Another New Beginning - 01.20.08 - Round 4 - 1st "Load" Day

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 180.6 lbs
5.2 OVER LIW

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

HA! I had you folks going yesterday didn't I?

I can't tell you my "secret" yet, but know that I am feverishly working on it behind the scenes.

So this is what I ate yesterday, no set schedule. A banana, an apple, some Oreos and some Nutter Butters, an Omelet with Spam, tomatoes, cheese, green and red onions, and then some Chili with Frito's for supper with some Red Velvet Cake for dessert. Yeah, I started "loading" a little early. A total of around 1643 calories divided this way: 80 Fat, 168 Carbs, 68 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

Thanks Becca, for filling out the survey! Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only


Another New Beginning

Today marks the beginning of my 4th round. 4th ROUND! WOW! Can you even believe it? I can't, seriously. JPS mixed up our stuff last night (it took her all of 5 minutes) and as we were pulling our injections for this morning (we always pull the night before) we both looked at each other and cracked up. We were like, OMG! Another round!

We are both SO ready. I am ready to see the 160's, and she is ready to see the 140's. We will both be there come the 17th of Feb, which will be our LIW.

I am not setting any goals yet, not until I know what my weight will be post "load". Let's discuss loading for a minute. A few days ago I asked your opinion of loading. I got varied answers and I appreciate all of them. I am going to perform a test for this round. I am seriously not going to "load" to capacity. I am going to eat things I generally don't eat (like the lemon bars JPS is making for me today) but I am not going to STUFF myself. I will keep a detailed account of my feelings, and I promise to be completely candid as to hunger and the like.

Point of interest. I have not had coffee since Thursday the 11th. Not one drop. I have drank tea (dandelion in particular) but I drink NOTHING in my tea. I think I will be able to do this next round without coffee! And I was dreading that, quite frankly. JPS keeps asking me daily, are you still not drinking coffee? And I am like, nope, and she says, that's just wrong. ROFL

So I gave myself my first injection for the start of this round this morning. Not one iota of an issue. I didn't hesitate whatsoever.

There are a few new blogs on the horizon, pay them a visit if you can and welcome them into our community!

We have Ed and Jennifer! Jennifer has been an avid commenter to our little community for quite a while, but has finally decided to join us in BLOGGING! WOO HOO!!! She shares this journey with her husband.

We have Monica - Monica is another avid commenter and has been around for quite awhile, just hadn't started the protocol until just recently. I gotta say, she is having PHENOM results! Welcome her please!

Finally we have someone I wandered on to from Winston's blog - thanks Winston for the link. Fattycakes just started the protocol herself and she could use some of our community blog love!


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

Jennifer - hehe, mastery level, I LOVE IT! You always have the coolest little sayings. You are just gonna have to hang on sweetie, I can't let the cat out of the bag yet! Rewards are given to those with patience.

Becca - Oh yeah, the Margarita was so worth it. It was an indulgence I don't take part in very often. Me and Tequila? Well let's just say me and Jose have a history, and it isn't pretty. ROFL - Keep that head start my friend, because I am ON MY WAY! ROFL - THANKS for filling out the FAQ - it's been WAITING for you! LOL - now I can switch to another question...LOL

Monica - It is! It's something that I have seriously been working on for about 10 days, trying to find JUST the right thing and it all came together yesterday morning and I was just like jumping up and down in my chair. You folks will hear about it soon enough, just have patience.

Mary - HA! You folks are so funny! I am hoping things are the way you say, I am hoping my round will be killer! My third round was too much to ask for, can I be selfish and expect the same thing??? We can dream eh?

B - You should know by now that I always have something up my sleeve ... I gotta do something to keep you folks coming back! LOL

Until tomorrow, Biz

Another Short Update - 01.19.08 - D10P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 183.2 lbs
7.8 OVER LIW

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

Before all of you positively go BONKERS, let me tell you what happened this morning. I am working on some things that are secret (shhhhhh) and I got so excited while working on this project this morning that I completely forgot to weigh myself at the right time. So I weighed just a bit ago, and this is AFTER I have already drunk almost 2 liters of water and have eaten a banana. So not so bad, considering I had Mexican last night, which included a MARGARITA (or two!). If a gallon of water weighs 8 lbs, then a half a gallon is 4 lbs, and 2 liters is about a half a gallon, you can see where all that extra weight came from this morning!

