July 25, 2011

Where does the time go?!? I feel like there is no "me time" anymore, so I've had to let this slide once again...

The good news is I'm into Phase Three now and I couldn't be much happier. I finally can have broccoli and green beans and other things minus starches and sugar that I want. You would be amazed at how much starch I ate prior Phase Two. I thought cause I didn't each alot of bread and rice that I didn't eat alot, but I was so wrong. I'm counting down the days till I can have spaghetti! That I miss the most =)

I thought I was going to have problems the last three days of phase two, because basically you stay on the 500 cal diet but without the drops. They were a breeze. My body didn't even notice it didn't have them. I didn't have hunger pains like I expected. Today however is a different story. I think this means I haven't eaten enough, but i am starving! Hopefully my body will adjust soon enough to not having the drops, still not eating sugar or starch, and only eating about 1000-1200 cals per day.

I will say that phase two was extremely successful! I lost a total of 21 lbs, 2 dress sizes and I feel great. I will be doing this again, but next time I will only do the 23 day program. I believe with how my daily life is scheduled that the 40 day program was extremely hard to not have cheat days. I want to do better next time and really stay focus the whole time. I know this means that I will have to do more cycles but I think I will be able to get better results in a shorter amount of time.

Next session is scheduled to begin just after I get back from Shannon's wedding in California, September 12.

Since I started this life change with HCG almost two months ago, it has been unreal the number of times that I've heard the drops advertised on the radio and in magazines. It's like HCG hit the US overnight. Although I believe in this process and personally know the successes first hand and over a longer period of time as I've watched a friend already do several rounds; it is frustrating to me to see it miss advertised. It's sad because this diet actually works and it's not just for certain types of people, it works on everyone. The principles that it is based around, the research everything is not being given to the public correctly. It's not some fad, but that's what it's being turned into.

My advise to anyone that should read this....If you are really interested in losing weight and want to try the HCG drop, do your research. Read Dr. Simeon's Pounds & Inches. This process by far is one of the hardest diets/life changes that I've ever been on. Going to the gym, eating right that's all so easy in comparison. This isn't for the weak, if your not going to give it 110% everyday then don't bother because it's not for you.

Until next time...

July 15, 2011

So here's the deal. I'm on the home stretch of being completely done with phase two of this diet!! I am so incredibly happy with the results. I'm hoping for a big mile stone to be hit by Monday and then I will just be over joyed.

Here's the skinny on this past couple of days.

5 in 5 - that's the big goal and if I stay focused I know I can do it.

I've been wondering throughout this entire process how alcohol effect you with the medicine. There have been ALOT of functions that i've had to "opt-out" of drinking. This probably has been one of the harder things for me. Now, let me clarify....I'm not an alcoholic and I really don't drink that much but I have noticed that there are alot of summer parties and with that drinking is there. That being said, I found out last night what it does to you. I had a client meeting and drinking was going to be a must. I had tried to figure out a way, so I plotted with my roommates on what to do. We came up with Vodka Water. This would be the simplest solution, we however, didn't take into account that it's been an extended period of time since I drank last. Do you see where this is going?!? This morning was brutal, I still can not believe how I felt and that at 2:30pm I still feel a little drunk. It's probably making it worse that I really didn't have food in my system before I started drinking; drinking rule #1 broken. And when I finally did eat, it was bar food. Nothing on the diet what-so-ever! drinking rule #26 broken.

I honestly don't ever want to drink again! Now, I know this may (will) change but for now and on the next round of this, drinking is out. It causes too much damage.

Blonde moment of the day: I'm struggling today and I wish I could blame this on that, but it's not going to be that easy. See I didn't just make this mistake today, I also made it in NYC a couple of weekends ago while Kev and Alicia were here. Sprite. I thought I was doing really good. Only on two occasions have I had anything other than water/tea/coffee to drink (excluding the alcohol last night). I needed a pick me up to get me over the hump of this hangover. I mean trying to draw in AutoCAD is not easy when the room is spinning and your head is pounding and your body hates you. I go to the Farm and I almost opted for a coke, but after surveying my options I went with the sprite - no caffeine, the obvious choice.....WRONG. Until I was talking with Shannon, I didn't realize that sprite has a butt load of Sugar in it!! I was mortified, that's why i didn't get the G2.

• Day 30: July 06, 2011

So, I've got a lot to catch up on and several hurdles to tell you about. Here's what you've missed in between.....

06.18.11 A real cheat day – this was earlier than expected, but an unpredictable day that just happened and left me unprepared with my meals. I guess I should also tell you about the previous two days, in which I didn’t have an appetite at all. Two days on nothing but the drops and water. I can’t explain it other than I was just not hungry. So, I wake up on Saturday morning, starving and needing to hit the road really early to go to the motorcross races. My goal: to get autographed memorabilia for the fundraiser.

Meals for the day: chick-fil-a mini’s for breakfast, peanut butter and jelly sandwich on wheat bread for lunch and (2) slices of pizza for dinner. Tons of water! I was outside all day in the heat and after eating all of this junk I felt disgusting and sick.

To my surprise I lost weight this day.

