Good morning, ladies and gents!!! Why am I so freaking chipper, you wonder? Because I am officially in the last week of Phase 2, AND because I currently weigh less than I have in a LONG TIME. Like, SIX YEARS.
The past week has been rough on both me and the Mister. We've both been leveling off in our numbers, and seeing very small losses, followed by small gains, followed by a stalled scale. It's frustrating when you're following protocol and aren't seeing these huge losses that you were seeing in the beginning.
You know what's more than frustrating? Going to the movies, sitting next to someone eating Twizzlers, who is sitting next to someone eating popcorn, eating the cut up apple you brought with you, and GAINING A POUND THE NEXT MORNING.
No shizz. It sucked.
The movie, however, was pretty excellent. If you're a fan of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books, I recommend the movie version of One for the Money. And I'm hoping to heck that they start filming Two for the Dough soon.
Not just because I want to see Morelli get kicked out of a car naked, either.
Anyway, back to this diet stuff. We recently discovered that our last day of the drops is supposed to be SuperBowl Sunday. This thrills me not in the least. I was considering stopping a couple days early, so I can eat wings and Phase 3 pizza during the game, but I have a feeling my darling husband is not on board with that program.
He is Mr. HCG, folks. I haven't seen him snag one thing off protocol. (Whereas I typically grab a piece of chocolate once a day. Also, I did have a small glass of Bailey's one night last week, after speaking to an editor who no longer requires my services. It was a small glass. I swear.) He doesn't forget his drops, he carefully measures his food.
Ironically, the one day he didn't really measure his food and just eyeballed it, is the day he broke a stall. Sometimes our bodies need to be shaken up a bit. The extra protein shook his up. When I tried extra protein, I saw a gain. So that, obviously, doesn't work for everyone.
In fact, yesterday, I accidentally skipped lunch, and showed a great loss this morning. I'll be interested to see what happens tomorrow, after eating normal meals again. I'll report back on that, but I can tell you I am RAVENOUS so far today.
So one more week and I can start eating cheese again. Look out, fresh mozerella. I'm coming for you.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Current Standings
At the end of our first week on Phase 2, I figured I'd do a little update blog to let you know where we're at.
First, I need to tell you that I have totally been doing a half-assed Phase 2 here. The numbers are going down, but not very quickly. Mostly due to those string cheese sticks in my fridge and the walnut delights that used to be on my counter. *burp*
On to the stats!
I have lost my loading weight. That's about it. (My own fault, I'm fine with it. Pass the Dove sugar free caramels.)
Paul is down 9.2 pounds. NINE POINT TWO. IN SIX DAYS.
Good stuff going on over here.
Now my Irish is up and the competition is on. He's still going to kick my ass, but at least my ass will be skinnier when we're done.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Okay, I lied...
I'm doing another round of HCG.
Wait, hear me out!
My husband has decided to do a round, and I am being super-supportive, by doing it with him. He'd like to lose about 20-30 pounds (which, I have no doubt, being a man, he can do in one stupid round. Grrrr). I'll be happy if I lose these last 10 stubborn pounds, but since this round wasn't exactly my idea, I'm not too married to that number.
That's got an up side and a down side. The good part is that I am totally non-stressed about the number on the scale. In fact, I didn't even weigh myself before or after I loaded. I weighed myself today, after my first day of VLCD and am up very slightly from where I was at the end of my last round. Probably still loading weight I'm taking off.
I might weigh tomorrow. I might not. Very freeing, all told.
The down side is that I'm having a hard time staying committed. I've been cheating little bits here and there. One of my friends calls it "Phase 2 plus cookies." I call it "Phase 2 plus walnut delights." (Thank you, dear MIL, for bringing them over this weekend. Now if I could just stop EATING them! LOL)
My husband is the picture of HCG Protocol. He isn't eating anything he's not supposed to, very carefully weighs out his meals, and doesn't seem to be hungry at all.
I am hungry. No, that's not entirely true. I'm MUNCHY, but not always hungry.
Anyway, here we go again. More to come. :-)
Wait, hear me out!
My husband has decided to do a round, and I am being super-supportive, by doing it with him. He'd like to lose about 20-30 pounds (which, I have no doubt, being a man, he can do in one stupid round. Grrrr). I'll be happy if I lose these last 10 stubborn pounds, but since this round wasn't exactly my idea, I'm not too married to that number.
That's got an up side and a down side. The good part is that I am totally non-stressed about the number on the scale. In fact, I didn't even weigh myself before or after I loaded. I weighed myself today, after my first day of VLCD and am up very slightly from where I was at the end of my last round. Probably still loading weight I'm taking off.
I might weigh tomorrow. I might not. Very freeing, all told.
