It took 2 weeks, but there goes that barrier!

It's been nearly a week since I posted, I'm sorry--if anyone out there's reading!

So, I finally did it, this morning I hit 217.6, which is a full pound lower than where I had been sitting and waffling around for the last two weeks. Sheesh. What's it take to get a pound around here? Granted, I was on prednisone for a week, which does nobody any favors weight-loss wise! And being sick and TOM and all those good things I'm sure were factors. I'm just hoping that tomorrow morning brings more good news. I only have 9 more days left on VLCD, 7 more injections. I did beef up my dosage to 150IUs as well, which did help, I am sure. I'm pretty strict about the less is more rule that Simeon's has in regards to HCG dosage, and I don't want to get into immunity issues, so I've never gone above 125IUs until now. I'll continue with 150 for the next week.

Another Fun Recipe
I had been eating ground chicken during all my rounds, and thought that perhaps there was too much fat in it. So I switched to chicken breasts which I find hideously tasteless and dry without the yummy fatty skin on. But, noodling around with a friend of mine who's a bit of a gourmande I learned about the wonderful world of brining chicken. Here's what I came up with. It's SUPER.

BAKED BRINED CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES
preheat oven to 450
line small glass baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving plenty on the sides to fold over the top

• Brine chicken breast for at least an hour in salty water (the proportions are .75 cup salt per 2.5 quarts H2O)
• prepare some hot chicken stock, about .25-.5 cup
  

• pan sear chicken breast in a little water with some crushed garlic, a couple minutes pere side.
  

• chop 2 large tomatoes into 8ths, place them around edges of aluminum foil lined pan
• slice 1/2 a lemon very thinly
• arrange lemon slices and sprigs of cilantro around tomato chunks
  
• place chicken breast in center of ring of tomato slices and pour hot broth over everything
• sprinkle sea salt, cumin and garlic salt (or use crushed garlic) over everything
• close aluminum foil over the top of the tomatoes and chicken and bake for 15 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
• Remove the lemon slices before eating! Garnish with fresh cilantro if you like.
  

I put it in a bowl so I can sip the broth when I'm done eating. It's good, nice and flavorful.

Here's to another pound tomorrow...fingers crossed!