06.19.11 Another disappointing day – From the races I went to Mauricio’s house to see him and spend the day with him. Again, I didn’t prepare and thought that I would just go without food all day. My body had a different thing in mind. I don’t know if it was not eating for two days or because I ate so much the day before but I was really hungry all day. I finally broke down and ate a bowl of broccoli cheddar soup with a baguette from Panera. Although I was trying to watch my calorie intake and keep it under 500 cals, I knew deep down that a cheat was a cheat. Just because I had given in and cheated at lunch, I tried to stay strong the rest of the day. It was my first really unusual day in that I actually smelled things in the air that weren’t there. Crazy I know!!

I thought Mauricio was going to rule with an iron fist while I was around him, but I learned he can’t stand to see me suffer. And instead of telling me to suck it up and get over it, he indulged me in 1/2 of his hot dog (without bread). The single worst thing that I have done to date and I still blame that ½ of a hot dog for the next weeks events.

06.20.2011 - 06.23.2011 As you can imagine, I gained weight two pounds to be exact but this was no surprise to me either. I was extremely disappointed in myself, but I pulled myself up by my boot straps and got back on the band wagon. I was so disciplined this week. I even did okay on my site visit to Bradley, IL. Trust me it wasn’t easy and carrying around a bag FULL of goodies and homemade cookies from the owner of the school. But the day was extremely busy and eating wasn’t an option for majority of the day.

Nothing…still nothing…..215 I hate you….really?!? Nothing! This is what I sounded like every morning for 5 days. I’m not going to lie, I really wanted to throw in the towel. I thought I would never get past 215. No matter what I did or didn’t do.

06.24.2011 Just had to get through the day because Alicia and Kevin were coming into town!! I was so excited but a little nervous too just cause I knew Saturday in NYC would be my next cheat day and I didn’t want to cheat anymore, gaining wasn’t an option. My nerves were calmed the minute I saw both of them. I knew it really didn’t matter and I just wanted to enjoy my time with them. We started out by going to one of my favorite places, Mother’s. Kevin wanted a burger and that was the place to go from what everyone says. This was my first of many experiences of going to dinner and not eating. I think it was awkward for everyone, but we made it through.

After our dinner conversation on my current plateau situation, Alicia made the assumption that since it takes two days to show your “cheat” then immediately after your cheat day you should have an apple day. Knowing that I was going to cheat the next day, it was a perfect time to test her theory.

06.25.2011 Finally a loss for the day!!! 1.5lbs and I think it was all pee….lol For the first time in almost a week I felt relief in the morning after peeing. Now for NYC…lots of water, ½ a granola bar for breakfast, pizza for lunch at Adrienne’s (really yummy) and a slice of $1 pizza for dinner. I think we were in the heart of pizza country cause by dinner, I honestly think that’s was the only thing to eat over there. We were sick of pizza by the end of the day!

06.26.2011 Like normal, although I don’t think I’ve had a “normal” experience, I lost another 1/2lb. So the test began and trust me it wasn’t easy…Apple day. All I could have while we went to the ball park for a game and Nacho Momma’s for dinner and Vaccaro’s for dessert was apples. I have to thank both Kevin and Alicia for not letting me fall off the deep end and keeping me focused.

I think I determined that 40 days is just way too long for me. I will stick with the 23 day from here on out!

All that focus paid off cause another pound gone!

06.27.2011 Alicia and Kevin’s last day in Baltimore L I was so sad, but since Alicia’s theory worked, I decided that I didn’t want to excuse myself from another day with Alicia and Kevin. Yes, I cheated again…..lol I know you think all I do is cheat!

06.28.2011-07.04.2011 Strict Lady…I had a very successful week of eating. I have been consistently losing and that makes me happy. I have been trying not to look at the week I lost on my plateau and think I would be 5 days lighter had that not happened. I am trying to look at this as a learning experience.

I am also proud that I was able to make it over the weekend at Mauricio’s with my pre-prepared food. That was an accomplishment for me personally. Also, I still haven’t had a coke this entire time. Wow!

07.06.2011 – 12 days to go and 6 lbs to go until I’m at 200. I just need to stay focused and trust in the process. Today was a good day until about an hour ago when I just completely let it all unravel with a papa john’s pizza and a long night of work ahead of me. I don’t know what’s wrong with me at times. Pizza is apparently a weakness of mine, but I’ve got to hold it together. I can’t let rough days at work sidetrack me that easily, but I am beginning to understand myself better.

• Day 8: June 14, 2011

On my way to being a skinny biatch! At some point I was going to have to say it…haha

Today has been a good day, but my appetite has been really low. Do you ever have those moments when you’re really hungry, but you’re in the middle of something and can’t stop and when you finally do; even the smell of food makes you sick? That was me at lunch time today. I was so looking forward to another day of my yummy soup and I just couldn’t stomach it. I tried to eat all of the chicken and as much broth as I could, but the smell of all food just turned my stomach. I didn’t force it, but I’m feeling the effects now as its approaching dinner time. I have been able to spread my snack for the day out this afternoon, so I’m feeling much better. I think I’m dehydrated just a little. Looking back through my daily log, I realized that I didn’t drink hardly anything yesterday. I guess I got caught up in the excitement of Fundraising. Today I’ve made a conscience effort to drink, drink, drink!

