VLCD 12 -0.6lbs

Weight 4.29.08 234.6
Total loss this round 16.2lbs

A bit of a slow weight-loss day for me today and that's just fine considering how dramatic last week was. I think the culprit in this case is either the Trader Joe's deodorant I bought on Sunday (the mineral salt spray was just not working adequately for me) or the lip gloss I wore, which I ended up licking off my lips before I realized it probably had oil in it. But then again, a half-pound loss is nothing to sneeze at. I eliminated the lip gloss today but kept the deodorant and we'll see what tomorrow brings. I'll be entering a new decade soon--the scale has not shown 22- for me in years, this is exciting.

I guess it is the nicer spring weather, but I am itching to be more active. I've already asked a friend of mine to start training me with weights in June/July when I'm on my "Phase 3" break. Not exercising was not a problem for me in Jan/Feb, I simply had no inclination, but now I find I want to do things but don't necessarily always have the energy. I hit real troughs in the late afternoon/early evening, and find I'm getting up earlier to accomplish everything I need to in the day.

Just for Fun

VLCD Day 11

Weight Mon 4.28.08: 235.2
Daily Loss: 1.6lbs
Total Loss this round: 15.6lbs

I feel a smidgen more human today after an absolutely crazy week last week. I got a full 8hours of sleep last night, the first such night in a loooonnng time. The weight loss is still good, but for the hiccup on Saturday, and any oil I might have touched/ingested at work does not seem to have affected me, whew.

Yerba Mate tea is delicious, thank you Susan! I put a little bit of the Sweet Leaf Stevia in it and it had a sweet grassy/honey taste to it, a perfect breakfast. Sweet Leaf Stevia is a powdered version of the natural sweetener which does not contain any of the starchy ingredients that a lot of the powdered stevias contain. It really shouldn't affect anyone's weight loss, but we are all different. I also love the liquid flavored stevia you can find at Whole Foods. I put the root beer flavor into sparkling water for a homemade soda and the chocolate raspberry into tea or coffee to add some (pretend) gooey sweetness.

Today was the first day people seemed to notice that I am once again shrinking. I got a lot of 'you look quite svelte there, Helen' thrown in my direction (and one or two comments that can't be posted here...). Felt good. Even my voice teacher, who almost never makes comments about how one looks complimented me. I was feeling a bit chatty so I told him about the protocol and he was very open minded about it. We briefly talked about my concerns over the rapidity with which the weight dropped off last week, and how it affected me vocally, but ultimately decided that it is such a temporary thing that it will not affect me negatively in the long run, voice-wise. I suppose this is something that I might have brought up with him before embarking on the rounds, but I don't think anything anyone could say would have deterred me from doing this Protocol anyway!

I think I am going to shift my injections to the evening as of Wednesday (my skip day). I think it will make more sense as I don't eat anything in the morning, and the wisdom out there seems to be the HCG really works when you're getting a good night's sleep. We'll see how it goes, and hopefully it will quell the raging dragon in my stomach in the mornings. The Yerba Mate is doing a good job, but I just feel like experimenting a bit.

A Weekend Roller Coaster

VLCDs 8,9 and 10 Stats

Weight Sun 4.27.08: 236.8 ( a loss of 1.2)
Weight Sat 4.26.08: 238 (a gain of 1.4)
Weight Fri 4.25.08: 236.6 (a loss of 1.2)
Total 10-day loss: 14lbs

It’s been a bit of a roller coaster the last few days! Friday I was once again shocked to see more than 1lb off on the scale, and really felt it catching up with me. I’ve added some Vitamin B-6 and –12 supplements to help with my energy, and have bought some Yerba Mate tea, at Susan’s suggestion, to help with the hunger. When the scale leaped up 1.4 lbs on Saturday, I was of course annoyed, but also thought this was probably for the best. My body needs to catch up with the HCG I think! I can’t think of anything else that might have caused the jump, except that I may have eaten a few too many strawberries while at my office job on Friday. Last night was the first night I worked at my restaurant job since I started the Protocol again and I had one moment of mindlessness where I spilled a little balsamic vinaigrette on my finger and instinctively licked it off instead of wiping it on my apron. I was also put in charge of filling olive oil bottles for each table, but used a pair of latex gloves from the cold kitchen while I did so. So many little things one doesn’t normally think about! The hardest part was seeing the staff meal one of our chefs prepared for all of us: the most perfectly, juicily roasted chicken and corn grilled in the husk. I’m back down to 236.8 today, so hopefully the downward trend will continue, but at a slightly slower pace. That’s all for me tonight, I am exhausted from a crazy week.

Now that I'm back down to my LIW...

...I can start updating my weight loss ticker, awesome.

