September 30, 2007 - Day 15 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 201.2
Today 200.6
.6 Lost Overnight
50.2 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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WE ARE HAVING A PARTY!!!
CELEBRATE WITH ME!!!!
50 POUNDS GONE FOREVER!
YEAH ME!!!

OMG!!! I finally got my 50 pounds gone!!! WOO HOO!!! I was jumping up and down this morning, could you all feel me??? I was so happy to see that number on the scale! WOW! Who would have thunk that I could lose 50 pounds since June 23rd of this year? OMG! Not me, that is for darn sure.

This is surreal. Do you realize that June 23rd is only 99 days ago! GEESH! 99 days and I lost 50 pounds. In any other weight loss program, that would be unbelievable success! With this program, that is par for the course! With any other program, for me to lose an average of a half a pound a day, geesh, what would I have to do? I was on Atkins for a YEAR! STRICT! Exercised every single day. And I lost 60 pounds, but it took me a YEAR! I am at 50 pounds in under 100 days! And you know what? That is with 3 weeks off eating whatever I wanted with the exception of sugars and starches...and I didn't even want them! So I was busy maintaining for three weeks and I still managed to lose an average of a half a pound a day over 100 days!!!

OMG! Did I say that yet?

Please celebrate with me! If your a lurker and don't normally post on blogs, jot me an email at bizadventure at comcast dot net! Let me know you stopped by! Let's have a virtually party today! Yes, today, it's all about me! I don't ever get to do this. I am always focused on everyone else, how they are doing, worried about their progress, seeing if I can be of some help, but today? I am gonna be TOTALLY SELFISH!

THIS IS ABOUT ME!

Whew! That out of the way, let me tell you that it's measurement day! WOO HOO - oh yeah, and picture day! LOL

These are clickable - which means they are small here yes, but you can click on them and see larger ones:










MEASUREMENT DAY!!!

Neck 16th = 14" / 30th = 14" (No Loss)
Bicep 16th = 13.75" / 30th = 13.25" (Loss of .50")
Forearm 16th = 10.25" / 30th = 10" (Loss of .25")
Chest 16th = 43.25" / 30th = 41" (Loss of 2.25")
Waist 16th = 39.50" / 30th = 37.25" (Loss of 2.25")
Hips 16th = 48.25" / 30th = 47.25" (Loss of 1")
Thigh 16th = 27.25" / 30th = 26.50" (Loss of .75")
Calf 16th = 17" / 30th = 16" (Loss of 1")

Total Loss is 8"!!!! Keep in mind this is the total loss THIS ROUND!

WOW! Again, who would have thunk?

What was my menu for yesterday? I had chicken soup with cabbage for lunch, and my hubby grilled some steak for dinner and I had that with some red lettuce with Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing. Was totally awesome!

Gosh people, I am at a loss...don't know what to write today. I am pretty much gonna be flying high today!

99 days - 50+ pounds.

WOW. I am just gonna bask in my awesomeness today! HA! I crack myself up!

Biz

September 29, 2007 - Day 14 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 201.6
Today 201.2
.4 Lost Overnight
13.2 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
49.6 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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THIS POST MIGHT BE TMI FOR SOME!!! READ WITH CAUTION!

HA! This is very melodramatic! Look at that, I had a talk with my body and my body didn't listen. Well at least it gave me a compromise. So I guess I am needing to learn PATIENCE! OMG! I thought I learned patience the LAST round! I was 21 days, COUNTEM, 21 days in my 220's - 21 days to lose 10 pounds. Did that not call for PATIENCE???

Perspective Biz, perspective. Keep the faith. It will happen, it's going down, it's NOT going up and it's NOT stalling. I tell you what is happening. My body is going to make me work HARD for this 50 pound/under 200 milestone, make me APPRECIATE the SACRIFICE it took to get there, yeah, that's the ticket. It's trying to make me feel the pain. HA! YEAH BABY! I feel it already!

