The Progress of Biz

Update!

2009-03-03T15:56:00.003-05:00

Please follow me at my new home here:

http://happilythinnerafter.com/blog

Or go straight to the new website for all your answers to any questions about hCG and beyond here:

http://happilythinnerafter.com

FeedBurner - eMail Subscriptions

2008-05-01T09:55:00.003-04:00

Hello people! I am in the middle of moving my blog over to the new home. I know alot of you get my feeds via eMail and I would love for you to continue to do so, but for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to accomplish transferring all of your emails over to the new place.

So those who do get this post via eMail, could I please get you to go on over to the new site and sign up there for my updates? Please! I am begging here people! Love you MEAN it!

Happily Thinner After

Once I see that you have signed up on the new blog, I will remove you from this blog. How is that for service. THAT I can do!

Bear with me people, we are almost there!

Biz

Moving My Blog Tomorrow

2008-04-30T15:44:00.004-04:00

Hello people, I will be officially moving my blog over to the new digs sometime tomorrow, hopefully, until then, let me post here to remind you to head over there and see the new video!

Let me know what you think! You can comment over there ok?

Biz

Happily Thinner After Blog

The Mike and Juliet Show Video on HCG

2008-04-29T15:56:00.004-04:00

Here ya go people! Here is the video to watch the show that just happened about HCG!!! Ed and Jenn totally RAWKED the house! OMG! They were so AWESOME!!!

The Mike and Juliet Show Video on HCG!

If you would like to know more, please check out the following sites:

Happily Thinner After

Biz

The Mike and Juliet Show - My HCG Journey

2008-04-29T10:21:00.003-04:00

Hello!

If you arrived here via a search for information on HCG by way of watching the Mike and Juliet show that was broadcasted this morning, please find your way to this site:

Happily Thinner After

for all the information you will need about HCG and it's incredible ability to help you lose weight.

Can't wait to see you there!

Biz

The Mike and Juliet Show - Ed and Jenn

2008-04-27T17:25:00.007-04:00

Image via WikipediaHello folks. I know I said I wasn't going to do any updates. But there is a buzz going around, and quite frankly, I wanted to let you folks in on what is going on. The word MUST GET OUT. So I am counting on ALL of you to update your blogs with the following information - watch this video, and then make sure you plug the links that follow. Let's create a stir people, this is HUGE!

Now before you folks go all haywire, I did this spur of the moment, it's getting dark so the lighting is pretty bad, but hey, it's me, and it's my voice, and subsequent videos will be LOADS better ok? Anyhow, here are some links:

Ed and Jenn’s Blog

The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet

Now I want you to ANNOUNCE THIS ON YOUR BLOG! Announce it to all your friends. Share this link with EVERYONE! Get the word out, I don't care how, just get it out people! eMail EVERYONE you know! HCG is gonna be BIG! HA! WOO HOO FOR ALL OF US! And a DOUBLE WOO HOO FOR Ed and Jenn, our spokes people for HCG!

For those of you that receive my updates via email? This video will probably not come thru, you need to come to my blog to see it, so please do so ok?

Several Updates

2008-04-22T19:42:00.003-04:00

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LIW +4.0
Overnight 0.0

1) I have not disappeared. Since Sunday evening I have been feeling quite ill and have pretty much been down for the count. My head feels like it is full of the yellow stuff that is pretty much everywhere when you step outside the house. There is almost drifts of this stuff people, the pollen is pretty bad this year.

2) I have been the exact same weight since Friday morning. 174 - sure it's 4 lbs over my NEW LIW (and 12 lbs over my REAL LIW) but I am not worried. Shoot, I am going back on P2 in about 10 days. Sure, I will have to spend the first 3 week cycle just losing what I have gained since the last LIW but lesson learned. NO MORE TRAVELING on P3 - that is just wrong.

3) I am working FEVERISHLY behind the scenes to get something ready for release as of May 1, 2008 - something that is taking all of my focus. So I had to make a decision ... I am going to be MIA in my posting on my blog for a bit. Believe me when I tell you that it will be WELL worth the wait!

4) I completed my 50% Raw Food Challenge for one week with absolute SUCCESS! Could that be the reason for the maintaining, even at a higher weight? Who knows? But I am trying to figure out how to incorporate Green Smoothies into my P2 experience. Anyone have any suggestions?

5) Even tho I may be missing here on my OWN blog, I will not be missing in the community! I will be back to visiting blogs later on this morning. Please don't forget me while I am gone!!!

6) I have discovered "Twitter" - it's actually quite the thing in the blogging world. If you do stop by, I will be posting updates via the Twitter add on in my right side bar at the top. You will be able to see daily stats and what I am doing there. If you decide to join up with Twitter, please let me know your Twitter URL and I will start "following" you.

50% Raw Challenge - Day Five Completed - Success!!!

2008-04-19T14:59:00.003-04:00

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LIW +4.0
Overnight 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: leftover steak and shrimp
Lunch: super salad with bagel and cream cheese
Dinner: chicken wings with mustard sauce, fruit salad
Snacks: green smoothie, cottage cheese and mango and strawberries

A total of 2397 cals divided: 112 fat grams (42%), 172 carb grams (27%), 181 protein grams (31%)

Challenge Totals:
Total of approximately 63 ounces of food eaten - 34 ounces of it was raw! YES! I met my goal again!!! I made it to 53% raw yesterday!

Well finally, my gradual climbing in weight over the last few days STOPPED. Geesh, ever since the french fry night, I couldn't seem to do anything right. That's just wrong. That is all I have to say about that.

There are a couple of new blogs out there that could use a little of our community love:

Phat Lady

Lyndsay

Pay them a visit and give them a little support. It's our duty, as so called 'veterans' to make sure we let the legacy live on!

Two weeks from today, it will be our first injection for our 5th and final round, I seriously cannot WAIT!

Something else exciting ... in my journey through cyberspace in researching the whole raw food lifestyle, I have come across a whole grass roots movement, and have become very familiar with names that keep popping up. Angela Stokes, Karen Knowler, Norman W Walker (when you have some time, look him up and read about this guy, he is simply amazing), Dr Joel Fuhrman, and Kristen - these are just a spot on the map of all the people that are sharing their knowledge and research about living the raw lifestyle. Just a couple of days ago, Kristen paid my blog a visit. How utterly cool is that? She is larger than life in the industry and she came to my little ole blog and commented. That just about made my day.

Green smoothies are still a very big part of my life. I found myself desiring one today, more than anything else. I couldn't wait to get home from our outing this morning to make me one. They are simply just delish. I really cannot tell you enough how good these are. I hope that if you haven't already tried them, that you will give it a shot. Regina (EweWho) and I were chatting the other morning on how we might add be able to add these smoothies to our P2 regimen...well, one can hope! ROFL

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - no worries darlin, just try to eat more raw, I am sure you do alot of raw already don't you?

Mary - Did you send me an email yet? Did I miss it?

Becca - sweetie, don't use the word fail, you know how I feel about those negative words! LOL - You found what works for you and I say GO FOR IT. You gotta do what you gotta do. My only encouragement for any of this is to offer some better choices for people. I know how hard it's been for me to make sure I got a lot of raw into my body, and I found something that works, and like anything else, I want to share it with the world, ya know?

B - It's about time you showed off your picture! I have seen it before, so I knew what you looked like - you are a most beautiful woman!

50% Raw Challenge - Day Four Completed - Success!!!

2008-04-18T04:24:00.004-04:00

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LIW +4.0
Overnight gain 0.8

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: plain yogurt with blueberries, peaches, mangos and strawberries
Lunch: green smoothie with a leftover piece of grilled chicken
Dinner: grilled shrimp, steak with huge kick butt salad with everything in it, grilled asparagus
Snacks: green smoothie, one glass of wine

A total of 1909 cals divided: 73 fat grams (34%), 155 carb grams (30%), 158 protein grams (33%)

Challenge Totals:
Total of approximately 80 ounces of food eaten - 50 ounces of it was raw! YES! I met my goal again!!! I made it to 63% raw yesterday!

Another day down on my challenge. I am starting to figure out combinations of my smoothies that I really enjoy. For one thing, adding the blueberries into the mix is a very good taste. And did you know that blueberries are a super food?

Yes, I know, I need to focus in on the super foods. That will be a task for Monday. Have I mentioned how incredibly BEAUTIFUL it is around these parts recently? Oh my, the sun is shining and I am spring cleaning and life is good.

I am up actually EARLY today! Let's hope this lasts! I love the early morning, it's like the only thing that exists in this world is me for a few hours. No phones, no children yelling "I'm Hungry", no kids knocking at my door, no responsibilities!!! This time is MY time. I have been missing my time, now if only I can get my body BACK into this mode consistently I would be THRILLED!

Oh, and don't worry about the gain? My grilled shrimp and steak were incredibly salty and I haven't 'gone' yet this morning. And I also weighed in a bit earlier than I have been. I am trying to get back on a schedule!

Thanks for hanging in there with me!!!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Becca - there are those old habits that seem to want to pop up every once in a while, ugh. I am paying for it that is for sure! Thank you SO MUCH for that bagel site, I am on that like white on rice! I haven't tried it, but I will be ordering some, I absolutely LOVE my bagels!

B - Thanks B! I will be, I know!

Lindsay - I followed you to your blog and posted something there. I have heard of some giving shots only 3 times a week, and I have heard that it does work, but I am sold on the daily injections with one skip day like Dr Simeons stated in his book. If you have any other questions feel free to write me ok?

50% Raw Challenge - Day Three Completed - Success!!!

2008-04-17T13:19:00.006-04:00

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LIW +3.2
Overnight gain 2.2

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: broccoli salad
Lunch: bagel and cream cheese, chips and salsa
Dinner: blue cheese salad with broccoli, spinach, pecans, evoo and balsamic, grilled chicken
Snacks: left over pizza, french fries, pepperoni, beer

A total of 2333 cals divided: 119 fat grams (45%), 167 carb grams (28%), 68 protein grams (11%)

Challenge Totals:
Total of approximately 50 ounces of food eaten - 27 ounces of it was raw! YES! I met my goal again!!! I made it to 54% raw yesterday!

No green smoothies yesterday, :( - and I went a little nuts on eating some french fries last night, and I am assured that this is the gain. I didn't even like them, it was one of those "no one else is gonna eat them so I should because I don't want them to go to waste" things. It was awful, seriously, I don't know what I was thinking, and I knew I would pay for it today, and I did. Sadly. UGH

Drinking lots of water today and I intend on getting at least two green smoothies in for the day. Actually as I write this, I have already gotten one green smoothie down, so all I need to do is come up with another one.

Only time for an update today. I have a new program that hopefully will allow me to get back on schedule with my blogging, but it will take a few days to get used to it. So give me a bit of time to get that under my belt and I should be back to normal.

Normal? What is that?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Jan - yeah, isn't it amazing that we already eat the raw, just think what we are eating in raw with the fruit alone!

Becca - thanks girlfriend!

Tracey - I am so sorry that you won't be able to join the challenge with us. But I'm sure there are people out there that would love to be able to have a clean out every time they ate raw. LOL

B - my point exactly! Yes, I believe that if we did eat more salads that the fiber that you get from eating it will benefit you.

Shelley - just let me know what you want to do about the raw food challenge as I'll probably be doing it another week. So you can join in!!! It will be so much fun!

Mary - yeah, I ate a bagel yesterday! Actually, I have been eating bagels for awhile. And believe me when I tell you it wasn't the bagel that gained the weight, it was in the demon french fries!

50% Raw Challenge - Day Two Completed - Success!!!

2008-04-16T11:00:00.002-04:00

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LIW +1.0
Overnight LOSS 0.2

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: coffee with half and half, leftover greek salad
Lunch: bagel and cream cheese
Dinner: broccoli salad
Snacks: 2 green smoothies, ground beef with blue cheese, chips and salsa, wine

A total of 2174 cals divided: 91 fat grams (37%), 204 carb grams (36%), 129 protein grams (24%)

Challenge Totals:
Total of approximately 80 ounces of food eaten - 45 ounces of it was raw! YES! I met my goal again!!! I made it to 56% raw yesterday!

And let me tell you, raw is definitely agreeing with me! YES! I am starting already to feel the benefits (particularly the bathroom benefits!), especially energy. Although, I can't be sure if the energy level is just because it's SPRING and I feel the sun shining and the wind through my hair!

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I am still not on schedule, and I only have time for an update. Geesh, this is starting to irritate me something fierce.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

B - Look at the calorie and fat count on both, I don't see why not? Try it and see?

Becca - Hmmmm, ok, that sounds like a plan, coming up with some new dips! You know I love a challenge!

Shelly - WOOT! Come on Shelly! Join me!

Liz - sent you an email.

50% Raw Challenge - Day One Completed - Success!!!

2008-04-15T10:47:00.003-04:00

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LIW +1.2
Overnight LOSS 0.8

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: coffee with half and half, cottage cheese with mango/strawberries
Lunch: ground beef, blue cheese and raw hazelnuts
Dinner: greek salad, chicken stir fry
Snacks: 1.5 green smoothies - coconut bark - raw broccoli with blue cheese dressing

A total of 1842 cals divided: 91 fat grams (44%), 144 carb grams (29%), 123 protein grams (27%)

Challenge Totals:
Total of approximately 67 ounces of food eaten - 37 ounces of it was raw! YES! I met my goal!!! I made it to 55% raw yesterday!

I am SO THRILLED! I am gonna tell you right now, these smoothies are FILLING! I am sipping on one right now - not as good as the one yesterday, but I am experimenting, and so wanna try different ones until I settle in on some that I like the best:

6.8 oz apple (skin still on, but cored)
5.8 oz pear (skin still on, but cored)
3 oz spinach
1/2 cup plain all natural yogurt

Now this one, in comparison to yesterdays, made a TON more - I could fill one of my glass water glasses yesterday with what I made, today, it looks like I will be able to fill this same water glass TWICE. I think I will like the ones made with banana a lot better than the ones made with yogurt, but like I said, I am experimenting.

I wanted to get into "SuperFoods" today, but I am running out of time. Now that spring has sprung, I am finding it harder and harder to get computer work done. I want to spend all of my time outside! And I just haven't gotten my clock regulated back to Eastern Time since I got back from California. I am used to being up at like 4am and then there is plenty of time for me to work on my blog, but lately, I have been getting up at around 5:45am - 6:00am, just in time to wake the kids and get them going, and my day too!

I am just gonna have to figure out a better schedule. I miss my profound posts. I miss my blogging alot. I have so much to share inside this head of mine, and the time just keeps escaping me - give me time to figure out what my spring / summer schedule is gonna be like. I will get up to par, I promise.

Even at over 1800 calories, which is my BMR (with sedentary activity), I lost .8 lbs. What do you think about that? I am thrilled!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

JLO - Oh yeah, raw spinach!!! Do you have any idea what that is doing for your VISION???

Liz - Drop me a line when you get a chance and I will lead you thru the process of putting the link on your blog! Excellent!!!

B - LOL - hey, like I tell my kids all the time, all I want you to do is TRY!

Becca - Yeah, I am starting to keep more and more raw veggies around here just to snack on, they are SO good! I need to discover some new, cool dips for them, got any suggestions?

Mary - Thanks girl!

Jan - Hey, you can do the challenge while on P2 as well ya know? You don't have to do smoothies, but you can concentrate on 50% of your food being raw, what do you think?

Raw Foods and Green Smoothies

2008-04-14T08:25:00.003-04:00

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LIW +2.0
Overnight LOSS 0.4

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: WW bagel and cream cheese, coffee with half and half
Lunch: (kinda ate breakfast late, and dinner early)
Dinner: Chinese buffet, two times to the Mongolian Grill using shrimp, scallops, squid, zucchini, green onions, onions, cabbage, Kalbi, chicken wings
Snacks: banana, broccoli and blue cheese dressing, beer

A total of 1753 cals divided: 47 fat grams (24%), 137 carb grams (31%), 153 protein grams (36%)

Raw Foods

My focus recently has been on the benefits of raw foods - you heard me tell this story before, but the more I preach about it and the more people start to listen (including myself) the more I believe in the full benefits of eating "mostly" raw.

I started my challenge today - my goal today will be to eat at least 50% of my food (in weight) raw - with the focus on anything that is "green". I made a little button for us to put on our blog somewhere that shows that we are doing the challenge:

What would be extra cool is if you went ahead and linked it back to this post so that whoever wants to join in can. I haven't really thought about any 'prizes' - I still owe more than a few people prizes from pasts contests (and don't think I have forgotten because I haven't!) but I am sure they will be forth coming. I just really want to start creating a BUZZ on doing at least 50% raw.

I already provided you with some links to the benefits of 'green', but today, I want to focus in on the benefits of eating 'raw'. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I will be focusing on what are termed "superfoods" - that is quite an interesting topic I tell you!

I guess it pretty goes without saying how beneficial it is to eat raw foods whenever we can. Some of the other benefits of eating raw foods are:

Increased Energy
Weight Loss
Reduced chance of heart disease
Better digestion (includes great colon health)
Better skin
Ease of preparation (one of Regina's favorites)
Ease of cleanup (again, one of Regina's favorites)

Now people, I hope you don't think that I have completely gone bonkers with my pushing of 'raw foods' - I am still in the real world, still living the fast paces life that causes one to have to deal with outside influences. All I am doing is trying to get into this body a bit more nutrition so it can last longer. My eventual goal is to go 75% - 85% raw. That would mean pretty much that the only thing I would be eating that was cooked would be my proteins. And even some of that can be 'raw' (can you say SASHIMI???)

Here is an excellent article on Green Smoothies - I am actually drinking one right now, and for the person that has constantly said - I would rather eat my meals than drink them, I am actually enjoying this quite well. I made it with:

3 oz spinach
4.5 oz banana
6 oz of mango / strawberry

If you can get over the green look, the taste is pretty nice. In fact, at first I thought it had sort of an aftertaste, but have now discovered, after consuming about one third of it, that the after taste has disappeared. I have also discovered how incredibly FILLING this is. GOOD GRIEF! After my first smoothie, I do believe I am sold.

You willing to try?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - Actually, it's not at all bad, I am very much enjoying my drink this morning!

Mary - Mary, my sweet Mary, eat more RAW! Find SOMETHING you like raw and eat it ok? Make me that promise, I need you to live a long healthy life!

Regina - YES! I knew you would be in my corner! I can't believe it girl, I honestly cannot believe how much I am enjoying this smoothie right now! Thank YOU for making me do the research.

B - try some different salad greens, spinach, spring mix, romaine, all of those are HEALTHY! We will get you on the Green Smoothie kick, I promise you! ROFL - shoot, if I can do it, anyone can!

Crystal - You starting again? WOO HOO FOR YOU! Excellent my friend, totally excellent. I sure hope you keep up with your blog on your progress!

Spring Cleaning Challenge!

2008-04-13T07:43:00.005-04:00

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LIW +2.4
Overnight GAIN 0.6

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: WW Bagel and Cream Cheese
Lunch: Mango and Strawberry Salad with Cottage Cheese
Dinner: Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Meat), squash and onions, large salad with blue cheese dressing, Beer
Snacks: banana, leftover hamburger patty, almonds

A total of 1965 cals divided: 83 fat grams (37%), 150 carb grams (29%), 121 protein grams (25%)

Spring Cleaning Challenge

As spring finally makes her appearance here in Coastal South Carolina, I find myself busier with offline pursuits. Yesterday for example, I got up a little later than normal so I didn't have time to get online and post a post, or visit blogs or much of anything that was computer related. Once I did get up, I was pretty much going all day long.

Yesterday was glorious! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, my plants were enjoying the warmth (as was I). While enjoying the rejuvenation that spring brings to the earth, I thought about how I might take the whole "spring cleaning" thing and apply it to my body.

As humans, we all develop a certain cushion when winter comes around. It's just the time of year where we tend to throw all caution to the wind and allow ourselves to huddle down for the winter with warm, homey, comfort foods - but when spring hits, we all tend to think, let's get ready for summer! Let us use the spring to bounce ourselves with all eagerness into all the fun that summer brings!

Spring is the time we normally prepare our homes, our yards, our lives, and we get ready for the rest of the year. How about we get our bodies ready also???

Now is the time for us to take advantage of all the good things that nature can provide us that is new and fresh. Fresh greens, fresh herbs, fresh veggies, fresh fruits, all the first produce from the season are at optimum levels for health! Are you taking advantage of the spring?

I am! I want to take advantage of the spring time offerings and want to concentrate on getting more veggies, more fruits, trying more herbs, getting in more greens - how about you? I propose a challenge to all my readers. Let's take this next week and concentrate on going for at least 50% of our food to be from the "raw" and preferably GREEN category. Whether you are on P2, P3 or P4, we can all accept this challenge!

Let's concentrate on "green" - WHY?

So what are some "green" vegetables (and fruits) that we can concentrate on?

GREEN FRUITS & VEGETABLES

What I find completely interesting about the above list is how similar the veggies are to the ones that Dr Simeons asked us to eat on protocol. Isn't that amazing?

What do I mean by 50% raw? If you eat 3.5 oz of chicken (using P2 weights) they you must match that with at least 3.5 oz of a RAW veggie. You would have eaten 7 oz of food, but 50% of it was raw. Get it? Normally, on P2, I try to eat one meal with a cooked veggie and one meal with a raw veggie:

4 oz fruit (raw)
3.5 oz protein (cooked)
6 oz raw veggie (raw)
4 oz fruit (raw)
3.5 oz protein (cooked)
5 oz cooked veggie (cooked)

As you can see from my P2 menu example above, I am getting 13 oz of raw food and then 13 oz of cooked food. That is 50% eaten raw - this is just an example to show that you can do this on P2 as well as P3-P4.

Who is with me???

Ewewho has started making green smoothies every morning, and she has already made the commitment to go at least 50% raw (for her and her husband) and is already experiencing a noticeable difference in her health - as well as PHENOM changes in her husbands health. And it's only been a FEW days!

If you decide to take on this challenge, let me know. I have all kinds of ways you can contact me, either here by commenting, or my tag-board, or I have a contact form in the left side bar of my blog. We will start the challenge tomorrow, MONDAY APRIL 14th, and continue it for 7 days. I will come up with all the particulars by tomorrow morning and post them, rules and such. Like I said, it doesn't matter if you are on P2, P3 or P4 - everyone can participate!

Oh! I am getting excited again! Starting to get my MOJO back! It's spring people, time to LIVE-IT, not DIE-IT!!!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to Friday's comments:

Mary - Nope, not beating myself up at all. I am doing MOST excellent! Don't ever associate bad vibes with eating girlfriend, get over that ok?

Liz - Ah yes, we have to be reminded of what is real eh? I think what I have proposed as a challenge will get us ALL on the right track. What do you think?

CB - Awww, look at you sweetie, you are MY hero!!! I am on your coat tails, following your lead!

Becca - I remember that show! I could NEVER do that, my brain just doesn't work that way. Did you ever watch Frasier? There was an episode where Martin (the father) got a vanity plate, and I was like, um, uh, I don't get it! I felt just like FRASIER - HA! Girl? It aint nothin but a thang! LOL

B - Oh gosh B, thank you so much!

Lili - HERE! HERE!

Amie - Glad it was of some good! I sit here and have constant conversations with myself, trying to always weigh the pros and cons of any decision that I make. I am always glad when someone gets some good use out of my ramblings!

Logical Decisions

2008-04-11T05:15:00.003-04:00

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LIW +1.8
Overnight GAIN 0.8

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Mock Danish
Lunch: Ground Beef with Lettuce, Salsa, Cheese and Sour Cream
Dinner: Oopsies with grilled hamburger
Snacks: pepper jack cheese, pepperoni, vienna sausage, small salad with blue cheese, ground beef patty with hidden feta cheese (yummy)

A total of 2216 cals divided: 168 fat grams (68%), 20 carb grams (3%), 151 protein grams (29%)

Logical Decisions

It's amazing when you are not in the throws of TOM how your brain can work logically. I came up with a decision yesterday morning which I am quite happy with.

I know that I came up with a plethora of reasons why I was determined to make it down to LIW before I started my next round, and well, I got to thinking yesterday morning how I might be setting myself up for failure.

You all know that I set my goals as something that is reasonable. I don't think my wishes to get down to LIW were reasonable, especially with the never ending fact that my weight for almost an entire month was hovering at 170 while I was in California - I do now believe that I set myself a new set point, and that for the last three weeks of being home, I keep coming back to that number. Easily I might add.

I went over some of my round first four round numbers, aw come on, you know I enjoy doing that! And this is what I found. That even if I start my next round at 10 lbs over my LIW I should be able to get that off with in a week, maybe two - ok, so what that I might only lose a net 5 that cycle, that would still be most awesome, and then I wouldn't be in this predicament again. I would continue after my planned interruption at a decent weight and then start almost immediately losing weight that was never lost before.

So with all of that in mind, I am now considering my LIW at 170 - I will strive to not go over the 2 pound mark, just like in a real Phase 3, and if I happen to go below, way below, I will consider it a bonus and move on.

I know I will receive alot of I TOLD YOU SO's from the community, and well, quite frankly, I deserve them. All I can offer you is that Aliens had invaded my soul and I wasn't thinking clearly.

I have already reflected that decision in the above numbers. And I have taken off my weight graph. So bear with me people while I attempt until May 3 (1st injection of 5th and final round) to stick pretty much to Phase 3 - I will strive to be a model student this time!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - Well, things have taken on a new look, what do you think?

Becca - You crack me up with your security word thingies. LOL Weather is simply GORGEOUS!

B - TOM is leaving! YEAH! Things can get back to NORMAL!

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

2008-04-10T05:07:00.004-04:00

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LIW +9.0
Overnight GAIN 0.4

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, leftover shrimp and broccoli
Lunch: chicken with huge blue cheese topped salad with blue cheese dressing
Dinner: ground chicken, green beans and tomato sauce
Snacks: pepper jack cheese, iced mocha

A total of 1450 cals divided: 78 fat grams (47%), 61 carb grams (12%), 122 protein grams (37%)

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Yup, this is the way with Atkin's Induction - it's up and down, up and down. I was chatting with a fellow HCG'r yesterday telling her that I was so not prepared to do Atkins Induction this week. I had none of the supplies needed to complete this program. Not nearly enough "fatty" foods to up my calories since I am not eating hardly any carbs.