So this is what I ate yesterday, no set schedule. A banana, some leftover steak and some of my Mock Potato Salad, some of those Arare (Japanese Crackers), a couple of Oreo Cookies (double stuff no less), and then Mexican. I had some Spanish Rice with some Taco Meat with some chips and salsa. You know that I am just full of salt. If my FitDay is close to the amount of sodium recorded, it says I had over 5000 mg!!!

I am seriously ready for Phase 2!!!!!!!!!!

A total of around 2010 calories divided this way: 79 Fat, 186 Carbs, 83 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only


Tomorrow I start my Round 4 Phase 2 - WOO HOO!!!!

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

Mary - Yup, I got my Mexican in! I was happy, and now I am content to start P2 again!

Ewewho - Oh yes darlin! I am ready to be a loser!

Monica - It was a taste of home, that is for sure. I enjoyed it again yesterday!

Jennifer - I'm ready already! Tomorrow is my first injection for Round 4! I didn't realize you were that short! My sister is 4'11.5" (she always adds that .5"!) and so I know of wanting a little lower weight for that size body. She is 60 this year, and she feels 125 is a good weight for her age. She is hoping it accomplish that in one more round. Mmmmm, WINE! There is another LUSH out there, WENDY!!! Where are you my sweet???

Crystal - No, don't go to an Asian store, it's NOT good for you! ROFL

Later gaters,

Biz

Short Update - 01.18.08 - D09P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 179.0 lbs
3.6 OVER LIW

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

It all started with a trip to the Asian Market with my husband who stayed home yesterday because of the rain. That was the beginning of the end for me! LOL - While there, something caught my eye, and I wanted something I haven't had in a very VERY long time. In Hawaii we call it "Kaki Mochi" which is basically a Rice Cracker coated with Soy Sauce (also called "Arare") - I wanted it, I didn't care about the gain it would produce, after all, I am headed to another round starting Sunday!

Oh the things we tell ourselves! Anyway, I am sure the sodium (and MSG!) from that plus the WINE I drank all contributed to the .8 gain (and let's not forget the Cheesy Garlic Bread I indulged in as well!). No worries, I have it under control - it's funny how I can almost predict what will happen these days. A total of around 2184 calories divided this way: 113 Fat, 125 Carbs, 104 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only


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

Mary - Most assuredly I have a sensitivity to sodium, that is very obvious as I go through this break, that is for sure! Yup! Sunday will be my first injection!

Crystal - I will definitely let you know how it goes! I am so glad your enjoying the FlyLady thing! It has done wonders for me!!!

Jennifer - Well I tried your WINE thing yesterday! ROFL - I don't think it was the White Zin that did it to me this time, it was those tiny DELISH Japanese Crackers! ROFL - I got to comment on your blog yesterday! WOO HOO!!!

Ewewho - Superwoman? NOT! ROFL - Yes, she is a dear to help me out. That was I can focus on what I do best and that is to WRITE WRITE WRITE! Oh yeah, and lose weight too! ROFL

Renee - It's ok my sweet, I totally understand. I will be joining you shortly!

Becca - Oh yeah, I am back to the "if it ain't to die for then it ain't worth it"!!! I will be joining you SOON!

Take it easy people!

Biz

Could It Be? - 01.17.08 - D08P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 178.2 lbs
2.8 OVER LIW

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

I did not keep to my usual "MO" yesterday. I did eat a banana, an orange, an apple, some leftover Char Siu Pork Rib, broccoli with cheese, sour cream and bacon bits, and then for dinner it was a few home made chicken wings with blue cheese dressing and some awesome Spinach Artichoke Dip WITH chips. Yes, the CHIPS were responsible for the weight gain, and I fully expected it...oh yeah, and beer. So no worries ok? A total of around 1908 calories divided this way: 109 Fat, 107 Carbs, 92 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only



Could it be the beer maybe?

