HCG Challenge Update

Helen has dropped out of the HCG Weight Loss Challenge she has lost a total of 23 pounds since she started. Everyone at Drugdelivery.ca wants to thank Helen for her participation and wishes her the best of luck in her future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Drugdelivery.ca

Thwarted. Shucks

Well, I started my Round of Phase 2 on October 4th, and had a wonderful time loading at my favorite NYC steak restaurant. I lost a very quick 15 lbs in the first 10 days and then....got sick. I am putting the diet on hold while I recover from this cold, because the last time I tried to soldier through I ended up being sick for an entire month. So, I've halted injections and just started eating good-for-your comfort foods and of course 5 lbs have come right back on over the last 4 days. It's ok. I still look fabulous and I just want to get healthy. My current stats:

Weight at start of Phase 2 (yeah, I put some on in Phase 3, again. I was pretty bad.)
230lbs

Weight after 10 days of Phase 2
215lbs.

Weight now 10.18.08
220 lbs

I plan on starting injections and the VLCD again--no loading this time-- on Monday the 20th, if all goes well and I start to feel better over the weekend. I'm hoping this cold is a result of my move, starting over again in NYC and being exposed to a whole bunch of new germs/stresses over the past month. I was hoping to be done with this round by Thanksgiving, but it looks like I'm going to have to forego the holiday feast this year! I think I might volunteer at a soup kitchen instead, why not, eh?

Sorry to have been in absentia for so long. My life is crazy. Seriously, you guys don't even know the half of it! More soon!

Back from the Hinterwald

This is a short post, but I just wanted to check in and let you know that I am back in civilization after being without an internet connection for a few weeks. Kinda blissful, actually. I'm hanging in there with phase 3: though there was some serious slippage, I have managed not to have gained too much. I start my next round on October 4 and I can't WAIT to be back in the swing of things.

I have a big week ahead of me, but will post with more details very soon.

It's WORKING

This is a really short one, sorry for the length of time in between posts. I am in the process of packing up my things and moving from the midwest to the northeast, so my brain is anywhere but diet-land at the moment. Thankfully, I'm not doing too bad.

One week in and Phase 3 is going VERY well. I've only had to do one steak day, and that worked a treat. I've even been as low as .6lbs UNDER my last injection weight, so I'm feeling very encouraged. I eat mostly meat, cheese and vegetables. I am unabashedly unafraid of fat, and my sugar cravings are not bad at all. Easily nipped in the bud by a stevia-flavored coffee or fresh berries. Actually, figs have been my latest indulgence.

I start a 12-hour drive tomorrow morning, and I'm really hoping that it's not another steak day. I don't know how I'd manage all that time in the car alone if I couldn't nibble AT ALL. we'll see.

That's all for now, I'll keep you posted, but it's smooth sailing so far over here.

A Steak Day Already

Grrrr, again!

Well, I finished injections on Wednesday, with an LIW (Last-Injection-Weight) of 212.6. Super, great. On Thursday and Friday, I did notice the scale bounced around a bit--212.0 on thurs, but 213 on fri. Yesterday, Saturday, the first day of my Phase 3 eating, I weighed in at 213.6, one pound up, but still a full pound below the Steak Day Red Alert marker. I had a really busy day yesterday, didn't drink anywhere near enough water and ended up 1. having a couple celebratory drinks for my last day at my restaurant job and b. being REALLY hungry by the time I got home at midnight and eating a late snack. Consequently, I was up to 216.6 this morning! ARRRRRGH! 4 pounds above my LIW, and this early on in Phase 3. Just don't do it folks, don't think you can cheat Dr. Simeons's requirements! It ain't gonna work! I am living, ashamed, proof.

So, I'm steaking it today, and I've bought a second steak JUST IN CASE. It's going to be hard the next few days with people wanting to say goodbye and going out for dinner/coffee/drinks to do so. It's really easier to handle that stuff when I'm on the VLCD phase and completely locked into the diet. I'm just going to have be very dull and live with seltzer water and herbal teas until I am SURE I am stabilized. I absolutely REFUSE to endure the gains this round that I allowed myself to put on in previous rounds. I am going to do it right.

On the happier side of things, I inaugurated P3 yesterday at lunch with an absolutely divine filet mignon, cooked bleu, with a delicious mushroom sauce, french green beans and asparagus. Heavenly. Just wish I hadn't blown it with those late night drinks and snacks. Oh, and by the way, nothing I ate yesterday was 'off plan' except the drinks. Just goes to show how careful we must be.

Humbly and hungrily, I bid you goodbye and return to my packing.

That Elusive 34!

VLCD 41 and 42
Date Weight
8.18.08 210.8
8.19.08 212.0 (SO CLOSE! And yet...)

Well, I really should have learned my lesson by now not to speak so soon and so optimistically about hitting -34 lbs before the end of my round. I can't imagine what sparked the 1.2lb gain overnight. I drank a TON of water yesterday, and had a pure protein dinner (I couldn't be bothered to fix veg). I also skipped my strawberries. So, I have nothing to explain it. Maybe I'm just ready to be DONE. And I am. One sort of feels like one's been out in the wilderness while doing this diet. Gastronomically sequestered. Tomorrow is my last injection, so wherever I am, that will be the point from which I need to maintain within 2lbs. I suppose it was too much to hope to hit the 2-0-somethings, I'll have to be happy in the 2-teens until October.

One thing I'm annoyed at: my bras are too big. I really would rather be losing the weight from my hips and thighs, thank you very much! But I feel great, so I really should not complain.

Well, bedtime, And the last injection tomorrow. I can't wait for Saturday: roast chicken, avocado, and heavenly cheese await me. I drool at the mere thought!

Sprinting to the Finish Line

VLCD Days 38, 39 and 40

Date Weight
8.15.08 214.2 (loss of 1.6 lbs)
8.16.08 213.4 (loss of .8 lbs)
8.17.08 211 !!!! (loss of 2.4 lbs)

Total loss this round: 33.6 lbs

Cue a huge sigh of relief. Once my body got back into losing mode it never looked back. I have 3 more days of injections after today and am absolutely positive I will hit the Simeons-recommended 34lbs weight loss for this round. What an absolute relief. The middle 2-2.5 weeks of this round were scary and frustrating, and I can't tell you how many times I wanted to throw in the towel and say 'better luck next time'. My body likes the 220 area, so I was convinced the stall was more or less permanent. I'm so pleased to have broken through that barrier. This is the lowest weight I have been in many years, and the 190s are well within sight. I'll have to wait until October to begin my next round, though, and you can imagine my impatience!

Now, to start fantasizing about phase 3....I tortured myself a little bit by watching some cooking shows on PBS yesterday--one was about grilling. I'm seriously craving the spit-roasted rib roast studded with rosemary, garlic and asiago cheese...ok. breakfast time! Oh, nb, my little modification to the Simeons Protocol is to eat two whole eggs (hard boiled) every morning. It's a 3rd serving of protein for me WITH the fat of that extra yolk. I find I lose better when I do it than when not. In fact, the 2-2.5 weeks that I stalled, I hadn't been eating eggs at all really. Weird.