My calories were low yesterday, yet I stuffed my face. I also spent a good hour outside (finally a GLORIOUS day to work outside) doing yard work and was very sore and tired when done. One more thing is that I ate late (around 7pm) and I ate WAY too many carbs for induction. But I insisted I wanted green beans with tomato sauce. Oh yeah, one more thing, TOM is still here!

So if you ask me, I am not worried about the temporary gain. It will come off. I am one of those that loses as TOM leaves the building, not while he is here.

I am running late again today folks, I don't know what it is, but I seem to be finally catching up on some much needed sleep. Have a great day!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - Thanks girl!

Becca - Thanks to you girl!

Shelly - Thanks!

B - It's worth a read if you have time, it's a pretty healthy way of eating. Very similar to Dr Simeons.

Just the Stats, Ma'am

2008-04-09T05:47:00.004-04:00

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LIW +8.6
Overnight LOSS 0.8

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs in EVCO, some cheese and bacon bits thrown on top
Lunch: two ginormous pork chops (I snacked on these during the day)
Dinner: shrimp and broccoli from the Chinese Fast Food place (just steamed)
Snacks: coconut bark and pepper jack cheese, a full tomato with EVOO and balsamic and blue cheese

A total of 1823 cals divided: 135 fat grams (66%), 29 carb grams (6%), 124 protein grams (28%)

Just the Stats

I only have time for the stats this morning. Was flat on my back almost all day yesterday because TOM was ruthless, so I gotta get started early with the stuff I neglected to do yesterday, in other words, play catchup.

Thank you all for the really comforting words helping me thru my 'time' yesterday, it's such a joy to know I am not the only one that has to suffer! ROFL

If you haven't figured out by now I have decided, since I have the time, to do a strict week of Atkins Induction and see how far that might bring me down. So my goal until Monday is to go 20 net carbs or less. So far so good.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - feeling better today! Charleston is a great place to live, I do really like it here. I am a beach girl so being this close is just wonderful!

Mary - I did, I pretty much laid flat on my back with my trusty heating pad and loved every minute of it. But today is back to the grindstone!

Jan - Oh yeah, down goes the weight!

Becca - I can at least FOCUS now that TOM has made his appearance. Geesh, it was messing with my mind BIG time!

B - yeah, it got pretty bad yesterday, but I am like a new person today! YEAH!

Liz - I wish I would have seen that yesterday about the lotion, I needed SOMETHING!

Topic is TMI - TOM is in the Building!

2008-04-08T04:21:00.005-04:00

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LIW +9.4
Overnight LOSS 1.6

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs in butter
Lunch: one can of water packed tuna with mayo, 2 hard boiled eggs, spinach, tomato, red onion, sf relish
Dinner: grilled chicken, squash and onions, green salad with crumbled blue cheese and blue cheese dressing
Snacks: some monterey jack cheese, a leftover pork chop and some coconut bark

A total of 1830 cals divided: 127 fat grams (62%), 22 carb grams (4%), 149 protein grams (34%)

GEESH! FINALLY!

I actually feel like my life is on an upward trend, and not my weight! This has been a pretty excruciating two weeks waiting on TOM to arrive. When he arrived, in the middle of the field trip (a WALKING field trip mind you) was a bit more than I wanted to deal with yesterday, but I dealt with it, he is finally here, and now, he can leave and I can return back to normal.

First, about the field trip - we went here - Charles Towne Landing - when I left yesterday morning, I didn't know it was supposed to be a walking field trip. I honestly didn't know what it was. This place was closed down in Charleston for years and only recently reopened so I had never heard of it. I thought it was closer to the river and we were gonna see some ships and cannons and stuff, but it was a spot inland where the settlers of Charleston had landed and started forming this city. There was LOTS of walking involved. There was a history trail, an animal forest and a museum.

With TOM arriving almost within one hour of our trip, the rest of the day walking really played havoc with my back. OUCH - since I hurt my back in Jan of 2007, it gets very tender during the first few days of TOM and with all the walking yesterday, and not wearing the correct shoes, well suffice it to say that I was down for the count as soon as I got home.

Actually, today will be a day of being lazy. The cramps are strong, they will be today, and today will be the worst of it.

Thanks for hanging in with me while I was a little crazy over the last two weeks. Now that TOM is here, I know that I will be able to better focus on things like blogging, weight loss, getting back to LIW - all these things WILL happen, I have no doubt.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - HA! The problem was I was an hour away, in an auditorium of 1000 people and I looked for something to savor, and do you know that not one person had any chocolate? It was like the whole place was on some sort of health kick. So you know that made me even angrier. LOL - what, we worry?

Ewewho - Fun? That is a loose term I tell you! The kids had fun, and I put on my best face while I was with them. So that is important, that the kids had fun.

CB - you and me, we have been chatting back and forth since yesterday about this. I will be posting my thoughts in coming days. And thanks girl, all of this community is the pillar of which my foundation with this protocol is set.

Jenn - as you know by now TOM finally showed up, geesh. On the field trip no less, what is up with that?

Mary - how can this dorm school phenomena happen across the internet? You, me, Jenn, I wonder who else??? Geesh!

B - Looking forward to seeing your progress in subsequent days!

Alien Abduction

2008-04-07T04:51:00.005-04:00

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LIW +11.0
Overnight GAIN 3.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Skinny Latte from StarBucks, couple of eggs with mayo, some leftover chicken nuggets my husband made from the day before
Lunch: My MIL's famous Waldorf Salad - ingredients are chicken, grapes, apples, celery, onions, mayo, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice (yum, yum) - then I went on a hunt for bad foods, all I could find was some baked Lays, a banana, and an apple
Dinner: 2 pork chops and a rather large blue cheese salad, and my husbands famous stove top onion rings
Snacks: Couple of bunless double cheeseburgers from Hardees, some potato chips and hot sauce

A total of 3449 cals divided: 205 fat grams (53%), 146 carb grams (16%), 235 protein grams (28%)

Alien Abduction

Yeah, that is exactly what I am gonna call it. It was one of those days again. One of those, I don't care what happens, I have to satisfy the need and I have to satisfy it NOW and I don't care what is in the way when I do satisfy it. Those little space invaders took over my body and I had one of those I don't care days.

Isn't it amazing tho, I seem to have those days when I am away from my support system. I was away for the weekend, not checkin in on my buds, not doing the whole community thing, and I went massively off the deep end.

That other alien, TOM, is so close, seriously, there was one more sign Saturday that says he is close, a sign I don't need to share with the world, but a sign none the less. Add one more thing to this whole equation, I still haven't gone.

Is there more? Of course there is ... I have to go on a field trip today, with the whole 2nd grade class, and I was the ONE parent that was asked to ride the bus with the students, and I am into heavy PMS mode right now.

Ask me if I am gonna have a fun day. NOT. I am really hoping the Aliens let me go today, but as I sit here and type, I feel a massive sense of foreboding - alien abduction. What experiments are they going to try today? What massive amounts of bad foods will they pump into me to see how much more I can gain? Oh please, will you let the GOOD ALIENS take over today, the ones that turn off the craving thing?

Send good vibes my way ok? I need them bad.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - seriously, this time I am so over TOM - sure, I am smack dab in the middle of menopause, but does that give him cause to ruin my life???

BB - Well, I have sucked with the downward trend over the last few days, ugh.

Becca - I am SO jealous. Seriously. More now than ever. Oh gosh, it's so not a good day for me.

The Maintain Game

2008-04-06T05:19:00.003-04:00

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LIW +8.0
Overnight LOSS 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Skinny Latte from StarBucks, banana and some strawberries
Lunch: My MIL's famous Waldorf Salad - ingredients are chicken, grapes, apples, celery, onions, mayo, mustard, vinegar and lemon juice (yum, yum)
Dinner: Fats Cafe - Caesar Salad, with three little rolls
Snacks: Strawberries

A total of 1454 cals divided: 77 fat grams (46%), 108 carb grams (28%), 67 protein grams (19%)

The Maintain Game

To maintain is a wonderful thing when you are traveling and sitting all day. I am attending a convention this weekend. The drive is 45 minutes away, and I am just sitting for about 5 hours while I am there, plus the drive home. Not being in your own element can definitely produce havoc, so when one maintains while this is happening it is a plus.

And I have gotten sort of used to that 170 number ya know? It kinda just keeps showing up there - ha! Not really! Well yes really that I am getting used to seeing that number, but it sure felt good to see the 16's again, even if for just a short, short time.

How can I even be concerned? Two weeks ago yesterday I was 16 lbs over LIW, and as of yesterday and today, I am only 8 - 8 lbs in two weeks is protocol losses. And what I am doing is definitely NOT protocol! So I am resting easy.

Count in there another little factor. I still haven't 'gone'. What is totally up with that?

I got up a little late this morning so I am gonna get to my commenter's and get myself ready to leave at 7am my time.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - your rant was straight on Lili so thanks for taking the time to rant on! Little punkin is sick, ugh, fever and stuffies, send her get well thoughts if you could!

Mary - You don't need to apologize Mary, silly thing. I will fix this in a flash, first day I am back home, it will turn normal.

B - Will do the water thing, as per normal! Thanks!

My, My - Isn't That Interesting?

2008-04-05T05:15:00.004-04:00

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LIW +8.0
Overnight GAIN 1.6

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Skinny Latte from StarBucks, banana and some grapes
Lunch: Greek type salad with Italian dressing and feta, grilled tuna melt made on those oopsies
Dinner: Grilled porkchops, huge salad with blue cheese and blue cheese dressing
Snacks: Orange, coffee with half and half

A total of 2007 cals divided: 111 fat grams (49%), 118 carb grams (21%), 119 protein grams (24%)

Interesting

I find it very interesting, not that I gained because I fully expected that, but that I gained to exactly 170 - wow, that is simply interesting. Don't you find that interesting?

Let me tell you WHY I gained.

I added too many carbs too soon after the fat fast
I ate LATE last night. My eating time is usually before six, and I was eating up until 8pm
Grilled - and usually when we grill it's my husbands job, and he is a saltoholic - didn't take that into consideration and so didn't get enough water with dinner.
Speaking of water, I was only at 1.5 liters yesterday.
Haven't 'gone' in two days.

All of the above can account for the gain, so ask me if I am worried, um, NOPE.

Ok, this wishy washy dynamic duo (JPS and I) have decided to wait to start our 5th round. As of yesterday morning, we had completely forgotten about our commitment to a weekend function held in Augusta during Cinco de Mayo weekend. This function is something my husband is a part of, and yes, it's alot of fun and it involves the whole family.

We had three choices:

To start the protocol as planned on the 12th of April, and we would be on protocol during this function - in fact, the last day of the function would be our 21st day on protocol - ok, so we decided this was not an option.
Start the protocol earlier. In order to be able to eat the scrumptious foods that would be available to us FOR FREE all weekend long, we would have to start the protocol Monday (two days from now) - something we were both not ready for at all. So, scratch number two.
Wait to start the protocol right after the function, and we both agreed that this was a choice that we would take.

So our first injection will take place on May 3rd. And when working with the calendar we figured out our breaks right thru the summer and all the way to JPS starting school again. She was hoping to be done with the protocol by the time school started up again and it looks like she will be, lucky dawg.

Anyway, so that is where it stands. Our next round begins May 3rd.

My goal is still to get as close to LIW by the 12th of April, I am still on a mission. And I believe it's very doable, if I would just be MORE careful with what I am doing eating wise.

I have a convention this weekend, so lots of sitting and lots of driving. I am quite sure my little 'set point' will prove to be handy and that I will probably stay at 170 during the entire weekend.

So asta la vista baby!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - HA! I am surprised how many of us have 8 year olds out there! Thanks girl!

Liz - And you too! This is really a neat age, I just love it!

B - Thanks! Oops, I gained! Nothing but a thang!

Descending!

2008-04-04T05:45:00.004-04:00

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LIW +6.4
Overnight Loss 0.6

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, went to Paneras and had their version of a Skinny Latte
Lunch: Blackened Chicken Blue Cheese Salad from Zaxby's
Dinner: Steamed Chicken and Broccoli from the Chinese takeout, plain
Snacks: During the day I snacked on about 12 ounces of leftover grilled hamburgers, piece of coconut bark, and some WINE

A total of 1896 cals divided: 61 fat grams (29%), 37 carb grams (7%), 179 protein grams (39%), 50 alcohol grams (18%)

Descending!

Lookie there, I was only trying to maintain yesterday, yet I still lost! What is THAT about? I said I would stick to strict Atkins Induction levels yesterday, and some EVIL TEMPTRESS out there decided to convince me to drink a glass of wine, so I did. And then I did again. She is EVIL I tell you. But still, it was a great loss for not planning on it! I didn't want a bounce back from doing the Fat Fast, so it worked as far as I am concerned! Today? I am missing my fruit, so I think I might do a mostly fruit day until dinner.

I have to share with you a story about my trip on the airplane with my daughter while we were traveling back and forth to Cali last month.

Most of you know I am phobic about flying. But I knew deep down in my heart that I had to remain calm for my daughter. I didn't want her to develop any unnatural fears of flying, at least caused by me. Now keep in mind that this was the 4th time my daughter had been on a plane, but the first time that she really remembers the experience. The other times she was 3 months, 18 months, and then at 4 years. This time she was 8.

So trying to be a good mom, before we got on the plane I had described to her the different sensations she would feel, telling her like it would be as if she was riding one of the rides at the fair (which incidentally, she does not enjoy!). On our first junket, we flew from Charlotte to Atlanta - maybe a 45 - 50 minute excursion, so a pretty quick lesson on take off, landing and turbulence in the air.

She was so funny to watch, so much so that I was not as panicky as I have been in past times. Each time something would happen on the plane, I would tell her why it was happening, why it was important that it was happening, and this seemed to work. Until our descent into Atlanta, when she pretty much screamed out "We're Going Down!!!"

It was loud mind you, and although it wasn't a frightened, horrified scream, it was still a scream. If you didn't see her body language as she was saying it, you would assume that this little girl was petrified that the plane was falling out of the air!

I pretty much laughed, which put the people around us more at ease that I had control of the situation, and then proceeded to teach my daughter some airplane etiquette.

Mommy: Baby, you don't ever say on a plane "We're Going Down" - some people on a plane (MOMMY ESPECIALLY!) are very scared about riding planes, kinda like how you are scared of spiders, and if they hear those words, they imagine all kinds of dreadful things happening!

Daughter: But mommy, we are going down, look outside the window, I can see!

Mommy: Yes, you are right baby girl, but let's choose a different expression ok? Something that doesn't sound so scary ok? How about we say, "We're Descending", because that is what we are doing when we are in the process landing the plane. When we take off it's called ascending, and when we land it's called descending.

Daughter: Ok Mommy ...

Fast forward to one of the most incredibly BAD landings I have ever experienced in my life, and I have flown quite often. It was so bad that the particular plane I was on, which was scheduled to carry passengers on to Salt Lake City after the Atlanta people got off actually ended up staying in Atlanta. As we were pulling into the gate, the head steward got on the loudspeaker and proceeded to announce that there was a 'change in plans', that everyone was going to be required to leave the plane at that time.

Daughter: Mommy, I didn't like that descending!

Mommy: Believe me when I tell you baby girl, that mommy didn't like it either. That is NOT how they usually go!

Conclusion to the story is that I had to ease her mind to get on the plane again, and our flight from Atlanta to Sac was without incident. She braced herself for the landing in Sac, thinking it was going to be the same, and the pilot landed that plane like he was landing in butter. So no fear factor for my daughter. AND, she did say "We're Descending"!!!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Marshall - oh no, not while on HCG should you do this trick, I guess I should have been MORE clear. I think people should realize that, as we are not supposed to have ANY oils while on the protocol, you think?

Mary - Thanks for the heads up about the YahooGroup Mary - I will go post there today. I am just starting another round and you are finishing up one. We will get on similar schedules yet!

Becca - Curiosity was the only reason I asked. It's funny because JPS and I have totally different ideas about HCG - I guess the paranoia in me thinks that this will NOT last forever (our ability to get HCG) and I don't want to use HCG as a crutch to maintain weight. JPS on the other hand is like, if I have to 3 or 4 times a year take a 3 week break of eating what I want to lose the excess I might gain, I will do it. And I am like, um, NO WAY. So it's just perspective.

Amie - how incredible is it to have you back among the bloggers!!! YES! Lots of new faces for you eh??? This is a GREAT community!

Karen - YES! Look at you too! Coming out of hiding! I will be paying a visit there today!

Liz - you have to do what works for you. I keep telling people that this is a mind game, plain and simple. If you can work out a schedule that works, all you have to remember are these rules.

*You MUST have 21 effective injections, after that it doesn't matter when you stop.

*If you break for less than 14 days, then you MUST go directly into VLCD with no gorging. When your break is over, you start your shots, and that very same day you do VLCD.

*If you break for more than 14 days, then when you go back to the shots, eat normally for 2 days and then start VLCD.

If you follow those rules, you will be ok.

B - I am the so wrong person to ask about working out and VLCD. I know alot of athletic people are waiting until they are done with the protocol to tone up. They feel that its counter productive to try to exercise while on the protocol. YMMV

The Trick Worked!

2008-04-03T05:13:00.004-04:00

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LIW +7.0
Overnight Loss 1.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Fat Fast Items: Coffee with Half and Half, Cream Cheese, Natural Peanut Butter, Tuna, Mayo, Coconut Oil, Cocoa and a Pickle

A total of 1002 cals divided: 88 fat grams (78%), 18 carb grams (6%), 31 protein grams (13%)

The Trick Worked!

I told you folks I had another trick up my sleeve. I am hesitant to tell you about it, only because it should be used only in the direst of circumstances. If you do some research on it, you will find that there is a lot of negative press about it. It's not fun, it's hard, harder than the protocol if you ask me, but it can work.

Only use it with discretion.

Again, this is something that I found worked while I was doing Atkins and would have those weeks and weeks and weeks with no loss, you all know those times I am talking about. The diligence of following a plan, no deviations, and to wake up morning after morning with no loss. That was discouraging.

In Dr Atkins original book, he mentioned the "Fat Fast" - if your an old Atkinsite, you will remember this, but it most consisted of cream cheese and mac nuts. VERY BORING. Over the years, it has been modified to be a bit more palatable. Still, it is NOT easy to do this. It is NOT fun. But it does work, as you can see, I finally got to see the 160's for the first time in over a month. That feels good, I have to say.

Here is a description of the "Fat Fast".

Here are some incredible modifications for it.

So it worked, what do I do now? I am gonna concentrate on a "maintaining" day today, but I will be sticking to Atkins Induction levels, don't want to introduce too many carbs into my system too quickly. Tomorrow? I will do another "Fat Fast" and will see where I end up on Saturday.

I have been asked some questions about why I want to get down to LIW - or as close as possible before I start again. This was a mutual decision between the girl I do this with offline. We had already discussed making our 5th round our last. We were gonna go until the HCG tells us to stop. That is our PLAN anyway. How we decided to do this is to do it in short 3 week rounds with 10 day breaks. Being that this is the case, we both want to be at least CLOSE to LIW because there is no wiggle room until we are done. Every pound loss is going to count, and we cannot gain anything in between. We don't want to spend half the time losing just what we gained. We both feel that 4 lbs over LIW is acceptable, but not 8 lbs over LIW. 8 lbs would take me at LEAST 6 days to lose on HCG, if not more, and with only 21 days on HCG, well, you see the dilemma.

We did however both agree last night that our first injection for round 5 will be on the 12th of April. We did decide that we would both actively work on getting our weight down as close as we can until that date, and come heck or high water we were gonna start. So we established a deadline. Doable I feel.

Any questions? Just ask ok?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - HA! It worked! Today is strict maintaining! Thanks for the support!

Mary - I am sure it's a number of things, and since TOM still hasn't shown up, I might be able to see another drop soon!

Becca - Do you understand a bit better why we wanted to wait? This will be our final round. No more traveling plans, no more long breaks, just gonna go until done. Question for you Becca - if you are not discipline enough to do the 'strict dieting' how on earth are you going to maintain after goal? Will HCG be a part of the rest of your life? Just a thought. Hope the egg day worked for you!

Jan - Do you understand a bit better now why we are wanting to wait until we are closer to LIW? We can't have this attitude that the HCG will be the answer each and every time. We spend too much time losing what we gained, when that time could be better spent in losing what hasn't been lost yet. Wait, did that make sense?

Hazel - thanks for the support! I think I shook things up a bit yesterday! YUP! That is the way to show this body who is boss!!!

Jenn - actually getting back into my routines of waking up at 4am! LOL - Being that I ended up at 170, which was the weight I was almost the entire time I was in Cali, not losing on the egg day proved that it was a set point for me and that I needed to do something that my body hadn't experienced for along while. Shock it into fast ketosis, and that is what I did, get that fat burning back up and RUNNING!

B - thanks for the support my friend. Yes, you knew I had something up my sleeve didn't you??? And once again, the Bizinator comes thru! LOL

Huh? A Set Point?

2008-04-02T05:29:00.003-04:00

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LIW +8.0
Overnight Loss 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: 2 eggs scrambled with shredded cheese, Coffee with half and half
Lunch: 2 eggs hard boiled mixed with mayo
Dinner: 2 eggs over easy, coffee with half and half
Snacks: cheese

A total of 952 cals divided: 74 fat grams (69%), 12 carb grams (5%), 50 protein grams (23%)

Ok, in all my experience of doing an egg day, I have NEVER EVER gone from one day to the next without a loss. That is about the weirdest thing ever. I am wondering if all that time I spent in California hovering around the 170 mark has reset my hypo to obey that weight? Geesh - I am NOT giving up! NOPE! There is a way to combat this, I just KNOW there is!!!

Today will probably be another modified protein day. Proteins with veggies.

JPS told me last night she is now of the opinion I was at when I got home from Cali, that I wanted to be as close to LIW as possible before we started our next round. We both said right before she left the house last night that being within 4 lbs will be sufficient. If either of us get there before the other, we will wait on each other. So, since I had already had the mind set that we were most likely gonna start this upcoming weekend, I want to lose these additional 4 lbs QUICKLY! I am finally ready for my next round! WOO HOO!!!

I am wondering if no loss on yesterday's egg day has anything to do with TOM lurking? I swear, I was in some serious pain yesterday, and yet, NO TOM. I have had cramping since Saturday and NO TOM. What is up with that? I just KNOW that once he shows up, I can make some headway with this weight. I have been at 170 since Sunday morning. No matter what. It has to be TOM - geesh. Someone send him my way please?

I have to find another trick - break through this barrier.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - Aw, you poor thing, but guess what girlfriend? I will still be doing the protocol then, so you will still have buds! And new ones are showing up all the time!

Mary - Ok, you should have full access now. Check it out and see. Round 5? Whenever JPS tells me I can start! ROFL

Becca - Oopsies are a great alternative to bread. Indulge? I have done quite enough indulging for now, I will probably be eating just regular. ROFL

Jan - Strong and determined to not start my next round without getting closer to LIW - who wants to do a round just to lose weight you gained? How much fun is that? ROFL

B - First time since I discovered the egg day that it didn't work for me. It's a really good kick start to awesome weight loss, but alas, this time it didn't work. I think TOM is the culprit.

Jenn - blah blah blah - you got to goal, why do you need us now? ROFL - who loves you baby???

Another Update!

2008-04-01T05:04:00.005-04:00

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LIW +8.0
Overnight Loss 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, slice of ww bread spread with coconut oil, pb and a banana
Mid Morning Snack: Cheese
Lunch: Hamburger with all the fixings (made with Oopsies - not bread)
Mid Afternoon Snack: Tortilla chips and salsa
Dinner: Grilled Pork Loin with Horseradish Sauce, a Italian Veggie Casserole, Large Salad with Italian Dressing, and a Pasta Dish, Rigatoni with Roasted Red Peppers
Dessert: Wine

A total of 2642 cals divided: 158 fat grams (53%), 117 carb grams (17%), 119 protein grams (18%), 41 alcohol grams (11%)

All that eating, and no gain, how about that. I was testing the limits yesterday. I actually started thinking that I am about to embark on my 5th round and so I wanted to get in some things that I don't normally eat in before I do. Pasta is one of them. There was a dish I saw on Everyday Italian one day a long while ago that I wanted to try. Well, I am glad it's out of my system now, I tried it, it was good, but not awesome, but it gave me the taste and now I am over it.

I was actually quite concerned that I would be up this morning based on that fact alone, and plus the pork was kinda salty but oh so yummy, and nope, I did just fine.

Today is an egg day for me. I am actually looking forward to it! I wont be saying that tonight, that is for sure. I start my egg days loving eggs, and then by dinner time, I am OH SO OVER IT!

Thanks for understanding my 'fogginess' - this time I don't think it's the sugar like it was the last time, since I have pretty much been off the processed stuff for a week now. No, I think it is more the whole getting acclimated to this time zone again and TOM lurking. Seriously, I have been feeling TOM around since I got back, like almost 10 days ago!!! So, give me a few days of just updating, and I will be back in full force.

You hear me say that a lot eh?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - Thanks girl! HCG Convention? HA! That is TOO funny! No, no convention, I just think spring has sprung and people are starting to get active!

Jan - HA! Well, sure, when you look at it that way, my weekend was killer!

Becca - Get to the forum when you can, it can be overwhelming, but we have a lot of fun there. Our blogs are fun, but the forum is more interactive ya know? Oh, I know how it is, wanting to be with friends but wanting your own space again. Let me know when you plan to start ok?

Crystal - WOW! Two days in a row! I almost put you in my missing category section, now you are not! ROFL - will be checking your blog later on this morning to see what your plans are.

Liz - better to wait then to be on protocol and deviate. Hey, that rhymes! I crack myself up. It will happen my friend, I had to come to grips with it taking a little longer than I had hoped also, but I am ok with it now. I have basically lost almost 90 pounds in less than 9 months, that is OUTSTANDING when I count how long I was actually ON the losing portion ya know?

B - I am waiting for TOM to start before I start my next round, actually both JPS and I are. It's a good thing to have that out of the way before you begin a round. Surely! Can't wait to see your progress!

Updating...

