So here I am on round 2 (finally) I have beeing saying I'm going to for months now. I added exercise to my routine and haven't lost a pound. I am hoping it is due to muscle gain. I was at dinner with a friend the other night and noticed she had lost a significant amount of weight. She is doing the hcg diet with the drops. I still have some of the injections in the fridge and shouldn't let them go to waste. I will continue with the exercise and follow the hcg diet very strictly until my injections run out. Seeing how far my friend has come makes me realize it is worth it. So I had yummy coconut cream pie last night and starting my first injection today. As with last time around I am not going to do three days of the over load. I will start the vlcd (very low calorie diet) today. Oh and this time no caffeine, that will make the missionaries happy too ;)
2/21/11
Day 1~166.4
Injection 0730
Breakfast Tazo Calm tea mixed with Celestial Seasoning Sugar Cookie tea (for sweetness)
Lunch a few bites of cornish game hen (no skin, breast meat) and 2 baby pickles
I should add that when I say strictly I don't mean each and every rule word for word. Although I should I was reading back through my round one and realized most of my weight loss was in the first 8 days, when I was following the diet really carefully. I guess I better do some grocery shopping tonight and stock up on chicken, cucumbers, and cabbage.
Dinner pork loin and roasted onions
2/22/11
Day 2~163.8 -2.6
Woohoo a 2.6 pound loss. I haven't seen 163 since round one of this diet. A few more days and I should be in the 150's I am thrilled. I hope adding exercise this time will really speed up the loss and sustain the loss after I am done.
Injection 0600 p90x cardio 55 minutes
No breakfast
Lunch pork loin no veggies
Celestial Seasonings Apple Spice Tea
Snack apple
Dinner chicken breast and cabbage
Saddly I am already planning what and where to eat when I am off the diet. I should say when I reach my goal weight. No wonder I have a weight problem. My husband is no longer on the diet with me, he as started running daily and is down below is dream weight. He runs about 10 miles on Saturdays and wants to carb load on Fridays he is already planning what he will torture me with this week.
2/23/11
Day 3~
Monday, February 21, 2011
Saturday, October 2, 2010
The Journey
The Diet
The HCG diet is a VLCD (very low calorie diet) which means you eat 500 calories per day, and daily injections of HCG. I know some people think this diet is very dangerous, if you follow the correct balance in your diet and use the HCG as directed this diet is safe and effective. The reason for the HCG is that it tells your body to burn fat rather than muscle. Normally during a VLCD your body would go into starvation mode and begin to break down muscle for fuel, with the HCG your body keeps it's muscle and burns your fat.
The Beginning 9-28-10 176.4lb
On September 28th my husband and I started this diet, we have an 8 month old baby girl and both of us are ready to get the extra weight off. The original protocol says you should start with your first 3 days as "load" days where you eat as much as you want and as much fat as you want. The protocol my husband and I are following says that if you were eating like this previous to the diet you could start the VLCD after only one day. So our first day was a load day, we had tacos for dinner and half a cheesecake each for dessert.
Day 2 9-29-10 174.8.lb -1.6
My second injection was before work at 0640 I started my day with a 16oz coffee sweetened with Splenda. Just a note about Splenda it is only a "free" food if you eat fewer than 5 of the little packets. I wasn't hungry in the morning at all. I ate an apple around 0830 thinking if I eat before I'm starving it will keep me from being too hungry later. It worked the opposite. I was starving after the apple.
Lunch was at 1245 and I ate a portion of cucumber and baked chicken. I didn't have a carb option because we live and a small town and had to search every grocery store before we finally found grissini and melba toast. I had my afternoon snack at 1400 and was really tired afterward.
Dinner was crabmeat, asparagus, and a grissini. I had heard asparagus could stall your weightloss, but I tried it anyway.
After dinner we walked 1.3 miles, I was very tired and cranky. We take this same walk every other night and I've never been that tired or cranky before. Since I didn't eat a carb option at lunch I had a grissini before bed. I was in bed early and slept very well.
Day 2 9-30-10 170.4lb -6lb
Injection was at 0640 This morning I started the same as yesterday tired but not hungry, super excited about the weight loss. I had my 16oz of coffee with Splenda. Still not hungry by 1004 I'm not going to eat a morning snack this morning since it only made me more hungry yesterday. Drank 10oz water. I was starting to feel my tummy growl at 1030, had a snack at 1100, the apple was so sweet I only ate 3 small slices. Starting to get hungry about 1145, but not enough to have more apples and too early for lunch. Another 10 oz of water and again another 10 at 1215. I must really need the water because I usually pee like crazy with this much water.
Lunch 1245 1 egg with 3 egg whites, cabbage and a grissini. By lunch I was hungry but not starving, I only at half of the egg yolk. I didn't have much time for a walk on lunch but I took a quite 7 minute walk around the complex. I feel very motivated today. 20 more oz of water. 1532 I feel like I should be hungry but I'm not. I feel like I should eat because I've always been taught to eat every 2-3 hours to keep the metabolism up. Maybe I'll eat the other apple slices in an hour.
1610 ate 2 apple slices, not very hungry still, pacing the waiting area at work for some more exercise.
Dinner 1745, Halibut and Scallops (I don't know if you are supposed to mix proteins?) salad greens and a grissini. I was satisfied and went on another 1.3 mil walk. The walk makes me hungry, I had a half a grapefruit around 2045 since I didn't have a snack earlier. I was in bed by 2145. This stuff sure does make my sleepy.
Day 4 10-1-10 168.6lb -7.8
Down 7.8 pounds in 4 days. Woohoo. That would take a month and a half of traditional dieting. My injection was at 0730 this morning. I'm at working making coffee now I'm a little hungry but I'm sure the coffee with hit the spot. 16oz of coffee with Stevia today not the Truvia it had calories.
I feel great today, I wish I had taken b4 photos and measurements days ago. We just moved and I can't find the tape measure. 1030 still sipping coffee, not hungry, hungry by 1100 but sipping coffee is keeping me from starving.
