking, I don't think mushrooms are allowed on the diet!  I hope I didn't totally screw things up with that!!  Grrr.  I also had a small piece of steak from last night that I had cooked for today.  I had cooked about 80grams (raw) for today, but I only ate half of it for lunch.  I figured the other half could be eaten tomorrow.  Tonight we're having chicken.

I'm so overweight that I should be losing more weight, since I'm eating so little.  It's frustrating.  A little disheartening.  But I'm not throwing in the towel, so don't worry about that.  =)

Well, that's all for now.

Doing the Diet Thing...

I've done loads of diets over the years.  I'll save you the boredom of going over all the ones I've been on.  But I'm now trying the HCG diet.  I know.  It's all the craze lately.  I'm just sick of being fat and I want to be a smaller version of myself.  Actually, I wouldn't mind being a smaller version of anyone but me...  but I'll get into that some other time.

I started my HCG Journey a few days ago...  I'm doing the homeopathic HCG drops.  I have to put 10-20 drops under my tongue and let them sit there for 15 minutes.  Then I have to wait 15-30 minutes before I can eat.  Or I can take the drops 15-20 minutes after I've finished eating.  Fun stuff here.  =)  It's alcohol based but to me it kind of tastes like flat diet Sprite.  Yum.

So, the first two days of the HCG diet, you "load".  In other words, you eat like a maniac and try to get as much food in you as you possibly can.  I managed to eat about 7'500 calories both days.  Seriously.  I was aiming for 10'000 but it didn't happen.  Maybe next time.  =)

The HCG diet I'm doing is more based on the one Kathleen Barnes talks about in her book "The Super Simple HCG Diet" which allows you to eat 700 calories per day, rather than the 500 calories that Dr. Simeon's (the originator of the HCG Diet) suggested.

I'm keeping track of the food I eat with an app on my iPod.  It was free.  It's one of those calorie counting app's.  They have a few HCG app's but most of them cost and I'm super cheap.  =)

Thursday the 6th of October was my first actual low-calorie day.  According to the calorie app, I ate 490 calories.  It was a hard day.  I was really unprepared for the diet and I didn't know what to do or what to eat.  I wasn't really hungry much but I wanted to eat because that has been the way I have been doing things.  I would sit in front of the computer and munch on stuff occasionally.  Anyway, I ended up just having broccoli for lunch.  And for dinner I had some chicken (about 150grams of it) and about 2 cups of canned tomatoes with tomato juice, so it was like a soup.

Friday the 7th, I ate 546 calories.  For lunch I had two small slices of turkey lunch meat (about 75grams of it) and a red bell pepper with some Bragg's Liquid Amino for flavoring (if you've never had it, it pretty much tastes like soy sauce.  It's really good, if you like soy sauce!  =)  For dinner we had fast food.  I got the Chicken Caesar Salad from McDonald's.  I painstakingly picked out all the little bits of cheese.  OK, most of the little bits of cheese.  Some of the bits were so small, I just couldn't get them and I ended up eating them.  I made my own dressing for the salad...  Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar and some stevia to sweeten it.  It tasted quite a bit like honey mustard dressing.  Then I took about half of the chicken out of the salad and put that half in the fridge for the next day.  All in all, the meal seemed to work out, considering it was fast food.  Then I ate a few stalks of celery because you can eat an unlimited amount of that.  I'm not a huge fan of celery, if I have a lot of it, it sort of starts making my tongue numb.  I don't know why but it does.  I had a slice of honeydew melon later.

Today, I made a soup for lunch with the chicken that was left-over from my salad last night.  I pulled it apart into small pieces and made sure to remove any fat that was visible.  I weighed it and it was about 50grams of chicken.  Then I cut up two small radishes and three stalks of celery and put them in the water with the chicken on the stove.  I added some of the Liquid Aminos to flavor it.  I added some random spices just to add more texture to the soup.  It was really good, if I do say so myself.  I was surprised that I did so well with it.  No recipe!!  About an hour after I ate it, I went diarrhea.  Big time diarrhea.  I refer to it as "Bummit" because it's kind of like vomiting from your bum.  This was total liquid bummit.  I'm not positive but I seriously wonder if it was my soup...  it was about the same consistency and color.  If you wanted to know that.  =)  I've never had a problem with my bowels.  When I was on HerbaLife once, I would expel my dinner within a few hours after eating.  It was weird.  I knew it was my dinner because I didn't eat corn a lot and so, when I did, I'd watch for the corn to come out.  I was at my sister's house once when it happened.  I had told them all about it and they didn't believe me.  So, when I went to the bathroom and saw the corn, I called her and her husband and my other sister up to the bathroom to see it.   They were surprised.  They believed me after that.  =)

You'll find that I talk about my bowels fairly regular.  I don't know why I do it but I do.  I guess I just like to share gross things with anyone who will listen (read).

We're having steak for dinner tonight.  I have to go measure out my meat and everything.  I'll get back to you later.  =)

I hate sharing my personal info but here it is:
Starting weight:  370.8 (I know!!  I'm not proud of this at all!!)
After Loading:  375.4 (suck it!!  I ate about 7500 calories on both of those days!!  Awesome!!  =)
FYI, when I record my loss, I'm recording it from my highest weight ("After Loading" weight) because I still had to lose that!!  =)