2008-03-31T04:55:00.004-04:00

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Saturday, March 29 Checkin

LIW +8.6
Overnight Loss 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, orange
Lunch: large green salad (spring mix, romaine, spinach) with feta and evoo/balsamic and an apple
Mid Afternoon Snack: Cottage cheese and banana (OMG--NUMMY)
Dinner: mostly protein, a piece of chicken and a couple of pieces of cubed steak
Dessert: Wine and Coconut Bark

A total of 2172 cals divided: 121 fat grams (49%), 93 carb grams (16%), 108 protein grams (20%), 14 alcohol grams (5%)

Discovered coconut bark on Friday. Thank goodness I only made four servings because I ended up eating the whole thing. You can tell TOM is lurking because chocolate craving is unusual. No gain, no loss.

Sunday, March 30 Checkin

LIW +8.6
Overnight Loss 0.0

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Leftover 1/2 of a grilled chicken breast, 2 hamburger patties with a slice of swiss cheese and mayo
Lunch: 2 eggs scrambled in EVO, bacon bits and cheese
Mid Afternoon Snack: Houston Dip
Dinner: Salad with blue cheese dressing, hot chicken wings and beer (2)

A total of 2590 cals divided: 178 fat grams (61%), 52 carb grams (8%), 151 protein grams (24%), 26 alcohol grams (7%)

Saturday was a VERY BAD DAY for me. I had one of those days that I couldn't stop eating. Thank goodness I stuck with proteins and I didn't attack the sugars or it would have been DISASTROUS. No gain, no loss.

Today's Checkin

LIW +8.0
Overnight Loss 0.6

Here is my menu for the day before - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, orange, 2 eggs scrambled in coconut oil with bacon bits and cheese
Mid Morning Snack: 1 slice whole wheat bread w/banana and pb and coconut oil
Mid Afternoon Snack: Tortilla chips and salsa
Dinner: My hubbies famous chili and a slice of cornbred
Dessert: Coconut Bark

A total of 1958 cals divided: 110 fat grams (50%), 165 carb grams (31%), 78 protein grams (16%)

Back on track today. TOM is STILL lurking, and I just wish he would hurry up and show his face because I am totally over him, and he isn't even here yet. Yesterday was much more calm day for me, but I can't tell that my emotions are still all over the place.

I am sorry I was MIA over the weekend. I think I had something similar to post traumatic stress syndrome or something. I pretty much needed a couple days to myself. After spending all that time in Cali and then coming home and going and going since I got here, I think I crashed. I literally stayed on my couch all day on Saturday, totally vegging until I had to pick up JPS from the airport at 5:30pm - then we went to Wild Wing and I actually started to feel a bit better. Maybe it was the beer

Whatever it was, I feel it slowly leaving my body. The only thing is, that since TOM is lurking, my thoughts are all garbled and I can't seem to concentrate on any one thing. For example ... I usually pick a title for my post before I write anything. That way it helps me keep focused and I have a general theme I write from. I am this far into this post and I have no title. Nothing that I can focus on.

I know I told you I would let you know my theories on weight loss after indulging on this protocol, but I haven't been able to get my thoughts in any logical order to be able to publish anything, so again, I must ask you to wait. That being said, I guess this shall remain an update post, and I will strive on getting myself back on track. I need to, cause it's seriously disrupting my routine.

By the way. I cannot be disappointed in losing 8 pounds since that Saturday when I stepped on that scale and I was 16 lbs over LIW - 8 lbs lost in 9 completed days. Not bad. Those are protocol averages, for a man at least!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to Friday's comments:

Shelly - sorry sweetie, theories will have to wait. Gotta get my head into the game here. It's taking all I have right now just to put those theories into practice.

Becca - I think we got everything working out with the forum for you? Why don't you post an introduction or something? You will love it there.

Jan - oh yes, the egg day, I am doing another one tomorrow - they are truly a blessing.

B - master? HA! I don't think so, just plowing thru the journey like all of you, finding what works and what doesn't along the way. Looking forward to your updates.

Misto - thanks! It's good to have you back as well. I hope things settle for you. I think it's time for spring to get here, everyone is ready for it ya know?

Crystal - wow, look who showed up! MY GOODNESS! Out of the woodwork. Thanks for the link - I had actually already found that one, and am gonna study it over the next few days. I like their mission statement.

CB - HA! Close to doing fruits. It's all part of the raw, fresh thing ya know?

Liz - well kudos to you to do what you can to make sure the word gets out there. It's a struggle, but one worth the effort.

Until later folks!

The Sweet Taste of Recovery! - Part 2

2008-03-28T05:39:00.005-04:00

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LIW +8.6
Overnight Loss 1.0

Here is my menu - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half
Lunch and Dinner: All during the day I ate about 1.5 lbs of Ground Beef
Dessert: A plate of sliced tomatoes covered with EVOO/Balsamic and then sprinkled with blue cheese and Parmesan cheese - and a bit of grilled chicken

A total of 1379 cals divided: 66 fat grams (43%), 16 carb grams (4%), 166 protein grams (51%)

Tomorrow marks a week when I stepped on the scale and I discovered I was 16 lbs over LIW - today, 6 completed days later, I am only 8.6 - a loss of 7.4 lbs - that is what I call REMARKABLE. That is P2 kinda losses!

I woke up late again today, so I wanted to rush with my numbers and then I will return with an update - I want to talk more about the recovery process. I have some 'theories' that are beginning to be proved correct with my attempt to get down to LIW in a short time, one in particular I am gonna test today!

For my early morning readers, come back by 10am Eastern and I should have updated by then, along with my shout outs to my commenters!

Until then, stay tuned for Part 2A ...

Part 2a of The Sweet Taste of Recovery! (Edited at 10:00 am Eastern)

Time is running away from me today, so my post on the theories I have will have to wait until probably Monday - SORRY CHARLIES! I will still update my progress over the weekend, and you will see my theories actually at work, so don't miss it!

Just to let you know what my plans are today. Today, I am gonna focus in on lots and LOTS of fruit - lunch and dinner will be normal but low carb.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - I totally understand, don't get that bladder all upset again, NO WAY JOSE! It needs to be NORMAL if you ever hope to go on another P2!

Shelly - I had several people send me some links. I am gonna spend some time tomorrow going over them. I didn't get an email? I know your busy with your upcoming MASSIVE RUNNING weekend so get with me when you can!

Mary - I will DEFINITELY keep you posted! Looking forward to see if you had a better day yesterday!

Becca - I have found some accredited course that actually offer the natural way to disease prevention thru food and lifestyle choices, right up my alley! I will post about it after I do some research. Also, I read the ZONE years ago, I am gonna have to go back to it and see what it says. I just remember it being way too complicated for me to adhere to. That is why I really like the Med Diet, OMG! I am learning so many new things on that one! A Biz Book! How cool would that be??

I just read something in the last few days that in 2010 they are going to redesign the Food Pyramid and there are TONS of people lobbying for a correction. I will have to find the article and post it.

Jan - Energy? I fake it, that is what I do! I am so glad you got your blog working! YES - now we can all comment!

Ed & Jenn - HA! My calling! My calling is to follow in your footsteps, that is what MY calling is! LOL

Liz - OMG - thank you SO MUCH for sending me to that site! It's amazing and deserves a really thorough look through, and I will do that this weekend. I will give you ALL my thoughts. What is funny is that I have a DEVIL of a time trying to get my daughter to eat Veggies, but she will snack on fruit, so that is cool. Growing up I always liked my veggies, couldn't stand fruit. Really it's been since doing this protocol that I have discovered a new LOVE for fruit! I will get with you my sweet!

I Want To Be A Nutritionist!

2008-03-27T05:05:00.003-04:00

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LIW +9.6
Overnight Loss 0.0

Here is my menu - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, Banana
Lunch: Large Spring Mix Salad with Homemade Balsamic/EVOO Dressing with Feta and slices of leftover London Broil
MidAfternoon Snack: Wine :)
Dinner: A plate of sliced tomatoes covered with EVOO/Balsamic and then sprinkled with blue cheese and parmesan cheese - a side of leftover London Broil. I snacked on two chips with cheese that my daughter ate and some olives

A total of 1810 cals divided: 82 fat grams (40%), 61 carb grams (12%), 87 protein grams (20%), 69 grams alcohol (26%)

No loss for me today. Maintaining is a GOOD thing, confusing my metabolism is the name of the game!!! Today is another protein day, but this time I am doing probably just ground beef, I may throw some green beans into the picture just for good measure, but mostly all day it will be ground beef. Oh yeah, and coffee. LOL

TOM is lurking. This could be the reason for the stall as well, who knows. I wish he would just show up already and then BE GONE!

Being a Nutritionist?

Is it possible for me? I think I have truly found my "love" - my calling if you will. I am in the middle of doing something right now that truly brings me MUCH joy. I am helping people design menus for their Phase 3 experience. Wow! It is SO MUCH FUN!

What makes me think that I am good at it? I have a LOT of years learning about foods. I have been around TONS of people that have been on a plethora of diets and I have found little nuances with almost each one that work really well. As you know, I absolutely LOVE research, and I love trying to figure out why something worked and why something else didn't work. I LOVE helping people figure out what THEY need to live healthy lives. I LOVE showing people that a slip up is nothing more than a bump in the road, and then leading them to recovery (in other words, back to maintaining!)

I would think it a blast if I could sit back with someone and plan a weeks worth of meals, provide them with a shopping list and have them go to town!

So what will it take? Anyone out there KNOW a Nutritionist? Someone I might be able to pick their brain? The one thing that could pose a challenge to me being certified for something like this ... I am quite over the American Food Pyramid. I do not want to promote it whatsoever because I feel that this way of eating is slowing killing the American population. If not killing them, then making them stay sick, or worse yet, keeping them confused and compliant (thank you M for that discussion). If it takes me having to promote that way of eating to get a certification, then I will consider it no further.

So any information any of you out there can give me to start me on this journey would be MONDO appreciated! I am going to do my own as well - but I am sure that by putting this out there, much will be accomplished!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - if you do it, let me know how it goes! It is a prizewinner as far as I am concerned! So tell me Lili, how much is a "bit up"? It was a PLEASURE talking with you my friend!

Mary - if eggs have that effect, just deal with it! It's for the greater good! Tell your workmates you are on some new medication that produces this effect, essential for your LIFE! LOL

Winston - the one and only steak day I did was a complete bust. I absolutely HATED it, and now I think I have developed a attitude about it. HA! I don't know how I could spend 21 weeks of my life living on 500 cals and not handle a steak day! ROFL - try the egg day once, see what it brings you!

Shelly - oh yeah, it's the protocol, I can take NO credit for it!

Becca - not as happy as I am! Oh yes, it feels SO good to be getting back to normal again. The early mornings are my own again! YEAH!!! What is this thing you girls have with eggs??? ROFL - maybe if you eat them alone they wont produce that problem? HA!

Monica - it was great chatting with you too! I hate it when work gets in the way of us having FUN!!! Humbug WORK! Yeah, this protocol has sure taught me what I need to do to get my body to finally LISTEN to me instead of being MINDLESS about things ya know?

The Sweet Taste of Recovery! - Part 1

2008-03-26T05:44:00.004-04:00

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LIW +9.6
Overnight Loss 2.4

Here is my menu - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half, 3 Egg Omelet with Swiss Cheese cooked in a pat of butter
MidMorning Snack: 2 Scrambled Eggs cooked in a pat of butter, topped with shredded cheddar and bacon bits
Lunch: 2 Boiled Eggs in Mayo, Mustard and S&P
MidAfternoon Snack: 1 Hard Boiled Egg
Dinner: 2 Boiled Eggs in Mayo and S&P

A total of 1235 cals divided: 98 fat grams (71%), 8 carb grams (3%), 75 protein grams (26%)

The Sweet Taste of Recovery!

Since Saturday - down 6.4 pounds in 4 completed days - that is what I call SUCCESS!!! In no other weight loss plan could I ever in a million years even smidgen a hope to recover this quickly. This shows what a complete MIRACLE this protocol is. I would like to say I am in 'shock', but quite frankly, this has happened this way before so I am pretty much expecting it.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Anyhoo, woke up late, don't have time to complete my post this morning but had to let the early birds know my news. If you come back around 10am my time (Eastern US) - I will have completed my post, complete with shout outs to my commenters!

Stay tuned for Part 1a...

Part 1a of The Sweet Taste of Recovery! (Edited at 8:15 am Eastern)

Ok, so I got most of my early morning routine done and I am back.

Like I said before, I am seriously amazed at how well this protocol works. 6.4 pounds lost in 4 completed days. Simply awesome. When I was on Atkins and I had a slip up, I would try to rectify it and it would take me a week, sometimes two or three to recover ... if I was even able to recover at all. Because it would take me so long to recover, I would get discouraged and then do something else stupid. But when you see results like what I have seen over the last 4 weigh ins, well, it just encourages you to keep on keeping on.

Let's go over what I have done so far:

Saturday: I discovered I was 16 lbs over my LIW - Saturday was a special day for me, so I chose not to concentrate fully on what I ate, but I did stay away from white flour and sugar. And I concentrated on getting in my water.

Sunday: 1.4 lb loss - This day I really focused in on eating right again, primarily eating lots of raw, fresh foods. I gotta tell you, it felt DIVINE. I took in about 2250 calories - wow, didn't think it was that much until I plugged it all into FitDay and was quite nervous that my weigh in Monday morning wouldn't be great.

Monday: 2.6 lb loss - WOW - I was totally AMAZED - even after eating all that food, I dropped a good bit! Monday was another day spent eating a healthy dose of fresh, raw foods. I just KNEW I would see another drop.

Tuesday: 0.0 loss - HA! Ok, so I weighed in at a totally different time then I had been weighing in. Kids went back to school, so I weighed in at 5:30am (my usual time) instead of 8am - 9am like I had been doing since Saturday. I chalked up the no loss to a different time of weigh in. No worries. Regardless, I had already planned on doing an "Egg Day" this day to kick start a few days of alternating Protein / Normal Eating days. My theory is that when you confuse your metabolism, it works harder.

Wednesday: 2.4 loss - A total of 6.4 lbs since Saturday, with one day of no loss. Pretty darn good. Today, I am focusing in on a normal eating day. I will attempt to get my ratio of 60% fats, 25% proteins and 15% carbs - and then tomorrow will be another "Protein Day" - most likely NOT eggs - I get pretty tired of eggs after an "Egg Day" - probably Ground Beef - with a small amount of carbs.

How is that for recovery???

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - Oh how I have missed you too! And I bet I am more happy than you to be back!

Regina - Girl! Amazing isn't it! I hope you have fun on your trip!

Shelly - I am here now! Just email me when your ready to chat and we can make a "date" - look at how this is coming off! OMG!

Winston - Thanks for checking in my friend! It is just mind boggling that the recovery process is so sweet. It's just a matter of making your mind over and doing it. OMG - 18 lbs? Me at 16 lbs? What were we thinking???

Becca - HA! Normal??? Girl, there is nothing normal about our lives! I really missed you too Becca - I need to tell you and your friend ALL about my sister's eyes! OMG! The doctor said she might qualify for Lasik (sp?) surgery when she goes back in June??? How cool is that??? Girl, don't worry about any gains ... as I am proving (and Winston) they are recoverable.

Misto - look at you coming out of the woodwork to visit me!!! Believe me, I am glad to be home too!

TSN - oh oh, a GameCock eh??? I live in Charleston - my 2nd son is a Clemson fan. LOL - I love your BLOG! Looking forward to getting to know you better!

Liz - I am gonna do a post on the "Steak Day" - personally? I hated it the ONE time I did it and I found that doing an "Egg Day" is much easier - and actually produces better results with no bounce back. Dr S says that you must do the "Steak Day" on the morning that you see the increase - if you don't then you must do strict dieting:

But if the skipping of the meal - and skipping means literally skipping, not just having a light meal - is postponed, the phenomenon does not occur and several days of strict dieting may be necessary to correct the situation.

I will focus on that tomorrow ok? And btw - TOM can do all sorts of freaky things - just do your best when he is around.

Until tomorrow!

Ah Yes! It's Good To Be Home!

2008-03-25T05:07:00.003-04:00

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LIW +12

Here is my menu - this is what I ate:

Breakfast: Coffee with Half and Half and a Banana
MidMorning Snack: Apple
Lunch: 3 egg omelet with swiss cheese in butter
MidAfternoon Snack: Cottage Cheese and a fresh peach
Dinner: London Broil with horseradish and mayo dipping sauce, Large spring mix salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and mushrooms with homemade balsamic vinegar/evoo dressing - oh yeah, I had some wine too!!!

A total of 1800 cals divided: 91 fat grams (45%), 110 carb grams (22%), 107 protein grams (25%), and 19 grams of alcohol (7%)

Ah Yes! It's Good To Be Home!

Ok, technically, I have been home since Friday afternoon, but I am sure you can imagine it's taken me this long to get back into the swing of things at home. Seriously, there was so much to do to get caught up I haven't had two minutes to rub together to get to my blog. But today marks the day of the start of my routines again.

Ah yes, routines! The backbone of my life. What I live and breathe for. Ok, I know, I crack myself up.

LIW

Sunday, March 16 was the last time I weighed myself in California. I started getting things ready then, which included packing up my scale. That day I weighed 170.4 - I pretty much stayed around that weight the entire time I was in California.

Saturday, March 22 was the next time I weighed myself, here at my home and when I got on the scale, I about FREAKED. It had gone up to 178 - in just 6 days. Ok, so I calmed myself down and chalked it up to traveling and the dang KFC I ate on Thursday night in honor of my daughter who was such a trooper on the plane ride home I would get her anything she wanted. Some very kind soul out there reminded me of my own words "do you know that a gallon of water weighs 8 pounds?" (Thanks Regina)

Not only was that 16 lbs above my LIW of round 4, but that was 2.6 above LIW from my round 3!!! When I told this to JPS, she laughed, and then said, where is it? I don't see it? You look the same as when you left??? And I am like, I don't know? Clothes still are fitting the same. I felt bloated, but seriously, 16 lbs worth? NOT!

Anyhoo, I wasn't gonna worry about it ya know? It's nothing but a thing and these were extenuating circumstances, and I knew that once I got back into my 'routine' things would find their way back to normal.

There is a lot to be said about stress = cortisol = weight gain. My trip was stressful. Not a bad stress, but a very busy stress. Life in California is totally on a faster pace then here in South Carolina, and quite frankly, I am too old for that lifestyle anymore. I would rather live out my life with rocking chairs on wrap around porches, sipping iced tea. Oh yeah, the southern life!

I digress.

So, Saturday I was 16 lbs over LIW - Today I am 12 - something to be said about being home and doing things right. I am seriously enjoying my fresh, raw foods again. Sure I enjoyed eating things in Cali that I can't get here, but now it's time to focus on being healthy and eating right.

THANKS TO ALL

I cannot express the thanks I have for each of you, my readers. I really let the ball drop while I was in Cali, yet I come back and look at my stats, and you folks have been so loyal to continue visiting me even when I didn't post. Wow, that gives me warm fuzzies. Give me a few days to get back into the swing and I will be a posting maniac. As you can imagine, I have TONS of things to say!

A blanket THANK YOU to all my commenter's as well! I will get back to replying to each and everyone of you starting tomorrow!

Until then, peeps! Have a good one!!!

Geesh! What a Day Yesterday!

2008-03-14T11:21:00.001-04:00

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Ok, so we left the house at 9:30am yesterday and spent the ENTIRE day out of the house, I didn't get home until almost 8:30pm - that is way too long to be out of the house. I am getting to be WAY too old for this stuff!

My sister had a check up appointment yesterday with her eyes and it went very well! The pressure in her eyes, which she is always worried about (pressure means diseased eyes) is down to normal numbers, 13 in one eye, 15 in the other. The doctor was very optomistic that her vision now will be correctable with glasses. He said if she finds the glasses don't work for her, that she would be able to wear contacts! She was flippin! And then, he said, if she didn't like the contacts, that there are two more options. Lasik (sp?) surgery or implanting another lens in the eye that is too near sighted! HOW ABOUT THAT??? My sister will be able to see again with corrective lenses!

THE FUCHS DYSTROPHY IS GONE!!!

Oh yeah, needless to say, the day ended on a high note for her. We were waiting for this appointment for her. So basically, his job is done, except for one more check up for the stitches. He was responsible for getting rid of the disease "FUCHS" and it is gone!!! Now it's up to the optomistrist to correct her vision. Oh my, my visit here was worth it to see that happen. I actually got to sit in the doctor's office with her while he was checking her out. I saw him remove a stitch from one of her eyes, and I was like, dude, whatever possessed you to want to work on peoples eyes. I was like, did you just wake up one day and say this was your life's calling??? HA! He laughed! OMG! LOL Yes, I am that way with everyone!

So we went shopping for some things for my mom. She has a hard time getting around in Hawaii so she likes to get alot of little stuff done when one of us is with her. For lunch? We ate THAI FOOD! OMG! Best in the world, I had Citrus Chicken, Hot and Sour Soup, Thai Fried Rice, Papaya Salad, Spicy Chicken Wings and Thai Beef Salad - and to top it off, I had THAI SWEET TEA! And guess what? Still 170 today. What is up with that? I ate like a stuffed pig yesterday!

Oh well, time for me to go - first tho - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Becca - You know this will disappear as soon as the company does! What is it about being around friends and family! Oh yeah, eating is FUN! LOL - what do you think about the happenings with my sister now! I told my sister she is gonna have to get in touch with your friend. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

Mary - what are you talking about? You need to straighten ME out silly! LOL - I can't wait to get home!!!

B - Good for you my sweet! Stable is everything eh?

Liz - Your first break! Don't do what I am doing now, do it right ok??? My first break was STELLAR and went very well! Do it well, you will thank yourself for it! I love the new picture!

Lili - Good morning my friend. I was talking about Dulce De Leche yesterday to my sister and I thought of you! ROFL - yes, the first week of April! Me and JPS always like to have a weekend to 'load' and then start on a Monday - easier for us both that way, so it may be the 7th, we shall see. Will know better when we get home. Missing you sweetie!

Biz

Yes! It Worked!!!

2008-03-13T09:51:00.004-04:00

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How thrilling is that? I can still stay in touch via email, no stupid Blogger issues to contend with until I get home and can figure out what happened! WOO HOO FOR ME!!! Most excellent!

Like I said yesterday, the days are getting busier and busier as my time gets shorter and shorter. I leave in one week, almost exactly as I leave at 6:30am Thursday morning (20th) - have I really been here that long? Geesh, with all the sickness and stuff it sure has seemed longer. My mother and I were chatting yesterday that we are BOTH ready to go home. HA! And my sister asked yesterday if I could stay another week. OMG! LOL

Staying pretty stable at my 170 - wow, what a set point eh? Yesterday? OMG - we went to this place called Fuji Sushi Boat and Buffet for lunch - all you can eat sushi for $11.95 - geesh, I sure ate my fill! Everything and ANYTHING you might want in sushi was available there. We ate so much we ended up NOT eating dinner! That was a splurge, and I thought for sure I would have gained 3 more pounds with all the salt but nope, pretty much stable at 170 - what is up with that???

Officially I am on Phase 4 - what a joke! Phase 4 started when I began this trip! HA! I am actually quite ready to go home and to eat right. As it stands right now JPS and I are looking to start our 5th round sometime during the first week of April, and seriously, I can't wait. I really wanted to be all done with my 'dieting' by one year from start, so right now that gives me about 11 weeks if I start my next round on the 7th of April - 11 weeks - oh boy, in just counting this numbers, I might need to go longer!

I know my goal is at 150 - but we all know that this number was so arbitrary. It looks as if I will need to extend my time limit a bit in order to be able to take this thing to the end. Oh well, que sera sera right? Each round I go on is that much better weight I am at, much better health as well. So, I will just keep going till it's done, whenever that will be. Right now all I need to do is get home so that I can get a better grip on this food choices thing.

Oh well, time for me to go - first tho - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Becca - We go back to the Dr today so I will let you know how things go, she is hoping for a good report. She has glasses on order, but it doesn't look like they will get here until AFTER I leave, and I hate that cause I really wanted to be here when she got them. Oh well...

Monica - oh how sweet. We are all in this together ya know? You have been a source of inspiration for me as well. I wish I had more time to visit other blogs while I was here but it's so haphazard - but once I get home, watch out! LOL

Mary - Ah yes, my own bed. It aint the most comfortable in the world, but boy do I LOVE MY BED!

Karen - HA! Quiet? I thought you folks would enjoy the time without my gabbin! LOL - I have missed you all so much, and even with the DSL card it's still so hard to get everywhere. Ugh - but I will be home soon, it's almost over! LOL

Lili - LIFE??? OMG! Yes, I sure know about LIFE! I am so over the drama they call this life in CALIFORNIA and ready to be home to deal with my OWN drama! ROFL - I can HANDLE my drama, just not everyone elses! hehe

Liz - HEY GIRL! Thanks for stopping by!

Testing Blogging by eMail

2008-03-12T11:19:00.001-04:00

Hello Peeps!

I have been having so much trouble with blogging that I finally had given up trying to post to my blog until I got home. Someone was kind enough to let me know that I can blog via email so I am testing this today to see if it works.

It had gotten to the point that I cannot even see the box that I need to type in when I log into blogger, how weird is that? And quite frankly people, I need my connection to you folks to feel sane anymore! ROFL - OMG, I crack myself up!!!

Things are going fine at Menopause Manor - just counting down the days until I can sleep in my own bed. Things are getting busy around here as I wrap up my trip. My sister is doing very well. She thinks she is all sassy now that she can see pretty good (but only like a foot in front of her!) - she is too funny!

Ok, this is only a test. If I find this worked, then I will be a posting fiend again! ROFL

Biz

Menopause Manor

2008-03-08T07:51:00.003-05:00

Ok, so another day in the Cali saga. I had to take the old women out yesterday (hey, my own sister is calling her place "Menopause Manor" - the old women finally got ready around 1pm to leave, geesh, I was ready at like 10am to get the heck out of dodge. So not getting started till 1pm got us a late coming home time - around 8pm. Which everyone knows is usually my BEDTIME! ROFL

We went out to eat lunch - had some good Hawaiian Food. I had the Lau Lau and Kalua Pork, plus I had a Spam Musubi!!! I sure was in HEAVEN! I didn't eat the WHOLE plate mind you, I brought MOST of it home (oh yes, I did finish the entire Spam Musubi!) - I had plans to eat it for my supper, but we also picked up some sushi so I had a few pieces of that instead. Oh, and I had some delicious wine - ever since I got here (we all know that all of the Cali people are WINEO'S) people have told me to make sure I taste this wine. So I found some at the World Market yesterday and me and my sister polished off a bottle last night.