As you all know, I’ve still not told most of the people around me that I’m doing this diet. Laura, my coworkers invited me over for steaks this evening…I was scared. Please don’t laugh; it’s the fear that has me scared. It’s been rescheduled for tomorrow evening but I just spoke with Alicia and got some good advice, so I should be fine. Now the question is what to have for dinner tonight…

Since I had both of my breadstick left for the day, I decided to try breaded chicken with a tomato sauce. It was yummy!

• Day 7: June 13, 2011

1.5 pounds drop, bringing the total to 7 pounds!!! I feel like a skinny girl today. Looking forward to my chicken soup for lunch, I’ll let you know how it goes.

Lunch was fabulous! It smelt and tasted so good. I worked on the fundraising all day and was completely distracted and forgot to take my second round of drops until 4:30pm! Yes, that’s right. When I got home, I totally changed the menu for the evening….I don’t know why, but I was craving a burger. I did the next best thing….100g veal patty on the George Foreman. It was thin and crispy and really delicious, that and a side of asparagus was my mini meal for the evening. However, I couldn’t just stop with that. Ever since I mentioned apple sauce on Sunday I have been craving it too. So, I set my goals high and tried another new thing…perfect!

Apple Sauce:

• 1 lg apple peeled and chopped up
• ½ cup water
• Cinnamon as desired
• 1 TBS of Stevia

Let this boil on high for about 30 mins. Then place apple chunks into the magic bullet (aka my new best friend) and puree until desired texture. I also placed one ice cube and diced with the apples. Place in frig or freezer until desired temperature is reached. Enjoy!

I think next time I will have to make more than 1 apple at a time.

Do you know what I’ve come to love about this process? Nothing really takes that long to prepare or to cook, plus I hardly spend anytime cleaning up! Also, I’ve learned a lot of great ways to make things I’ve always enjoyed and can share with my friends.

• Day 6: June 12, 2011

I was so proud of myself when I woke up. I had really survived my first party and I didn’t even cheat! I wanted to see how much progress I had made, so I quickly stripped down and headed to the scale……NOTHING! I was so heartbroken. Over the past couple of days, I had posted significant numbers. Trying not to feel defeated, I began to research why this had happened. I recapped the day in my head, run through my meals with my roommate no cheats took place, so why after what felt like the hardest night of my life did I not drop any weight?

After doing a little research I presumed that the fat being used up was being replaced my water. Although I had drunk plenty of fluids the previous day, my urine output was significantly less than it had been on any other day. Believe it or not, this made me feel better – had I not found anything, I might have taken down the pan of brownies still sitting on the counter from the previous night.

The remainder of the day was well and my appetite wasn’t the same as the previous days. I didn’t eat my afternoon snack or my breadstick at dinner. I will say that there is always an underling “hunger” per say that I have, but I don’t feel famished. Should people always feel this way? I don’t know the answer to this…

Chicken Broth Base:

· 400 grams chicken

· 8 cups water

· 2 cups celery (needed to find a use for it after all)

· Salt/Pepper/Cajun Seasoning/Onion Salt/Garlic Salt

Boil on High for about 30 minutes. In an ice tray separate out base for future use =)

• Day 5: June 11, 2011

My hope was to make this day as easy as possible, but I knew I would need an army of support around me. Today was the day of Leigh’s birthday party/cookout. Not only were we going to have people over drinking and celebrating, there was going to be lot and LOTS of food. None of which I was going to be allowed to touch. Not to mention, the evenings have been a little hard for me. I’ve noticed that about 9:00 – 9:30 pm, I am getting really tired and if I force myself to stay awake, I get really hungry. And just a reminder, other than my roommates no one at this party knows what’s going on. Can you see my dilemma?

The day had gone by really well, but now it was party time. People were arriving at the house, the grill was fired up and music was on, it was do or die time. I had purposefully saved my evening snack and dinner until later, because I didn’t want to “look” like I wasn’t eating and participating. I thought this would through up questions in some of my friends minds. I mean I was already using the excuse that I couldn’t drink because of medicine…what would be my excuse for not eating, plus the smell would’ve drove me insane.

I placed myself at the bar in front of all of the food. I’ve learned that people “think” your participating more if you’re positioned in front of the food. They think your grabbing handfuls of food here and there. This worked to my advantage and even eating diner wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. Before the large crowd got there I simple roasted my asparagus in the oven and heated up my chicken, stating how hungry I was that I just couldn’t wait on the burgers. I think from the night, Wendy was the only one questioning me in her head. I will not be surprised if she doesn’t ask Teri what’s going on.

Other than wanting to punch my roomie in the face and steal her corn on the cob and hot dog, wanting to steal a brownie away from a pregnant friend, I would say that the night was all in all successful. Of course I did none of the above, but the thoughts crossed my mind. Remember, I just in the “beginning” stage of this process. If those are the worse thoughts that crossed my mind, I think I’m doing really well.