The down side is that I'm having a hard time staying committed. I've been cheating little bits here and there. One of my friends calls it "Phase 2 plus cookies." I call it "Phase 2 plus walnut delights." (Thank you, dear MIL, for bringing them over this weekend. Now if I could just stop EATING them! LOL)
My husband is the picture of HCG Protocol. He isn't eating anything he's not supposed to, very carefully weighs out his meals, and doesn't seem to be hungry at all.
I am hungry. No, that's not entirely true. I'm MUNCHY, but not always hungry.
Anyway, here we go again. More to come. :-)
Monday, December 12, 2011
And on to the rest of my life...
I've gotten down to the mid-140's and have decided I've gone as far as I want to on HCG. I'm sure I could stand to lose another ten pounds or so, and maybe I will, but quite possibly not on HCG.
It is a HARD diet, you guys. Yes, there are dramatic results, because it is a dramatic diet. And because it's so dramatic, it is hard. The key, if you decide to do it yourself, is to remind yourself that it is super temporary. 3 weeks on Phase 2, if I can do it, anyone can.
It gets really hard when you're getting closer to your goal weight and the pounds aren't dripping off anymore. It gets even harder when you're close enough to your goal weight that you start thinking things like, "eh, what's another 10 pounds, anyway? This is close enough."
I'd love to tell you to just muscle through these thoughts, but since I can't do it, I'm certainly not expecting anyone else to.
So the rest of my life...what shall I do?
One of the things that I love about the HCG protocol is that I cut out all the really bad stuff in my diet, overnight. After a couple brief days of detox, I felt amazingly wonderful. Light, and happy, and energized. Without exception, every time I finished a round, and started going back slowly to bread, rice, crackers, etc, I started to feel sluggish, bloated, moody, and well...more like my "regular" self.
This past round, in fact, I cheated one evening with a donut while I was on Phase 2. Within 20 minutes or so of eating the donut, my mood plummeted, my stomach was bloated and distended, and I had stomach cramping. I was so uncomfortable. And I know that this is how I was mostly living before. I never realized it wasn't normal, for example, to feel bloated after eating.
But here's the deal, it's not. After eating, we should feel energized! We just ate ENERGY! Quick aside, did you know that in Europe, calories aren't listed as "calories" in nutritional information? They're listed as "energy." Food is energy!
If you're not eating foods that energize you, I posit that you are eating the wrong foods. Like I've been doing for a good long time.
Being on HCG showed me what it really feels like to eat foods the work with my body for optimal wellness. It also showed me what it really feels like to eat foods that work against my body. And I don't like that.
So, somewhere over the last couple rounds, I started wondering with some of my friends, what are we going to do next? When we get to the end of our weight loss with HCG, how will we eat? Almost all of us said that we don't think we ever want to go back to sugar and nearly the same amount have decided to do without wheat.
While we were in the middle of these discussions, one of my friends mentioned Mark's Daily Apple, which is a site dedicated to "Primal Blueprint" living. Mark's a cool guy, he lays it out as it is. He's done his research and he knows his stuff.
The Primal Blueprint way of life is basically approximating our lives to being as close to those of our ancestors, the cavemen. He uses "Grok" as an example of such a person, and gives us really easy ways we, too, can "party like a Grokstar."
When we first got our dog, his trainer mentioned giving him a biologically appropriate diet, instead of buying kibble at the grocery store. We researched it, and decided that we didn't like the idea of commercial dog food, and went in the direction suggested by his trainer. Baxter has been eating foods that his canine body has been designed to digest.
In similar fashion, I think humans should be enjoying foods that our bodies were designed to digest. That includes meat, vegetables and fruit. A little dairy. But no grains.
Yep, NO GRAINS.
As it turns out (and if you want to read all the research, I highly recommend Mark's book, although you can also find a ton of information on his website), humans weren't exactly designed to digest grains. This has played out in my own life, as I've explained, with the vast differences in how I feel on HCG and off HCG.
Here's the really amazing thing about this. When I shared a lot of the body of evidence that Mark sets forth in Primal Blueprint, against grains, my husband agreed. He said it made a lot of sense. Guess who else is grain free, now? We're working on the kids.
I don't want to give you the idea that if you stop eating grains you'll be living a primal lifestyle. I mean, that's a nice start, but there are other things involved. Take a good look at Mark's website for a ton of information.
I also don't want to give you the idea that Mark is the grand high guru of primal living (although he did "write the book"so to speak). There are other books out there, there are other websites. There are TONS of people who are doing this, who are writing about, who are advocating it. It just so happens that I find Mark's information to be the most accessible. He thoroughly researches, then reports back everything in a humorous and easy to read way that makes me look forward to reading about all these boring reports he's slogged through.