What kind of wine was it? Well, let me start off by saying that I am not usually a Chardonnay drinker, but they kept telling me to try it, that I would like it. I hate wine that PUCKERS ya know? If I am gonna drink wine, it's usually a dessert wine, or White Zin. So this was a stretch for me. And they also told me to disregard the name of the wine. Why? You tell me:

THIS IS THE WINE THEY TOLD ME TO TRY

And try it, I did ... and love it I did, and I am so glad I purchased another bottle while I was there! Because the wine diet is on the menu for me! ROFL

Weight? It's still hanging at 170 - 8 lbs over my LIW - so I am pretty pleased with this. Who could ask for anything more than that? I know I wanted to be a model P3 student while I was here, but things just didn't turn out that way. So Que Sera Sera - whatever will be will be. Whatever happens happens, and I will fix it when I get home. Whatever.

Ok! I have LOTS to catch up on today, and then I have to travel to go pick up my OTHER nieces children this morning, about a 45 minute drive. They are staying with us this weekend so that will be fun for my daughter!

Have a great day people!

Biz

What Is Up With Blogger?

2008-03-07T09:27:00.000-05:00

Is it just me??? What is up? I can't seem to get a posting box that works, so I will just do a quick update here and just hope things show up? Has anyone else had this happen? I can't see any posting options, like even to be able to change my fonts or anything.

Oh well, let me just give an update.

Eating yesterday was very haphazard. For some reason or another my stomach was not well, and I felt a little queasy all day. So eating was very light.

Breakfast: Coffee with Mocha Powder and Mocha Mix and a Turkey Sandwich with Cheese, Mayo and Mustard on Demon Bread.

Lunch: A can of rootbeer, I was trying to settle my stomach

Dinner: Some Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes - and a bottle of Verdi Spumante, these bottles are NOT that much wine, but I did drink the WHOLE thing by myself over the course of the night. It's fizzy (for my stomach) and it was wine (for my stomach) - and quite actually I feel much better today.

Let me go to my commenter's from yesterday:

Mary - Thanks for the link, I stopped by last night but didn't stay long but will look it over today. Demon bread? I only call it "Demon Bread" because quite frankly it's the best bread I have had so it can't be good for you. The brand name is "Milton's" and they call it "The Original Healthy Multi Grain Bread" - Here it is:

http://www.miltonsbaking.com/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=100

Very good stuff this bread!

Marshall - Thanks for the visit my pal! Oh! They DID turn in my wallet, credit cards, money and ALL! I got it the same day, but not until AFTER I canceled all my credit cards and stuff!!!

Becca - HA! I don't share my picture many places, but since the forum is pretty much "private" I felt comfortable putting it there! So am I anything like you imagined? LOL - OH MY! I am so not afraid of the camera anymore. How cool it is to live life not being afraid of the camera! Motivation? Well, if you can sit tight a couple of days, I was gonna spend a post on it. I just need to gather my thoughts. But let me just tell you this. This is something that has been in the works for MONTHS and because of circumstances it just was put into play a little earlier. Lynne (you know her, from the HCG2 board?) and I have been working on things for awhile behind the scenes but each of us had family issues to take care of that took precedence so it kinda was put on the back burner, but it's been there for a while just waiting to be brought to life. And it happened this week! Thanks to another blogger JENN! And Becca, thanks for the link for another Blogger, I can never have enough blogs to read you silly woman! I am so into this whole HCG thing! Can you tell???

Ed and Jenn - Home is not until the 20th, and maybe not until the 21st, depending on if my flight is on time or what. I wont drive at night so if I get in late to Charlotte, I will just stay the night there and go home in the morning. We shall see. You??? You know I have to always test the limits. OH YEAH. Me the TESTER!

B - HA! Look at my comment to Mary, and you will find out what DEMON bread is. NO MORE FOR ME TODAY! ROFL!!!

Ok peeps, have a nice day, and please let me know if I am the only one with this bad blogger episode???

Biz

And Life in California Goes On!

2008-03-06T08:43:00.003-05:00

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WOW! I am on a roll!!! Two days in a row! It's getting to be a habit! Actually, it's feeling like I am back into a routine, and I gotta tell you, this feels nice. I need this connection to my journal ya know?

There are several people out there I owe emails too. I am so sorry I have been LAX in getting answers to you. With the connection that I had it was just impossible to get emails, and so when I got a hold of this card, I have this PLETHORA of emails I have to go thru, and I am doing it, but it's slow, so bear with me ok? I will get to all of them, just a little at a time.

Slowly I am getting back into my daily habits. I haven't entered food into my FitDay since I got here, because quite frankly, I am lost as to all the different things I have been eating and how to record them. So when I remember what I eat, I write it down. Yesterday I was pretty good at writing down what I ate:

Morning: Coffee with Mocha Mix and Starbucks Mocha Powder (OMG, my NEW love for coffee!), a small bowl of Broccoli Cheese soup that I made the other day with Pepper Jack Cheese, two pieces of DEMON TOAST (OMG! This bread is so very VERY good it has to be a sin to eat it) with butter and Red Pepper Jelly

Noonish: Two more pieces of the Demon Bread, toasted with Mayo and Mustard with Cucumbers, Tomatoes and Alfafa Sprouts, then I had some sort of Thai thing that my sister made with Ground Turkey and Basil, Cilantro, Garlic and other stuff, and a little leftover Southwestern Chili

Dinner: More of that Thai thing, and two beers.

Dessert: A bowl of Trix - what possessed me I have no idea. I just felt like it, it is a sickness. I am over it now, it gave me a MONDO headache.

My sister was still incredibly sick yesterday, I told her that this was the last day that she was allowed to be sick. She is really cramping my visiting style around these parts, being stuck in this retirement home! ROFL

My daughter had a special night last night with my niece - they went to see "Princesses on Ice" (Disney) in Oakland. She got all dressed up with sparkles in her hair, and about 13 girls went and when she got home she told me she had a ball! She is having more fun than me! ROFL

Ok! I got up late today, so I am not on here for long, just know that I miss you all and I am glad to be counted among the living again!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Liz - I am glad I was here for you my sweet! I have to get to your blog, I had it saved in my computer faves at home, but not on my laptop, ugh! I will check on you today!

Becca - I couldn't even use my phone if I wanted. It's roaming out here, at like 25 cents a minute! I have an unlimited plan, but it's only good for the 3 states around where I live, on the OTHER side of the continent! LOL We are all getting better! Thanks for stopping by!

Ed & Jenn - hehe - what can I say?

Mary - Who is Marlene? What have I been missing???

B - Oh yeah, who is worried??? Not me, that is for sure! Thanks for stopping by! I know you are really busy!

CB - Hey girlfriend! Thanks for stoppin' by! I love checking in on my buds!

Biz

WTH??? Where Have I Been???

2008-03-05T09:48:00.003-05:00

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Geesh! I have NEVER ever gone this long without a post. I bet I had you all worried! Let me just say some things to give you an idea of what has been going on in my life since I landed in California on the 20th of Feb...

2 visits to the emergency room (brother and mother)
playing nursemaid to a plethora of sickies (including myself and my daughter - last two days it's been my sister)
having to survive on the worst dialup internet connection known to man until this past weekend when i had full access to the dsl card!
playing chief cook and bottle washer for two events (a baby shower and a friends gathering)
losing my wallet on a trip into town (did I mention where my sister lives is in the BOONIES and we have to PLAN our trips into town?) - canceling ALL my credit cards - and then trying to figure out HOW I was gonna drive without a license when I go to the Police Department to file a report and what is there??? MY WALLET!!! Complete with all my credit cards, and my money! OMG!
having to take my daughter to visit my OTHER niece for the weekend and her calling me to come get her early (mind you, my other niece lives 45 mins away)
having to take brother and brother in law to the airport on the same day (airport is 30 minutes away, one had to be there at 5am the other at 1:00pm) and then driving into town for doctors appointments for my sister (OMG, this day was the pits - I was SO SICK)
having to play school teacher for the first time in my life to my daughter (home schooling her while we are here) and not knowing the first thing about HOW to teach her things like "when you add 'ies' for a plural" - sure, I know HOW to do it, but how do I TEACH it??? OMG - schooling is NOT fun!
one day I got to spend with my good blog buddy REGINA - and how that was the HIGHLIGHT of my week! I got to meet her, her mother and her daughter all at the same time! What a comfortable bunch of people they are! They made me feel RIGHT AT HOME the entire day. We went out for - what else? But MEXICAN! I had fish tacos for the first time and we all had margaritas!

To top things all off? I have not been the model P3 student. Nope, not even close. It's not like I could just hop in a car and run down the street to get P3 legal foods. So I ate what was around here. So during the entire first week??? I didn't weigh cause I didn't want to know.

Finally, starting the 2nd week (the day after I saw Regina) I weighed. It was 8 lbs above LIW - ok, so that is pretty bad, but really? It's not. When you consider I have not spent one day eating legal P3 foods, I think it's pretty darn good that I am maintaining this week anywhere from about 5 - 8 lbs above LIW. My body, no matter what I eat, will NOT go past the 8lb mark, and people??? Let me tell you, I have NOT cared what I have eaten. I eat when I am hungry, and I stop when I am full. I snack on things all day and I am eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I have been to Mexican, PF CHANGS!!!, Vietnamese, Japanese - eaten all kinds of bizzare foods that my niece likes to cook and yet my body will not go past the 8 lb mark. That is remarkable, don't you think???

Ok, I don't have a lot of time to spend here today. I didn't weigh myself this morning to give you an accurate gauge of where I am today, but I will endeavor to start at least posting stats and menu starting tomorrow. I have kept a semi running log of things that I have eaten, when I remembered! LOL

So with that I bid you adieu for the day. I tried to visit everyone Monday I think it was, and I will strive to be a bit more regular on there as well.

I miss each and everyone of you! Thanks for being there for me!!!

Biz

Today is the Day! - 02.20.08 - D01P3R4

2008-02-20T04:25:00.003-05:00

LIW - 162.0 lbs (02/17/08)
Today's Weight - 163.8 lbs
1.8 OVER LIW

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Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I knew yesterday was supposed to be a day of my last 24 hours of VLCD - but it didn't quite turn out that way. With traveling and all, it just wasn't easy. I have a healthy respect for you that try to do VLCD while traveling. There is just too much going on.

In any case, this is what I ate: Coffee with cream, a couple of eggs with some onions cooked with butter flavored Pam for breakfast. Apple and peanut butter for snack. Ground beef for lunch. Dinner was a green salad with all the fixins (mushrooms, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, eggs, onions, bacon bits) with blue cheese dressing and a hamburger patty with a bit of Heinz 57.

A total of around 1354 calories divided this way: 77 Fat, 51Carbs, 104 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now: eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

On My Way!

Today I leave for Cali - didn't sleep well. For all my EFT tapping I did to get over the anxiety of flying, it pretty much hit me last night. But all is well. My fear of making my daughter scared out weighs my fear of flying so I will remain calm for her.

The hotel we are at gave us an upgrade, why, I don't know, but we enjoyed it. My daughter had a good time going from room to room. She says, mommy, they have a refrigerator! Mommy, they have a microwave. MOMMY! They even have a clicker! OMG! Do you think my daughter is a bit sheltered??? This suite is absolutely lovely. Too bad we only were here for the night!

For some reason or another she insisted on Shoney's last night. How could I resist??? We don't eat out much, so I complied. Surprising, I don't think I did too bad based on the fact that I was still on the last 24 hours of VLCD. For some reason or another I feel that the HCG leaves my body faster than other people, and by the last 24 hours I am hungry. Over the past two breaks on that 3rd 24 hours, I have always increased my protein to satisfy the hunger with no problem, but yesterday I just went a bit further with the salad.

All is well tho. No worries. Traveling will always do it to a person, no doubt. After I get a good nights rest (probably not until THURSDAY night) things will be back to normal and all will be better. So I will NOT stress about the weight but be sensible about my eating.

We have to leave the hotel at 6:30am, so I am going to finish this off. Take care people, and I will attempt to update tomorrow from CALI!

I can't believe, I will be there in about 12 hours from right now!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - HA! I actually thought about taking a picture of my purty toes, but I decided against it, I was like, who wants to see my purty toes??? ROFL - I will update, don't you worry!!!

Lili - there is nothing like being pampered ya know? The good thing about Cali? I have lots of friends there in the salon business, so I will be getting gussied up, massaged, getting facials, all kinds of stuff and probably a new do! Take care my sweet!

Monica - Yeah! I got my 'fix' before I left! WOO HOO FOR ME! I just love it when a plan pulls together! Thanks for the well wishes.

Shelly - Yeah, it will be an experience to say the least about the plane seats. This should prove to be interesting. I am hoping they are gonna let me keep my liter water bottle on the plane, I swear, a 5 hour flight with only one liter of water??? OMG! That's just not right!

Ed & Jenn - girl, sorry about last night, I was in a mood after 'that' happened. But you know what? It's nothing but a thang, but when are people gonna realize that you don't want to torque the Bizanator? That's just wrong. I will handle, no worries.

Wendy - AH GIRL! You came out of hiding! I sure do miss you. If you wanna chat, you know my email. I am always there for you. Hopefully you can get back into the swing of things. Don't let the man get you down ok?

Biz

48 Hours Complete - 02.19.08 - D29P2R4

2008-02-19T04:23:00.004-05:00

LIW - 162.0 lbs (02/17/08)
Today's Weight - 163.2 lbs
1.2 OVER LIW

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Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I had cottage cheese and peaches for breakky. Ground Beef with Green Beans and Tomato Sauce for supper. I had a snack of some canned ham, BIG MISTAKE, and I knew it when I did it. And the other thing is that I certainly did NOT drink enough water yesterday. I am NOT worried, so you folks don't be either. Oh yeah, I drank coffee twice with half and half. Just a bit cocky I think!!!

A total of around 623 calories divided this way: 23 Fat, 18 Carbs, 81 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now: eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Today Is The Day!

We all knew this day would come, and it's here! Today is the day I leave my house. I am traveling up to Charlotte, NC to take off from there tomorrow. Don't ask! We should be leaving the house sometime late afternoon and then my plane leaves tomorrow morning around 9am. So basically, I am on my way!

I am supposed to have internet connection tonight and tomorrow morning at the hotel, but if you don't see an update from me, then just know I am thinking about you and I will update when I get to Cali.

I fully expect things weight wise to be a little haphazard over the next couple of days. I wont be eating wrong, but with traveling you know how things can be. With not drinking as much water as I can do at home, and the whole plane business, I am completely prepared for big fluxes until I settle in Cali. Whatever happens I will be able to fix it within a couple of days.

Yesterday, I also got a pedicure, and they used oil on my legs and feet. That could also be the reason for the gain. Like I said, I don't care. Tomorrow, if need be, I can spend most of the day munching on fruits, which will do me JUST fine. I have some salt free walnuts I will also take as some protein so all in all I have it planned. Will start paying attention and maintaining on Thursday morning when I wake up in Cali to see the numbers.

WOW, I can't believe it's here. Well, as you know, I don't have much to say, I will just bid you folks adieu and I hope to be able to update in the morning.

Bon Voyage!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Monica - What incredibly sweet things to say! Thank you my friend! On the average I have about 150 unique visitors a day. Every day I have more and more regular visitors coming from outside the US and that truly fascinates me! We all know the reason I blog (because I have to) but to think I might be able to help others out there obtain the same miraculous results using this protocol as me, well, I just get the warm fuzzies.

Lili - Fan club, you are SO FUNNY! You all are my SUPPORT GROUP! WOO HOO!!! Our own little 12 step program, only this one WORKS! YEAH FOR US!!!

Shelly - Cyberspace sometimes is the pits! Hey, thanks for the really kind words my sweet! I will get to your email, I promise!

Mary - HA! Yup, can you believe it??? Who would have THUNK???

Ed & Jenn - HA! Jenn, you don't think I have a mission? Losing all this weight is one thing, keeping it off is quite another all together. Maintaining will be my mission. Finding all the little nuances about maintaining this weight loss for life. That is my goal. So if your interested in sticking with me when we are at goal, we can travel that road together!!! HA! My toes are so purty, but I think the oils that was used for the massage messed me up weight wise! ROFL - isn't that funny? I didn't even consider that!!! Remember Jenn, we are pioneers of this protocol, we need to keep it alive and it's our responsibility to be there for all the new ones that will consistently come in wanting information. We can't just stop. We can't just take the gift that was given us and not pay it forward ya know?

BB - Thanks girlfriend! I will have a good time, stressful, but good. Being with family always does my heart good!

Becca - oh my, now you have me all verklempt! I am slowly starting to see it. That is why this break is gonna be so good for me. Give me some time to get used to this "new" me. Stop the thinking process of always being big and start thinking of myself as small. I will be sure to wave to you, but I think we will be MUCH MORE NORTH - I am going to Sac so I don't know if we will be going over AZ. And girl, I couldn't have done this without all of YOU by my side every step of the way, so THANK YOU for being there and sharing with me!

B - Been missin you girlfriend! Thanks for the kind words!

Biz

24 Hours Complete - 02.18.08 - D28P2R4

2008-02-18T05:53:00.006-05:00

LIW - 162.0 lbs (02/17/08)
Today's Weight - 161.8 lbs
0.2 UNDER LIW

Get my updates via eMail: Subscribe to The Progress of Biz

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I had cottage cheese and peaches for breakky. Apple for afternoon snack. Ground Beef and a Beer for dinner!

A total of around 539 calories divided this way: 12 Fat, 38 Carbs, 52 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now: eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Have I Mentioned I Am Over This Round?

Geesh! Yesterday I wasn't even caring what I ate - this round is basically over for me, lock stock and barrel. I did however concentrate on getting my protein, I won't let that happen again, no sirree.

I finally broke down and went to the Thrift Store for some clothes yesterday. I toyed with the idea of pulling 14's off the rack and see what transpired, but instead I pulled the 12's - didn't even try them on until I got home - and do you know what??? THEY FIT! WOO HOO FOR ME - so now it's official - I am in 12's.

Today I am busy - very busy - it's my last full day at home. So I will sign off now, and you will pretty much only be getting updates for the next few days until I am settled into my sisters house.

Keep in mind I will be in Cali instead of the East Coast, so my posts may be later in the morning, sorry about those that use my blog as their morning cup of coffee - HA! I crack myself up!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Crystal - Honestly? I don't know how I feel, it really hasn't hit me yet. Seriously. But I know it will, and when it does, you folks will be the first to know!

Ed & Jenn - HA! Yeah, me and mushy don't get along that well, so thanks for that. Yeah, can you believe it's over??? GEESH! Where did the time go? I tell you where it went...chatting with you and R!!! LOL

CB - HA! You are too cute! I will be updating, don't you worry, each and every day, just don't know what time! But stay tuned!

Mary - HA! The Michelob helped eh? It's funny, I usually crave food when I drink, but on HCG as soon as I have a beer, I get really REALLY full! WOO HOO!!!!

Karen - Yeah, tons of people have mentioned about my Tatt! It's (ashamed to say) a pair of Cowboy Boots and a Cowboy Hat - Don't ask ok??? ROFL - thanks for the nice words!

Monica - You only have a short time to be on this, so don't mess around with perfection. I have been doing this for what seems like eons (HA!) so the experiments were something I just had to do! JPS is certainly happy tho, she has been having Cottage Cheese and Strawberries and Broccoli every day with NO issues!

Seraphim Sigh - HA! Thanks! Sometimes it really floors me when I get email from people across the world asking me about this protocol, just amazing quite frankly. WOW! What can I say? Thanks for the visit and the really kind words!

Take care everyone!

Biz

End of Round Four - LIW - 02.17.08 - D27P2R4

2008-02-17T06:53:00.004-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 162.4
Today - 162.0
0.4 lb LOSS Overnight
13.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
22.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
88.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Get my updates via eMail: Subscribe to The Progress of Biz

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I will explain below.

A total of around 671 calories divided this way: 10 Fat, 45 Carbs, 42 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! People, bear with us, we are now looking at Tuesday.

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

LIW

Yup, today is the day! Last injection weight for this Round 4 - looking like it was my best round yet! I seriously cannot believe how fast it went, and how incredibly well I did. I managed to surpass my goal, experiment and still come 13.4 lbs under my Round 3 LIW - which is way better than I thought I was gonna do! So WOO HOO FOR ME!

I have spent all morning doing my pics and measuring, so not much of a post today. I had a "beer" protocol day yesterday and actually had one beer too many so I went over on my calories, but still managed to lose .4 to end up this round on a nice even number 162.0 - I like that. If I do things right I don't ever have to see over 165 again. WOW! I am THRILLED!

Time is coming up fast - but you will be happy to know that I am over being anxious. I have done what I can do and the rest will take care of itself. The rest is just a waiting game. I will start packing tomorrow morning and do the last minute things like get a pedicure (my reward for a great round!) and maybe go shopping for some tanks and a pair or two of pants at the thrift store. I need something, nothing is fitting! ROFL

Anyway, I don't have alot of time to spend here, but I wanted to go ahead and post my pics, and my measurements. Remember that all pictures are clickable!

Here is my measurements!

HA! I think I have done good! What do you think???

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - It's more of a case, I want to see what everyone else sees. I don't have that ugly monster at the moment telling me I am gonna gain it back. I played around too much during my last break and then lost it again FAST to know that I will never be fat again. It's the person in the mirror. Can I see the 162.0 lbs person? Instead of the over 200 lbs person? That is what I need time to process.

Shelly - HA! No fair to use my words against me! ROFL - But that is exactly what I must do!

Ed & Jenn - oh yes, I remember, you were right once again! LOL I missed you yesterday, did you get my text???

Mary - Very much so, 88.8 lbs loss happens to OTHER people, not to me! ROFL Thanks Mary! HA! Girl, you need to teach your body who is boss. Pringles, girl? What is in a Pringle that calls your name? They are not even GOOD! OMG!

Until tomorrow!

Biz

There Is Value In Listening To Your Body - 02.16.08 - D26P2R4

2008-02-16T04:58:00.004-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 163.4
Today - 162.4
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
13.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
22.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
88.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Get my updates via eMail: Subscribe to The Progress of Biz

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I will explain below.

A total of around 466 calories divided this way: 17 Fat, 0 Carbs, 73 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! People, bear with us, we are not looking at Tuesday.

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Listening To Your Body

I preach, and I preach, and I preach - one of the biggest lessons learned on this protocol is that your body consistently speaks to you. Over and over again, we just get to the point in our lives were we tune out what it is saying to us because we think we know better.

One of the things I am finally getting down pat is this listening thing.

Yesterday, I woke up with this really strong sensation of wanting protein. I thought about it all morning, and what came to mind was the ending of my 2nd round. I had the same sensation but didn't do anything about it and it got worse and worse and pretty much made my last week on the protocol very excruciating. Yesterday, I said to myself I will not let this happen again.

I quickly went to my FitDay and figured how much ground beef I could have without going over 500 calories. With the ground beef I had I could eat 12 ounces. So around noon I pan fried some ground beef and then I munched on that the rest of the day. No veggies, no fruits, just the ground beef with a little bit of Ono Hawaiian Seasoning.

By 5pm last night, the protein craving was gone. I was completely satiated for the day, and this morning I am up, no craving and one pound lighter. Is there something to listening to your body?

I really feel like your body gives you the right signals for healthy eating. I think our "mind" takes over and tries to decide what is best, and sometimes that doesn't work. I think sometimes we let the emotional attachment to foods dictate what we think our body is trying to tell us. I believe our body wants to run efficiently but we sometimes fall prey to the emotional attachment we have formed to certain foods. I know it's been a slow process, but I am starting to figure it all out.

JPS and I have had some really deep conversations this week. I am really trying to wrap my head around this weight and she is truly trying to help me. Some of you already know this, but I will say it to the rest of you. It's like I am just going thru the motions. I get up, I weigh, I input the numbers, but in my head they are not 'mine' - I don't own this weight yet. I am mechanically going thru the routine of the day, but not really realizing this is me I am talking about.

This break I am about to take will probably be the most important break I will be taking in this protocol. I was telling JPS yesterday, that this time, this break feels different. This break is like a mission for me. The last two breaks I was on were 'play' breaks. They were the 'testing the limits' breaks. This upcoming break I feel like I did when I came off my first round. I want to be BY THE BOOK and make sure there is no 'play'.

I want to 'own' this weight until the next round. I want it to be MINE - I want to see in the mirror what a 162.4 lb person looks like. I want to look into the mirror and the person that looks back at me is ME and I KNOW it. I need time for that. What a great time for a break.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - HA! Thanks for the nice words for my sister! And I will by all means show off this body!

Lili - Always a pleasure talking to you Ms Lili!

CB - Thanks girlfriend, I have your email ready!

EweWho - A very wise woman once said to me, "What's the Worse That Can Happen?" - well, I kept repeating that yesterday. If I don't get everything done, what is the worst? LOL - My boys would have to do it! ROFL

Mary - Good stuff that Vitamin C!

Ed & Jenn - HA! Yeah, look at me today? What is up with that??? What do I need to try next? ROFL

Crystal - So true, so true - and it's California, how wrong can I get. It's just the whole on separate coasts that is playing with my mind! ROFL

Becca - My sister's biggest apprehension was going thru the recovery process like the last time. That was min 18 months recovery. This 'new' surgery, we are talking weeks. Something they pulled on her as she was checking in the day of the surgery ... she had to sign a piece of paper that said basically that if they got in there, discovered that the 'new' surgery wouldn't work, they would have to continue with the 'old' surgery - there was no 'turning back' - she said she about died. She didn't want to go thru with it. But she stayed strong, had faith and viola came out a winner. I will have to get my sister and your friend together! My sister has been like the poster child for this process!