There used to be a time when I would drink beer and LOSE the next day, not so much nowadays! I don't know if the beer was responsible for the gain or was it the small amount of chips I ate? Everything else I had yesterday should NOT have caused a gain. This will be a thing I will concentrate on during my next break. I seriously don't want to give up my beer! ROFL - I should have listened to my better judgment and made my own cheese chips instead of eating those Tostidos - so I really don't know if it was one or the other.

I do know that this morning I have this weird feeling in my mouth, very dried out. I only had TWO beers so it's not a hangover type thing people! ROFL - I do believe I am having a reaction to the processed chips. Hmmmm....I have to learn not to put too many variables into the equation for me to make informed decisions.

Thanks for the all the understanding comments yesterday on my 'writer's block'. But I especially want to thank the kind people who jotted me an email about the statement I made yesterday about my hypo being healed because it's not taking me as long to get back to LIW as it would in the past when I would deviate.

There seems to be more than a few people out there that have experienced the exact same thing. I am so glad that they wrote me to let me know this because that actually gives me MORE faith in the program working the way it's supposed to. Wow, that feels good. I am not the only one!!!

And this goes out to a special person out there that has agreed to help me get my 'act together' - I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment on the direction this blog is taking and I called out for help from a fellow HCG'r and she has agreed to help me get organized. I am sure you all know the insane amount of contact I have with people, coming now from all over the world and I enjoy doing it, but it's just become overwhelming as of late. This kind soul has agreed to help me put it all into perspective.

I just want to write. Write about my experience, write about my research, write about my theories (you KNOW I love coming up with theories), write about the protocol, write about the successes, write about the not so much successes (I hate the word 'failures'), I just want to concentrate on writing - not organizing my blog. And this wonderful woman out there has agreed to help me.

So watch for some upcoming changes - all in the attempt to keep everyone more informed of this miracle we possess.

Which leads me to this - if I were to ask you to give me a list of keywords that a person would search to get particular information on my blog, what would be the words? For example, would you want to search for information on my "Round 2 Phase 2"? Would you want information on "Recipes"? Those would be particular keywords to search for to get particular information. Can you readers help me out? I guess they would also call them "tags" - HELP!


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

Marshall! - How great it was 'chatting' with you yesterday, thanks for that! A male perspective is always very much appreciated! And thank you so much for your kind words!

Lili - OMG - I was getting worried there for a minute - I thought I was going to have to get JPS to interpret what you were writing to me (she is bilingual) - HA! Could the baths have really been it Lili? WOW! Could it have been THAT simple??? I am sure that eating correctly is a good thing as well!!! $25 a piece? That is about what we can get it for here thru our sources, so .... hmmm .... UGH! Scorpions! We had those in Hawaii, they are NOT pretty - the bites are UGH too! Geesh, is it already time for you to come back? It was just YESTERDAY you left! I can't wait to see those pearly whites!

Mary - Thanks girl! Had a little bump today, but not worried about it.

CB - Girl - it's nothing but a thing. We are all learning along the way, what a journey eh???

Crystal - HA! It's so hard to determine about the load. I have always had the impression that Dr S gave us that 'fill to capacity' for more psychological reasons than physical reasons. If you go back to some of my summer posts you will see that I felt that way back then. There was a huge discussion over on the HCG Dieters board about it and the general consensus was that the first load was there to make us so sick of food that we could survive the first few days of the VLCD without issue, I am sure there is a fat store correlation, but I don't think subsequent rounds require a 'fill up'. BUT, this is ME and my theories! I think I am going to test this one out this round and see.

Jennifer - WOO HOO on the new blog! I will be adding it to my daily reads! I went there yesterday but there were no posts for me to leave a comment on, you silly woman you! Your blog looks GREAT! I just love it! I can't wait to follow your progress.

Monica - Another one with a new blog! WOO HOO!!! I just love it! Thanks for understanding!