Lunch 1115 I had to take the early lunch today so instead of eating my full lunch now I will only eat half now and half later. I ended up eating all of the cabbage and half of the crab and half bread. I need to drink more water, I've only had coffee so far no water. Busy at work so I didn't get my snack until 1514. I had 2 slices of apple and half the crab. I liked splitting my lunch it worked well for me. Now dinner is only 2-3 hours away so it will keep my metabolism up. Still not enough water but I can't get myself to start drinking more. at 1645 I was hungry so I had 20 oz of water since 75% of Americans mistake thirst for hunger. Then 10 more oz of water before I went home at 1700.
Dinner was chick and cabbage for the carb option Hubby and I decided to try a tiny bit of air popped popcorn with no oil or butter. We didn't walk today just around the grocery store.
Day 5 10-2-10 168.6lb -7.8
No Loss from yesterday. I expected that with having had no water yesterday my body held on to any it got. I'm sure the pop corn wasn't good either, so no more of that until we are finished. I'm glad there was no gain though. Today I have to do better with the water. I was really hungry during the night and hadn't been before. I think it was because of the popcorn. My injection was 0745 this morning 10oz of water right when I got up and before my coffee. I had 1 strawberry in hopes it would start my metabolism. 1115 ate a cucumber for a snack, didn't last long, really hungry for lunch at 1245.
Lunch was halibut, a scallop, salad greens and a slice of pickle. Drinking 16 oz of diet tea, I have heard it's a good way to break a stall in weight loss. I took a half hour nap with the baby today. 10 oz of water and 10 more of tea
Dinner at 1630 was a chicken soup I made with tomatos and melba toast broken up into the soup. It was fantastic and so filling. Having the liquid with dinner was a great way to fill up. We took a 1.3 mile walk and I wasn't hungry this time. I am just now taking my measurements and "before" pictures.
I took a lot of measurements but for simplisity sake here are the major ones bust 45, waist 43, hips 41. My starting weight was 176.4 and I'm 5'4"
I'm not finished with the day but I plan to have a half a grapefruit with stevia before bed.
Day 6 10-3-10 168.0 -8.4
A 0.6lb loss since yesterday not too bad. That's about the average for ladies anyway. I knew these huge losses would slow down. Today's injection was at 0815, Although today is a Sunday I won't start skipping Sundays until I start to see an immunity. Since women have to stop during their monthly cycles I figure I'll get the most while I can.
The low calorie diet is starting to get to me today, I was really missing the cream in my coffee to start off the day. I had half a grapefruit for breakfast and a tiny bit of coffee, I just wasn't feeling it without the cream. For lunch I had talpia and melba toast and to slices of pickles. I couldn't decided on a veggie and they looked good. I took my baby to visit grandma and grandpa after lunch and walked into the most amazing smelling kitchen. I didn't think to ask if they'd been making any yummy food before I visited. They had made waffles. Mmm!
After we got home from grandma's it was time for a nap for both of us. I took a 2 hour nap and woke in time for dinner chicken soup again, since it was so filling yesterday. I'm also having Grissini and romaine lettuce with rice vinegar and spices. After dinner is a 1.3 mile walk and a snack of strawberries before bed. I haven't had enough water today so I'll probably hold onto it tomorrow.
Day 7 10-4-10 167.4 -9
I had a 1.2lb loss from yesterday, boy it feels good to see these numbers. I had my injection at 0640 today and decided on just coffee and water in the AM. I think the HCG tends to work better with no breakfast (snack) which is what the original protocol advises.
It's been such a crazy day at work I haven't had time to evne drink my coffee. I'm not hungry and actually have energy although I wish I had remembered by B vitamins. I think they really help with the mood and energy. It's already 11 and I haven't had time to think about being hungry, it's great.
1245 lunch is Talapia, cabbage and melba toast. I still have energy I take a quick walk around the complex. I really need to drink more water. 1407 a little more sleepy after lunch, maybe a little moody too. I cried last night over something really stupid and I'm getting more upset than I should over not being able to decide on a halloween costume for my 8 month old. It's 1600, I'm tired and mentally hungry I can't wait to get home and have dinner.
Dinner I didn't even want to post about dinner my husband wasn't feeling well the low calories were really getting to him to he decided he wanted to cheat. We went to Applebees and I had a steak meal. I did eat the whole 7 oz steak. I know it was double the portion I should be having, I didn't eat the potatoes though and only had a little of the veggies since they were broccolli and squash. I don't even want to think about what the scale might say tomorrow morning.
Day 8 10-5-10 167.2 -9.2
I can't believe I had a .2 lb loss I thought for sure I would be up. I wish that I hadn't eaten so much though, it would have been nice to see what the loss would have been without cheating. I can't believe my husband had a 1lb loss today, it's not fair since his meal was less HCG diet friendly. That's men for you, harder for them to put on extra weight and easier to lose. Not to mention my husband isn't nearly as overweight as he thinks he is. He only has about 10 lbs to lose to get to his fantasy goal weight, you know the weight you wish you still were, the weight you were in high school. Not the realistic weight goal. He only has about 5 lbs to lose before he is at a healthy realistic weight loss goal. Anyway enough complaining I'm down almost 10 pounds in 8 days. I'm exstatic!
Injection was at 0640 this morning and just coffee and water before lunch. I have been drinking at least 10 oz of water before my coffee because once that coffee is brewed it's hard to drink anything else. I really wish I could use lotion. I'm a phlebotomist and wash my hands a lot, the company even ordered my special lotion that just came in. I keep looking longingly at the bottle on my desk.
Lunch at 1245 is a few sea scallops, cucumber and a grissini bread stick. I am not hungry at all and really don't even want to eat what I have eaten. I have tons of energy today. I think it's from the calories from last night's cheat. I've also had plenty of water and that could help.
Dinner was at 1730, it was tourture watching my step son eat his grilled cheese, I have to admit my husband and I both had a bite. Oops and a bite or three or four of his popcorn later during our movie. I know horrible. Our dinner was chicken soup with broccoli. We went on our walk but cut a little out so it was only about a mile. Maybe we will make up for that by going on one tomorrow too.
