Lacking in the Math Department

I didn't think I was that bad at math until recently. I've been miscalculating my weight loss numbers, so the other day's 10 pound loss was actually more like 9. I know, I know... it's these 10th's of a pound that are throwing me off, I think. Someone needs to let the scale makers know there are 16 ounces in a pound & they need to make a scale that reflects this new knowledge. I guess reading down to 1/10th of a pound is better than the alternative of 1 pound increments. *GASP!!*

So, here are my new numbers.


As of this morning, I'm on my 8th day of the VLCD & I'm down 11 pounds. (!!!)

Amazingly, I not only made some really yummy looking raspberry cookie bars, as well as some to-die-for white chocolate chip macadamia nut cookies for last night's book club I was hosting, but I managed to send off the leftovers with the husband to work today, to share with his co-workers today, without even a teeny morsel crossing my lips.

See that Kit Kat & Twix in the front... yeah, THAT'S what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Last night my dreams were about food. All night. Cookies, & cakes, & all things that are good (bad). Yesterday, I visited Freed's Bakery just to look around, inhale the sweetness that engulfs you the moment you open the door. Heaven, I tell you! I actually found myself looking (drooling) at the cookies in the glass cases, mentally trying to come up with an excuse for being in there. The girl behind the counter was on the phone, so thankfully I had both time to drool & time to come up with a creative excuse for my presence while not walking out with something (or an order for something) in my hands. Maybe this was the cause of such torturous dreams.

Note to self: Don't visit the best cakery in town when you're on a diet.

I want to support you!

I've had so many inspiring, amazing friends, both old & new, who have stepped up to support me on my journey... they make me want to emulate them. No matter how you're going about your weight loss journey, I know we can use all the support we can get. If you have a blog, or even if you don't, leave a comment with your link or email so I can encourage you along the way.

MUCH LOVE!

VLCD2

That's 'very low calorie day 2', for all you non-hcg speakers. ;)

This morning's weigh-in was a good one. I'm down 2.4 pounds, which I'll take any day of the week! If only every weigh-in were so good! Still, I can't complain. My average daily losses were about 1 pound, which is amazing!

Last round I had headaches for the first 3 days, but so far I'm doing alright there. I would love to skip over that entirely! I was a little bit tired at mid-day, but only feeling a little bit drained is an improvement from my normal.

My stomach protested a bit last night & let me know it was empty, but other than that I had no signs of hunger all day yesterday. This round I've decided to lower the dose of hcg to see what happens, since I'm told that sometimes less is more, so I'm on the look-out for any signs of the lower dosage not working for me. I've heard there can be better results with a lower dosage, so I guess we'll see.

For those of you on the hcg protocol, I'm using 5000 iu's of Hucog & am doing 150 iu's for my dosage. Last round I used the same product, only I used 200 iu's for my dosage. Since 200 is typically the highest dosage, I wanted to see if lowering it would produce different (hopefully better) results. We shall see!

A BIG day, a BIG deal

Today I took my final injection for this round. When I last posted, I planned for today to be my last injection day anyway. However, the morning after my last post showed a 1.8 pound loss, so I changed my mind about stopping early & decided I'd talk the husband in to taking me out for fondue instead.

I'm telling you, seeing a nice drop on the scale is ADDICTIVE!!

I had a small loss the following day, but this morning I woke up to another BIG loss. 3.8 pounds! Thank you stomach bug!! :P This unpleasant episode actually caused me to lose enough to get me to the magic number ~ 34 pounds.
After re-reading Pounds & Inches today, the guidelines are 40 injections, or 34 pounds is where you should stop your current round. I reached the 34 pounds in 38 days (not bad!) & so today I'm done with this portion of the protocol. I get to move on to CHEESE!!! I get to have that scrumptious fondue after all! :D Hello, Tuesday (& some of the funnest group of girls out there), here I come!



I feel like I've accomplished something big. I know I've said this before, but I'm really feeling it today. It's a big day for me! :D Though I know I won't reach my goal of losing 40 pounds by April 1st (when my little brother comes home from his mission), I'm very pleased with how far I've come.