Becca - HA! So there, I LOVE IT! You are da bomb!!!

Have a great day!

Biz

I'm Legal Again! - 01.16.08 - D07P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 177.4 lbs
2.0 OVER LIW

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

I ate apples, bananas, oranges, walnuts, leftover steak for a snack (twice!), a great big green mixed salad with House Italian dressing with a bit of Pork Char Siu on top with Bleu Cheese for lunch - and then dinner consisted of a another great big green salad with leftover Huli Huli Chicken with House Italian dressing sprinkled with Feta Cheese this time. A total of around 1959 calories divided this way: 108 Fat, 128 Carbs, 129 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only


Lookie there, it only took me almost 3 weeks, but I am back down to "legal limits" - wow, that was totally enlightening!!! Let me tell you this people - I was 183.4 on Friday morning - 8 lbs above my LIW and today I am only 2 lbs over. 6 lbs lost in 5 days. Pre-HCG this would NEVER happen. Any little deviation I would have on Atkins would cause a gain of about 4 or 5 pounds and then it would take literally 2 or 3 weeks (or MORE) to come off.

I am wondering if my hypo is really getting healed. I shouldn't expect to eat junk and NOT gain, after all I am a menopausal woman prone to major fluxes in life. But my body seems to be remembering this LOWER set point and when giving it the proper 'fuel' is eager to get back down to that point. This happened in my 2nd break and it has now happened in my third. I have gained an incredible amount of weight eating NOT RIGHT but have been able to lose it quickly and FAST instead of SLOW - there is something to this. The trick is like I have mentioned before, being aware.

What is it that they say? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Thank you Ben Franklin for stating it so well. Nuff said.

Sorry folks Splenda discussion will have to wait for a bit, not finished with researching yet. It's a big job to research and then put this all into a format that I can understand it all!

Couple that with the fact that I am in a bit of a writing slump right now. I have thousands of things to write about in my head that it's a bit overwhelming. I need to take a few days and get my act together so that I can come back in full force.

Oh the joys of being a writer. The dreaded "writer's block" - this is where I am right now - can't think of a thing to say - so excuse me if I take the next few days to regroup and get back up to that creative edge I had not to long ago.

I will still update - so no worries there. I might even have a surprise or two for you! Who knows, my mojo might come back by tomorrow!


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

Mary - Two of my friends both chimed in with a response, no load is necessary after the initial load. Hmmm, interesting, going to gather more information before I make a final decision on this.

Crystal - I am not quite sure how loading at the beginning can have any effect on what happens on the end. Could you explain your reasoning on this? I always understood the loading to happen because of needing to fill up fat stores so that the initial days of 500 cal would not effect you - subsequent days would be taken care of by the HCG being full in your system by then. Help me understand what your trying to say ok?

Monica - !!! At first I didn't know who you were and then when I went to your profile I discovered it was YOU! I am SO glad you are taking this journey to blog! Good for you! It will help YOU most of all to have a record of your progress, and then it will help US also! And I am selfish like that!

Wendy - My sister has Fuch's Dystrophy, a degenerating disease of the eye. She is having a cornea transplant. Thanks for asking! WOO HOO I can't wait to get back on P2 - this time it's for a specific purpose, I want to look GOOD when I go to CA! WOO HOO FOR ME! hehe

Take care people, and thanks for understanding.

Biz

Back on Track! - 01.15.08 - D06P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 178.0 lbs
2.6 OVER LIW

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

Another day that I didn't stick to a Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner thing yesterday. One more day of mostly fresh, raw food. I ate apples, bananas, oranges, walnuts, some steamed broccoli with cheese and sour cream (YUM!) - and then dinner consisted of a great big green salad with some Feta Avocado Tomato Salsa - with a leftover piece of Huli Huli Chicken. A total of around 1762 calories divided this way: 96 Fat, 157 Carbs, 90 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only


Back on track, on the computer end and on the maintaining end! I might just be able to get to around LIW before I start loading on Sunday (the 20th) - if I decide to load! LOL

The age old question, should I or shouldn't I load? I have a friend that decided she didn't want to load and just eat regular before she began her next round and then she was going to let us know whether or not that made a difference. I have to get with her to find out if that had any effect on her first few days. She has been on it for about 10 days now (this is her 3rd round) so by now she would know if not "loading" made a difference. Hmmm - I will try to get with her today.