Day 9 10-6-10 166.0 -10.4
Down .8 from yesterday, a pretty good loss since we had a bite of grilled cheese and some popcorn. My injection today was IM (intramuscular) in stead of SubQ (in the fat). It was at 0640 and administered by my husband since I'm a chicken about giving myself shots. Same as usual, no breakfast just coffee and water for breakfast. I woke up this morning with a little bit of dizziness, I don't know if it's from the diet, the hcg or just the change in season. I get Vertigo once or twice a year so I dont' want to blame the diet. I am still very motivated and excited about the loss so far it's been an average of 1.15 lb per day. I heard this will slow down and isn't the average for women, we usually average about .5 lbs per day. I should be starting my monthly cycle soon so I will have to stop the injections, we shall see how that goes.
Lunch was hard boiled eggs and a grissini, I ate 1 whole egg and 2 whites. I didn't feel like having any veggies, I know that's bad but I'm not hungry either so I saw no point. We bought some of those "miracle noodles" so we are going to make an HCG friendly spaghetti tonight. No Parm will be the hardest for hubby and I, we love Parmesan cheese.
Dinner, so the noodles were to slimey and chewy for me so I had fish instead. I ended the day having about 68 oz of water. That has been about my average. I know I should be drinking more but that's about all I can handle without having to live in the bathroom. Went this whole day without cheating even in the slightest, no nibbles of anything forbidden. We'll see if I'm rewarded in the morning.
Day 10 10-7-10 165.2 -11.2
Down another .8 from yesterday I'm pretty happy with that, I would have liked to see more since I had .8 the day before and had eaten some naughty things. I am still really excited though, 11.2 pounds in 10 days is amazing. I'm sure it will slow down this week since I won't be on the injections. Sorry for any males following. I'm not on the injections this week due to being on my period, I'm following the original protocol from Dr. Simeons. He says the HCG is ineffective during this time so I'm not going to waste my money like some of the clinics try to make you do. I have been trying to find more info about what to expect this week, most women report that their periods are much lighter and don't last as long. So that's good news, they other common thing is not to lose much weight during this time. Most women say not to be discouraged since we are still lossing fat, it's just that it's harder to get rid of the water this week. I'll be using a diurectic tea this week to combat that. Keep you posted. I have to add that I am a little dissappointed, my husband says his pants and clothes are fitting looser as well as his wedding ring. I don't feel that at all, my pants seem to be just as tight as ever as does my wedding ring. I think maybe I am expecting too much. Most of my clothes are pre-pregnancy clothes and probably won't fit right for quite a while. Maybe I should try on something other than jeans and work clothes.
Lunch was melba toast and white fish, I didn't have any veggies again. I know it's bad, I just got tired of cabbage everyday, and salad. I need to take some vitamins. I also need to drink more water. I have had 16oz of coffee, 20 oz of water and 16 oz of green tea with acai berries. Only 3 and a half more hours of work and I get to go home. I can't wait for this week to be over, I love having the overtime but 10 hour days 5 days a week on top of being available to my students 5 days a week gets tiring.
Dinner was bbq chicken breast sans sauce, and sauteed onions sans oil. It was great neither my husband nor I had any carb option for dinner and despite nagging cravings we both stayed away from ice cream. ;) No walk tonight.
Day 11 10/8/10 163.8 -12.6
Down 1.4 from yesterday, thank goodness I didn't give in to the cravings, overall I'm down 12.6. I started the day with 10 oz of water, I'm trying to be better about my water especially since I have to have my blood drawn today and water helps. No HCG injection again. I'm not hungry at all, but I do have lots of cravings. I'm having my coffee now and will have lunch meat and brussel sprouts, I forgot to cook any meat last night and only have a 1/2 hour lunch so a quick trip to the grocery store down the street is the best option. I have heard of other people eating the lunch meat as long as it's the real meat not processed.
Day 14 10/11/ 165.0 -11.4
So Friday I don't even remember what I had for dinner, on Saturday I was at 163.0 and on Sunday there was no loss. I went to a baby shower out of town on Sunday and yes I had a piece of the cake. See how I was rewarded, with a 2 pound gain. Grr. I knew there wouldn't be much loss during this week anyway but I didn't need that. So it's back on track for me. I started the day with 16 oz of water, and my 16 oz of coffee. I'm sure there's more coffee in my future today though, I didn't sleep well last night and I need it. I was really hoping to be in the 150s by my anniversary on the 13th. I forgot to mention I was also rewarded with a horrible stomach ache that still won't go away. It doesn't feel good to eat bad food.
Day 15 10/12/10 164.6 -11.8
Woohoo a loss. It's only .4 but I'll take it. The sad thing is that I know I won't stick to the diet because tomorrow is my 1st anniversary and my hubby and I are going to go out. I'm not sure if we have decided on a place but I think it's going to be a shared plate of nachos dos amigos, and then a dessert from another restaurant in town. I'll just have to be really good today and tomorrow morning. I am hoping that when I start the injections again I will see big losses again, like in the beginning. I had sliced chicken breast for lunch and chicken soup for dinner. I took a short walk on my lunch break and did sit ups and some yoga. We haven't been taking our walks lately so I figured I'd do what I can while I'm at work.
Day 16 10/13/10 164.6
Happy Anniversary Hubby!
I didn't go up or down today. I know I'm holding on to some water since my wedding ring is tight today.
So I'm writing this from work and my first customer of the day comes in a stares at me so I say "Good morning, what can I do for you today" She stares bewildered and says I need some blood work done, what else do you do here? I explained that what I had meant was who was she, and what lab work did she need done. So she tells me her name, I look in both places where I might have an order for her and don't find any so I ask. "Do you have your lab slip with you?" She replies "yes" and digs it out of her purse. I just thought that was funny, it's like going to the pharmacy and telling them you need to pick up some medication but don't give them the prescription.
So back to the diet. I'm dissappointed I haven't lost any this morning since I did not eat very much yesterday. I should have had more water since my body obviously needed it. I am sure there will be no loss tomorrow, maybe there will even be a gain. I know we shouldn't cheat on the diet but we really wanted to go out for our anniversary. I won't even delve into our dinner and dessert menu for any of you who are currently on the diet and starving.
