P2D40

Today was a good day.  I didn't have time to post yesterday, the day as a whole just got away from me.  However, I did find a pretty new pillow for my living room and some matching twin bedding to redo my girls room.  I'll have to post all of that over at my other blog, so CHECK IT!

But, back to updating my weight loss.  About 3 pounds in the last two days.

Yesterday was a loss as was today, and I can't remember what the difference between the two days was, so this post will have to be a combined post and were all good with that, right?

Stats:

Starting Weight:  206.5

Today's Weight: 182.6

Total Loss:  23.9 Pounds.  I'm getting a little tired of ending in all these .9's.  It's like a tease for the next number.  C'mon!

So needless to day, I'm very happy with my near 24 pound loss.  I'm feeling really really good about that.  I think I'm going to keep doing the drops all weekend, stop them on Monday and start the 1500 calorie maintenance phase on Wednesday.  It would be nice to get on the other side of 25 pounds so that I end closer to 30 instead of 20 pounds lost.

This has been a really crazy journey.  I'm completely nervous about transitioning into the maintenance phase.  Can I stabilize this new weight, or will it just be all over the place.  While VLCD has been hard, it's also been easy to follow.  It's very specific and clear.  That can feel boring some days, but it's really important to learning about yourself and your body.  I can tell that my taste buds have changed.  They are more sensitive to natural sweetness for example.  Even my Tom's toothpaste tastes sweet now.  I can also feel the fat that is in something, literally coating my tongue.  Weird! 

I think I need to just keep my head wrapped around the fact that things don't stop now.  It's the most important part of this journey coming up!  I HAVE to stabilize this new weight!!!!!!! 

The challenge continues.

P2D38 - A little Closer

So TOM has passed and I finally saw a drop this morning of -.9 Pounds!  Thank God!  I thought I was going to have to end this thing at 20 pounds, and I know I can do more.  So the next four days are going to be a mad dash!  Get ready, get set, GO!  Let's see how far down I can get.......  YE HAW!


Starting Weight:  206.5
Today's Weight:  185.6
Total Weight Loss:  20.9 Pounds (That's .1 from 21 pounds FYI)

I'm hoping to see the 70's before this round is over.  I hope that I will, I'm going to hold out for sure!  If I'm on a roll this weekend, I might push it for a few more days, we will just see what kind of roll I get on!

Hope you are all having a great day, whatever diet or change you are tying to make in your life!   

P2D33 - Down 20

Ugh.  What a week.  After the Brisket/Chicken fiasco on Saturday, and then starting TOM, this week has been a long one.  I stuck to my guns and worked through the Brisket gain .4 pounds at a time.  It pays off to stick with it!

This morning, I was down 1.2 Lbs!  That officially puts me just a titch over losing 20 Pounds! Truly, that is amazing.  When have you EVER lost 20 pounds in 33 days?  I never have.  It's taken me months and months to loose weight like that.  

My stats so far are...
Starting Weight:  206.5
Today's Weight:  186.4
Total Weight Loss:  20.1 Pounds!  

Next Friday, July 30th, was going to be my last day of VCLD on this part of the diet.  I posted last week about staying on the diet for as much as 55 days.  However, I feel like since I'm back on track again, and onto the next ten pounds of losing, I might see how the week goes and just stick to my original stop date.  I won't lie, this diet has been HARD!  It's been a huge test of my WILL POWER!  It's made me feel angry and overjoyed all in the same day!  I feel good about the progress I've made, and it really makes me think first about what I put in my mouth!  

I'm nervous to move onto the next part of this diet.  What if it doesn't work and I gain it all back?  I just have to stick to the protocol and do my best, right?  Yikes!  

I did start taking new drops this week.  I ordered them on Amazon for only $18.00.  I'm not ready to tell everyone to go out and buy them just yet.  I'd like to finish out the diet with them and make sure they work, but if so, what a great bargain it will be!  I'll keep you all posted.

I feel like I can see it in my face!

Before HCG

18 Pounds Lost on HCG

P2D28 - Well Shoot

Well, yesterday was a little disappointment.  I didn't loose anything, and then, I cheated.....  So, here's how that played out.  I did really good all day, and was on the road to perfection, however, my husband was smoking BBQ all day long.  Now, I've been eating chicken for the past 28 days, and liking it just fine.  If I need a little something, I'll even go grab a nibble from my cooked stash in the fridge.  But this chicken was AMAZING!  And then his Brisket came off the grill.  I couldn't handle it.  I cheated on too much meat last night, and I can feel my body retaining the water.  It will probably take me 3 days to rebound from this......