Lucky Number 13

VLCD Days 6&7 STATS ( since I didn't post yesterday)
Weight at end of Load 250.8lbs
Weight 4.22.08 240.8
Weight 4.23.08 239.2
Overnight loss 1.6lbs
Weight 4.24.08: 237.8
Overnight loss: 1.4lbs
Total 6-day loss: 13lbs!

STILL A BIG LOSER
It continues to amaze me how well this second round is going. I was looking back over the spreadsheet I kept during my first round, which I had started out dosing sublingually, and in the first 6 days I had lost 8.6lbs, and had even had one day where I gained 0.2lbs. I've increased that loss by over 50% this time 'round! Yet, am still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I've had more than 1lb loss every single day thus far, and one as high as 3.6lbs, so it has to slow up soon, right? I try to keep from making wild projections because that only sets one up for disappointment, but if I can maintain a 1lb daily loss average, I'll be able to finish this round well ahead of the 40 injections (I'll stop at 34lbs as Simeon's directs, regardless of whether I've done all 40 injections). That will nicely shift my whole schedule up a few weeks, which would be fantastic. I would love to get down below 200lbs before the operatic 'audition season' starts in October.

PAYING THE PRICE IN ENERGY
One 'con' to all this that I'm noticing is my energy levels are definitely lower than usual. I've had kind of a rough week vocally, and I'm sure it's due to this dip. I think it is affecting me more this time around since my schedule is far busier than it was back in January/February. The last two days I've tried adding 2 egg whites in the morning, just a bit of pure protein to get me started (I did not eat anything in the mornings during the last round after I discovered that fruit was a no-no for me, just drank tea). My hunger is still pretty severe, so I'm hoping that this little protein boost will curb it and allow me to keep my energy and singing support up throughout the day. I have some leftover grissini breadsticks from last round, which I was determined not to eat this time, but I've been needing them as a quick snack for the last couple days. And thank GOODNESS the strawberries seem to be causing no impediment to my weight loss thus far. They are a bit of a saving grace for sweet-tooth me; I like them so much better than apples and grapefruit!

Yesterday (Weds) was the first day that I skipped a dose of HCG, and I did not notice an appreciable difference in my hunger, it seems to be constantly STRONG. Oh well, next round I will be sure to load adequately, I'm kicking myself for it now. However hungry I am though, NO CHEATING. Just not worth it. Especially hearing about the world shortage of rice and other basic foods, this hunger is really nothing compared to what those in less-developed countries experience as a matter of course. The need to lose weight would be a blessing to a large part of the world's population, so I shall not complain.

4 days in and down 10 lbs!!

Here are my stats after 4 VLCD days (today is day 5)
Start weight: 250.8
Weight 4.22.08: 240.8
Loss: 10lbs
Emotion: Astounded

For some reason, I kept thinking that I'd be that one person who would have a difficult time with this diet, that my chemical make-up would just prevent it from really working. Apparently, this is not so! I already have proof from my last round that I could lose 30-plus pounds in 6 weeks, but the weight I lost then I had gained rather quickly in the late-summer through the holidays, so I rationalized that what is easily put on comes off easily. However, I'm almost back down to the weight I'd been holding at for about 4 years (prior to the weight gain that preceded my discovery of HCG) and still losing quite well, so I just have to accept the fact that I am normal (relatively speaking) and that this is going to work, it's going to carry me all the way down to 200 and below, a weight range I haven't been at since 2000. It's an unbelievably wonderful feeling. In my typical OCD fashion, I make chart after chart of projections of how much I will lose by what date, and I am determined not to mess up the "Phase 3" like I did last time. That 200 bar is way too close to thwart myself now. Too close! I'm still 40lbs away, but it feels like nothing, oddly.

I've decided to go ahead and do a full 40-injection round, instead of the short ones. I think it makes better sense with my schedule for now, there's only one travel blip that I may have to deal with next month.

FOOD SNIFFER

I am very hungry, almost all the time, but I do not feel at all the urge to cheat. Okay, so I took a deep inhale of one of my roommate's Oreo cookies last night (something I wouldn't even eat anyway!) and that quite satisfied me. Smelling food is kind of fun. Some might view it as self-inflicted torture, but isn't the aroma of good food part of the fun of eating? One can imagine the textures and tastes just through the olfactory sense. And isn't smell the sense most closely linked to memory? We can enter a whole world through our noses! Last round I became addicted to watching cooking videos online, I especially love Mark Bittman's "Minimalist" video segment in the New York Times online. I would draw up menus and recipes for Phase 3 friendly meals, and that occupied my mind without feeling the need to eat. The results are just too good and too immediate to let a little temptation get in the way. Scented candles have also become a small fetish of mine, my boudoir is now filled with them, each one for a different mood or season; they are relaxing and take my mind off of wanting to eat. I highly recommend the Method brand soy candles, and for a splurge, Henri Bendel and L'Occitane. Bath and Body Works carries really fun scents too.