Day 17 10/14/10 165.4
Well I'm up .8 but I'm ok with that since I can feel my fingers are swollen and I ate oh so good, bad for you food last night. I'm back on the injections as of this morning. I just did it sub Q since my hubby was still sleeping and I'm a chicken about injecting anywhere except my belly. I am hoping that being off the HCG for a while and restarting will have the same effect it had in the beginning. I have finally started to feel the weight loss, which I think may have more to do with the yoga and sit ups I do on my lunch break everyday than the weightloss. Everything feels leaner and tighter when your core muscles are engaged. I used to do yoga 6 days a week for an hour each day, I really need to make the time to have that kind of practice again. I know that sustained weight loss or sustaining a lower weight can only be accomplished with a healthy diet and exercise. I ate my leftovers from last night for lunch today. Back on track tomorrow.
Day 18 10/15/10 165.6
I'm up .2 my fingers still feel swollen. I need to drink lots more water. I didn't cook any meat last night so I'm going to get some of that chicken breast lunch meat from the grocery store for lunch. If you are following this diet and choose to eat lunch meat be very careful and read the labels. Most have sugar and are not low carb.
Day 20 10/17/10 164.2
I've lost a little over the weekend even though we had a going away party for my brother in law and a birthday party for my niece. I really need to drink more water, I still feel puffy. My wedding ring is still a little tight. I would really like to be down another 12 pounds in the 2 weeks we have left.
I have coffee for breakfast everyday, lunch was some lil' smokeys, salami and cheese, I didn't eat the crackers. And birthday cake.
Day 21 10/18/10 164.2
So I'm still at the same weight I was yesterday which is pretty good considering I had cake at the birthday party. I did a better job drinking my water yesterday and don't feel as though I am retaining as much water today. I don't see any road blocks in my future weightloss until our family pictures on the 30th and Halloween on the 31st. I need more will power is what I need more of. I decided that I needed my own tv for doing yoga so my hubby can watch tv or play video games while I do yoga. The first night we bought it I did a whole 10 minutes of yoga. This vlcd makes your muscles weak and tired. I guess I just need to work up to more. Breakfast as always is coffee, lunch is sliced chicken lunch meat and dinner is crock pot chicken with veggies (I don't know what kind yet) I had cucumbers with my dinner, sprinkled with a little pepperoncini juice, johnny seasoning, and dill. They were great.
Day 22 10/19/10 163.6
I'm pretty please with this loss, I'm down .6 from yesterday and 12.8 from the beginning. I still feel like my fingers are swollen, I wake up that way every morning, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the diet. I'm beginning to hate this diet. Not because I'm not seeing great losses, but because I'm doing the diet with my wonderful hubby who is seeing fantastic losses. Not to mention he recovers from falling off the horse much more easily than I do. He so lovingly pointed out, after reading my blog yesterday, that I haven't even gotten back down to my lowest in 10 days. I'm finally there today, and yes it has been 10 days, I fell of the waggon at the baby shower on the 10th and again on my annivresary and it has taken this long to recover. I would also like to point out that our "days" differ between my husband's blog and mine. I am doing the total number of days I have been on the diet, even the days I didn't take the hcg (during the week of my period) and days I cheated. My hubby is not counting the days he skipped the injections.
So this morning, I did my own IM injection at 0640 and started the day with 16oz of water. Now its coffee with splenda for breakfast.
I would also like to add that my clothes are finally starting to feel looser. I measured my belly and have lost 2 inches. WooHoo!!
Lunch was a turkey burger, and cucumber slices.
For dinner we ordered buffalo wings my husband ate original and I had ones with plain sauce. I immediately regretted it. They didn't taste good and my tummy felt yucky afterward.
Day 23 10/20/10 163.4
Down .2 from yesterday. I knew I wouldn't lose much after buffalo wings, but hubby assured me I would since he always does. I'm lucky I lost anything though I really need to stick to this diet or else I might only lose another 6 pounds by the end, which is only 14 days from now. I actually drink a good amount of water yesterday and it wasn't too difficult I just have to keep a large glass in my hands while I'm watching tv at night. So breakfast as usual is coffee with splenda. For lunch we ate some roast beef, and dinner was crock pot chicken. I've been really bad lately about not eating any veggies or carbs.
Day 24 10/21/10 161.8
Down 1.6 from yesterday woohoo. I'm so excited, I'm sorry for my hubby since he hasn't seen any loss now for 2 days. I'm glad I finally do, but I think he takes it harder than I do. So that's a total of 14.6 pounds in 24 days, not too shabby, that's about .6 pounds per day. The average for women is .5, although I was hoping for the 1 pound average that men usually see. I'm so excited my clothes are starting to fit better. Like I mentioned before I have lost 2 inches at my belly button, but I am dissappointed I haven't lost more around me bust. I know you probably thought I would say hips and thighs like most women, but if you know me you'd understand why I wish I were lossing from the top. Today I'm having my usual coffee for breakfast probably more lunch meat for lunch and I think dinner is going to be crock pot chicken again.
I forgot to mention that yesterday I had a diet Barq's Root Beer. It didn't seem to matter much. I had a doctor's appointment today and she put me on vitamin D being on a low calorie diet and living in the Pacific North West I am very low. She also asked me to increase my servings of protein everyday. I guess we will see how the weightloss fairs with that change.
Day 25 10/22/10 163.0
So most of my loss from yesterday was gained back by my stupidity last night. My hubby hasn't seen any loss for a few days so he decides he wants to jump off the wagon. That's right jump off not fall off, and what does any good wife do? Well I should have continued to incourage him and lead by example, what did I do? Yep I jumped off too, we ordered a pizza. So it's back on the strict diet for me. I'm not sure what he'll do but I guess you can find out over on his blog.