HA! Ok...I am over it.

So the researcher in me wouldn't let it go. Why think of me any different? I kept telling people yesterday that this whole 'down' feeling felt to me like PMS - weird because I just finished my menses on the 25th (Tuesday) - why would I feel like PMS symptoms already on Thursday and Friday? So I did a little surfing.

This site was posted over at the Yahoo Group a bit ago:

Estrogen Dominance

Very interesting site on our Menses. Very educational. I noticed over the last day or so that I am ovulating (I wont tell you HOW I know, but women, you know HOW I know). So this could definitely be attributed to the slowdown I am experiencing. Notice what this says:

The time from the beginning of menstruation counting forward to ovulation can vary tremendously from 8 to 14 days.

Since that is true, let's count from my first full day of menses which was the 18th (the Tuesday before I stopped) to my remarkable slow down - 10 days - right on the money! Let's see what Dr Simeon's says about ovulation - Under the Section Title "Interruptions of Weight Loss" and the Sub Title "Menstrual Interruption":

The fourth type of interruption is the one which often occurs a few days before and during the menstrual period and in some women at the time of ovulation.

Well, I am definitely SOME WOMEN - so this applies to me. Isn't it really wonderful that this man was such a genius and he pretty much spelled it out plainly? We women are so attached to a stupid number on a scale that we need to be reminded that we are a fine tuned baby making machine whether we ever use that function in our bodies or not. We have to deal with the cycle that happens and go on through life.

Did I need that little pick me up? Um, yes, after all, I am only human - I talk the talk to everyone else, but geesh, I am still a woman! I have my perks! I have my down moments and sometimes I need to be reminded how this is truly a MIRACLE and let it happen!

Ok...that is enough for me. Tired of feeling ick and ready to feel good again.

Let's see, what was my food yesterday - do you believe I actually forgot to eat one of my fruits yesterday??? JUST PLAIN FORGOT! What the heck is THAT about? I had my Creole Catfish again for lunch, LOVE that stuff, it is so comfort food for me, and then I had my Thai Beef Cucumber Salad for dinner.

A bit of sadness for me in the blog community yesterday - A fellow blogger and HCG newbie, along with her family decided that HCG wasn't a plan that could work for them. I was saddened by this news and quite frankly was at a loss for words. I wish them success in their journey to health, but because I want to keep my links on my blog directly HCG related, I feel I must remove their link from my list. If you visit, please understand that I wish you and your family the best in your journey to health!

Ok...tomorrow is guess what???? PICTURE DAY!!! MEASUREMENT DAY!!! I am excited, how about you???



Biz

September 28, 2007 - Day 13 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 202
Today 201.6
.4 Lost Overnight
12.8 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
49.2 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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

Ok, so I am SO OVER my body not letting me see that 50 pound mark, it's gonna make me FIGHT for it! Well, I will soon show it whose boss.

Very down yesterday, couldn't put my finger on it, but it was weird. Seems alot of people were down yesterday. Could this all be remnants of the "Harvest Moon" - some weird wild freaky stuff going on this past week. Wanting this week to be OVER!

Had a function to go to last night for my daughter (2nd grade), it was the Autumn Family Fun Night sponsored by the PTA - it was activities and such, but then they had a dance for the kids and it was crazy! HA! I was doing the "Electric Slide" with my little girl - first time in what seems like FOREVER that I have actually gotten out there and danced. Even with my bad back. Point is, I didn't hide in the shadows as per normal. I went right out there and became part of the party. I didn't even shy away when the resident photographer who takes pics at all the functions for the school took my pic while I was dancin! How funny!

Yeah, things are starting to happen. What a concept.

My eating yesterday? Simple - I pan fried celery and beef for lunch and had my Creole Catfish for supper.