So this is where we are for now. We're finding it not as hard to be grain free as we'd thought. We're working out some kinks (if we're friends on facebook, I'm sure you read my status update about thickening gravy without flour!) and we're finding some new stuff that we love. (Coconut bread, for example, is like a yummy morning muffin, without all the ick and bloating that goes along with regular morning muffins.)
This is working for our family right now. We feel great, we're losing weight (I'm still losing weight, even off protocol and without really trying at all!--The kids, I should mention, are not losing weight. LOL They definitely don't need to!), and we're excited about this way of life. It's not a diet, or even just a dietary change. It really is a way of life, and we're looking forward to this journey together.
It is a HARD diet, you guys. Yes, there are dramatic results, because it is a dramatic diet. And because it's so dramatic, it is hard. The key, if you decide to do it yourself, is to remind yourself that it is super temporary. 3 weeks on Phase 2, if I can do it, anyone can.
It gets really hard when you're getting closer to your goal weight and the pounds aren't dripping off anymore. It gets even harder when you're close enough to your goal weight that you start thinking things like, "eh, what's another 10 pounds, anyway? This is close enough."
I'd love to tell you to just muscle through these thoughts, but since I can't do it, I'm certainly not expecting anyone else to.
So the rest of my life...what shall I do?
One of the things that I love about the HCG protocol is that I cut out all the really bad stuff in my diet, overnight. After a couple brief days of detox, I felt amazingly wonderful. Light, and happy, and energized. Without exception, every time I finished a round, and started going back slowly to bread, rice, crackers, etc, I started to feel sluggish, bloated, moody, and well...more like my "regular" self.
This past round, in fact, I cheated one evening with a donut while I was on Phase 2. Within 20 minutes or so of eating the donut, my mood plummeted, my stomach was bloated and distended, and I had stomach cramping. I was so uncomfortable. And I know that this is how I was mostly living before. I never realized it wasn't normal, for example, to feel bloated after eating.
But here's the deal, it's not. After eating, we should feel energized! We just ate ENERGY! Quick aside, did you know that in Europe, calories aren't listed as "calories" in nutritional information? They're listed as "energy." Food is energy!
If you're not eating foods that energize you, I posit that you are eating the wrong foods. Like I've been doing for a good long time.
Being on HCG showed me what it really feels like to eat foods the work with my body for optimal wellness. It also showed me what it really feels like to eat foods that work against my body. And I don't like that.
So, somewhere over the last couple rounds, I started wondering with some of my friends, what are we going to do next? When we get to the end of our weight loss with HCG, how will we eat? Almost all of us said that we don't think we ever want to go back to sugar and nearly the same amount have decided to do without wheat.
While we were in the middle of these discussions, one of my friends mentioned Mark's Daily Apple, which is a site dedicated to "Primal Blueprint" living. Mark's a cool guy, he lays it out as it is. He's done his research and he knows his stuff.
The Primal Blueprint way of life is basically approximating our lives to being as close to those of our ancestors, the cavemen. He uses "Grok" as an example of such a person, and gives us really easy ways we, too, can "party like a Grokstar."
When we first got our dog, his trainer mentioned giving him a biologically appropriate diet, instead of buying kibble at the grocery store. We researched it, and decided that we didn't like the idea of commercial dog food, and went in the direction suggested by his trainer. Baxter has been eating foods that his canine body has been designed to digest.
In similar fashion, I think humans should be enjoying foods that our bodies were designed to digest. That includes meat, vegetables and fruit. A little dairy. But no grains.
Yep, NO GRAINS.
As it turns out (and if you want to read all the research, I highly recommend Mark's book, although you can also find a ton of information on his website), humans weren't exactly designed to digest grains. This has played out in my own life, as I've explained, with the vast differences in how I feel on HCG and off HCG.
Here's the really amazing thing about this. When I shared a lot of the body of evidence that Mark sets forth in Primal Blueprint, against grains, my husband agreed. He said it made a lot of sense. Guess who else is grain free, now? We're working on the kids.
I don't want to give you the idea that if you stop eating grains you'll be living a primal lifestyle. I mean, that's a nice start, but there are other things involved. Take a good look at Mark's website for a ton of information.
I also don't want to give you the idea that Mark is the grand high guru of primal living (although he did "write the book"so to speak). There are other books out there, there are other websites. There are TONS of people who are doing this, who are writing about, who are advocating it. It just so happens that I find Mark's information to be the most accessible. He thoroughly researches, then reports back everything in a humorous and easy to read way that makes me look forward to reading about all these boring reports he's slogged through.
So this is where we are for now. We're finding it not as hard to be grain free as we'd thought. We're working out some kinks (if we're friends on facebook, I'm sure you read my status update about thickening gravy without flour!) and we're finding some new stuff that we love. (Coconut bread, for example, is like a yummy morning muffin, without all the ick and bloating that goes along with regular morning muffins.)