Day 28 10/25/10 162.0
My hubby is no longer following the diet, he is "close enough" to his goal weight. I gained way too much over the weekend but it must have been mostly water weight since I'm down a pound from Friday even. I'm back on the diet and following very strict for now. My sister will be here on Wednesday and we have plans to go out Thursday, a family event on Saturday and Halloween is on Sunday. I would like to be able to fit into some new jeans by Saturday when we take our family pictures.
11/2/2010
I don't know what I weigh I've been too affraid to step on the scale this week. I had a not so diet friendly meal with my sister and her hubby Thursday I don't even remember what on Friday but I don't think it was good. Saturday were family pictures and mom made home made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Sunday was halloween and I did eat candy. I will need to put a disclaimer at the beginning of this blog for anyone that is wanting to follow it as a guide for their own diet. I know there are plenty of people out there who have lost tons and tons of weight with this diet following very strictly. I am exstatic about the amount of weight I have lost, but I do think it would be better to do a few shorter cycles of the diet rather than a long one. I have a little of this round of hcg to go so I am going to put forth a better effort. I will go through the holidays with no hcg shots and resume them again after the new year. My goal is to get down to a reasonable weight and maintain that weight for at least a few months so we can have another baby.
The HCG diet is a VLCD (very low calorie diet) which means you eat 500 calories per day, and daily injections of HCG. I know some people think this diet is very dangerous, if you follow the correct balance in your diet and use the HCG as directed this diet is safe and effective. The reason for the HCG is that it tells your body to burn fat rather than muscle. Normally during a VLCD your body would go into starvation mode and begin to break down muscle for fuel, with the HCG your body keeps it's muscle and burns your fat.
The Beginning 9-28-10 176.4lb
On September 28th my husband and I started this diet, we have an 8 month old baby girl and both of us are ready to get the extra weight off. The original protocol says you should start with your first 3 days as "load" days where you eat as much as you want and as much fat as you want. The protocol my husband and I are following says that if you were eating like this previous to the diet you could start the VLCD after only one day. So our first day was a load day, we had tacos for dinner and half a cheesecake each for dessert.
Day 2 9-29-10 174.8.lb -1.6
My second injection was before work at 0640 I started my day with a 16oz coffee sweetened with Splenda. Just a note about Splenda it is only a "free" food if you eat fewer than 5 of the little packets. I wasn't hungry in the morning at all. I ate an apple around 0830 thinking if I eat before I'm starving it will keep me from being too hungry later. It worked the opposite. I was starving after the apple.
Lunch was at 1245 and I ate a portion of cucumber and baked chicken. I didn't have a carb option because we live and a small town and had to search every grocery store before we finally found grissini and melba toast. I had my afternoon snack at 1400 and was really tired afterward.
Dinner was crabmeat, asparagus, and a grissini. I had heard asparagus could stall your weightloss, but I tried it anyway.
After dinner we walked 1.3 miles, I was very tired and cranky. We take this same walk every other night and I've never been that tired or cranky before. Since I didn't eat a carb option at lunch I had a grissini before bed. I was in bed early and slept very well.
Day 2 9-30-10 170.4lb -6lb
Injection was at 0640 This morning I started the same as yesterday tired but not hungry, super excited about the weight loss. I had my 16oz of coffee with Splenda. Still not hungry by 1004 I'm not going to eat a morning snack this morning since it only made me more hungry yesterday. Drank 10oz water. I was starting to feel my tummy growl at 1030, had a snack at 1100, the apple was so sweet I only ate 3 small slices. Starting to get hungry about 1145, but not enough to have more apples and too early for lunch. Another 10 oz of water and again another 10 at 1215. I must really need the water because I usually pee like crazy with this much water.
Lunch 1245 1 egg with 3 egg whites, cabbage and a grissini. By lunch I was hungry but not starving, I only at half of the egg yolk. I didn't have much time for a walk on lunch but I took a quite 7 minute walk around the complex. I feel very motivated today. 20 more oz of water. 1532 I feel like I should be hungry but I'm not. I feel like I should eat because I've always been taught to eat every 2-3 hours to keep the metabolism up. Maybe I'll eat the other apple slices in an hour.
1610 ate 2 apple slices, not very hungry still, pacing the waiting area at work for some more exercise.
Dinner 1745, Halibut and Scallops (I don't know if you are supposed to mix proteins?) salad greens and a grissini. I was satisfied and went on another 1.3 mil walk. The walk makes me hungry, I had a half a grapefruit around 2045 since I didn't have a snack earlier. I was in bed by 2145. This stuff sure does make my sleepy.
Day 4 10-1-10 168.6lb -7.8
Down 7.8 pounds in 4 days. Woohoo. That would take a month and a half of traditional dieting. My injection was at 0730 this morning. I'm at working making coffee now I'm a little hungry but I'm sure the coffee with hit the spot. 16oz of coffee with Stevia today not the Truvia it had calories.
I feel great today, I wish I had taken b4 photos and measurements days ago. We just moved and I can't find the tape measure. 1030 still sipping coffee, not hungry, hungry by 1100 but sipping coffee is keeping me from starving.
Lunch 1115 I had to take the early lunch today so instead of eating my full lunch now I will only eat half now and half later. I ended up eating all of the cabbage and half of the crab and half bread. I need to drink more water, I've only had coffee so far no water. Busy at work so I didn't get my snack until 1514. I had 2 slices of apple and half the crab. I liked splitting my lunch it worked well for me. Now dinner is only 2-3 hours away so it will keep my metabolism up. Still not enough water but I can't get myself to start drinking more. at 1645 I was hungry so I had 20 oz of water since 75% of Americans mistake thirst for hunger. Then 10 more oz of water before I went home at 1700.
Dinner was chick and cabbage for the carb option Hubby and I decided to try a tiny bit of air popped popcorn with no oil or butter. We didn't walk today just around the grocery store.
Day 5 10-2-10 168.6lb -7.8
No Loss from yesterday. I expected that with having had no water yesterday my body held on to any it got. I'm sure the pop corn wasn't good either, so no more of that until we are finished. I'm glad there was no gain though. Today I have to do better with the water. I was really hungry during the night and hadn't been before. I think it was because of the popcorn. My injection was 0745 this morning 10oz of water right when I got up and before my coffee. I had 1 strawberry in hopes it would start my metabolism. 1115 ate a cucumber for a snack, didn't last long, really hungry for lunch at 1245.