Not a long post today. Still a bit weary from yesterday, feeling better, just not 100% - my friend JPS has a 'theory' about why we get like this from time to time. She feels there are times when our bodies are not getting the nutrients we need from our abnormal fat cells - that at a point our fat cells have nothing but junk to offer us and it makes us feel like crud. Well, if that is true, and she is not scientist, then it would explain the feeling of yuck.

So with that, I will leave you all to your daily duties.

Have a GREAT day!

Biz

September 27, 2007 - Day 12 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 202
Today 202
0 Lost Overnight
12.4 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
48.8 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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

Well, lookie there, I got a little cocky yesterday and I paid for it with a "NO LOSS" - believe me when I tell you that I had to resist the urge to measure this morning - I made a deal with myself at the beginning of this round that I would only measure once a week. And I am keeping that deal.

Ok...so here are a few things I did wrong yesterday:

1. I drank iced tea - with caffeine - and with Stevia but in any case, I never drink caffeine iced tea, hardly, maybe not never.
2. I had cut up chicken for me for the next few days and I had like this .7 ounce piece left over, and so I just threw that in with my lunch - so in actuality I had about 4.2 oz of chicken at lunch. I should know better.
3. And then, I had a LOT of salt yesterday. Yes, a LOT. Can you say water retention?
4. Water intake? FOR THE BIRDS! I drank one liter, and then the other maybe 1/2 to 3/4 liter came from that blasted tea.
   

So all things considered, I am ok with it. No worries. I had a very good run, and it was about time for my body to do what it normally does, and that is STAIR STEP!

Speaking of stair stepping, I had written on one of the blogs I visit that I would post a graph of my weight loss so far. Pretty impressive if you ask me (you can click on it to make it larger):




Now, if you look closely at that graph, you will see that I stalled 9 different times during my first round - 4 times I stalled at 3 days the same weight and 5 times I stalled at 2 days the same weight. So I am FULLY prepared for this. But the important thing to remember is that the general trend is DOWN DOWN DOWN.

So I am 1.2 pounds away from hitting that 50 pounds gone mark! And 2.2 pounds away from UNDER 200! I am going to WILL my body to do that all in one day, so that we can have ONE celebration instead of two!

So what were my meals yesterday? I had Renee's fantastic WHITE CHILI for lunch! It was MMM MMM GOOD! She mentioned that she is on a soup kick. I just find that soup is very comforting. It forces you to eat slowly and so you can feel the fullness and the goodness. I had that with celery, and then I just whipped up steak and celery stir fry for dinner. I need to try her Apple Crisp. Maybe today. Never really been an "apple pie" fan, but I am getting kinda tired of just plain ole apples.

Shout out to my MOM! HI MOM!!! I am so happy your following my progress. You, who have never struggled with your weight, you have a working HYPOTHALAMUS! You lucky dawg you! Why couldn't I have inherited THAT gene from you??? Why did I have to get that from DAD??? Oh well...I am fixing it.

And another thing...thanks to ALL you readers out there. I really appreciate you taking time out of your busy days to glance at what I am doing. It's very encouraging!

Ok...enough of this...

Biz, over and out.

September 26, 2007 - Day 11 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 203
Today 202
1 Lost Overnight
12.4 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
48.8 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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

Boring day yesterday for food choices again. I had it all in my mind that I was going to try Renee's new White Chili recipe, and when I got to my freezer to pull out meat I found I had run out of chicken! So, like the bad girl that I am, I had to have beef twice again yesterday - I had a ground beef patty for lunch with a lettuce salad, and some leftover grilled steak with onions for dinner. Today I will be creative.

Yesterday was an emotionally draining day. I don't need those anymore. There must have been some sort of gravitational pull from the moon that made everyone crazy. People acting out of character including myself. Today, I feel like a new person, with new direction and light at the end of the tunnel. So moving forward.