What I learned is that I'm craving real, cooked from scratch food.  Not all the processed crap in the cupboards, but the good, home cooked kind.  This diet hasn't been affording me much time in the kitchen, cooking.  I think when I get to the maintenance phase, I'm going to enjoy that part again.  I'll have many more ingredients to get creative with, and can cook for my family and friends again.

***IMPORTANT Update to protocol.

I've been using the HCG Plus group on Facebook for alot of my support and I confirmed Friday night that I can stay on Phase 2 for 57 days (including 2 load days) OR till I have lost 34 pounds.  This means that I can legally lengthen the time I'm spending on this part of the diet to hopefully reach my goal of 30 pounds.  Since I know that I'm also starting TOM any day, this will be another good reason to stick P2 out for another week!  We'll see how things play out this week and go from there!

P2D26 - Crusin

Losing this weight continues to keep crusin' along!  Woke up to a 1Lbs loss this morning!  Oh Yeah!  This really does feel good!  I was talking to one of my very best friends last night, she sent me a little 'thinkin of ya' package yesterday.  That was totally cool, because it was filled with little things that she knows I would love, and note that said to "keep up the good work, your doing amazing on this diet".  I love words of encouragement that come when you are lest expecting it!  Also, overall, I'm feeling really good.  There were a few things about this diet that I was worried about, but so far...


-No Headaches
-Lot's of Energy
-No stomach discomfort.  (I don't have gas peeps, that's a big deal for me)
-Sleeping well
-Feeling better in my clothes.  DUH!

Stats:
Starting Weight:  206.5
Today's Weight:  187.6
Total Weight Lost:  18.9 POUNDS! 

Since I haven't done this in awhile.....

Woke Up: 6:00am, peed and weighed myself.
Breakfast: Coffee, Coffee and some more coffee
HCG:  13 drops
Snack: Hot Tea and Peligrino with Root Beer Drops
HCG: 13 drops at 12:00
Lunch: Asparagus and Ground Beef
Snack:  3 cups Hot Tea 2 Lite Rye Crackers
HCG: 5:00 13 drops
Dinner:  BBQ Chicken and Strawberries
Water: Lost track, but I did get up to pee during the night.  That is always a good sign that I drank a lot=)
Cheats:  Sugar Free creamer in my morning coffee and one little choc chip.  I think I'm pms-ing.  I was a little crabby yesterday.

P2D25

Yesterday was less than thrilling but this morning made up for that!  I jumped on the scale to a wonderful loss of -1.8 Lbs!  Yup.  I'm definitely feeling in more control than I did this time last week.

I think drinking hot tea right before bed might really be helping.  But I'm no doctor, so who knows!  What is amazing is that I'm now counting down the 80's!  And oh, it feels so good.

Starting Weight:  206.5

Today's Weight:  188.6

Total Weight Loss:  17.9 Pounds! (that's one decimal shy of 18 in case you didn't notice)

So I'm just gonna keep doing what I've been doing.  I'm planning to push this diet as long as I'm allowed, which is 40 days.  That will put me at July 30th.  I have 15 more days of VLCD.  If I can keep up my average of .7 lbs a day, I will be just shy of losing my goal of 30 Pounds for this round.

I haven't done measurements in awhile.  I think I might do those and post my actual numbers sometime soon. 

As for today, I'm looking forward to some beef and asparagus with an apple for a snack and my chicken and strawberry salad with Sweet Mustard Dressing for dinner!

P2D24 - C'mon!

Things are good, but seriously  was looking forward to seeing the scale drop down into new territory!  I've been in the 90's for a bit now, I'd like to get funky with the 80's please!  Maybe tomorrow.  The scale this morning was only a -.2Lbs

Starting Weight:  206.5

Today's Weight:  190.4

Total Weight Loss:  16.1 Pounds!

However, officially being able to say that I've lost 16 glorious pounds is nice!

 

I thought I would continue talking about things that I'm doing and eating that are getting me through Phase 2.  Eggs and Cottage Cheese are an occasional substitution for protein.  One thing I've noticed, small changes from the chicken, beef and fish realm are a nice change of pace!