Lunch was halibut, a scallop, salad greens and a slice of pickle. Drinking 16 oz of diet tea, I have heard it's a good way to break a stall in weight loss. I took a half hour nap with the baby today. 10 oz of water and 10 more of tea
Dinner at 1630 was a chicken soup I made with tomatos and melba toast broken up into the soup. It was fantastic and so filling. Having the liquid with dinner was a great way to fill up. We took a 1.3 mile walk and I wasn't hungry this time. I am just now taking my measurements and "before" pictures.
I took a lot of measurements but for simplisity sake here are the major ones bust 45, waist 43, hips 41. My starting weight was 176.4 and I'm 5'4"
I'm not finished with the day but I plan to have a half a grapefruit with stevia before bed.
Day 6 10-3-10 168.0 -8.4
A 0.6lb loss since yesterday not too bad. That's about the average for ladies anyway. I knew these huge losses would slow down. Today's injection was at 0815, Although today is a Sunday I won't start skipping Sundays until I start to see an immunity. Since women have to stop during their monthly cycles I figure I'll get the most while I can.
The low calorie diet is starting to get to me today, I was really missing the cream in my coffee to start off the day. I had half a grapefruit for breakfast and a tiny bit of coffee, I just wasn't feeling it without the cream. For lunch I had talpia and melba toast and to slices of pickles. I couldn't decided on a veggie and they looked good. I took my baby to visit grandma and grandpa after lunch and walked into the most amazing smelling kitchen. I didn't think to ask if they'd been making any yummy food before I visited. They had made waffles. Mmm!
After we got home from grandma's it was time for a nap for both of us. I took a 2 hour nap and woke in time for dinner chicken soup again, since it was so filling yesterday. I'm also having Grissini and romaine lettuce with rice vinegar and spices. After dinner is a 1.3 mile walk and a snack of strawberries before bed. I haven't had enough water today so I'll probably hold onto it tomorrow.
Day 7 10-4-10 167.4 -9
I had a 1.2lb loss from yesterday, boy it feels good to see these numbers. I had my injection at 0640 today and decided on just coffee and water in the AM. I think the HCG tends to work better with no breakfast (snack) which is what the original protocol advises.
It's been such a crazy day at work I haven't had time to evne drink my coffee. I'm not hungry and actually have energy although I wish I had remembered by B vitamins. I think they really help with the mood and energy. It's already 11 and I haven't had time to think about being hungry, it's great.
1245 lunch is Talapia, cabbage and melba toast. I still have energy I take a quick walk around the complex. I really need to drink more water. 1407 a little more sleepy after lunch, maybe a little moody too. I cried last night over something really stupid and I'm getting more upset than I should over not being able to decide on a halloween costume for my 8 month old. It's 1600, I'm tired and mentally hungry I can't wait to get home and have dinner.
Dinner I didn't even want to post about dinner my husband wasn't feeling well the low calories were really getting to him to he decided he wanted to cheat. We went to Applebees and I had a steak meal. I did eat the whole 7 oz steak. I know it was double the portion I should be having, I didn't eat the potatoes though and only had a little of the veggies since they were broccolli and squash. I don't even want to think about what the scale might say tomorrow morning.
Day 8 10-5-10 167.2 -9.2
I can't believe I had a .2 lb loss I thought for sure I would be up. I wish that I hadn't eaten so much though, it would have been nice to see what the loss would have been without cheating. I can't believe my husband had a 1lb loss today, it's not fair since his meal was less HCG diet friendly. That's men for you, harder for them to put on extra weight and easier to lose. Not to mention my husband isn't nearly as overweight as he thinks he is. He only has about 10 lbs to lose to get to his fantasy goal weight, you know the weight you wish you still were, the weight you were in high school. Not the realistic weight goal. He only has about 5 lbs to lose before he is at a healthy realistic weight loss goal. Anyway enough complaining I'm down almost 10 pounds in 8 days. I'm exstatic!
Injection was at 0640 this morning and just coffee and water before lunch. I have been drinking at least 10 oz of water before my coffee because once that coffee is brewed it's hard to drink anything else. I really wish I could use lotion. I'm a phlebotomist and wash my hands a lot, the company even ordered my special lotion that just came in. I keep looking longingly at the bottle on my desk.
Lunch at 1245 is a few sea scallops, cucumber and a grissini bread stick. I am not hungry at all and really don't even want to eat what I have eaten. I have tons of energy today. I think it's from the calories from last night's cheat. I've also had plenty of water and that could help.
Dinner was at 1730, it was tourture watching my step son eat his grilled cheese, I have to admit my husband and I both had a bite. Oops and a bite or three or four of his popcorn later during our movie. I know horrible. Our dinner was chicken soup with broccoli. We went on our walk but cut a little out so it was only about a mile. Maybe we will make up for that by going on one tomorrow too.
Day 9 10-6-10 166.0 -10.4
Down .8 from yesterday, a pretty good loss since we had a bite of grilled cheese and some popcorn. My injection today was IM (intramuscular) in stead of SubQ (in the fat). It was at 0640 and administered by my husband since I'm a chicken about giving myself shots. Same as usual, no breakfast just coffee and water for breakfast. I woke up this morning with a little bit of dizziness, I don't know if it's from the diet, the hcg or just the change in season. I get Vertigo once or twice a year so I dont' want to blame the diet. I am still very motivated and excited about the loss so far it's been an average of 1.15 lb per day. I heard this will slow down and isn't the average for women, we usually average about .5 lbs per day. I should be starting my monthly cycle soon so I will have to stop the injections, we shall see how that goes.
Lunch was hard boiled eggs and a grissini, I ate 1 whole egg and 2 whites. I didn't feel like having any veggies, I know that's bad but I'm not hungry either so I saw no point. We bought some of those "miracle noodles" so we are going to make an HCG friendly spaghetti tonight. No Parm will be the hardest for hubby and I, we love Parmesan cheese.