Speaking of scents, the lilacs are out, I think it's time to fill my room with those. Heaven.

NAYSAYERS

For the most part, the people in my life that I have chosen to tell about this diet (friends, absolutely NOT my family) have been positive. I run in a crowd of singers and artists and slightly crazy people anyway, so the idea of injecting oneself and eating only 500 cal a day is not as shocking as it might be to most people. I feel so strongly about this Protocol that I know I'd be in danger of becoming some kind of HCG Evangelist, so I hold back. If someone wants to come to me I am happy to give them all the help and counsel they need, but I'm not pushing my discovery on anyone. Maybe when I lose a bit more, folks will come out of the woodwork! So far, I have two friends who are interested. This Protocol is not for the faint of heart, but the payoff is so worth it!

VLCD Day 3 Stats

Just a quick post for now, more later.

Post-load weight: 250.8
4/20/08am Weight: 244.4
Overnight loss: 3.6lbs
Total loss this round: 6.4lbs

I'm on quite a roll, but one expects a big loss the first couple days after the load. Hopefully I can match my .8lb daily average from last time.

Roast Garlic Recipe for P2

At the request of another Challenger, here's my Roast Garlic recipe.

Preheat oven to 350

• Line a glass roasting pan with aluminum foil, with enough extra at each end to make a tent over the garlic heads

• cut the tops off several heads of garlic and place in the roasting pan cut side up
  

• pour in enough water to keep the garlic from drying out, but not so much that they float in the pan

• cover with the ends of the foil in a tent shape and bake for ca. 30min, until the garlic is very soft

• let cool for a few moments, then squeeze cloves into a bowl and mash til smooth

• store in the fridge and add (to taste) to anything you fancy
  

VLCD Day 2: Stats and Thoughts (or: I’m Hungry!)

Weight, post-load: 250.8
Current Weight: 248.0
1 day loss: -2.8lbs

(things in bold in my posts are items I recommend for use on and/or off the protocol)

Ah, sheepishly, I see that I put on a few too many pounds during my Phase 3 over the last 7 weeks. I had evened out at 242 at the end of my first round, which I completed on February 26th. So, I was up a whopping 8.8lbs at the end of my load. I confess I haven’t weighed myself in a few weeks and definitely didn’t adhere strictly to the Phase 3 guidelines the whole time. So I’m sure that my weight pre-load was a bit higher than it should have been. Oh well, I’ll not let it get me down, just count the lesson learned and be more conscientious next time.

I am hungry, quite so. I remember my load the first time around being quite unsatisfactory (I was coming off a bout of flu) and I experienced pretty severe hunger for the first 10 days of the Protocol. I thought I had done a better job this time, but definitely could have eaten more. Tea will be my friend, it’s warming and satisfying and a good placebo for food. I’ve found a delicious chocolate-hazelnut tea at Trader Joe’s, which is almost as satisfying as a breve mocha!

I am also going to try spacing out what I eat throughout the day. Last time I just ate two meals a day with the very occasional treat of baked apple at night, until I found the fruit causing me to stall. This time I will try to incorporate some extra veggies as a snack, and my fingers are CROSSED that the strawberries will not cause a stall. They’re a Trudeau addition to the Protocol, I believe, and will be the first thing I eliminate if I hit a plateau.

SUPPLEMENTS and DETOXING

About a month ago, I started taking two drops of Oil of Wild Oregano daily, as I heard it is great for the immune system and general well-being. I’ve stopped for now because of the catastrophic effect oil has on the weight loss, but the stuff is terrific, if expensive. I’m currently taking a Liver Defense tincture from Whole Foods twice a day in water, and I take prilosec daily for GERD. I can’t give that up; my vocal cords are too sensitive to any kind of swelling. Makes singing really difficult if they’re inflamed even the littlest bit. I don’t think any of these things will negatively affect my weight loss, hope not.

I’ve had a headache all day and can feel toxins working their way out of my body. Last time I started the protocol I came down with a terrible head cold about a week in, which I am sure was a reaction to detoxification. I hope it won’t be as bad this time. I’ve definitely been eating better than I was the last time, so hopefully fewer nasties will be working their way out this time. There better be, I’ve got a Beethoven 9 this coming Friday! A lot lot lot of water is the key here, to flush everything out quickly so that it doesn’t get a chance to manifest in a cold.

One last thing. I miss my hand cream. My skin is already really dry. I use the alba oil-free facial moisturizer after washing my face, but have yet to find something that feels good on my hands. I sometimes use vaseline at night with gloves over my hands, a mineral oil gel and aloe vera gel, all free of digestible oils. None of them has a really satisfactory texture, but they’ll do for now.