I have to say, that I felt much better yesterday than I did the day before. Hunger was definitely not an issue yesterday. I made it through the day without incident. I will stick to the 166iu dose today and see where I am and then I will cut back again. It's such a strange feeling to be hungry after all this time of NOT being hungry. It wasn't a craving type of hunger, not the kind of hunger that I could down anything in my path - in fact, not for once did I ever think to 'cheat' - that isn't even in the cards.

Here is a little shout out to my sister, who had to listen to my rants yesterday over the phone - thank you my Tita for being there. I know I am a "Purist" at heart, but when something works, why mess with the program. And being called on the rug for incidentals, well, it just rubbed me the wrong way and I appreciate you being there for a sounding board. Your about the best sister I could have in the world. There is nothing quite like the love of one who is both a sister and a friend. Thank you for being there. I love you dearly.

Ok, enough sappy stuff. I don't do sappy stuff well.

On to another day. I can't wait to go back to sleep so that I can see what I lost in the morning! HA! And it's only 6am! I crack myself up!

Biz

September 25, 2007 - Day 10 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 204.6
Today 203
1.6 Lost Overnight
11.4 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
47.8 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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

This is my blog, and I am allowed to be snarky if I want to. So be aware, I am about to be very snarky.

[snarky] Ok, sometimes I wonder. If I see something that is working for other people, I see the results, I strive to do whatever they are doing, or at least similar. When I was first starting this protocol and doing my research, my sister sent me to the Yahoo Groups "HCG Dieters" - I found a ton more groups on the web in regards to doing this protocol, but this particular group impressed me in that they were striving 'as a whole' to follow what I had read in the Dr Simeon's manuscript "Pounds and Inches". Ok - I saw results, I saw pictures, I saw that these people were genuinely working together to provide similar results in doing things the way Dr Simeons had outlined, or at least very very close.

Now, for the life of me, I can't figure out why people are wanting to make this a fad diet. It's not a fad diet, it's a medically proven program that if followed will give results across the board, no matter how little, or how much you have to lose. The group has become what Dr Simeon's so plainly put in his manuscript:

The most tiresome patients are those who start counting Calories and then come up with all manner of ingenious variations which they compile from their little books. When one has spent years of weary research trying to make a diet as attractive as possible without jeopardizing the loss of weight, culinary geniuses who are out to improve their unhappy lot are hard to take.

I am getting quite tiresome of reading posts that describe the various ingenious ways of adding things to the eating portion of this protocol and touting it as the end all answer of doing this thing correctly.

Before I get flamed, I do know that there are things that I am doing that go in direct contrast to Dr Simeons - for example, I take my shots SC, I tried SubLingual applications, I took a 3 week break instead of 6. But I don't tout for one moment changing the diet portion of this program. I feel that there is a difference in technology that allows the administering of the HCG differently than in his day - and I also feel that Dr S based the conclusions of his research on the lowest common denominator that would work for each and every client and provide success. But I don't think the "food" portion of his diet should be messed with.

I posted the following at the HCG2 Dieters Group yesterday:

Now that I have some time to truly digest this topic, let me add something else.

Why is it that we want to add to this protocol the "comfort" foods that we are so desperately trying to get rid of cravings to? Pasta is a comfort food plain and simple. I can't help but think that Dr S not only picked the foods he did because of their chemical balance, but also to teach us how to survive on not eating certain things. The man was a pure genius, and he didn't just deal with our physical bodies, but he dealt with psychological aspects also. So what if all of this was groundwork he used for us to get UNUSED to eating certain types of foods?

Let's talk Dr Atkins for a minute. Most of us have tried the low carb diet, and most of us know it works beautifully. Dr Atkins had his formula down back in the early 70's but because of various pressures along the way he had to change his diet to 'fit the times' - so much so that his organization before he died was doing all the low carb "comfort foods" - and really, if you ask me, that was the downfall of low carbing. When you start adding in all the fake stuff, you are no better off then you were when you began. If you cannot control your intake of "junk food" - no matter how they package it, then really, you will be back in the same boat you were before you even began.