Dinner, so the noodles were to slimey and chewy for me so I had fish instead. I ended the day having about 68 oz of water. That has been about my average. I know I should be drinking more but that's about all I can handle without having to live in the bathroom. Went this whole day without cheating even in the slightest, no nibbles of anything forbidden. We'll see if I'm rewarded in the morning.
Day 10 10-7-10 165.2 -11.2
Down another .8 from yesterday I'm pretty happy with that, I would have liked to see more since I had .8 the day before and had eaten some naughty things. I am still really excited though, 11.2 pounds in 10 days is amazing. I'm sure it will slow down this week since I won't be on the injections. Sorry for any males following. I'm not on the injections this week due to being on my period, I'm following the original protocol from Dr. Simeons. He says the HCG is ineffective during this time so I'm not going to waste my money like some of the clinics try to make you do. I have been trying to find more info about what to expect this week, most women report that their periods are much lighter and don't last as long. So that's good news, they other common thing is not to lose much weight during this time. Most women say not to be discouraged since we are still lossing fat, it's just that it's harder to get rid of the water this week. I'll be using a diurectic tea this week to combat that. Keep you posted. I have to add that I am a little dissappointed, my husband says his pants and clothes are fitting looser as well as his wedding ring. I don't feel that at all, my pants seem to be just as tight as ever as does my wedding ring. I think maybe I am expecting too much. Most of my clothes are pre-pregnancy clothes and probably won't fit right for quite a while. Maybe I should try on something other than jeans and work clothes.
Lunch was melba toast and white fish, I didn't have any veggies again. I know it's bad, I just got tired of cabbage everyday, and salad. I need to take some vitamins. I also need to drink more water. I have had 16oz of coffee, 20 oz of water and 16 oz of green tea with acai berries. Only 3 and a half more hours of work and I get to go home. I can't wait for this week to be over, I love having the overtime but 10 hour days 5 days a week on top of being available to my students 5 days a week gets tiring.
Dinner was bbq chicken breast sans sauce, and sauteed onions sans oil. It was great neither my husband nor I had any carb option for dinner and despite nagging cravings we both stayed away from ice cream. ;) No walk tonight.
Day 11 10/8/10 163.8 -12.6
Down 1.4 from yesterday, thank goodness I didn't give in to the cravings, overall I'm down 12.6. I started the day with 10 oz of water, I'm trying to be better about my water especially since I have to have my blood drawn today and water helps. No HCG injection again. I'm not hungry at all, but I do have lots of cravings. I'm having my coffee now and will have lunch meat and brussel sprouts, I forgot to cook any meat last night and only have a 1/2 hour lunch so a quick trip to the grocery store down the street is the best option. I have heard of other people eating the lunch meat as long as it's the real meat not processed.
Day 14 10/11/ 165.0 -11.4
So Friday I don't even remember what I had for dinner, on Saturday I was at 163.0 and on Sunday there was no loss. I went to a baby shower out of town on Sunday and yes I had a piece of the cake. See how I was rewarded, with a 2 pound gain. Grr. I knew there wouldn't be much loss during this week anyway but I didn't need that. So it's back on track for me. I started the day with 16 oz of water, and my 16 oz of coffee. I'm sure there's more coffee in my future today though, I didn't sleep well last night and I need it. I was really hoping to be in the 150s by my anniversary on the 13th. I forgot to mention I was also rewarded with a horrible stomach ache that still won't go away. It doesn't feel good to eat bad food.
Day 15 10/12/10 164.6 -11.8
Woohoo a loss. It's only .4 but I'll take it. The sad thing is that I know I won't stick to the diet because tomorrow is my 1st anniversary and my hubby and I are going to go out. I'm not sure if we have decided on a place but I think it's going to be a shared plate of nachos dos amigos, and then a dessert from another restaurant in town. I'll just have to be really good today and tomorrow morning. I am hoping that when I start the injections again I will see big losses again, like in the beginning. I had sliced chicken breast for lunch and chicken soup for dinner. I took a short walk on my lunch break and did sit ups and some yoga. We haven't been taking our walks lately so I figured I'd do what I can while I'm at work.
Day 16 10/13/10 164.6
Happy Anniversary Hubby!
I didn't go up or down today. I know I'm holding on to some water since my wedding ring is tight today.
So I'm writing this from work and my first customer of the day comes in a stares at me so I say "Good morning, what can I do for you today" She stares bewildered and says I need some blood work done, what else do you do here? I explained that what I had meant was who was she, and what lab work did she need done. So she tells me her name, I look in both places where I might have an order for her and don't find any so I ask. "Do you have your lab slip with you?" She replies "yes" and digs it out of her purse. I just thought that was funny, it's like going to the pharmacy and telling them you need to pick up some medication but don't give them the prescription.
So back to the diet. I'm dissappointed I haven't lost any this morning since I did not eat very much yesterday. I should have had more water since my body obviously needed it. I am sure there will be no loss tomorrow, maybe there will even be a gain. I know we shouldn't cheat on the diet but we really wanted to go out for our anniversary. I won't even delve into our dinner and dessert menu for any of you who are currently on the diet and starving.
Day 17 10/14/10 165.4
Well I'm up .8 but I'm ok with that since I can feel my fingers are swollen and I ate oh so good, bad for you food last night. I'm back on the injections as of this morning. I just did it sub Q since my hubby was still sleeping and I'm a chicken about injecting anywhere except my belly. I am hoping that being off the HCG for a while and restarting will have the same effect it had in the beginning. I have finally started to feel the weight loss, which I think may have more to do with the yoga and sit ups I do on my lunch break everyday than the weightloss. Everything feels leaner and tighter when your core muscles are engaged. I used to do yoga 6 days a week for an hour each day, I really need to make the time to have that kind of practice again. I know that sustained weight loss or sustaining a lower weight can only be accomplished with a healthy diet and exercise. I ate my leftovers from last night for lunch today. Back on track tomorrow.