Day 2 Load and Gearing Up

All right, last day of eating with abandon before the austerity begins. I had grand plans for more pigging out, but those got scuppered by a busy day. I did my best with the food in the house, finishing up fatty leftovers so that they wouldn't tempt me. I've done my shopping and since what I eat really doesn't vary from day to day I'll post the menu which will serve me for the duration of the 500 cal phase.

Lunch
100g ground chicken mixed with cumin, celtic sea salt and pepper, sauteed in broth
tomato salad with cilantro, lemon juice and roasted garlic

Dinner
100g steamed shrimp with Old Bay seasoning
cucumber salad with dill and apple cider vinegar

Snacks
asparagus spears with lemon and celtic sea salt
5 strawberries

And So It Begins

Folks, I’ve just eaten almost a whole bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yes, the day is finally here; I am loading. I took my first injection of 125IU this morning. I wasn’t able to eat as consistently today as one should when loading because of my class and work schedule, hence the ‘bucket’ of KFC for dinner. It’s funny, I find that the HCG has an almost instant effect of reducing my appetite. Perhaps it is psychosomatic (and I’m quite prone to the power of suggestion) but I’m noticing this time, as with my last load, I just simply can’t eat as much as I normally would if told to ‘gorge’ as one must at the beginning of each round of the protocol. But I’m going to give it the good ol’ college try and maybe go get some Ben and Jerry’s once I’ve posted this. Such a burden, loading!

Tomorrow I will shop for my favorite Protocol foods. I find much of what I need at Trader Joe’s. They are really good at providing inexpensive organic foods and foods without too many additives. I spent much of my last round eating ground chicken and shrimp as my meats; they are easy to prepare and I got addicted to a couple of recipes. I love asparagus, and it’s coming into season now. Also tomatoes, lots of fresh herbs and garlic to roast (I find eating raw garlic on the protocol really exacerbates acid reflux). The one ‘cheat’ I do allow myself, as it did not affect my weight loss, is the Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde. It’s a ‘cheat’ because it mixes onions and tomatoes, but it makes everything taste delicious. I’m also a huge fan of horseradish and mustard: tons of flavor for no calories. Fruit and I were not friends on my last round, but I think I will try strawberries this round, since they are in season (almost) and might have less of an impact on my weight loss than the apples and grapefruit did. Here’s hoping.

All right, well, I think I hear that ice cream singing its siren song to me. The last for many months, so I am going to go enjoy it! I am very happy to be starting this round, thanks to everyone at drugdelivery.ca and hcgsupplies.com!

Playing the Waiting Game

It has been a while since I updated my blog, I've been waiting for my supplies to be shipped. My HCG arrived last week, and since then I've just been staring at it and wondering when my kit of needles and bac water will get here. I'm hopeful for next week, but a little frustrated that this is taking so long! I had been planning to start on April 1.

Having done one round already, I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for the challenges I know will be ahead for me. My first round was done in the doldrums of winter, post-holiday-food-orgy and a general time of repentance and hibernation. A good combo for such a strict diet! Now it's spring, and everything is in bloom and I know it's going to be that much harder not to indulge in little luxuries. I've also started working at a restaurant, and there is always the temptation of nibbling on whatever the Chef has cooked up for us. But the results from last time were so good, and so miraculously and relatively easy to achieve, I am sure I will be fine. At least, that's what I keep telling myself...

I've been trying to prepare physically as well. I did no exercise with my last round, except for a couple of modern dance classes per week. I was losing weight, but I could tell that my general health was not optimal. I've added a regimen of pilates, walking and yoga into my schedule so that I can keep fit and not have the exercise 'interfere' with the HCG working once I begin. I'll save the weight-lifting for when I'm in long-term maintenance (hopefully by the early fall) and for now focus on light cardio and the wonderful stretch and strengthen benefits that yoga and pilates give.

I've also decided to give the 'short round' idea a thought. I had been planning on doing a full 40-injection round this time, but because I'm getting a later start than I had hoped, I will modify and do two 23-injection rounds with no skipped days, separated by a week of 'Phase 3'. I know immunity might be an issue, and I will cross that bridge when I get there! It seems that most people lose the most weight in the first 3-4 weeks of a phase so I'm hoping for a 17ish pound blast-lost per round, which will catch me up as if I'd done a full 6 weeks. I think breaking it up this way will help me psychologically - if I have 'real food' to look forward to in three weeks' time, it makes those 500 calories a day much more endurable!

In all, I'm pretty excited to be getting back on the Protocol. Somehow the limited food choices make things easier, as opposed to Phases 3 and 4 when the pitfalls and choices are more numerous and precipitous! I had no issue with cheating last round, so I'm hopeful that my willpower will hold out this time as well.