Vitamin C flush is basically this. When you feel the 'yucks' coming on? Start taking 1000 mg of Vitamin C every hour. Do not use the chewables, get ones with no fillers. You take until you reach 'bowel tolerance' - what that means is that you take it until your bowels become runny which means you have had enough. Do this again the next day. Do it until you start to feel better. It's worked for me twice now. And isn't it amazing that Dr S said we could do Vitamin C???

Ann-Marie - Interesting concept. I am really focusing on staying true to P3 protocol this break. And if that means every other day becomes a protein day for me, well then, that is what it means! I am finally understanding how incredibly important protein is! Hit my head with a baseball bat eh?

Monica - HA! Thanks girlfriend! My family hasn't seen me here. I was 108 when I got married the first time. Two years later I was close to 200 lbs. That is when they saw me next. HA! Yeah, I would think they are gonna flip! ROFL

Later gaters!

Biz

Getting Ready - 02.15.08 - D25P2R4

2008-02-15T05:57:00.007-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 164.0
Today - 163.4
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
12.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
21.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
87.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Get my updates via eMail: Subscribe to The Progress of Biz

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

Well, I did my "regular" meal yesterday with one exception. I used Asian Dressing instead of Mustard Dressing on my Green Salad. So I had a Ground Beef Patty with a Green Salad with Asian Dressing with a Cut Up Apple Thrown in, a snack of a Grapefruit, then I had Catfish Creole for Supper.

A total of around 432 calories divided this way: 10 Fat, 42 Carbs, 46 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! People, bear with us, we are not looking at Tuesday.

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Getting Ready

That is all I can focus on right now. Last night I was up till 11:30pm?!?!?! You all know me by now, that just doesn't happen. I had things to do! So, this morning I wasn't up at my usual time and so I don't have a plethora of things to share.

I am thrilled that I am finally below where I was on Tuesday with the "Flat Out Bread" incident. It took me long enough! LOL - I am still not caring one way or another quite frankly, I am focused on leaving.

I know you folks must think I am over thinking this to death, but do you realize I will be gone for 4 weeks. How do you plan a trip for 4 weeks??? It's really quite complicated! ROFL

That virus thing? I am combating it, and it looks like I am winning. Whoever out there in our blogging community suggested the Vitamin C flush that one time, that thing has now worked like a charm twice for me! THANK YOU!!!

I hate to say it, but over the next few days, you will probably see just updates - I am so not able to do much multi-tasking anymore, so unfortunately my blog will become less of a priority. Don't worry, you WILL see me everyday for an update. But that is about it.

And I will NOT forget my commenter's!!!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - Tuesday I leave the house, Wednesday I take off in the plane. Long story short I have to travel 3 hours to get to the airport and my plane leaves at 9am so my hubby is taking us to spend the night in a hotel the night before so we don't have to travel that long in the morning. {{{{LILI}}}}

Mary - Getting better, still downing those Vitamin C and I think it's working!!!

Karen - HA! No more back fat! That is for darn sure! WOO HOO FOR US! I sure like you being a part of our little community!

EweWho - HA! Fellow procrastinators UNITE! Next week my friend, I am just getting giddy thinking about it!!!

Ed & Jenn - I am so looking forward to see how your MODIFIED PROTEIN WINE P2 day went! Experimenters you two! LOL

B - Thank you girl, I am so excited to see you get under 200 lbs! That will be a phenom day and we will all be around to help you celebrate!

Monica - Ask poor JPS - all week long she has had to deal with my rantings in the morning about not being able to wrap my head around this weight. And today? It's even LOWER! OMG! That just doesn't compute!

Becca - I know you have a personal interest in the recovery of my sister. Let me tell you right now, you are gonna freak, she has 20 / 20 vision in the JUST OPERATED eye, but only up to 14 inches. That is miraculous! This new surgery that they did has NO stitches and so recovery time is way shortened. So I joke with her now, I tell her we are gonna have to be in her face to talk to her! ROFL - I will have to write you all about it when I get there and I have more of the facts straight.

Take care ya'll, and bear with me!

Biz

Running Out of Time - 02.14.08 - D24P2R4

2008-02-14T04:54:00.004-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 164.4
Today - 164.0
0.4 lb LOSS Overnight
11.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
20.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
86.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

Well, I didn't do my "regular" meal yesterday. I needed some comfort food for lunch so I ate my green beans, tomato sauce and ground beef for lunch (using my tomatoes as a fruit) - then a grapefruit for snack. My husband surprised me and brought home some shrimp to grill so I had grilled shrimp and my homemade salsa for dinner (tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice, garlic and pepper).

A total of around 498 calories divided this way: 9 Fat, 45 Carbs, 60 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!! (HOPING HOPING HOPING)

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Running Out of Time

My mind is now in what I have to do to get ready to go across country mode. It all kinda came crashing down around me yesterday when I realized how quickly the time has come for me to leave my house for 4 weeks. I am now scrambling to get everything done around here so that I can have some peace of mind when I go.

Oh the woes of life of a procrastinator. I didn't realize I was one day short this week on my 'sanctuary' (that is the time I call my 'alone' time when the kids are in school and I get the most done around the house) - they are OFF tomorrow and I just found that out yesterday, and that one day put the anxiety in my heart that I have one day less to get ready. I knew about the holiday Monday and was fully prepared for that - just not for this extra day off tomorrow.

Oh well. Since my mind is in this mode, I just don't have a lot to say about much.

I know I am not fretting about my weight. I am still having trouble wrapping my head around the fact that I am under 165 - that just seems too weird ya know? I need some time to process this. The end of this round is pretty much coming at just the right time. I am going to have a good 4 - 6 weeks on Phase 3 and Phase 4 to wrap my head around how I am looking.

My eating? I stayed with protocol last night (except for the green beans) and I will be doing the same thing today. I don't have any desire to think about counting calories. Just do what works. I was telling someone yesterday, I can't remember who, that in doing all the experimenting I did, I did discover one thing. Dr S knew what he was doing. He knew the healthy balance between fruits, veggies and proteins. I have come to have a healthy respect for his menu. It really doesn't take a lot of thought processes. You need to just do your proteins in the amount he wants, do your fruits, and the rest you can have pretty much all you want.

What a genius eh?

Counting calories, especially just 500 and trying to get all your protein in, is NOT EASY. OK, ok, lesson learned. I am glad I did it, because it showed me in a pinch what I could do to keep on track. In a PINCH. Not as a regular thing.

Where does the time go?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Crystal - 621??? Good grief! Good for you getting into the 60's!!! WOO HOO FOR YOU!!! Still feeling rough. Ugh.

Lili - I wish it was as easy as a belch or two! ROFL - Ah, you know Lili, it's nothing but a thang. Seriously. I have no issues with what happened, no matter where it came from, or where it went. I am over it and I am moving on.

Mary - Almost over night! ROFL - we shall see what tomorrow brings. I think my grilled shrimp had a bit too much seasoning on it last night and so I didn't lose the whole .6 in one setting. Ah well, there is always tomorrow.

EweWho - Yeah, I would say the envelope ripped, clean open! ROFL - what can one say? Just pick up and move on. It was fun while it lasted.

Ed & Jenn - you are so my cheering section! HA! Thanks Jenn for being there, you are a breath of fresh air. Fooled you on my menu tho eh? I think tho that I will be doing my regular today, I think I need it!

Shelly - a wrap? Oh you are so funny. I am out of sorts today, I can't tell if it's sick stuff or if it's anxiety. To early to tell right now.

Becca - very observant! Nope, no protein. Even JPS asked me why I didn't put a slab of meat in my wrap? I was like, I didn't have enough calories. So you are right, the protein is probably what did it more than anything else. OOOO, let me know how the peppers do. Actually, when you wrote me about the peppers all I could think of was stir fry, but peppers on onions, can you say DUH??? NHW allows green peppers. HA! Go for it girl and report results!

Biz - who is already tired for the day.

Another Short Update - 02.13.08 - D23P2R4

2008-02-13T04:54:00.002-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 163.8
Today - 164.4
0.6 lb GAIN Overnight
11.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
20.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
86.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Started out with Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2. Cottage Cheese and Peaches for breakfast, lunch was a Flat Out Italian Herb Wrap made with Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Alfafa Sprouts, FF Mayo and Dijon Mustard, sprinkled with lime. Snack was a grapefruit, and supper was more Cottage Cheese and Peaches. Oh, and for the first time I had some sugar free gum.

A total of around 496 calories divided this way: 12 Fat, 74 Carbs, 38 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Ok, So Flat Bread Doesn't Work!

Or was it the sugarfree gum? Or maybe the veggie cheese? Or could it have been the mixing of the veggies? I mean after all, I did cucumbers, tomatoes AND alfafa sprouts in one setting! I knew better than to try too many variables in just one day. That was most stupid of me. So which one is it? All I can tell you tho is that my flat bread sandwich yesterday was simply divine. I enjoyed that SO MUCH BETTER than the Sammie the other day.

Let me add something else to the equation ... my head is stuffy. I can't breathe out of one side of my nose. I slept only 5 hours. And I feel feverish. Geesh, more variables.

So, lots of things could have been the cause of the gain. I am not fretting it, so no worries ok?

Well anyway, today it doesn't matter. Because I said that the day I gained, I would do strict Dr S protocol that next day. So that is what I am doing today. Most likely? My famous ground beef patty with lettuce and mustard dressing with an apple for lunch. Catfish Creole for supper with a snack of a grapefruit.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - HA! The beer day! That is too funny. The point is that you still cannot go over 500 cals. No matter what. Drinking 2 or 3 beers adds up fast. Be careful!!! LOL

CB - Thanks girlfriend, for being such a loyal reader! I am so happy to see you got your job, things should all start falling into place.

Marshall - I will let ArticShark know your thoughts on this. I have often said that doing this protocol is so much more than just losing weight. It makes us so much more aware of the little nuances of life.

Ed & Jenn - Don't speak too soon...there was bound to be something that I would stumble upon that wouldn't work! And I think I might have found it! How sad tho eh? You saw my sandwich yesterday, you saw how good it looked, and girl, it was! It was filling too!

Crystal - Thanks for adding that little bit of information! Interesting stuff eh?

EweWho - HA! We found the magic bullet! LOL

Becca - Oh I am so glad you saw a loss with the green beans. They add such a nice variety to the menu don't they? eMail me if you need to! You know how to reach me!

Bizanator

Live Big! - 02.12.08 - D22P2R4

2008-02-12T05:10:00.001-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 164.4
Today - 163.8
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
11.6 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
20.6 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
87.0 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Peaches for breakfast, lunch was a Sammie from Quiznos, snack was a Grapefruit, Dinner was a Salad with Asian Dressing and Soup with Napa Cabbage and Shirataki Noodles.

A total of around 493 calories divided this way: 9 Fat, 70 Carbs, 34 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

I have finally put the FAQ up from two questions ago! I know, I am slow! But it's there now!

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

What Do You Think Of That?

I really went off the deep end yesterday, and I have to tell you, it really wasn't worth it, loss or no loss. I have been wanting to experiment with these "Sammies" from Quiznos - now quite frankly, if they looked anything like the picture on the commercial or even the advertisement, I would have been happy. But nope, not even close. They were just "OK" - nothing spectacular at all. One thing it did do? I don't know if it was psychological or what, but I was hungry after I ate that. Serious hunger, weird hunger, but HUNGER none the less. Could it have been the bread? That shocks me quite frankly based on the fact that Dr Simeon's allows us Melba and Grissini. So I don't know, but it was bad, but it's over now. I am feeling myself again today.

I wont be trying that again. I am glad I did mind you, got it out of my system, but it so wasn't worth it. I was actually craving P2 foods yesterday afternoon again! ROFL

The rest of the day was pretty normal!

Here are the numbers for those of you following - won't be able to use Round 3 numbers from this day forward as I only had 21 completed days on that round.

Day 21 (Complete) - Round 4 = 11.17% Body Weight Loss
Day 21 (Complete) - Round 3 = 9.21% Body Weight Loss (This was my LIW)
Day 21 (Complete) - Round 2 = 8.30% Body Weight Loss
Day 21 (Complete) - Round 1 = 8.13% Body Weight Loss

What follows is a post from another forum that I visit. A member there, ArticShark has given me permission to completely copy and paste her post here. It is an important one and it will make you think. It made me think, and it ties into some things that happened to me over the weekend. I think we are all dealing with this at one point. It's long, but it's a good read.

Live Big!

Here is one of the things I have been thinking about. It is kinda Long.

Some recent events have made me think about our responses to bad/tragic/negative events. It triggered a memory of my reading of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits. He said that some people aren’t happy when something good happens to other people. These people have a belief that goodness is divided into what they perceive as pie slices. If one person gets a piece of the “goodness” pie then that leaves less pie for them. They operate on a diminishing pie theory. They are jealous of other’s success because that means that there is less success for them or that their ability to attain that same level of success is compromised. Or they deliberately or unknowingly sabotage the success of other’s so that the odds of them being successful are increased.

Mr. Covey explained that the universe isn’t set up that way. It has infinite pies and slices that are constantly being replenish or brought into being based on our desires or intent. That one person taking a slice of the success pie doesn’t mean that there are less slices but in reality that there are more. It is like taking a drop of water from the ocean. A drop is not noticeable and through the constant of rainfall, weather and the mechanism of our own biosphere, the water is replenished, renewed and sometimes altered for the better (Like the addition of oxygen and minerals to the water that is put back into the ocean). And if you think about Einstein’s theory, matter and energy are in a constant state of flux, changing from one to the other as needed. So if one person takes a slice of the “goodness” pie, our universe instantly and automatically fills that space back up with more “goodness.” It is an infinite source. Limitless.

The reason I thought of all of this are several. And for those of you that helped triggered these thoughts, thank you, and I hope you don’t think I am singling you out for any bad purpose. It’s just that your posts helped coalesce these thoughts. One post had me thinking about why people are soooo attracted to reality TV shows that portray our fellow humans in pain/to laugh at/ to point at and to generally engage in their misery. Why does such a large segment of our population LIKE to watch other peoples’ failures? Do they laugh at them in that cruel way because they believe, falsely I might add, that those peoples’ failures somehow make the probability of their success more likely? Or do they genuinely like to see other people’s pain? Why does the train wreck that is portrayed of other’s lives fascinate us? Shows like American Idol, Biggest Loser, Who wants to marry a millionaire and their ilk showcase the bad and ugly for our viewing pleasure. In truth, reveling in this type of negativity diminishes us all. Makes us more callous. More mean. It makes us less like the infinite and more like the mundane. Don’t fall into that trap.

Why do people LIKE it when you fail at a diet? They don’t come out openly about it. But secretly, inside, they are joyful at the thought that you failed to lose weight. Or for those that are really vested in your failure, they will either subconsciously or consciously, engage in behavior that is designed to sabotage. Why when you are experiencing success does your spouse or a co-worker or a parent start buying treats and other foods that you are not allowed? Especially after you have told them what is and is not a part of your plan and protocol? I read an instance where a spouse had deliberately put sugar into a steak rub and when confronted stated that “just a little won’t hurt.” Or a mother, who is diabetic and had stopped buying sweet treats, who started bringing home cakes and candies and other “goodies.” Or even co-workers that no longer engage in small talk and banter as you successfully meet your goals to be the person you always thought you were or could be.

Maybe they think that your success highlights their failure. Or they are comfortable with you being the fatty and don’t want you to be skinny and perhaps more desirable to others. Or maybe they think that you will notice their flaws and once the weight is gone, will no longer desires them as your ability to pick and choose increases. In almost all these scenarios, it is about the saboteurs fears. As one of my girlfriends says “There are 2 kinds of problems. A me problem and a you problem. Most things are not a me problem. And in this instance, that is a YOU problem. That is not a ME problem.” In reality, most things are not a Me problem and all other issues have to be let go. There is very little that most of us can do about YOU problems as we are not able to control the thoughts and behaviors of other people. What we can control is how much influence they have in our lives. As you bloom, evaluate if there is just more that pounds that have become dead weight in your life. It is amazing how much freer we feel once we let it go.

The other event revolved around the Super Bowl. I really truly didn’t care who won. I was rooting for the Patriots just because I thought it would be neat to see history being made. And good for them getting to that point. [If you are genuinely a Giants fan, it wasn’t about seeing them lose or anything in that way] But as I expressed that view to many, and several weren’t Giants fans or had ever been a Giants fan until that game, I was surprised that soooo many wanted the Patriots to lose. As if the Patriots winning and having a perfect season was a bad thing for them personally. They actively engaged in cheering for team that they had probably rooted against and made disparaging remarks against all season. Just so a team, maybe not their own, could be knocked down a notch or two. It really was small-minded behavior. And not very flattering at all. And I just sat back and said WOW, here is another example of if they take a pie slice then it leaves less for me (or my team or what I care about, etc) and maybe no one will notices when I am not perfect as well or it relieves me from striving for perfection or whatever diminishing and small-minded mundane thought, belief or feeling.

So be BIG. Believe in the infinite. Revel in the success of others. Strive for perfection. Laugh if not achieved and more importantly laugh if it is. Share the formula of your success. Kind thoughts and kind words. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that another person’s success is a DIRECT link to ensuring you fail. It is not. If anything, it is a road map. Live BIG.

Thank you ArticShark for such a thought provoking post!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - I am ending this round on the 17th - I will be on Phase 3 and 4 while I am in California, I will be there for 4 weeks. I planned it all around that!

Crystal - JPS and I were pretty much cracking up on their whole menu yesterday, it really is TOO FUNNY! LOL - Peaches DO work! That is for sure!

Ed and Jenn - HA! JPS told me to pull another beer day before I stop, I might try that on Saturday, we shall see, give me the UMPH I need to get closer to 160! ROFL

Shelly - HA! Nope, I think I am flying pretty high at the moment!

Tracey - HA! I hope my sister has ENOUGH clothes for me!!! ROFL - we need an update from you my sweet!

B - Oh it's good to have you back my friend! WOO HOO FOR YOU in the size 14's! Can you imagine???

Amanda - !!! Hey girl, I am SO HAPPY you found a doctor in Australia! That does my heart good! You must drop me an email and we just MUST catch up! WOO HOO FOR YOU!!!! On your way again! I know about the CC - JPS has consistently thanked me this week for MAKING her try them! ROFL

Have a great day everyone!

Biz

Peaches, YUM YUM and OH YEAH! Size 12's!!! - 02.11.08 - D21P2R4

2008-02-11T04:18:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 164.8
Today - 164.4
0.4 lb LOSS Overnight
11.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
20.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
86.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for breakfast, brunch was an Omelet (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites) with leftover steak, green onions and tomatoes, I had a snack of a piece of melba toast and fat free cream cheese. Dinner was Cottage Cheese and Peaches! MMMMM - I also splurged with some coffee and cream last night.

A total of around 461 calories divided this way: 14 Fat, 41 Carbs, 45 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thank you Becca for answering my FAQ yesterday! New one now!

Since we are on Phase 3 - let's discuss those people out there that actually have a difficult time keeping weight ON during the Phase 3 portion of the Protocol. Yes, there are some out there with this problem. Remember that Dr Simeon's said that it was just as important to keep the weight on as it was to keep it off! So please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - What If You're Still Losing???

Peaches

Oh yeah! Peaches are one of my favorite fruits. And I live in one of the biggest peach production states that there is! I have stayed away from them this whole protocol totally believing that they were one of the the 'forbidden fruits' - after all, Dr Simeon's never mentioned them so they were NOT allowed. But, as you all know, I am wondering if this was a 'locale' driven decision or some sort of 'chemical' based decision, and the more and more I experiment with things, the more I lean towards a "locale" based synopsis. Now bear in mind that I did enjoy my peaches each and every break!

Just for kicks, I had JPS pull out our old NHW information. Remember, the very first round I did (with the exception of two weeks) was done with NHW - they sent a packet of information with the shots and in looking over it, it was so dang confusing that I said to heck with that, I would just stick with what works with Dr Simeon's and pretty much discarded that information.

Looking over that information NOW after learning all that I have learned with this protocol - I surely see it in different eyes. I still feel their whole "A", "B" and "C" lists are way too confusing for the average person, but I find it interesting all the different things they say you can eat on the protocol.

JPS suggested that I experiment with the stuff that they said was 'allowable' - among some of these things was PEACHES!!! Doncha know I went right out and purchased some frozen peaches right then and there??? Cause ya know, peaches and cottage cheese is even better than strawberries and cottage cheese! ROFL

I certainly enjoyed my peaches last night, plain and simple. Again, I felt like I was sinning! Ohhh, what a deviation!

So what is on the menu for today? I have something up my sleeve, and I would like to see if it works. But I am not sharing yet! ROFL

Here are the numbers for those of you following:

Day 20 (Complete) - Round 4 = 10.85% Body Weight Loss
Day 20 (Complete) - Round 3 = 9.21% Body Weight Loss
Day 20 (Complete) - Round 2 = 8.12% Body Weight Loss
Day 20 (Complete) - Round 1 = 7.74% Body Weight Loss

Quite frankly, I am completely amazed at the losses I am experiencing. I am not gonna lie to you, nope. I am freaking myself out at the rate at which I am losing this round and that I continue to lose. Even through the experiments, and most of all, through TOM - what is THAT about???

I am thrilled that I am having an opportunity to test my theories, after all, I don't have that much further to go ya know? It kind boggles my mind that I am this close to goal. I don't think that the reality has sunk in yet.

I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU!!!

I was having another one of those days yesterday, it's like all of a sudden, I can't find anything to wear. It's like almost overnight, things just DON'T fit anymore. JPS was laughing as I was looking for something to put on. She looked at me and said, Biz, do you want to try these jeans on? Like she wanted me to try on the jeans SHE had on right then and there. I was like, JPS, those are stinkin' size 12's, um NO - there is NO way I could fit in those. And she was like, Biz, um, have you seen yourself lately? You need to try them on, I bet you they would fit. I was like, ok, let me teach you a lesson and hand them over.

People??? THEY FIT!!! I didn't have to lay in the bed, I didn't have to do anything but just PUT THEM ON and THEY FIT! OMG! SIZE 12'S!!!!!!!!!!! JEANS!!!!!!!!!! ME!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was just a little bit freaky. I am officially a lower weight than my husband. A lower weight than he has ever seen me. I am now fitting in clothes that JPS wears??? We have always been like 2 sizes apart, all throughout this protocol, and right now, at this moment, I am fitting in the same size as her. Granted, the jeans are getting too loose on her and they were snug on me, but still???? TOO FREAKY!!!

Now this kinda worried me a bit. I have to go to California on the 20th. I started to pick out clothes that I was gonna take with me when I went, and people? I don't think they are gonna fit. Now my sister says she has a bunch of clothes for me so I don't need much, but still. You want things you are familiar with ya know? At least for a little while. Geesh, life should be this hard.

So, over this next week before I leave, I will be going through clothes again. Getting rid of things that don't fit. Geesh.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Crystal - HA! Going over NHW's menu??? That pretty much freaked me out. The biggest thing they said that had me howling? Do not do meat and fish in the same day! HA! I have some of my biggest losses doing that! ROFL

Lili - LOL - It was Ivory my hubby used. And only had to do it once it made such an impression! Hey girl, I tried to call you back yesterday, and it went to your voice mail but I don't think it let me leave a message, I couldn't tell. But I tried twice! Today?

Shelly - Oh my! I need to run over to your blog and check out what happened??? Girl, don't follow the wayward path of BIZ!

EweWho - Your talking of Shaklee's stuff sure brings back fond memories - Basic H, I grew UP on that stuff - I really need to get with you on this stuff ... but you know how I feel about joining up. UGH - I just want the PRODUCT! I seriously thought I was gonna have a bounce back from the beer day, cause alcohol and all, but it looks like that feeling was unfounded. What do I need to do???

Monica - Thank you my sweet!!!! You had a STELLER break, GO YOU!

Tracey - Thanks for asking about the disease. It's my understanding that the disease is located in the cornea and so yes, by having a cornea transplant it should stop it. But I will ask her for sure. And WOO HOO on you being back!

Mary - Seriously Mary, I don't know what I am doing right. You know, you have been with me a while, I am usually BY THE BOOK. And yet??? This is SO WEIRD!

Liz - Wouldn't that just be a HOOT??? My body can lose on anything??? Geesh, I should be granted this great wish, for what reason??? Is it because I have DONE MY TIME??? Who knows, but I will take it!

Becca - I hope the green beans work for you, Ms Snow Bunny! I bet you wowed them on the slopes this weekend!

Have a wonderful day people!

Biz

Short Update - 02.10.08 - D20P2R4

2008-02-10T07:17:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 165.8
Today - 164.8
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
10.6 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
19.6 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
86.0 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for breakfast, lunch was a plain lettuce salad with my Asian dressing. One of my experiments was gonna be beer and chips and salsa, but I opted only for the beer and salsa, couldn't being myself to eat the chips, just didn't want them.

A total of around 486 calories divided this way: 3 Fat, 42 Carbs, 17 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Anyone else? I will leave this up until Monday! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

Short Update

Well, as stated before, I was totally prepared to try Chips, Salsa and Beer last night for dinner. I made the salsa, and after making it I was like, um, I just want the salsa and beer, forget the chips, so that is what I did! So guess what? I had an extra beer instead! ROFL

Definitely didn't get enough protein in - that will be rectified today. I totally figured the one pounder is the effect of the alcohol, and I will be quite surprised if I don't get a bounce back of some sort tomorrow.

Today, I will be experimenting in mixing proteins. I plan on having some eggs with a bit of leftover steak - let's see what happens!

Day 19 (Complete) - Round 4 = 10.63% Body Weight Loss
Day 19 (Complete) - Round 3 = 9.01% Body Weight Loss
Day 19 (Complete) - Round 2 = 7.93% Body Weight Loss
Day 19 (Complete) - Round 1 = 7.42% Body Weight Loss

Some have inquired about my pics and such. I know, I have fallen by the wayside on that. I used to be so diligent with measuring and picture taking. Since I am doing the short rounds now tho, I figure just ending shots and measurements are called for. So count on them one week from today, the 17th, as that will be my LIW for the round.

Also, I owe Monica and Cathy little gifts for the contest on guessing when I got below LIW - I haven't forgotten you gals, just been busy this week with my friends passing. Also, there are other gifts I owe people for the questionnaire questions - I haven't forgotten about them either! All in time people, all in time.