Day 18 10/15/10 165.6
I'm up .2 my fingers still feel swollen. I need to drink lots more water. I didn't cook any meat last night so I'm going to get some of that chicken breast lunch meat from the grocery store for lunch. If you are following this diet and choose to eat lunch meat be very careful and read the labels. Most have sugar and are not low carb.
Day 20 10/17/10 164.2
I've lost a little over the weekend even though we had a going away party for my brother in law and a birthday party for my niece. I really need to drink more water, I still feel puffy. My wedding ring is still a little tight. I would really like to be down another 12 pounds in the 2 weeks we have left.
I have coffee for breakfast everyday, lunch was some lil' smokeys, salami and cheese, I didn't eat the crackers. And birthday cake.
Day 21 10/18/10 164.2
So I'm still at the same weight I was yesterday which is pretty good considering I had cake at the birthday party. I did a better job drinking my water yesterday and don't feel as though I am retaining as much water today. I don't see any road blocks in my future weightloss until our family pictures on the 30th and Halloween on the 31st. I need more will power is what I need more of. I decided that I needed my own tv for doing yoga so my hubby can watch tv or play video games while I do yoga. The first night we bought it I did a whole 10 minutes of yoga. This vlcd makes your muscles weak and tired. I guess I just need to work up to more. Breakfast as always is coffee, lunch is sliced chicken lunch meat and dinner is crock pot chicken with veggies (I don't know what kind yet) I had cucumbers with my dinner, sprinkled with a little pepperoncini juice, johnny seasoning, and dill. They were great.
Day 22 10/19/10 163.6
I'm pretty please with this loss, I'm down .6 from yesterday and 12.8 from the beginning. I still feel like my fingers are swollen, I wake up that way every morning, I'm not sure if it has anything to do with the diet. I'm beginning to hate this diet. Not because I'm not seeing great losses, but because I'm doing the diet with my wonderful hubby who is seeing fantastic losses. Not to mention he recovers from falling off the horse much more easily than I do. He so lovingly pointed out, after reading my blog yesterday, that I haven't even gotten back down to my lowest in 10 days. I'm finally there today, and yes it has been 10 days, I fell of the waggon at the baby shower on the 10th and again on my annivresary and it has taken this long to recover. I would also like to point out that our "days" differ between my husband's blog and mine. I am doing the total number of days I have been on the diet, even the days I didn't take the hcg (during the week of my period) and days I cheated. My hubby is not counting the days he skipped the injections.
So this morning, I did my own IM injection at 0640 and started the day with 16oz of water. Now its coffee with splenda for breakfast.
I would also like to add that my clothes are finally starting to feel looser. I measured my belly and have lost 2 inches. WooHoo!!
Lunch was a turkey burger, and cucumber slices.
For dinner we ordered buffalo wings my husband ate original and I had ones with plain sauce. I immediately regretted it. They didn't taste good and my tummy felt yucky afterward.
Day 23 10/20/10 163.4
Down .2 from yesterday. I knew I wouldn't lose much after buffalo wings, but hubby assured me I would since he always does. I'm lucky I lost anything though I really need to stick to this diet or else I might only lose another 6 pounds by the end, which is only 14 days from now. I actually drink a good amount of water yesterday and it wasn't too difficult I just have to keep a large glass in my hands while I'm watching tv at night. So breakfast as usual is coffee with splenda. For lunch we ate some roast beef, and dinner was crock pot chicken. I've been really bad lately about not eating any veggies or carbs.
Day 24 10/21/10 161.8
Down 1.6 from yesterday woohoo. I'm so excited, I'm sorry for my hubby since he hasn't seen any loss now for 2 days. I'm glad I finally do, but I think he takes it harder than I do. So that's a total of 14.6 pounds in 24 days, not too shabby, that's about .6 pounds per day. The average for women is .5, although I was hoping for the 1 pound average that men usually see. I'm so excited my clothes are starting to fit better. Like I mentioned before I have lost 2 inches at my belly button, but I am dissappointed I haven't lost more around me bust. I know you probably thought I would say hips and thighs like most women, but if you know me you'd understand why I wish I were lossing from the top. Today I'm having my usual coffee for breakfast probably more lunch meat for lunch and I think dinner is going to be crock pot chicken again.
I forgot to mention that yesterday I had a diet Barq's Root Beer. It didn't seem to matter much. I had a doctor's appointment today and she put me on vitamin D being on a low calorie diet and living in the Pacific North West I am very low. She also asked me to increase my servings of protein everyday. I guess we will see how the weightloss fairs with that change.
Day 25 10/22/10 163.0
So most of my loss from yesterday was gained back by my stupidity last night. My hubby hasn't seen any loss for a few days so he decides he wants to jump off the wagon. That's right jump off not fall off, and what does any good wife do? Well I should have continued to incourage him and lead by example, what did I do? Yep I jumped off too, we ordered a pizza. So it's back on the strict diet for me. I'm not sure what he'll do but I guess you can find out over on his blog.
Day 28 10/25/10 162.0
My hubby is no longer following the diet, he is "close enough" to his goal weight. I gained way too much over the weekend but it must have been mostly water weight since I'm down a pound from Friday even. I'm back on the diet and following very strict for now. My sister will be here on Wednesday and we have plans to go out Thursday, a family event on Saturday and Halloween is on Sunday. I would like to be able to fit into some new jeans by Saturday when we take our family pictures.
11/2/2010
I don't know what I weigh I've been too affraid to step on the scale this week. I had a not so diet friendly meal with my sister and her hubby Thursday I don't even remember what on Friday but I don't think it was good. Saturday were family pictures and mom made home made cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Sunday was halloween and I did eat candy. I will need to put a disclaimer at the beginning of this blog for anyone that is wanting to follow it as a guide for their own diet. I know there are plenty of people out there who have lost tons and tons of weight with this diet following very strictly. I am exstatic about the amount of weight I have lost, but I do think it would be better to do a few shorter cycles of the diet rather than a long one. I have a little of this round of hcg to go so I am going to put forth a better effort. I will go through the holidays with no hcg shots and resume them again after the new year. My goal is to get down to a reasonable weight and maintain that weight for at least a few months so we can have another baby.
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