  
Above, I'm eating fresh garden tomatoes and a yummy no salt spice by McCormick with 1% cottage cheese.  That was a nice treat to my taste buds!

And I'm learning to like Fish!  This is Cod that Travis made on the grill for me.  Salt, Pepper and LOTS of LEMON!

Sweet Mustard Salad Dressing

This would be good as a marinade too!

(enough for your salad)

1 Heaping Tbls Spicy Brown Mustard

1 Tbls Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

3 squirts Braggs Amino Acids

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Salt

Pepper

Pinch of Stevia Powder

Mix together in a tupperware container and chill.  Play around with other spice blends and the amounts of spices you use to suit your taste buds!  Yummy stuff!

And lastly, I've found the best support yet!  HCG Plus on Facebook.  

Great Support there!

P2D23 - Headed in the right direction

It's so nice to be back on track with everything.  I still struggle from moment to moment.  The fresh baked chocolate chip cookies at my Mom's house yesterday were REALLY REALLY hard to resist.  Warm fresh and super chocolaty!  It did remind me that I'm looking forward to cooking food again.  Also, trying out healthier ingredients.  Whole wheat flour, flax meal, maybe even some gluten free too!  

But, it's worth it when you jump on the scale in the morning and are down -1.2Lbs!

Starting Weight:  206.5
Today's Weight:  190.6
Total Weight Loss:  15.9Lbs Gone!


In the mean time, I thought I would talk about the things that are getting me through this part of the diet!

Celestial Seasoning's Tea!  My two favorites at the moment are Green Tea and Cinnamon Apple Spice.  For the last two nights, I've been drinking a cup of green tea before bed.  I think it helps with my metabolism while I'm sleeping.  

Buy at Henry's

 Okay, This stuff is the BEST!  This liquid stevia tastes like Root Beer I swear!  I add this to some Pelagrinno, and WHA-LA, I have an instant soda!

 There are several other flavors, my next favorite is the Valencia Orange which I add to the La Croix brand Grapefruit Sparkling Water, and I'm now drinking a Mandarin Orange Hanson's!

Buy at Target

Gum is a questionable item on this diet, because many sugar free gums still contain an artificial sweetener other than Stevia, however, this Chocolate Mint gum is helping me get through some tough days, and if it keeps me from eating a cookie, and I still am loosing weight, then I'm gonna chew it!

 And for today, last but certainly not least, Braggs Amino Acids!  OMG!  Kind of a soy sauce type flavor, but packed with all kinds of goodness!  I put it on everything, and sometimes, just in some hot water for a little warm brothy soup to drink.  It's the kind of thing that gets you past the hunger!

Buy at Henry's

PS - If your reading my blog, say Hi and let me know if you have questions!  Sometimes I don't know if I'm just talking to myself!=)

P2D22 - I almost didn't make it!

Sorry for the hiatus!  Let's just say that this diet will humble you very quickly!  Do NOT think that you are superwomen once you start losing weight!  If you allow yourself a little tinsie, tiny, fudge, HCG will SLAP you across the face!  Let me explain....

Last Wednesday, I finally saw a drop after a disastrous 4th of July weekend..  A whopping .5 pounds.  So, I was feeling like I had the diet back in the drivers seat and I was good to go.  WRONG!  Wednesday night, I didn't head to the hospital (to see my Mom) prepared with something to eat!  SO, what's wrong with a protein bar and a handful of Nuts?  I'm good, right?  It won't mess with me much, if at all, right?  Nope.  Woke up Thursday to +3Lbs.  Stupid.  Irritated.  Disappointed.  Sad.  Mad.  What did I do...  Relax.  It will all be better.  Just eat clean, follow your protocol and it will be fine tomorrow.  It took 3 LONG Days!!!!!  One little mess up cost me dearly!!!

I was so over joyed to get on the scale this morning to {Drum Roll Please} -3.2Lbs!  I can't believe my eyes.  Thank God!  I needed that!  I checked this like 10 times, I thought my eyes were playing tricks with me!

Starting Weight:  206.5

Today's Weight:  191.8

Total Pounds Lost:  14.7  YAHOO!

So, with that I'm officially wearing a pair of Capris that have been sitting in my closet for 2 years.  I bought them on clearance way back when thinking, surely I will be into these in no time.  Well, 2 years later and 14.7 lbs lighter, I'm wearing them.  And I did a happy dance!