Update on My Sister

My sister had her cornea transplant surgery on the 7th. She is doing just fine. The doctor said he was very pleased with the results. In fact, she had to go back to the doctor the day after the surgery, and by chance she couldn't see HER doctor for the check up and so another one looked at the graft, and he said, GOOD GRAFT! That made her feel really good. She is supposed to be laying flat on her back for a few days, and already she is going stir crazy! Yup, that is my sister!

Update on JPS

She had a rough week - Aunt Flo's visit always plays havoc with her losses, so today she is only at 145.8 - but it's picking up now! She is loving the cottage cheese addition to her menus.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - HA! You are too funny! I hope you enjoy all those things, but most of all, I hope it doesn't cause you any stalls or gains!

Ed & Jenn - HA! I really did try to party with you virtually, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat the chips. I don't know why??? But I did have 3 beers, COUNTEM 3 BEERS!

Mary Lou - thanks for that link, I had seen it before, but it's still just as priceless as the first time! LOL - Thank you for the kind words also. Don't be a stranger!

Lili - HA! My middle son got his mouth washed out with soap once for a doozie. After we told him he shouldn't say it, he just thought it was the funniest thing to KEEP doing it. Well, he learned fast! ROFL How you feeling sweetie?

Biz

Silly Saturday - 02.09.08 - D19P2R4

2008-02-09T04:27:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 166.0
Today - 165.8
0.2 lb LOSS Overnight
9.6 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
18.6 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
85.0 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for breakfast, lunch was just a plain lettuce salad with Asian Dressing, I had two snacks, one a tomatoe with salt and pepper and a grapefruit. Then dinner was grilled london broil with grean beans and Molly McButter.

A total of around 486 calories divided this way: 15 Fat, 43 Carbs, 48 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Anyone else? I will leave this up until Monday! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

What is THAT About?

85 POUNDS LOST!!!

Seriously, it just has to be the lackadaisical attitude I have about this round that I am still being granted losses. Not HUGE losses, but losses just the same! There really must be something to the stress = cortisol = weight gain or stall thing. LOL

Last night I pretty much took an extra ounce of protein for my dinner to see if it would hurt, and I had a half a can of green beans. I also did the unforgivable! I mixed my veggies. I had lettuce, tomato AND green beans. Now I didn't mix them at the same meal, but I had three during the day, mmmmm, that was ALL good.

Today, I am gonna stretch the limits a bit, it's planned, and just to let you know I don't plan on going OVER 500 cals, but I want to test a theory and see what happens. I will share the good, bad or ugly tomorrow!

Here are the numbers if you are keeping track:

Day 18 (Complete) - Round 4 = 10.09% Body Weight Loss
Day 18 (Complete) - Round 3 = 8.59% Body Weight Loss
Day 18 (Complete) - Round 2 = 7.46% Body Weight Loss
Day 18 (Complete) - Round 1 = 7.50% Body Weight Loss

Notice how the numbers are getting closer and closer together? That is fascinating and pretty much solidifies my theory, that each round you can be guaranteed a certain amount of body weight loss if you follow the program. Plain and simple!

Silly Saturday

Things weighing heavy on my mind today - I thought it would be nice for me to share a funny with you. My kids found this video on You Tube a few months ago, and I have just about sent it to everyone, everyone but my blogger buddies that is!

I hope it makes you laugh as hard as I did!

Could you all spend a few minutes and either send me a funny, or put one in your blog today so that when I visit the blogs this afternoon I can have a smile. Not that you all don't keep me in stitches as it is! ROFL

Thanks!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - OH OH OH - You just reminded me of another 'comfort food' - Tuna Noodle Casserole! - HA! Yeah, let me know if the "No Salt" stuff works ok? - and THANKS!

Lili - Isn't it funny how we miss certain things IMMEDIATELY??? I have a off line friend doing this, this is her 2nd round, and she keeps telling me when she checks in that all she wants is BLUE CHEESE! That is funny! Oh, the Molly McButter? Just another 'experiment' ya know? I looked at the ingredients, and didn't see much harm or diff than the parm cheese, so I said what the hey?! The cheese one is quite good!

Mary - Your post harsh? Nothing of the sort! LOL - I am just amazed at how many people have eaten that before, I thought it was my own little secret! I am sure going to have to try it with some cumin!

Crystal - It seems that soup and pb sandwiches are a southern thing, because that is one of my hubby's comfort foods. Or chili and grilled cheese. HA!

Ed & Jenn - HA! Anything with green beans has to be good! LOL - I hope your break goes well today, I know you will have a lot of fun! I will be dreaming of you eating and enjoying that crawfish! WOO HOO FOR YOU!!!

Becca - HA! I hope the green beans work for you! LOL - they will be one of my staples from now on that is for sure, that and cottage cheese and I can stay on this forever! LOL - I hope you have fun skiing today! You are a regular exercise junky, ain't ya? I bet you can ski alot better without all that extra weight hanging around???

Mariel - Ok, you sound like another southerner! ROFL - do you like creamed corn too??? The south really likes their Velveeta Cheese! Personally? I cannot stand the stuff, but people use it around these parts like 'butter'! ROFL - Heard you were chatting with Jenn yesterday, ok, so now I am totally jealous!

B - I have been very lax this round. I don't know if it was just the fast weight loss, or my anxiousness to go to California, but doing my weekly measurements and pics has just not crossed my mind. I will do that all on my LIW day witch is on the 17th. Can you wait that long???

Liz - you can never go wrong by sticking to Dr Simeons, he will NEVER let you down! So you go on with your bad self! Drop me a line at my email and I can walk you thru the steps on the blog thing - bizadventure at comcast dot net

Take it easy folks! Biz

Comfort Foods - 02.08.08 - D18P2R4

2008-02-08T04:14:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 166.4
Today - 166.0
0.4 lb LOSS Overnight
9.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
18.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
84.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for breakfast, lunch was Green Beans, Tomato Sauces, Ground Beef and a bit of Molly McButter Cheese Flavoring, half a grapefruit for midafternoon snack, for dinner I had some Broccoli with a bit of Molly McButter and more Cottage Cheese and Strawberries.

A total of around 493 calories divided this way: 10 Fat, 54 Carbs, 51 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Kat Lee for filling out the FAQ yesterday! I will leave this up until Monday! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

An Experiment in Green Beans

SCORE! I can have my green beans, so you know what I am having for lunch again today doncha???

You know? Seriously, I could probably be losing better, but I am having fun testing the limits. And I know you all appreciate someone ELSE doing the testing! ROFL

Here are the numbers for those keeping track:

Day 17 (Complete) - Round 4 = 9.98% Body Weight Loss
Day 17 (Complete) - Round 3 = 8.49% Body Weight Loss
Day 17 (Complete) - Round 2 = 7.28% Body Weight Loss
Day 17 (Complete) - Round 1 = 6.94% Body Weight Loss

The gap is closing!

Comfort Foods

We all know about comfort foods. We all have that little something we have that brings back warm and fuzzy memories. It's your little security blanket, something that makes you feel all toasty - usually it's something hot, savory, or creamy, seldom is it sweet. Isn't that interesting.

Anyhoo, it usually brings back pleasant memories of early childhood - something we generally turn to when we need that familiar sense of well being and security.

Interesting in doing some research that comfort foods seem to be regional in nature. In the southeast, casseroles seem to dominate the list, where as in the northeast Pizza and Hoagies take that place. People in the southwest seem to prefer enchiladas or burritos, and then up in the northwest people seem to prefer some sort of potato something. Midwesterners often focus on the hearty stews.

Wherever we may live, we have something that if eaten makes us feel better.

Nothing wrong with comfort foods. Usually comfort foods are reminiscent of a time when care was taken to the cooking of something. Generally, fresh and natural ingredients were used - instead of the processed garbage that infiltrates our life now. They were actually quite healthy.

My mother used to make Portuguese Bean Soup when I was growing up. This soup literally had everything but the kitchen sink in it. I remember her spending hours on this soup, first with the Ham Hock, then with the careful adding of veggies and beans and finally the noodles at the end. It wasn't something she just opened a can and put it in a bowl and served. You knew she spent time on it, you felt it when you ate it. I miss that.

What Is Your Comfort Food?

Yesterday, in the interest of 'research' I decided to try one of my comfort foods. Green beans. My mom used to open the can of green beans, pour it in a bowl and she said this would be a snack for me. To this day I love eating them out of a can. Back in my early 20's, when I was married the first time, there was a period of time were money wasn't plentiful and green beans were a staple in my home. I would mix green beans, hamburger (back when hamburger was CHEAP) and tomato sauce and Viola! I had a savory meal.

I did that yesterday for lunch, and I have to tell you it was nummy. It brought back memories of no pressure - no cell phones, no internet, no HDTV, no blue tooth, no webcams, no dvd's, no gas guzzlin SUV's, no PDA's, no iPods - today we live in a constant state of going, going, going, it's no wonder so many people turn to food for security. Are we truly searching for a quieter, more peaceful time? Research shows that the country as a whole turned to comfort foods after 9/11 - this in itself shows you the power of comfort foods.

I have several comfort foods. Meatloaf, Mashed Potatos and Green Beans is one. My mothers Portuguese Bean Soup another. My sister makes this dish called Pork and Beans and Rice. My mom also makes this macaroni, potato, cabbage salad that is to die for.

What is YOUR comfort food?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Monica - I sure hear ya. If you only have one or two rounds, then why mess with a proven thing? But those of us with multiple rounds, and HUNDREDS of pounds to lose? Well, I'm just saying. ROFL

Shelly - Have you tried the NO SALT tomatoes? If I do just the regular diced tomatoes with all that salt it will stall me something fierce. Yeah, the noodles weren't all that.

Lili - the texture isn't there. It really isn't. But I am not a "pasta" person either, I can take it or leave it no problem. Now I do enjoy LeMein and stuff like that so maybe that is what I need to delve into ... hmmmmm.

Mary - HA! Yeah, you were one of the old timers weren't you? LOL - that was a time eh?

Crystal - I am glad I could provide some entertainment! LOL - stay true to the protocol and it will stay true to you!

Ed & Jenn - And doncha know, I wanted 165something this morning and I only got 166even! ROFL - what do I want out of life? At least I got a loss!!!

Wendy - OMG! I totally forgot that the "Sunshine and Rainbows" came from that! How utterly forgetful I am! HA! How could I possibly forget my namesake??? LOL - Anyhoo, I see you peaked in on a new forum??? I like totally went BALLISTIC!!! You will have fun there my partner in crime!

Liz - congrats on the start! WTG - yeah, the loading can freak you out a bit, but it's an important part of the process, and it will be a good thing for you to load properly! Keep a running journal of your progress ok? Have you considered starting a blog? The more the merrier!

EweWho - HA! Who loves you baby???

Tracey - OMG! It's about stinking time! I will mosey on to your blog later on this morning! I can't wait to see an update!

Miz Biz Whiz

Oh Oh! Can You Say "NOODLEGATE"? - 02.07.08 - D17P2R4

2008-02-07T04:27:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 167.0
Today - 166.4
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
9.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
18.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
84.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for breakfast, lunch was Spaghetti Sauce (Ground Beef, Tomatoes and Seasonings) complete with Shirataki Noodles with just a smidgen of Parmesan Cheese, two snacks, one of a half a grapefruit and the other of a tablespoon of Cottage Cheese with Vanilla Cream Stevia and Cinnamon and then Dinner was just some steamed broccoli.

A total of around 448 calories divided this way: 8 Fat, 50 Carbs, 47 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Lili, Page and Mariel for filling out the FAQ yesterday! I will leave this up for a week! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

Noodlegate

For those of you that don't remember or maybe were not around, way back when (like sometime late September) there was a big ruckus over at the HCG Dieters Yahoo Group on the subject of noodles. It blew up pretty big, and that was pretty much the dividing factor for a lot of the old timer group that caused us to pretty much make HCG2 our home.

In the interest of full disclosure, I never once came out and said that eating noodles on Phase Two was wrong. What I felt was wrong was people coming on the boards, during their first ever week on the protocol and proclaiming that this was the answer to everyone's problem. A way to stay on protocol without going full blown "cheating". I most assuredly disagree with this.

I feel to this very moment that in order to maximize losses on the protocol you need to be faithful and true to the menu. I especially feel that your first round should be dedicated to doing things Dr Simeon's way. The menu not only guarantees you weight loss, but it teaches you some really FINE habits along the way. Habits that will NOT be learned if you do it any different.

That being said, over the months, I have come to some conclusions about the 'diet' portion of the protocol. Someone recently over at the HCG2 board asked about Protein Drinks. This was an old timer and she was wondering what the justification was for people now doing "protein drinks" on the Phase 2 portion. I wrote back my thoughts, and you can see them here:

Experimenting

These things all come down to something I wrote back in November here:

Purist

After we have completed one or two rounds of this protocol, I do believe we have gained the right to figure out what our bodies can and cannot do. I am certainly not giving myself carte blanche to go willy nilly and eat anything and everything. I know with my 'experimenting' that if there is just one day it doesn't work, I know that I can and WILL go right back to eating the pure Dr Simeon's menu without one iota of a thought. I am not that attached to the 'new' foods that I couldn't listen to reason and keep trying something that isn't working.

All of that being said? I have completed 19 total weeks (plus three days) on effective injections. That is a heck of a long time being true to the protocol. I have taken this opportunity to test things now because one, I made my goal for this round in record time, and two, because I have my theories and who better to test them but on myself.

Justification?

Does this smack of justification? Who knows? We all have our perceptions, and whatever they are, they are real to us. If I didn't have the success I have had this round, I would NOT be trying these different things. Nope, I think that makes me a true believer in the program. Follow as written and you will get results. But since I did have phenom success during my first two weeks of this round, then I feel, in the interest of research, that I have the ability to do what many of you out there WISH could be done.

I have said this time and time again, that we are all "self doctoring" - we are NOT asking any medical professional to help, all we can do is study ourselves and our associates on the program and come to our own conclusions.

THAT all being said ...

Shirataki Noodles

This marks the third time I have ventured into this product. The other two times it was on Phase 3 so it really doesn't count. Are they noodles? No, far from it. Are they a good sub? Sure. They will do in a pinch. Do I want them every day? Nope, they give me a bit of an upset stomach. (For those of you sensitive to Maltitol, that is the feeling I get when I eat them) If the rest of the family was having a luscious Italian meal and I didn't want to feel left out would this do? In a heart beat.

I do have to say that I ate them with homemade spaghetti sauce for lunch yesterday and I was flat out full the rest of the day. I didn't want to eat another thing. Seriously. Talk about satiation.

Would I recommend this every day? No, the things I am testing are for "treats" or "special occasions" - things you can do when something arises and you want to partake but not look out of place, or better yet, not experience a GAIN. That is what this is all about. For some of us, the craving for something is so strong it can cause us to go completely crazy and then we over do it. But if that feeling arrives and you say, oh geesh, let me fix such and such and it will fill that need for today, then it is there for you ya know? You would know you could indulge in this little bit of sin and it wouldn't mean the end of the world.

I am in a position to test things now. I wasn't before. I was TOO anxious to get most of this weight off of my poor body. But now? It's a research study of myself. I know alot of people read my blog. I know alot of people seem to want to eat what I eat to get the losses I get. But, I keep telling you, you have to figure out what is good for YOU. Your "body" is different than mine. What may work for me may NOT work for you.

There are people out there that cannot do onions (JPS is one) - she will GAIN if she has onions. No doubt. I can do onions and lose. Does that make eating onions wrong or right? Neither, it's right for me, wrong for JPS. So don't look at me and say, hey, this works for Biz it will work for ME - you can't do that. You need to do your OWN experimenting. See what works for YOU!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - mmmm Nutmeg, OK, I MUST try it! LOL - I am loving life now with my cottage cheese, NUMMY!

Lili - Yes, friend, feeling better, everyone is doing better. I had parm cheese on my spaghetti! LOL - All because of YOU! LOL - so you better believe that if I gained I was gonna blame the parm cheese and then YOU! ROFL

EweWho - All in the interest of research, doncha know??? ROFL

Ed and Jenn - Well, I think I might try green beans today, I do love me some green beans, and I might just get brave enough to put some MOLLY MCBUTTER on them! ROFL - OMG, I crack myself up!

Wendy - So glad you are feeling better my friend! I wasn't really worried, I knew you would pull out of it! YOU GO GIRL! No, YOU'RE HOT!

Monica - You have been with me long enough to know that I have been BY THE BOOK more than not, and it's served me well. You can NEVER go wrong with being BY THE BOOK ya know?

Becca - Funny you should mention green beans. I told JPS last night that if I didn't gain, that green beans were next on the menu. LOL - I love me some green beans. So, I am again looking forward to another great day!

Have a good one Peeps!

Biz

An Experiment in Cottage Cheese - 02.06.08 - D16P2R4

2008-02-06T04:26:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 167.4
Today - 167.0
0.4 lb LOSS Overnight
8.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
17.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
83.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am going to discuss in detail what I ate yesterday further below, but for the interest of continuity, I am going to post it here as well. Cottage Cheese and Strawberries with Cinnamon for Lunch, a snack of Broccoli, Dinner was a Baked Italian Cottage Cheese, Broccoli and Tomato thing.

A total of around 353 calories divided this way: 1 Fat, 53 Carbs, 39 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Anne, Jeanne, Rosie and Chris for filling out the FAQ yesterday! I will leave this up for a week! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

An Experiment in Cottage Cheese

When I reached my goal yesterday for this round, I figured I was in a position to 'test the limits'. I know, every other normal person out there would stick to what works and keep letting it do it's job. Not me! In the interest of "research" I was wanting to broaden my menu.

Now keep in mind that what works for me, won't necessarily work for you, like I always say, YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary) - but, I am a pretty good test subject me thinks. Almost everything that can happen to a person while on this protocol has happened to either me or JPS and so I am in a pretty good position to do the testing. Anyhow, JPS let's me try everything first to see if it works! ROFL

Anyhow, I already knew before yesterday that if I got to my goal ahead of time, I was gonna try cottage cheese. It's one thing I truly TRULY miss while on protocol. So, I went ahead and got some Fat Free. Now in looking at the label, I find that the calorie content and the protein content are not high enough for my tastes - A typical piece of protein on this protocol is around 110 - 130 calories, with about 15 - 25 in protein grams - one serving of this cottage cheese (126 grams) is only 80 cals and 12 protein. So I felt very comfortable in rising the amount allowed to fill the gap of protein I felt I needed.

For lunch I had 6 ounces (108 cals and 16 protein) - I had this with 5 ounces of cut up strawberries. I sprinkled cinnamon and Sweet and Low all over it and I savored and enjoyed every single bite! I truly felt I was indulging, can you imagine??? I knew I needed to get my veggies in so I chomped on some Broccoli.

So during the afternoon as I was pondering over what to have for supper, I had an idea to look up some recipes that had cottage cheese and broccoli in them to see what might inspire me for supper. Viola - I came across this recipe:

Italian Broccoli Cheese Bake

I modified it to come up with my own! I layered broccoli, canned diced NO SALT tomatoes and cottage cheese in a little oven proof bowl (adding garlic powder, basil and oregano) and I baked it for an hour at 375 degrees.

IT WAS NUMMY!!!

Now, I would do it differently next time (oh yes Virginia, there will be a NEXT TIME) - I will precook my broccoli (I put it in frozen), and I will use FRESH tomatoes - the reason being that it turned out a bit too watery for my taste. It was good mind you, but I have already tweaked it in my head to be BETTER.

This is the issue I see with using cottage cheese as a protein. It certainly does not have enough cals or protein grams in it to be a substantial part of your meal. But I can tell you that when you are in the mood for something decadent, this is the way to go. It wouldn't be an all the time thing, because I do feel that adequate protein on this protocol is VERY important. But oh momma, I felt I was truly OFF protocol yesterday!

Hmmmm, what is my next plan of attack???

Let's Not Forget The Numbers!

I completely skipped the numbers yesterday, how silly is that???

Day 15 (Complete) - Round 4 = 9.44% Body Weight Loss
Day 15 (Complete) - Round 3 = 7.97% Body Weight Loss
Day 15 (Complete) - Round 2 = 6.72% Body Weight Loss
Day 15 (Complete) - Round 1 = 6.30% Body Weight Loss

Things are catching up with each other!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Crystal - You know? I have to give myself a reminder to drink the Dandi tea daily - at first that stuff was ick, but I have actually grown to like it! But I have to remember to drink it! ROFL

Mary - Thanks!

Ed & Jenn - Well I already told you that I spewed my water when I read your comment! You are way too funny girlfriend! ROFL You know how I feel, we don't need to go into it here...

Wendy - Girlfriend, thanks for stopping by even tho you had a rough time of it, it happens ya know??? We are all here for support, each and every one of us has gone through at least something that will be able to say just the right words.

Mariel - HA! You and boyfriend are WAY TOO FUNNY! It is the smack tho isn't it??? When my son was on the protocol, I had to figure out things that TEENAGERS would like, do you know how hard that was??? When I came up with the mustard dressing, he said he could LIVE on it! ROFL

Becca - thank you for your thoughts. And WTG on a great GREAT post! I was LOVIN it! Keep on keepin on!

Have a nice one people!

Biz

Aunt Flo Again??? - 02.05.08 - D15P2R4

2008-02-05T05:14:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 167.6
Today - 167.4
0.2 lb LOSS Overnight
8.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
17.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
83.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

My mainstay menu yesterday, Jenn said I didn't have to show it anymore that you folks would know what I was eating! LOL - Anyhoo, it was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing / Apple thrown in, Grapefruit for snack, dinner was Creole Catfish

A total of around 427 calories divided this way: 9 Fat, 44 Carbs, 44 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Dowan and Karen for filling out the FAQ yesterday! I will leave this up for a week! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

Why Couldn't She Have At Least Called?

Yup, Aunt Flo is paying me a visit, absolutely no call ahead or nothing. Sure, the 'girls' were hurting a bit over the last few days, but that could gave been something else. But NOOOOO, it had to be Aunt Flo, well that just isn't right ya know?

I am sure that she just wanted to come by and knock the wind out of my sails, surely she is that sinister. Making me come down off my high horse of mega losses for two weeks, just to teach me a lesson. The .2 loss (I know, I know, ANY LOSS IS A GOOD LOSS) is directly a result of her visit. Well BE GONE AUNT FLO! Me thinks you are not welcomed here.

Shoot, I wish it was that easy. I wish I could just wave my hands and she be gone, but alas, I have to live with it.

Point is that she was JUST HERE, Jan 13th - 19th - why does she feel that she needed to pay me another visit this quickly??? Could it be cycles are struggling to get regulated - my body is really trying to get into a rhythm instead of the haphazardness that has been my life since giving birth? If so, I will take it. Being 'regular' will be a whole lot better than all over the map!!!

Anyhoo, so this is my day - me and Aunt Flo - send good thoughts.

I MADE MY GOAL!!!

I know, we have already chatted about that a few days ago, but today I made my goal, today is my two week anniversary of the 4th round, and I have made my goal. I am still going on, the rest is just GRAVY!!!

Thank You So Much!!!

I would like to send a collective thank you for everyone for their eMails and comments for the loss that was suffered over the weekend. I spent a few hours there yesterday just doing 'busy' work, and my husband took the widower out along with his best friend for some coffee and chit chat. Each day will be rough, but each day they make it through is one more day behind them and a chance to heal.

Thank you Lili, Shelly, Marshall, Ed & Jenn, Mary, CB, EweWho, Crystal, Monica and Mariel for your beautiful thoughts - you folks are all the mostest. Wow.

Biz

Savor This Moment in Time - 02.04.08 - D14P2R4

2008-02-04T04:46:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 168.2
Today - 167.6
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
7.8 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
16.8 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
83.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

It was a double whammy yesterday for my menu. I spent the 2nd day in a row testing the limits, but this time with something ALLOWABLE by Dr Simeon's - eggs. So I had eggs with onions for breakfast, a grapefruit for a lunch snack, Beef and Broccoli for dinner with an apple for dessert.

A total of around 427 calories divided this way: 10 Fat, 42 Carbs, 45 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

New FAQ Question today! I will leave this up for a week! This time we are going to focus in on Phase 3 - Please help out if you can!

Phase 3 - The Stabilizing Period

Spreading My Wings

I did eggs yesterday! It was a real treat! I did it the right way, with one egg, and 3 additional egg whites, but my hubby threw in some pan fried onions, and well, again I felt like I was cheating! And I do have to say, that my beef and broccoli turned out quite good!

A .6 loss is nothing to sneeze at, maintaining quite a comfortable average of 1.29 loss a day, so nothing to complain about whatsoever on day 14!!! Today however, I feel compelled to go back to the familiar so no broccoli or eggs for me today!

Here are the numbers if your tracking:

Day 13 (Complete) - Round 4 = 9.11% Body Weight Loss
Day 13 (Complete) - Round 3 = 7.25% Body Weight Loss
Day 13 (Complete) - Round 2 = 6.16% Body Weight Loss
Day 13 (Complete) - Round 1 = 5.90% Body Weight Loss

What is interesting is that things seem to be catching up - how cool it is to watch the numbers.

Savor This Moment In Time

You just never know, ya know? Each moment we have is precious, and in an instant, it can disappear. Are you making the most of each moment? Are you doing everything you can to make this moment count?

One moment everything seems to be just sailing through time and one can get quite caught up in the business of life, but sometimes we must remember that things can change in an instant.

I had a very dear friend pass yesterday morning. She was young, only 37 years old. She has left behind 3 children (she was also expecting their 4th - she was 3 months pregnant) and a husband, not to mention the huge family that is devastated by losing her. Most of the day yesterday was spent with the family and while there it really brings home how important it is to make sure you live every moment like it's your last.

Within 30 minutes, this darling woman was gone. In an instant. Gone.

I wont be around much today, they are dear friends and I will be doing what I can to help them through the first couple of days. They were well loved by so many people so they have ample help, but I just wouldn't feel right if I wasn't there to lend a hand, even if it's one to hold.

Please, to my community, please send good thoughts this way. My heart is heavy.

Life does go on...