As I feel right now, I don't want to load, but we all know that can change. And JPS announced that she was making a Red Velvet Cake and some Lemon Bars for this weekend - and these were two of my faves (even tho I wasn't a sweet eater, I did like these two things) so we shall see.

My goal this upcoming round is 1 day less than 4 weeks. That means I will be on the VLCD portion of P2 from 22nd of Jan till the 20th of February with my first day of P3 eating being that day. The 20th of Feb coincides with me heading to California to help my sister with her transplant surgery that is coming up on the 10th of Feb. So that will be nice that I don't have to focus in on 500 cal eating while I am traveling.

Depending on where I start my 4th round weight wise will be my determining factor on my goal of weight loss for the round. I can take the numbers for my first two rounds and come up with an estimate on how much I should be able to lose during the 4 week period. On my 4th week anniversary on my 1st round I was at 9.49% body weight lost, and on my 4th week anniversary on my 2nd round I was at 10.17% body weight lost, if I take the average of the two, I should be able to expect to lose approximately 9.83% of my body weight in 4 weeks, give or take.

So let's just say for the sake of argument that I start my VLCD 6 lbs over my LIW - I think this is a fair estimation of things ... since I was 5.8 over my LIW at the start of my 3rd round! Anyway, let's just pretend ... that would mean that I was starting the round at 181.4 - a 9.83% loss would mean about 17 pounds, if I lost that much during those 4 weeks, then I would be around 165 when I went to California! That would be JUST GRAND!

Thanks for working the numbers with me!

Splenda conversation coming up tomorrow!


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

Monica! - Hey girl! It's so good to have you back! And you just couldn't resist eh??? You're so sweet to say such nice things! You should start a blog anyway, you will be happy if you do, it's a good way to keep accountable and to watch your own progress!

Crystal - OMG! I can't believe I wrote that! I was writing so darn fast and I didn't re-read like I usually do...OMG! I have to fix that! I am glad you got a laugh out of it tho!

Mary - They were delish! OMG! Char Siu is SO GOOD!

BB - OMG! It's so good to have you back, I didn't get to any blogs yesterday so I will be making my rounds this morning! Can't wait to see what you have updated!

B - All fixed now, and back on track!

Becca - Good to have you back, I sure missed you! Have you decided on a start date yet???

Take it easy folks!

Biz

Computer Issues Today - 01.14.08 - D05P4R3

LIW - 175.4 lbs (12/17/07)
Today's Weight - 178.8 lbs
3.4 OVER LIW

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

Again, I didn't stick to a Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner thing yesterday. It was another day of mostly fresh, raw food all day long with the exception of brunch and dinner. So I ate apples, bananas, oranges, pecans, cherries, an omelet with steak, cheese, tomatoes and green onions, and then dinner consisted of Grilled Char Siu Pork Chops with a bit of Fried Rice (couldn't resist, and is probably accountable for the small weight gain) along with some Feta Avocado Tomato Salsa. A total of around 1800 calories divided this way: 110 Fat, 134 Carbs, 83 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

Please fill out this survey if you haven't already! Stalls, Gains and Cravings - What to do? P2 Experience Only



Having computer issues this morning, so not posting much. I can barely get from site to site, and I have done everyone on my end I know to do to fix it, so I have to wait until hubby gets up to do the rest. That wont be until later on this morning.

Thanks for understanding!



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

Renee - P2 begins again on the 20th! I honestly CAN'T wait again!

Mary - Seriously, the no coffee thing is really REALLY strange! I love my coffee!!! Especially when it's cold, and it was COLD again yesterday and yet, NO COFFEE! What is UP with that???

Crystal - THANKS darlin for that bit of information, I truly appreciate it!

Have a good one peeps!

Biz