I know it sounds contradictory to what I posted before, but I got to thinking, even if I could eat this "zero" calorie pasta garbage, would I want to? Would I want to get my cravings back for foods like that? I cannot express how grateful I am that I am "CRAVING" bananas instead of chips. That I could make my famous pizza dip for my family last night and not wish I had some. That I don't find myself wishing for a big
plate of spaghetti, but instead look forward with eager anticipation to my Thai Cucumber Beef Salad.

Would I be in this place had I tried this "zero" stuff? Honestly, I don't think so. I don't know because I didn't do it, but I do know that because I didn't do it, I am in this place. Did that even make sense? It did in my head.

So THAT my friends is my story, the one I am sticking to.

This is how I feel. I don't know how much posting I will do over at the HCG Dieters board anymore. It seems that the new folks on there are looking for a simple and easy way out of this obesity problem. My fear is that they will not learn the valuable lessons that Dr S wanted us to learn about our cravings and attachments to food. I do feel strongly, especially if you have hundreds of pounds to lose, that you must do what is right for you. But please don't come off as the expert and tell everyone else it will work for them too.

I am saddened by this. Truly.

As a side point ... any product that tells you that you will have to watch your intake of something because it might give you the runs? Um, NO THANKYOU. God gave us NATURAL things to help MOVE things along. I don't need to eat pasta to become regular. [/snarky]

That all being said - WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT LOSS??? WOO HOO!!! I cant believe I am 10 days into the program and I have losing at this rate! Good for me!

Yesterday? I was EXTREMELY hungry - and nothing was satiating it, not my water, not my food. I told JPS that I wanted to go ahead and up my dosage today to see if that helps. So this morning I took about 166iu - let's see if that helps the hunger. This hunger thing is for the birds! I thought it was just a fluke on Friday with hunger, but again yesterday got me to wondering. I was also very fatigued - towards the afternoon I really didn't want to do anything.

Ok, so is this immunity? No, don't think so. Is this part of ending my menses (which finally STOPPED THANK YOU VERY MUCH)? I don't know. Could it be the fact that I lost 1.6 pounds over night? WHO KNOWS??? Is it because I only took a 3 week break? I TOLD YOU I DON'T KNOW!!! The only thing I know to try is to up my dosage and see if that works.

So I will let you know my progress.

BTW - Renee from HCG Recipes says she will be posting my Thai Cucumber Beef Recipe today!

Whew, I have spent too much time on this this morning, I have things to do so I must bid you adieu.

Biz

September 24, 2007 - Day 9 of VLCD (Round Two)

Round 2 Starting Weight 214.4
Yesterday 206.8 (Really, Friday Morning - Last Known Real Weight)
Today 204.6
2.2 Lost Overnight (Since Friday Morning - Last Known Real Weight)
9.8 Lost Since Start of Round Two (VLCD) 09/16/07
46.2 Lost Since Start of Protocol (VLCD) 06/26/07

Here is my menu.

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

First, I have to tell all those wonderful people out there how incredibly warm it makes me feel to hear all of your comments. It's so nice to know that by my posting updates, it's helping some out there. I do it for accountability, but it gives me warm fuzzies to hear from you folks - so don't stop! ROFL

Second, I have to tell you how happy I am to have my scale back! WOO HOO!!! It's about stinking time! Did you SEE that number? UNDER 205! Ok...now, I am back to where I was back in April of 2004 when I got home from spending some time helping family in California. That is where my downward spiral started, when I tasted a macadamia nut white chocolate chip cookie - it was all down hill from there. WOW - WOW - WOW - I just can't say it enough. WOW - this HCG thing is too cool!

Third, my food yesterday was so so - I had chicken soup for lunch, and a steak lettuce salad with strawberry dressing - oh well, today I will try to be a bit more creative.

Fourth, no long post for today - time is flying away from me.

Biz