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Ed & Jenn - Sorry about leaving you high and dry last night. I had phone calls to have to handle, and well, you know the rest of the story. I needed to get some good rest for today, it's gonna be a tough one.

Lili - Yeah, I spent my last load day on coloring my hair, I almost forgot, and that would have been nasty!

Shelly - I honestly can't remember where I learned that, but it has stuck in my head all these years, isn't that amazing how power it is???

Monica - It was even good a second time!!!

Mary - You are so funny! I can't take credit for the "Protocol Nazi's" comment, but I will use it! ROFL

Liz - Don't worry, it will make starting that much more sweeter. You will be here soon, and keep doing what your doing, keep reading, keep researching. Shoot, Monica prepared for like 3 or 4 months, and she is a PRO in just her 3rd week! Do the same!

Crystal - Good stuff! Excited for you to start!

Ewewho - hey girl, I will do better than share the recipe, I will VIDEO IT! ROFL - OMG - like I am the expert on the webcam! ROFL

Take care everyone, and make sure you make every moment count.

Biz

Setting Realistic Goals - 02.03.08 - D13P2R4

2008-02-03T05:32:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 169.4
Today - 168.2
1.2 lb LOSS Overnight
7.2 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
16.2 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
82.6 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

Ok, I am so over yesterday with my on and off headache all day. I am going to chalk it up to some detox thing that was going on and call it a day! I had an apple for a morning snack, and then I decided to 'experiment' with broccoli so had some Chicken and Broccoli soup for lunch, my grapefruit for mid afternoon snack and then dinner was a Grilled Hamburger Patty with lettuce salad and mustard dressing. Oh yeah, yesterday was a good eating day. The broccoli did not affect my losses, so guess I will be doing THAT again. I do love my broccoli, it actually feels like I am cheating! ROFL

A total of around 450 calories divided this way: 8 Fat, 42 Carbs, 54 Protein

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Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

One more day to leave it up!!! New question tomorrow! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Experimentation: SUCCESS!

I had a little talk with myself yesterday morning and asked myself if I was willing to perform a little experiment with the trying of the broccoli - so since I have had this miraculous weight loss in just 12 days (as of yesterday) - I was like, what the heck, I can afford to stall for a few days in the interest of research! So that is what I did.

Honest to goodness, I felt like I was "cheating" - now keep in mind, for me to even USE that word, this feeling had to be sinister and devious. It was like I was hoarding my bowl of soup, afraid of the "Protocol Nazi's" that might show up to remind me that broccoli was NOT on the Dr Simeon plan. I would look around, sneak a taste, and savor the wonderfulness of broccoli. OMG! I consider BROCCOLI A CHEAT! How extremely funny is that???

Suffice it to say it was delish, and I will be doing the broccoli thing again today. Do you even consider how much is open to me by using broccoli? OMG, the menu is limitless!!! I am gonna make some good ole fashioned "Beef and Broccoli" tonight for supper, I will let you know how it turns out, but you just know it will HAVE to be good!

So what is with the freaking 1.2 loss this morning??? I seriously DO NOT KNOW! Could it be all that shaking my body was doing when I was fearful of the "Protocol Nazi's"??? HA! Whatever it is, I will take it and not argue.

Here are the numbers:

Day 12 (Complete) - Round 4 = 8.79% Body Weight Loss
Day 12 (Complete) - Round 3 = 7.25% Body Weight Loss
Day 12 (Complete) - Round 2 = 6.16% Body Weight Loss
Day 12 (Complete) - Round 1 = 5.90% Body Weight Loss

Say it with me! WOO HOO FOR ME!!!

Goals

Ok, there are some of you out there that feel that my goal for this round was unrealistic. Let me tell you how I arrived at that goal, and then I want to discuss how I feel about goals, and what makes or breaks them with me.

Since I had planned on doing a 4 week round this time, minus one day that is, I decided to look at the two rounds I did that had more than 4 weeks in them to see what my average would be. Since I always look at body weight percentage loss instead of actual pounds lost, I use that number.

Round 1 - 4 week mark minus one day = 9.33%
Round 2 - 4 week mark minus one day = 9.98%

Add those together and divide by two to get an average, you get = 9.65%

In my mind, I could look at that number (9.65%) as what I could reasonably expect my body to lose based on past performance - so I took 9.65% of what my starting weight was on this round (184.4) and it came up with 17.79 lbs. This is how I arrived at the start of this round with the 17 lbs - At the start of this round, I seriously had NO IDEA that I was gonna be as far as I am, quite frankly, I thought it was gonna take me like at least a week to lose my numbers above LIW - little did I know that would happen and give me MORE within the first week.

But my goal was realistic. It was planned without any knowledge of the future, only what was based on past performance. There is so much that can happen in the future that can throw a monkey wench in it. When I look at past performance and base my goals on that, maybe a bit better, I work to get a little bit better each and every time. Do you see what I mean?

My goal of 17 lbs this round, I look at it now, sure, I am like .8 away from achieving it, but it was realistic, and I am gonna surpass it and that is going to make me feel WONDERFUL - not like I am striving after the wind! Gives me confidence instead of feeling like I am a loser at everything I do.

Setting SMART Goals

I learned this a really long time ago, and it has served me well. We need to set SMART Goals:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Realistic
T - Timely

Let's break them down:

Specific - Your goals need to be very specific, you need to break them down to the lowest common denominator - you can't just say, "I want to lose weight" that only gives us the what - you need to tell us why you want to lose weight and how you intend on losing it.

My experience in using this aspect of SMART GOALS

I wanted to lose weight
I was going to use the HCG Protocol by Dr Simeons
I wanted to lose this weight to become more healthy, regulate my hormones, live longer, look better, feel better

Measurable - You have to be able to chart progress, that is what this is all about, being able to see a day to day progression of things so that you can make changes along the way to meet your goal. There is a certain amount of satisfaction to watching a chart go down, down, down (in the example of weight loss) - being able to see your goal being reached because of the trend you taking gives you the confidence to keep moving forward.

My experience in using this aspect of SMART GOALS

My measuring takes place round by round - I had an ultimate beginning goal of 150 lbs - but I have always separated my goals by the rounds I do to get to the ULTIMATE goal of 150.

Attainable - This one is rough - kinda in line with what I talked about yesterday about our 'ideal' weight. Can we really reach our goal? It would have been silly to set a goal of 108 lbs (what I was when I was 18) - but a goal of 150 was very attainable. The thing about this aspect of setting goals is that this particular one needs to be just a bit of a stretch, enough that you can commit to it and take it seriously - instead of something so easy that you don't appreciate the process of getting there.

My experience in using this aspect of SMART GOALS

Each round I would set a specific goal. For my first round, I wasn't exactly SOLD on the "one pound a day" business, but based on the research I had done, I saw that losing a half a pound a day was pretty much par. So I set that as a goal. By the 2nd, 3rd and now the 4th round, I had back data I could use to set goals for myself. It's my body and it behaves in a certain way so I could use those numbers to set what I felt were attainable goals.

Realistic - Ok, this is super important - are your goals realistic? Sometimes we talk of this aspect of SMART Goals as "Baby Steps" - Realistic does not mean EASY - but definitely DOABLE - Set these goals high enough but not so high that you are doomed to failure, but also the opposite is true. Don't set them so low that you surpass them with no effort and pretty soon you might feel that is all your capable of doing.

My experience with using this aspect of SMART GOALS

This ties in nicely with the "attainable" portion - all of my goals have been realistic, with each and every round, because I base them on past performance, the only thing that is "real" - all expect for the first round that is. I had nothing but pure conjecture on that one!

Timely - Oh yeah, this is mondo important - give yourself a limit. What is really funny about this aspect? Time needs to be ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC AND MEASURABLE - how about that for wrapping things up??? Give yourself a deadline.

My experience with using this aspect of SMART GOALS

Again, I make my goals per round. This is kinda funny. Looking back on some of my early postings in the Yahoo Group I had this silly notion about making goal by winter - well, winter has come and is almost gone - yet I am not there. Going round by round is the way to go, at least in my book. But I set my goal at the beginning of the round, what my weight is on my first VLCD day and I know how long my round is going when I start it, and so I know the things necessary to make a goal.

Well my, my, that was a lot of writing! But I hope you can now understand why I set the goals that I do.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Crystal - thanks my pal! I sure have been on this long enough to know that the HCG is the miracle DR S said it was, so I am just gonna let him do his thing!

Jenn - GEESH GIRL! You are so demanding! ROFL - You know I WUB U! There is something to the whole letting your food digest before you go to bed thing going on there. I think the number is 2 or 3 hours (someone help me here who knows the real number) and well, we all know that Miz Biz goes to bed early! The latest I ever go to bed is around 10pm - so I have a cut off of 7pm. I have found in my experience with this protocol that I have less success when I eat later. Yesterday I ate at 5pm and lookie there, 1.2 loss today! Something to be said for that!

Mary - Geesh girl! I read about your day, and I was like, OMG - you poor baby, I hope this weekend you get to recoop. Here are some hugs for you {{{{MARY}}}}

Mariel - Thank you friend for the kind words. Shoot, I cannot even believe I am chatting about less than 20 lbs to my goal, that is so UNREAL!

CB - Helps put things into perspective eh? Another thing we have to remember? Is that because of HCG we are at a different place at the same weight. So what you may have looked at 150 lbs without HCG can be completely different then you at 150 lbs with HCG! Blows the mind!

Liz - WELCOME to our little community! Just starting eh? Let me tell you that the people that are in this community will help you with your journey! We always love new people finding this protocol! Start a blog, even if all you do is post your stats. We need to get the word out!

Monica - WOO HOO!!! We are neck and neck! Loving life right now eh??? Always remember the sculpting. It's miraculous. Let the HCG do it's thing. I hate to think of life without coffee right now, but whatever, the migraine is worse.

Becca - oh geesh, another hubby out there that doesn't know what the heck he is talking about. Don't listen girl, do what you need to do to get where you want to go. We are women, hear us roar!!! WOO HOO FOR US HOT MOMMAS - what do the youngins have on us girlfriend???

Lili - Oh yeah girlfriend! I keep trying to remind people that losing on HCG is different than anything else they have ever done before. I had to laugh my friend, you and your purdy smile. You need me to start up the emergency fund for your jewelry store again???

Have a wonderful day!!! Full of sunshine and rainbows!

Biz

Are You Attached to a Certain Number on the Scale? - 02.02.08 - D12P2R4

2008-02-02T05:27:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 170.0
Today - 169.4
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
6.0 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
15.0 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
81.4 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

Well, yesterday I had every intent of changing up my menu because quite frankly I was getting bored. And things went well until after my afternoon snack! I had my coffee and half and half, a grapefruit half for morning, Thai Hot and Sour Soup for lunch, grapefruit for mid afternoon snack, and then I don't even want to go into what happened for supper. Suffice it to say that all I had for dinner was coffee and cream. Don't holler at me, it was a preponderance of things that lead to this decision, as I absolutely refuse to eat past 7pm ... the rest is history.

A total of around 310 calories divided this way: 6 Fat, 35 Carbs, 30 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Rosie and Renee (BB) for answering the FAQ question yesterday! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Do As I Say, Not As I Do!

Don't skip meals unless absolutely necessary - seriously. I didn't plan what happened last night, I wanted to eat my dinner, it is just circumstances prohibited it, and I was not going to take a chance of eating at 7pm - I just can't eat that late anymore. Just not gonna do it.

With everything else that happened last night, I ended up with a migraine. Now this is the 2nd migraine I have had in 4 weeks, and now I am going to have to assume it has something to do with the coffee. I hate it, but you don't have to hit me over the head with a baseball bat more than twice for me to get the picture. I am off of coffee.

I fully expect there to be some sort of bounce back or stall because of not eating yesterday, I will be sure to eat today my required meals. In any case, I am in the 160's today and all is good with the world. 169.4 - that just looks WRONG, but it isn't. What an amazing program. I am on this until the 17th of this month (LIW) and I do believe that my goal for this round might have been a little short sighted. I only have two more pounds to reach my goal, and I think I may get there some time next week!

Most excellent!

Here are the numbers for those of you following:

Day 11 (Complete) - Round 4 = 8.13% Body Weight Loss
Day 11 (Complete) - Round 3 = 6.73% Body Weight Loss
Day 11 (Complete) - Round 2 = 5.78% Body Weight Loss
Day 11 (Complete) - Round 1 = 4.94% Body Weight Loss

To me? That is simply incredible!

Are You Attached to a Certain Number on the Scale?

The closer we get to what we consider our 'ideal' weight we start to be very determined to reach a certain number on the scale. It could be a number that we were at in high school, a number that we were when we were married, a number we were at in college, but a certain number where we feel that we need to be in order to call this program a success.

I have posted this time and time again that my so called "goal" weight of 150 is so arbitrary because I really have no idea what HCG can do for this 45 year old body. It might stop me at 150, or it might continue to go down to 135, or some other ludicrous number, but it's not about the number on the scale with me. I am all about my body and what the HCG does to it.

I am seriously a completely different person than when I was married the first time in 1981, at 108 pounds. Do I think it's possible to get to that weight again? Um, NO, I don't even WANT it. I have had a child for goodness sake, my body has changed. I am completely content to letting the HCG dictate where I need to be. I have had enough experience with this program, and watching the successes of others to KNOW that it does indeed work, and work well.

I see more and more people out there becoming discouraged with the program the closer they get to their goal. What is simply amazing to me is that they have seen it work with the first 50 pounds they had to lose, but when it comes to the HCG doing the "SCULPTING" thing, they all of a sudden start to have doubts about the validity of the program. That blows my mind.

What that says to me is that they are looking at this protocol as only a weight loss thing, and not what it truly was designed for: FAT ON THE MOVE - Dr S made that plain. I am reminded time and time again of his story of "The Emaciated Lady". If you haven't refreshed your memory of this story, please allow me to do this for you.

The Emaciated Lady

I remember the case of a lady who was escorted into my consulting room while I was telephoning. She sat down in front of my desk, and when I looked up to greet her I saw the typical picture of advanced emaciation. Her dry skin hung loosely over the bones of her face, her neck was scrawny and collarbones and ribs stuck out from deep hollows. I immediately thought of cancer and decided to which of my colleagues at the hospital I would refer her. Indeed, I felt a little annoyed that my assistant had not explained to her that her case did not fall under my specialty. In answer to my query as to what I could do for her, she replied that she wanted to reduce. I tried to hide my surprise, but she must have noted a fleeting expression, for she smiled and said “I know that you think I'm mad, but just wait.” With that she rose and came round to my side of the desk. Jutting out from a tiny waist she had enormous hips and thighs.

By using a technique which will presently be described, the abnormal fat on her hips was transferred to the rest of her body which had been emaciated by months of very severe dieting. At the end of a treatment lasting five weeks, she, a small woman, had lost 8 inches round her hips, while her face looked fresh and florid, the ribs were no longer visible and her weight was the same to the ounce as it had been at the first consultation.

Notice what I highlighted. Good grief! Can you imagine being this woman??? 5 entire weeks on this protocol, and she was exactly the same weight as when she started. Can you imagine??? And I hear people getting disgruntled at two days at the same weight. What the heck???

The true MIRACLE of this protocol is the SCULPTING, and not the WEIGHT LOSS. Please, please, PLEASE remember that. Sure, massive weight loss happens in the beginning, but then you need to give the HCG time to SCULPT and MOLD your body.

Granted, this woman had a DOCTOR telling her all was well, that things were working like they were supposed to. And I am sure through Dr S's clinic that he was meticulous with measurements and pictures for his research. But us? Most of us have chosen the road of SELF DOCTORING and so we don't have that benefit of someone telling us all is well, just keep doing what your doing and it is working. We have to rely on ourselves, and quite frankly, we can let a little thing like no loss on the scale drive us down a dark and empty path of futility.

When you are close to goal, and you are having days without losses, what are you doing to prove to yourself that the HCG is still working?

Have you taken measurements?
Have you taken pictures? (CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT PICTURES ARE!)
Do you have a pair of jeans a size or two smaller than when you started that particular round and try them on every day to see if it feels different?

Dr S was very clear that the HCG would stop working when there was no more fat to move. He never said that once the weight loss stops your done. He said, once your RAVENOUSLY HUNGRY the HCG had stopped consuming abnormal fat.

Please stop thinking of this as a "DIET" - it's a PROTOCOL - MEDICALLY PROVEN - it's not just to LOSE weight, it's to get rid of abnormal fat. Remember that, PLEASE???

Do not get attached to what ever number you think is your IDEAL weight. Let the HCG determine that number. After all, I don't mind being 150 lbs if I am in a size 8!!! Are you FREAKIN' KIDDING ME???

Nuff said...

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - HA! Baby got back! Too funny!

Mary - I made it, I made it!!! WOO HOO FOR ME!!!

Monica - I really did give it a shot to like Stevia, but I can't do it. I have tried all different brands, and both the liquid and the powder, and it is just ick. I don't like sweet and low either because of the bad stuff, but while I am on protocol, that is what I use - the sweetness most resembles sugar to me. Maintaining positives is the way to go, especially on this protocol!

Crystal - it sure is good to have you back!!!

Lili - you crack me up! HA! Have success at your show! Save some of that money for the YOU KNOW WHAT!!!

Have a good day people!

Biz

Playing Mental Catchup - 02.01.08 - D11P2R4

2008-02-01T04:41:00.001-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 170.6
Today - 170.0
0.6 lb LOSS Overnight
5.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
14.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
80.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Get my updates via eMail: Subscribe to The Progress of Biz

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

So I lied, I stuck with the exact same thing to see if I could see another BIG loss! Coffee and Half and Half, apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing. Dinner was a Creole Catfish. The only thing different is that I used Stevia to sweeten my mustard dressing rather than the regular Sweet and Low because I was out.

A total of around 460 calories divided this way: 11 Fat, 48 Carbs, 45 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! I actually have a date! Look for it on February 15th! WOO HOO!!!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Gonna leave it up for the weekend, and then switch it on Monday, in fact, I will continue to add a new question every week until they are done on Mondays! I think that works! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Any Loss is a Good Loss!

It was a REALLY good run! I am not even at my two weeks on yet, and I am maintaining a very nice average, so I am thrilled! I was kinda hoping to see a 1"6"something, but that will just make when it does come that much more sweeter! Just for the sake of numbers, my average loss per day is 1.44 - and here are the other numbers we have been keeping track of:

Day 10 (Complete) - Round 4 = 7.81% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) - Round 3 = 6.31% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) - Round 2 = 5.78% Body Weight Loss
Day 10 (Complete) - Round 1 = 4.55% Body Weight Loss

Playing Mental Catchup

I think this week has been a bit too prolific for me to come up with yet another profound post. I scoured the internet this morning for something that would tickle the muse inside of me, and yet nothing was so much as making her smile.

All of a sudden, I was typing a response to a friend over at the HCG2 Yahoo Group, and it hit me! Yes, I could see in my minds eye the huge grin on my muses face!

There are times when I write I seem to be on a roll, and then suddenly, I can't think of a single thing to share. I liken it to how there will be a few days of losses on the protocol, and then suddenly it stops. No rhyme or reason, just dead in it's tracks. We didn't do anything different, just following the program, yet it stops. We all KNOW that it's just a day of playing catchup.

Well, today is my day to play mental catchup. Regroup, refocus, really digest all that has happened over the last week. And when I stopped to do that things really do become more clear.

I have had some thoughtful posts:

I have reached a couple of milestones:

Total loss from start of 80.8 pounds
Fitting into Size 14 Pants
I am no longer OBESE, only OVERWEIGHT

I have found a new support buddy:

http://smacmolina.blogspot.com/

I have come to really know better a few fellow bloggers that have really brightened my day - in fact, I have a "date" with one of them to Fly together this morning!

These things are nothing to sneeze at, they are all just really wonderful things that have transpired this week. Focusing on them is not a problem. Being able to sit back and ponder over all the things that have been good this week is a great reward for a job well done.

So this is what I am going to do, sit back and bask in the good of the week.

I have already listed the good that has happened this week in my life, why don't you spend a bit of time doing the same on your blog or forum journal or shoot me an email but make sure I know you have done the same.

Playing Mental Catchup is a good thing.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - If you do go to FlyLady, do not get overwhelmed by the emails, they can be prolific. Just learn the principles. The biggest thing I have gotten out of her philosophy is that anyone can do anything for just 15 minutes. I plan my days like that. Especially with stuff I don't like to do. Yeah, 80 lbs is pretty amazing!!!

Mary - Thanks girl! My 'feeding' times are usually coffee throughout the morning (around 3 - 4 cups) and then I eat my fruit with my lunch around 12pm - 1pm, try to eat my fruit as a snack between 3pm and 4pm, and then I try to concentrate on dinner around 6pm. I know for me if I eat any later than 7pm, things just don't work right overnight. Slower losses or maybe even none. I am sure it has something to do with the whole digestion issue.

Jenn - HA! My husband always says "It's All Gooooood" - HA! Maybe they are more alike then we think eh??? Girl? I can't even go into here what I think of you, I would get all mushy gushy and that just wouldn't be right. ROFL

Wendy - MY CYBER SISTER - sorry to make you cry, I had my share that day, people NEED to join me!!! You girl are MY inspiration. I have done nothing but follow your skirt tails ever since we started, I am like, I wanna be Wendy when I grow up, you fine thing you!!!

Shelly - HA! I absolutely REFUSE to go into a store yet to buy clothes. Thank goodness I am bigger than JPS and she hands me down her stuff!!! And my sister too, bless their hearts! But isn't it nice to look??? And just KNOW you will be able to do it soon???

Regina - We have a date now, don't stand me up! I am wanting to FLY today!!! WOO HOO FOR US! And thank YOU for being who you are! I can't wait to meet you AND Stacey! WOO HOO FOR ALL OF US - shhhh, don't say that too loud Jenn will get all jealous...

Becca - oh shoot, I thought I was all cried out! Look at you bringing the flood gates again! Girl, it's so awesome to see all of us making this journey with SUCCESS!!! I am SO VERY THANKFUL for all of you out there - our community is positively the mostest!!!

Good day, eh!

Biz

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Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes - 01.31.08 - D10P2R4

2008-01-31T04:26:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 171.6
Today - 170.6
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
4.8 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
13.8 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
80.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I am such a creature of habit! Coffee and Half and Half, apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing. Dinner was a Creole Catfish. I think I may be done with this menu for awhile, I will probably change things up a bit today! HA!

A total of around 460 calories divided this way: 11 Fat, 48 Carbs, 45 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! It's coming honest! Just waiting on my partner to put the finishing touches on it!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Andrea for answering the survey! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Another One Bites The Dust! OMG - 80.2 POUNDS GONE!!!

I am pleased mind you, but seriously, WHAT THE HECK AM I DOING RIGHT??? I mean, come on, what are we supposed to expect come day 10 on the protocol???

What more needs to be said? Here are the numbers for those of you keeping track:

Day 9 (Complete) - Round 4 = 7.48% Body Weight Loss
Day 9 (Complete) - Round 3 = 6.21% Body Weight Loss
Day 9 (Complete) - Round 2 = 5.32% Body Weight Loss
Day 9 (Complete) - Round 1 = 4.55% Body Weight Loss

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

HA! I am sure you are going to go through the day today humming this song, and every time you do, you will think of this post, good thing, cause it's a good one, if I do say so myself. Let me just add, this is a long one. Bear with me.

There are times during the day where something crosses my minds path and I will be like, shoot, that would be something I should talk about in my blog. Sometimes the thoughts disappear shortly without another interest, but then sometimes they grab me and wont let go. Yesterday, I had a thought that wouldn't give me peace it was hanging on so hard.

Let me explain.

Yesterday was a good day. It really was. It was one of those days that seems everything is falling into place for some unknown reason. I was 'flying' and it was working - I was getting my housework done in record time, I was 'chatting' with friends and conversations were motivating and stimulating.

One of my '15 minutes' (you really must check out FlyLady if you don't know how powerful 15 minutes can be) scheduled yesterday was for me to go through a pile of clothes that were sent to me by my SIL - some of them used, but most of them new. There was a Dillard's that went out of business in the area they live and things were marked down dramatically. When they first got here over the weekend, I quickly went through them and saw that there were all 14's and so mentally I said, well, this ain't the round for these clothes, it will be NEXT round, so I wasn't anxious to go through them right away. But yesterday was the day I said I would finally handle them.

Before I go on, yes, I know I am wearing at the moment a pair of Gloria Vanderbilt Jeans that are a size 14 - but GV jeans always run bigger and I will tell you why. For us women that have "back" (big butts) GV jeans are the BEST jeans because she designs her jeans with room for the back trunk. Most other designers feel they must design jeans for people with flat butts, so us big butt girls need to usually get a size larger for it to fit over the butt area. Then we have to wear a belt because there is a gap at the waist. All the other pants I am wearing right now are 16's.

I came across a pair of what I like to call 'Daisy Duke' jean shorts. I call them that because they are SHORT Shorts, and when I first looked at them I was like RIGHT, I haven't worn jean shorts in decades, like I am ever gonna wear shorts this short, for heavens sake, I have to hide these fat legs of mine. You know as well as I do that when we are obese, we try to cover as much skin as we can, we don't want anyone seeing all that skin, I mean come on, they might think we are fat if they see skin! (Go ahead, tell me I am not the only one that reasoned this way)

Some alien force possessed me to try them on. O M G - THEY FIT!!! For your viewing pleasure is me in all my glory with these shorts, and might I add a medium top that was sent along also (remember, clickable for larger view):

My legs? They are doing that wiggly jiggly thing right now, which is ok with me because we all know that means that the HCG is doing it's thing. So keep that in mind, but can you believe I could get those dang things on??? I really thought when I looked at them, NO STINKING WAY, but YES, they are on.

Right after I took the picture, I had a brief 5 minute cry. I was beside myself with joy! But then reality stepped in and my mind took over and that blasted song POPPED into my head at that moment. Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Time May Change Me, But I Can't Trace Time

When the muse hit me like it did yesterday, and then wouldn't let go, I had to ponder what the heck did this mean, why was I supposed to write about this? I couldn't understand this lyric, much less how it applied to what was going on at this particular moment in my life.