P2D17

Okay, so Holiday weekends are the pits.  This is not a diet of convenience!  But, back to LOSING!  

I got on the scale this morning, and I'm down a 1/2 pound.  That I will take!!!

Starting Weight:  206.5

Today's Weight:  195

Total Weight Loss:  11.5 Pounds!

Yesterday I ate VERY clean.  I had egg whites for a change at lunch and Travis made some YUMMY fish for dinner!  The girls even gobbled that up!

I spent some more time on the Weight Loss Forum last night.  There were a few people that posted to my introduction message.  Some were VERY opinionated with their responses.  I was a little taken aback.  However, I realized that I'm not doing everything to the 'T' and I might have even better results if I did!  Either way, the weight I'm losing is no poke in the eye.  I will continue on my journey and see how far I can get!

• No more mixing veggies, only in dire circumstances.
• Carefully weigh all meat!
• Get my water in.  130 oz is a lot harder than you  think!

P2D16

Happy 4th of July out there!  Yikes!  What a roller coaster of a weekend.  In my neck of the woods we had family family family in town.  It was fun, but juggling all the kids, places to go, food to eat, it was a long, HOT weekend.  I think I'm retaining FLUIDS and possibly a potato chip or two from yesterday.  

I'm here to tell ya, trying to do this diet and eat out and not make everyone else bored with dinner because you are eating like a bird is HARD!  I tried my hardest, but yesterday kinda got the best of me and I had a few things I shouldn't.  Funny thing, they didn't taste AS GOOD as I thought they would.  It just goes to show you, it's all mind over matter.  I thought I wanted it because I COULDN'T have it.  Seriously, get a hold of yourself Marissa!

So I can proudly say that I am entering into this week not a pound heavier, nor a pound lighter.  So I'm just going to pull on my big girl panties, and finish this Phase out strong!

I'm keeping better track of my water.
I'm not going to forget any of my drops.
I will not be tempted by the evil chocolate morsels in cookies.
I will remember to look forward to enjoying the feel of loosing weight!!!!

P2D13

So I will have to be honest, yesterday was a gain from Thursday of 1 lbs.  I was mortified that I had let it happen, and that it happened so easily.  I was so nervous this morning when I got on the scale.  I was worried that I'd see another gain and that this diet was just to good to be true.  Let's face it, I'm feeling so much better about myself.  My clothes fit a little better, people notice a little, I feel better in general, especially my back.  I just want this to continue. 

This morning, with all the nerve I could muster, I hoped on that scale.  Since I had gained yesterday, today was only a true loss of 1 lbs!  But I will take that over a gain any day.

Starting Weight:  206.5
Today's Weight:  195.5
Total Loss:  11 Lbs!

Phew!  Back on track for sure.  Here's to keeping it up this Holiday Weekend.

***Here is an update on my post the day before I started the diet!

Things I'm looking forward too:
-Fitting into some size 14 jeans that I bought at GAP.
-My face not looking so ROUND!  CHECK!
-Feeling comfortable with my arms in something sleeveless.
-Wearing a dress.
-Getting below 200 for the first time in four years.  CHECK!
-Wearing some boot cut jeans and my cowgirl boots and feeling sexy!
-My back not hurting all the time.  CHECK!

Happy Fourth of July!

P2D12

Well, today is a little bit of a pisser, But I think I know what I did wrong.  TO MUCH BEEF!  There was NO LOSS today....  A few things are going on, and I'm going to ride this out for better results tomorrow.

• I need to poop
• I need to drink 2 gallons of water if I can.
• No melba toast, bread stick or WASA.
• Maybe that watermelon caught up with me.
• I shouldn't have licked my damm finger when I got Peanut Butter on it last night.  I didn't mean too, but it's hard to spit Peanut Butter out.  I knew I was screwed.  

I will eat VERY CLEAN today!  No deviations, extra's, not even a rabbit pellet sized bite of anything.  Actually, if I think of things in terms of poop, it helps me not want it!

I guess this was my reminder before going into the weekend.  Gosh, Thursday's are becoming a traditionally stupid day for me!  

On the lite side, I am shaving inches off still!

2 1/2 in. from my waist

1 3/4 in. from my belly (say it with a Shrek voice)

1 3/4 in. from my hips!

Half day Friday is a blast!  YAHOO!