Holding steady

I'm back visiting the wall, unfortunately, but I'm doing alright. I'm holding steady at just under 28 pounds lost in 28 days of doing the protocol.

I've had a few people wonder how I plan to keep it all from coming back after I'm done with the very low calorie part of the protocol. Though I have to admit I'm more of a "hoper" than a believer, according to Dr. Simeons (the man who discovered the relationship between weight loss & hcg) if you do this just the way he's instructed, you are resetting your body weight to this new weight.

It has something to do with the hypothalmus gland in your brain &, though I can't remember the exact details, he claims you can maintain the weight loss for life as long as you are committing yourself to changing your eating habits for life. And this is the plan.

I don't want to be unhealthy for the rest of my life! I want to LIVE it, not just be a spectator. I'm sure those of you who've dealt with weight problems can totally relate. It's time to kick this thing in the sweet spot & that's exactly what I'm doing here. I'm giving myself a boost & a head start with this protocol.

So far, I've lost a dress size or so. My sweetheart can see a difference, though I really can't. I haven't spent enough time in front of a mirror for the past 10+ years to be able to notice a difference. I've been avoiding them, for obvious reasons.

I'm thrilled to be where I'm at so far. Only about 2 more weeks left on this portion of the protocol, then on to Phase 3 where I get to add a lot of other foods back in to my diet (pretty much everything but starches & sugars). That will last for 3 weeks & then I'll move on to Phase 4. In Phase 4, I will slowly start adding starches & sugars back in to my diet. After 3 weeks of this, I can go back on the protocol for another 5+ weeks to try to lose another 30+ pounds.

Last night we had a few friends come over & the husband referred to my weight loss as "a lot". Afterwards I had to explain to him why he shouldn't do that anymore. Being a big girl, it takes dropping a lot of weight to actually see a difference, & 27 pounds just isn't a lot. Not at my size. I'm afraid people will feel badly for not noticing (which they really shouldn't... I just know I would if someone said they'd lost a lot of weight & I couldn't tell), or worse that they'll start noticing. I hate being the center of attention. Ever.

Checking in

It's been a few days since I last posted any progress. It was because there really was no progress to report. I was getting a bit frustrated with the scale because it wasn't budging for several days. I'd hit the plateau all the hcg dieters talk about.

I took it fairly well, though I almost returned my scale to buy a new one. I would've sworn it was a liar!

This morning I woke & did my thing & weighed myself... FINALLY (!!) the weight-freeze was over! I'm officially down 23 pounds now, which makes me very happy. I have another 3 weeks left of the very low calorie diet (VLCD) & I'd LOVE to lose another 15 or so pounds in that time. With this protocol, you're only supposed to lose 34 pounds (where the magic number comes from, I have no clue) in the 40. The only exception to the rule is if you haven't done all 40 injections yet & are still losing well, you can go 5 or so more pounds past if you're very overweight. Since I fit in to that category, you'd better believe I plan on pushing it as far as I can!

So today is day 23 for me & I feel so much better than I did before I started this. I don't really see a difference yet, but I had a few comments today (which totally made my day better).

I'm looking forward to adding things like cheese back in to my diet. Three more weeks... as a wise & good friend once told me, I can do ANYTHING for three weeks! :) And she's right.

Sad day

I got an email from an old friend today. Her sister-in-law, here in Vegas, is about to deliver a stillborn baby & she wanted me to go take a mold of the baby's hands & feet to make a casting. I have a small casting business (Hearts & Hands), so I've done this sort of thing before, & it never fails to break my heart & drive me towards some comfort food.

I really struggle when dealing with other people's emotions. I'm a magnet for them, positive or negative, in happiness, or in grief, & it lingers with me for some time afterwards. Having lost several babies of my own, it makes this kind of thing that much harder.

Anyway, it's a sad day for this family & I wanted to ask for your thoughts & prayers for this family. Their names aren't necessary... I'm sure our Heavenly Father knows.