Thank goodness for the internet world! As I was sitting here at my computer, staring at the screen yesterday afternoon, a little button popped up from my Yahoo window, and it was announcing to me that EweWho had just logged in. I said to myself, she is never on Yahoo, in fact, I invited her as a buddy like months ago and she never accepted the invitation so I just assumed she never used Yahoo Messenger, so since I was sitting here I opened up a chat window with her to say hi!

One thing lead to another and I told her about the Size 14 Daisy Dukes and I sent her the picture. I asked her about this lyric, and what her thoughts were on why this was hitting me as hard as it did. Chatting with her helped put the perspective on why it was that particular lyric that struck a chord with me.

Over time, roughly 7 months, time has changed me. I have changed in so many ways, it's not even funny. I have changed my eating habits, I have changed my emotional well being, I have changed my self esteem, I have changed my confidence, I have changed my physical body, I have changed my wardrobe, I have changed my medical condition, all profound changes to make me who I am today.

But I can't trace time ... I can't copy the time that has changed me because I am no longer the person I was. If I try to 'trace' the steps (time) that got me to this moment it wouldn't be the same because I am a different person. All we have is this moment. We are not guaranteed a future and we cannot relive the past. We are here in the now. We MUST make every moment count. Thank goodness hindsight is 20/20 - it is because of my living in the NOW that I am where I am today. It is because I have followed this protocol and treated it as a gift that I have gotten from a size 24 to a size 14 in 7 months. It is because I know I can't ever relive this moment that I stay true to the protocol. It is because I know that my time is valuable (after all I will be 46 this year) that each and every day is precious and this miracle that has crossed my path is worth doing right.

You can't trace time. You can't make up for lost time. Lost time is just that, it's lost and gone forever. Stay the course. You do that, time will be your friend. It will pamper you. It will caress you.

Time may change me, but I can't trace time. You can't copy what time changes in you. Deep, I know, but think about it.

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

smacmo - I really need to get to your blog! I have been told that before, but I said I wouldn't do it until I was done and maintained for at least 6 months, then I would really know this works! Aren't I just the silliest thing???

Lili - Aww girl, you rule!

CB - Thanks girl, you will be here shortly!

Mary - Thanks!

Wendy - I am supposed to be doing 26 days, but things may cut it short, I wont know until this weekend is over so I will be sure to let the community know my plans.

Jenn - goodness girl, what can be said that hasn't been said already. You are my heart, did you know that?

Mariel - AH YES! Now I know who you are! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading, hey, this thing keeps me honest ya know???

Monica - you have no idea how fortunate you are! Give that man a hug from all of us! I owe you an email, it will be sometime this morning!

Renee - Thanks!

Becca - I sure can't wait to get to your blog! That is my midmorning fun! Thanks for the kind words, and girl, you are TALL!!! You go girl! Thanks!

Time is on my side, Biz

Diet Sabotage - 01.30.08 - D09P2R4

2008-01-30T04:06:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 172.6
Today - 171.6
1.0 lb LOSS Overnight
3.8 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
12.8 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
79.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

I pretty much followed the same pattern as yesterday, but not quite as much coffee and cream. An apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing. Dinner was a Creole Catfish - Oh and I had coffee with half and half (1 tbsp). Before you all think that I am trying to mimic my day yesterday, I only did it because I have a TON of ground beef to use up, and the same with the Cat Fish!

A total of around 476 calories divided this way: 11 Fat, 50 Carbs, 46 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! It's coming honest! Just waiting on my partner to put the finishing touches on it!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Katrina, Kat Lee, and Mary Lou for answering the survey! Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Where Did THAT Come From???

Seriously. This is day 9 for goodness sake. How can I still be having this kind of success this late in the game? Jenn asked me a question yesterday - She said "So does this round "feel" like R3?" - my answer to her was - "Believe it or not Jenn, this round is screwing with my mind big time. I am like in this perpetual weirdness phase right now, not believing it's real. Kinda like my first few weeks on Round 1 - waiting for the other shoe to drop. It's like, can this really be happening to me AGAIN???? There is no way on God's Green Earth that this can be as successful a FOURTH time??? I am in awe of myself, does that sound weird??? I don't mean it to, it's just surreal."

This morning I got on the scale, saying to myself, 171something, 171something, but in the back of my mind fully prepared to see a smaller loss, after all, this is DAY 9 - so seeing 171.6, a whole pound gone, was just too good to be true. This protocol is truly a blessing. You people out there need to thank whoever it is that you believe your higher power to be for giving this gift to you. It's truly a gift.

Are you treating it that way? Are you appreciating it as a GIFT? If not, then by all means, you need to wrap your head around what it means to get a gift of this magnitude and treat it as such.

For those keeping up with the numbers:

Day 8 (Complete) - Round 4 = 6.94% Body Weight Loss
Day 8 (Complete) - Round 3 = 5.80% Body Weight Loss
Day 8 (Complete) - Round 2 = 4.57% Body Weight Loss
Day 8 (Complete) - Round 1 = 4.55% Body Weight Loss

Diet Sabotage

We all know about "Self Sabotage" right? I have approached this subject in the past, but under the guise of "Fear of Success" - which is pretty much the same thing. I have always been one that tends not put the blame for my mistakes on other people because I am a free moral agent, able to make my own choices, so ultimately I am the one to blame for any issues.

Well by now you folks know how I operate. I see something happening in our little community and automatically it becomes fodder for my brain and I want to research it. So I saw some "Diet Sabotage" taking place, and of course, here goes the ole fingers and mouse looking for information on how to deal with it.

Come on, we all get "Diet Sabotage" from all angels. Whether it's from our family or friends that tell us "You look GOOD! You don't need to lose anymore" - to the more subtle husband bringing home flowers and chocolates, when he just KNOWS you are on a "Diet". Whatever the source is, we have to know how to deal with these SABOTEURS.

Most of the time, they have no idea they are doing the sabotaging, not consciously anyway. With the example of the husband bringing home flowers AND chocolate, I am sure it's more of a "well honey, you have done so well, here is something for you because you have worked so hard on this for so long".

But sometimes, the giving could have links to something deeper.

Please understand that the following can come from either a male or female point of view.

I found a very interesting article from the New York Times from back in 1993 and it's worth a read:

Diet Sabotage: The New Battle of the Sexes

Just for kicks, I sent this article to Lili - we all know that Lili is pretty much wise beyond her years, and I felt I needed her input on this one. She has this really unique way of getting to the meat of in issue and provide you with a straight, no holds barred way of looking at things. Lili does not have a pretentious bone in her body and so I value her opinion, and besides that, she is older than me! (HA! Only by less than a year!)

Anyhoo, very interesting reply she sent back to me. I have asked her permission to repost her reply here and she said GO FOR IT! Thanks Lili!

First she says this:

I think it brings up some valid points. My boyfriend complains that we haven't had dinner together since late last summer -- when I started Hcg at the end of august, did P2, then P3, then P2 again, then began to eat according to my appetite. Which ended up being eating my main meal at around 3:00 pm. He would get home and want to make a huge dinner, and I'd say "sorry. But I'll sit with you". He finally confronted me, saying it was really a big issue for him, that we did not sit down and eat dinner together at night. I explained my side, and said "we'll have to work out a compromise. I am not a huge dinner eater anymore -- and it's working for my weight. But perhaps I can have a salad, or sometimes eat dinner with you". I still have another round of P2 (or 2) left, and we agreed to address the issue again when I'm done, but it's interesting -- the article is right -- if the tables were turned, I'd adapt to his schedule. It'd be a no-brainer.

WOW - can you see how compromising your position can lead to going back into habits that got you fat in the first place? I have had to deal with this same issue in my home. My husband prefers to eat later, like around 7pm or 8pm - well that just doesn't work on the protocol, in fact, for life! I have told him time and time again that I have to eat no later than 6pm. If I eat any later, there isn't enough time between dinner and bed and that is not good for the body.

Then she goes further:

I am NOT willing to go back to nightly huge meals. I am willing to compromise. He's usually reasonable, so it will hopefully work out fine. But -if it's keeping my weight loss or keeping him -- well, girl, there's alot more fish out in that sea. Call me a *beeyatch* (I prefer "determined woman") but I've worked too hard to figure out my body and health to give it up for a man, even one that I love as much as I do him.

Now see there? Ultimately, we do have to make a stand, or we are putting ourselves in the same place we were when we were FAT - and do we want to be FAT again??? We have to let go of our old selves and embrace the new ones. We have found what is a miracle to get us to the weight we never dreamed we could be - don't give it away.

Oh but there is MORE!

Guys don't realize that we women just don't care that much about their bodies -- my guy has a little gut, is balding, and just so cute in his little red arty glasses and geeky bow ties! He should stand up straighter, exercise more, and I adore every inch of his 55-year-old body -- with all its imperfections.

Men are funny creatures sometimes. They are not as forthcoming as us women on their feelings and such and they tend to hide what it is they really want. So we feel compelled to try to mold ourselves to what we FEEL is what they want. Well, in regards to this protocol, and for the life of maintaining? We can't do that anymore. We need to make a stand. It's our bodies, and until we are comfortable in them, NO ONE else is gonna be comfortable either.

When MOMMA isn't happy? AIN'T NO ONE HAPPY!

There, nuff said.

Little update on JPS - she broke into the 140's yesterday!!! She is FLYING HIGH!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - Yeah, just going on it for 3 weeks and it answers all their questions! THANKS for yesterday, OMG - I LOVE YOU!!!

Wendy - Infomercial? OMG - NO!!! I don't want to be lumped in with KT!!! HA! Thanks girlie girl! You size 8 thing you! Does that just blow your mind???

Ed & Jenn - I learned a while back, when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Girl, you have got the world at your fingertips! Just keep doing what your doing with your blog. The more information on success we have out there, the more this will become widespread and then they will be BEGGING us for our information!

Monica - HA! I will take and post pics next Tuesday. I didn't feel right taking pics until I had at least 5 lbs under the last pics I took at my LIW! LOL - there will be a time when your people will have to stand up and take notice. Right now, just bask in the sunshine of the protocol!

Renee - HA! Isn't it amazing? All it takes is just a couple of days of eating normally and we are like, OMG, when can I go back to the protocol??? ROFL - we are such creatures aren't we???

Becca - HA! Oh yeah, sleep is the KEY! Girl! Get some rest!!! Lili and I were talking yesterday on the phone, she tells me that your 5'7", I think that is what she said? Is that true? I don't know why I thought you were shorter than that! HA!

Have a wonderful day! Biz

Success in 21 Days - 01.29.08 - D08P2R4

2008-01-29T05:02:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 174.0
Today - 172.6
1.4 lb LOSS Overnight
2.8 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
11.8 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
78.2 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

An apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Patty with Lettuce Salad / Mustard Dressing. Dinner was a Creole Catfish - Oh and I had coffee with half and half (1 tbsp) and then some Non Dairy Creamer after that.

A total of around 499 calories divided this way: 12 Fat, 54 Carbs, 55 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! It's coming honest! Just waiting on my partner to put the finishing touches on it!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Lili, Myisha and Becca for answering the survey. Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Now That Is What I Am Talking About!

HA! See what a little sleep will do to a girl??? It will let her lose. Ok folks, today it really hit me, do you see how close I am to the 160's??? That pretty much BLEW my mind! It just became real, seriously real and I am about to freak. What is even MORE freaky than that? I have less than 25 lbs to lose to make it to goal. Do you know how easy it sounds to have to lose just 25 lbs??? (22.6 to be exact)

That's not really fair though. My goal weight is arbitrary, I had to pick something so I said 150 - it sounded like a great number to shoot for, after all that was 100 lbs from where I started. But we all know I am going until the HCG tells me to stop. And if it tells me to keep on going past 150, which I have a suspicion it will, I will keep on keepin' on!

The numbers don't lie:

Day 7 (Complete) - Round 4 = 6.40% Body Weight Loss
Day 7 (Complete) - Round 3 = 5.28% Body Weight Loss
Day 7 (Complete) - Round 2 = 3.54% Body Weight Loss
Day 7 (Complete) - Round 1 = 3.75% Body Weight Loss

Everyone, say it with me: BIZ IS KICKING BUTT AND TAKING NAMES! HA!

Success in 21 Days

You folks have all heard it: "Try it for 30 days, if your not completely satisfied, you get your money back" or better yet this one is from the software industry: "Try this piece of software for 30 days before you have to make a commitment to buy". Ever wonder why companies offer this jewel?

It's because they are so sure of their product that they are convinced if you only TRY it, you will like it and then you will BUY it. That is simple logic and it works really well. Who in their right mind wouldn't try anything for free? Or with the promise that you can have your money back should it not live up to what you want.

I have approached telling people about HCG in real life using this little gem. There are several people right now (4 total) that I had a little talk with them to give HCG a try for 3 weeks. That is all I am asking, just 3 weeks out of your life to see if you can handle the program. (Don't worry, I explain to them the whole 26 day thing)

My reasoning is this. We all know that it takes 21 days for us to develop new habits. If they give this protocol a chance for 21 days, they are going to see miraculous results, and I know they will want to continue.

Those of us that have 100 or more pounds to lose, even with this protocol, the end seems so daunting. But if you split it up into 20 lbs increments (very realistic on 21 days - especially if you are heavier), then to think you could lose 20% of what you need to in just 3 weeks, OMG - that is simply miraculous.

And really, who couldn't follow this plan for just 21 days??? We ALL know it's pretty simple those first 3 weeks. Shoot the weight loss itself is a huge motivator! Getting on the scale every day and seeing losses big and small convinces us to do another day. And if we commit to only 21 days, the end of the phase is in sight and it makes it that much easier to maintain control!

Our minds are funny things. Yes, we have to play around with them to get them to work in the way we ultimately want to go. When you think, geesh, I only have 14 more days to go, smcak, that's EASY! When you think, I can stop injections in 14 days and eat what I want (reasonably), you're like BRING IT ON.

When you let your mind focus on the baby steps of the future, but the big pictures of the past - it's amazing how much stronger our commitment is. And what I know will happen at the end of those 21 days, they will be like, sign me up for another week! I just know it, don't you???

Once people live this life for 21 days, see that it is indeed possible to live (and lose) on 500 cals, see their bodies begin to transform, they are SOLD. Lock, stock and barrel. If they follow the program, I can guarantee them results. Miraculous results. SUCCESS!

Of course, I don't tell them they can get their money back. MUHAHAHAHA!!!

What do you think?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Lili - I just love the way you threw that "BTW - I'm starting P2 today" - like I wouldn't notice it or something??? Sorry I missed your phone call yesterday, will get with you today!

Monica - yeah! I remember that dream you had. And when I woke up and thought about mine, my mind immediately went to yours and I was like, is there something to this? I am wondering if your right, if when our sleep is interrupted, does our losing process interrupted too? Interesting.

Marshall - It all ties together doesn't it??? Well, I had a great nights sleep last night and had a pretty powerful weight loss today, so maybe you can play "catch up"?

Ed and Jenn - OH YEAH! That was YOU with the Mt Dew! LOL - I forgot about that! We are cyber connected, how weird is that??? I was shocked to find out JPS weighs herself multiple times during the day. ROFL

Wendy - ME and SLEEP? Let me just tell you this, I have ALWAYS needed my sleep to function. In high school I used to come home and take a nap even before I could do my homework. And still I was in bed by 9pm. I wish I could survive on less sleep. Geesh, life would be grand!

Mary - Like Wendy said, it's all subjective. The trick is to find out what YOUR needs are and then MEET them!

BB - Nice to have you back again! I think you may be right on the REM thing, that is when most of the restful sleep comes from, probably letting the body processes that are important take over.

Becca - Do you find yourself a bit more sleepy on HCG (after the first week that is) then off? I do. During my 2nd round I noticed it more than any other so far. I just had really REALLY good sleep. Like making up for lost time or something???

Make it a good one people!

Biz

Do You Dream About Your Weight? - 01.28.08 - D07P2R4

2008-01-28T04:44:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 174.2
Today - 174.0
0.2 lb LOSS Overnight
1.4 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
10.4 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
76.8 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

An apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Chicken - Fajita Style. Dinner was a Creole Chicken (Cajun Chicken and Tomatoes)

A total of around 447 calories divided this way: 3 Fat, 46 Carbs, 53 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! It's coming honest! Just waiting on my partner to put the finishing touches on it!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Thanks goes to Mariel for answering the survey. Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

It Was a Good Run!

I knew it had to slow down, a body can only do so much in just 6 completed days! Not gonna over analyze it, I am WAY more than half way to my goal and I am just gonna let the HCG perform it's magic.

The numbers don't lie:

Day 6 (Complete) - Round 4 = 5.64% Body Weight Loss
Day 6 (Complete) - Round 3 = 4.97% Body Weight Loss
Day 6 (Complete) - Round 2 = 3.54% Body Weight Loss
Day 6 (Complete) - Round 1 = 3.35% Body Weight Loss

Want to hear something interesting? On Rounds 1 and 2 on Day 7 I stalled. On my 3rd round that didn't happen, but I feel it's interesting to note that it did on my first two rounds! Is my body this consistent???

Do You Dream About Your Weight?

I just so happen to have been woken up this morning in the middle of a dream. My husband was looking for something and had to wake me up to find it. It was some medicine that he needed to be able to sleep the rest of the morning.

Since I am not one to remember my dreams very often, I forced myself to stay awake so that I could remember this one. It was a good one! It involved a scale. And yes, I loved the scale and the scale loved me.

I tell you where this came from. For the first time since starting this protocol, I have gotten into this weird habit of weighing myself at different times during the day, just to see what is going on. And so since it's becoming sort of a habit, I guess it has gotten into my subconscious mind and now I am dreaming about it.

My dream was about me stepping on the scale and it reading back 128 - now where did THAT come from??? I have NO dreams about being that small!!! I have my theories on where that came from, and it was YOU JENN! I remember talking to my sister yesterday on the phone and I was like, there is this girl that has a blog that is your height and she is like at 128 or so - that means you can get there too! I told my sister that this girl started at almost the same weight as she did, and that this was her third round (which my sister was about to embark on too) and that she has already gotten down to this weight after being around 140 to start. My sister was just thrilled!

So anyway, having this dream made me think about dreaming and sleep and such so I did a little research this morning and I found this article:

The Dream Diet - Losing Weight While You Sleep

Most interesting this article is! It has pretty much confirmed a lot of things that JPS have talked about extensively, that you need your sleep in order to lose weight. Some of the article spends time on sleep apnea, which is a different topic all together, but what I focused in on was the fact that these two hormones, "leptin and ghrelin" can be responsible for our ability to lose weight during the day.

Evidently, they are discovering that these two hormones are produced while we sleep, and these have the ability to control our appetite. They feel there is a relation to having a lack of sleep and obesity - if we don't allow these hormones to be produced while we sleep, then while we are awake our appetite soars and we start eating more things to help us 'get energy' and to stay awake.

Wow, what a vicious cycle this is eh?

Another article that was interesting in this regard was this:

If You're Planning to Lose Weight in the New Year, Experts Say "Think Sleep"

In this article, it's basically telling us sure everybody has a New Year's Resolution to lose weight, but they do nothing to help them sleep better which is a big factor in our ability to lose weight. But what I found most interesting is when it tells us that lack of sleep can contribute to lack of the "Growth Hormone" being produced which is needed for adults to regulate the proportion of fat and muscle.

Hmmmm

I didn't get GOOD sleep last night. Baby girl is sick and I spent the night with her and with all her coughing and sneezing keeping me up, and then hubby waking me up to find medicine, my sleep was interrupted all night. Hmmmm, could this be the reason for the small .2 loss?

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mariel - What name do you go by on the discussion board??? I have two dressing in my sidebar that I use pretty much extensively. With the mustard dressing I have switched now to using Dijon and have enjoyed it MUCH more! Thanks for the nice words!

Mary - Thanks girl!!!

Ed and Jenn (Gotta add Ed in there now, knowing that he looks over your shoulder) - Added protein? Hmmm, I have had more than the amount allowed on several occasions with no harm done, but would I recommend it??? Not all the time, no. I get all my oriental stuff from the local Asian Market, I am sure there is one in almost every big city!

Monica - I think you have a plan, just make sure they don't throw any sauces on it and you should be just fine! Thanks girl, and LOOK AT YOUR PICS!!!

Becca - Thanks girl! Loving life at the moment!

Take it easy, Biz

Are You Prepared? - 01.27.08 - D06P2R4

2008-01-27T05:41:00.000-05:00

R4P2 Starting Weight 184.4
Yesterday - 175.8
Today - 174.2
1.6 lb LOSS Overnight
1.2 lb UNDER LIW of Round Three (175.4)
10.2 Lost Since Start of R4 (VLCD) 01/22/08
76.6 Total Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu for yesterday. This is what I had:

An apple and a half a grapefruit. Lunch was Ground Beef Cajun Style - with tomatoes. Dinner was a large lettuce salad. As you can see, I didn't have my 2nd serving of protein yesterday, lack of planning caused this and this subject will be approached below.

A total of around 318 calories divided this way: 7 Fat, 39 Carbs, 29 Protein

GO HERE AND SIGN UP FOR UPCOMING HCG NEWSLETTER!!! It's coming honest! Just waiting on my partner to put the finishing touches on it!

Let's not forget the HCG BOOK CLUB - join in on the fun! If you haven't signed up for it yet, please do so now. eMail Address Form

Our FAQ Question this go round is the following, please spend some time if you can answering this survey:

Only two answers so far? Any others willing to approach this subject?

Foods on Phase 2 - Do Some Work Better Than Others?

Seriously

Another 1.6 Overnight! Where did that come from??? Well, I am BELOW my LIW and with a bit to spare! WOO HOO FOR ME! After 5 completed days, I lost all that I gained on my break and I am in the "Gravy Zone" - oh yeah, that's the way I like it!

Let's see the winners from my little contest?

Oh Yeah! Good Guess Gals!

Cathy - Day 6, which would be Sunday
Monica - Sunday

Oops, Didn't Happen

Jennifer - Friday - Sorry :(
Rosie - Friday - Sorry :(
Becca - Friday - Sorry :(
Martha - Saturday - Sorry :(
Mary - Saturday - Sorry :(
Wendy - Saturday - Sorry :(
Page - Monday - Sorry :(

Sorry Page.

Most excellent! Monica and Cathy, please contact me, you folks already know how ;) and let me know your snail mail addy. Please don't post it here ok? You should have my email addy or use the contact form on the right side of my side bar. Thanks for playing all of you! That was fun!!!

You know I love my numbers - let's look at them again!

Day 5 (Complete) - Round 4 = 5.53% Body Weight Loss
Day 5 (Complete) - Round 3 = 4.24% Body Weight Loss
Day 5 (Complete) - Round 2 = 3.54% Body Weight Loss
Day 5 (Complete) - Round 1 = 3.35% Body Weight Loss

JPS showed me how to do something with the Excel Chart, what do you think of this? It really shows how well my rounds are doing. And how much better each round has gotten! Totally cool!

Speaking of JPS - here is an update on her. She was at 7.8 lbs above (161.2) her LIW (153.4) when we started this round, and today she is 1.8 below (151.6) - she lost all of her gain (and then some) while on the last break yesterday, so since yesterday everything is gravy for her. She has lost a total of 9.6 in 5 completed days or 5.96% loss from starting weight. She is doing well and loving HCG!!!

Lack of Preparation

Yesterday was a strange day. We had a going away party we needed to attend. We have known about this for a couple of weeks, so this wasn't an issue. But what I didn't know was that our family was asked to bring some food to the party. So I had to scramble to prepare something quickly.

Ok, so that wasn't such an issue. The party was to start at 4pm, but my husband was asked to be there at 3pm since he was DJ and was providing all the sound equipment. He went ahead and left and we were to follow.

Before we left, JPS asked what were we going to do about dinner. This was around 3:15pm and quite frankly I hadn't thought anything about dinner. So I said, look, the party is close enough that we can excuse ourselves around dinner time for a few minutes, come home and cook ourselves some dinner and then go back. We said this because we both thought it was going to be a plain ole party, something we wouldn't mind leaving.

Well, when we got there, we found that this was gonna be a FUN party, and that we weren't going to want to miss a minute of it! So I told JPS, look, I saw some bagged lettuce greens in the kitchen, and I just KNOW someone will bring some fried chicken (after all, this IS the south!) and we can split a breast (after taking off the skin) and we should be fine.

Well, do you know, not ONE person brought fried chicken??? Oh they brought chicken alright, but baked and only thighs and legs!!! ROFL - JPS took a chance on a thigh - I didn't, not wanting to chance it - she still lost a pound!!! So since there was nothing else there for me to nibble on, I just stuck to a dry bagged lettuce salad! That is why I didn't have my 2nd protein.

Preparation is the Key

Yes, this is the key to the success of this protocol. Sure, I still lost 1.6 today, but had this been further into my round, I can almost guarantee you that something different would have happened.

JPS and I got to talking about this this morning. We both agreed that if ever in this situation again, we would spend a few minutes and boil us an egg so that at least we would have our protein. As much as I am toying with a different "diet" for the protocol, what I will not ever recommend is going without our protein. This is dangerous stuff. Dr Simeon's tells us we are on the verge of Protein Deficiency during the protocol, so anything less than our 7 oz of protein a day will lead to horrible consequences. Especially if we are wanting to maintain day to day living activity.

So word to the wise, be prepared, don't throw caution to the wind and just HOPE things work. Plan your work, and work your plan. Being haphazard can cause inconsistent results.

I wont be doing that again!

On to my commenter's - these are my responses to yesterday's comments:

Mary - VERY interesting! I about died when I heard that from Lynne! It was like, oh yeah, that makes sense! You wont be sorry about the Thai Soup, mmmmm.

Jenn - Sambal Oelek - and yes, I usually make my own broth, but recently, I have found this organic broth available at my local grocery store Food Lion called Nature's Place and it's quite good and I have used it extensively. I get the LOW SODIUM variety and it works just fine for me. Oh, sorry I didn't live up to your request, but hey, I just have one thing to say, HA! LOL - tell Ed he could be where I am if he would quit cheating! ROFL

Monica - Gosh, if I couldn't have cabbage on the protocol, I would go NUTS!

Wendy - MMMM, corned beef! I love me some corned beef and cabbage! What a very Atkins Friendly Meal eh???

Have a great one people!

Biz