This is working for our family right now. We feel great, we're losing weight (I'm still losing weight, even off protocol and without really trying at all!--The kids, I should mention, are not losing weight. LOL They definitely don't need to!), and we're excited about this way of life. It's not a diet, or even just a dietary change. It really is a way of life, and we're looking forward to this journey together.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Shattering the Stall
I didn't just break that stall, you guys, I shattered it. It didn't work right away. Yesterday, the scale didn't move. Today, though, 2.6 down! That's about seven and a half pounds in a week, which averages out to a little more than a pound a day.
I think I'm losing a little better on this round than I have on previous ones. I should tell you that I'm using different drops this time around. I snagged these on sale at CVS. They are not homeopathic and contain "HCG amino acid." I dig that they're not homeopathic, because it means I can keep up my mint tea habit and I can dye my hair without worrying about these things negating the homeopathics. It tastes absolutely awful, but I only have to deal with it twice a day, and I'm actually getting used to it. I don't make my "cough medicine face" after I down it now.
So when I took the time to sit down and think about it, I'm pretty sure I figured out that my stall was caused by too much red meat. I'm going to try to keep my beef meals to one or two a week and rely on chicken and eggs for the rest of my protein. This would be much easier if I ate fish at all. I wish, for the three billionth time in my life, that I could stomach seafood.
Two women at the bank today asked me if I've lost weight. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that is the best feeling in the world.
Anyway, looking forward to the coming two weeks, I see Thanksgiving rapidly approaching. My husband asked me today if I'm going to be on protocol through Thanksgiving and I said yes. We're cooking here, so I am planning on making veggies that are completely protocol friendly, cheating slightly with turkey instead of chicken and cheating a little more with a sugar free, gluten free (ie Phase 3 friendly) dessert. I've been looking at a few pumpkin custard recipes and am trying to find my favorite one. I'll totally be topping it with some sugar free whipped cream, as well.
Quick note to anyone who hasn't read through this blog much, when I say "sugar-free" I am totally NOT talking about nutrasweet, asparatame, or any other artificial sweetener. My sweetener of choice is liquid stevia. It's totally yummy, completely natural, and doesn't cause an insulin spike like sugar does.
Unless something more exciting happens, next entry, I'm going to talk about how I'm successfully "cheating" on this round. Yeah, I'm cheating. It involves chocolate. Stay tuned.
I think I'm losing a little better on this round than I have on previous ones. I should tell you that I'm using different drops this time around. I snagged these on sale at CVS. They are not homeopathic and contain "HCG amino acid." I dig that they're not homeopathic, because it means I can keep up my mint tea habit and I can dye my hair without worrying about these things negating the homeopathics. It tastes absolutely awful, but I only have to deal with it twice a day, and I'm actually getting used to it. I don't make my "cough medicine face" after I down it now.
So when I took the time to sit down and think about it, I'm pretty sure I figured out that my stall was caused by too much red meat. I'm going to try to keep my beef meals to one or two a week and rely on chicken and eggs for the rest of my protein. This would be much easier if I ate fish at all. I wish, for the three billionth time in my life, that I could stomach seafood.
Two women at the bank today asked me if I've lost weight. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, that is the best feeling in the world.
Anyway, looking forward to the coming two weeks, I see Thanksgiving rapidly approaching. My husband asked me today if I'm going to be on protocol through Thanksgiving and I said yes. We're cooking here, so I am planning on making veggies that are completely protocol friendly, cheating slightly with turkey instead of chicken and cheating a little more with a sugar free, gluten free (ie Phase 3 friendly) dessert. I've been looking at a few pumpkin custard recipes and am trying to find my favorite one. I'll totally be topping it with some sugar free whipped cream, as well.
Quick note to anyone who hasn't read through this blog much, when I say "sugar-free" I am totally NOT talking about nutrasweet, asparatame, or any other artificial sweetener. My sweetener of choice is liquid stevia. It's totally yummy, completely natural, and doesn't cause an insulin spike like sugar does.
Unless something more exciting happens, next entry, I'm going to talk about how I'm successfully "cheating" on this round. Yeah, I'm cheating. It involves chocolate. Stay tuned.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
I hate stalls with a serious mad passion. But I've come to expect them. So I'm not totally freaked out that the scale didn't move at all this morning. In fact, I seem to have entered Challenge Mode without even realizing it. I spent the better portion of my online time this afternoon looking for tried and true methods to break through a loss stall on hcg.
Here are some of the better ideas I've found, just in case you also require a way to beat a stall into the ground.
1. The Apple Day. I actually kind of love Apple Days, and I've been known to do one even when the scale is moving just fine. On an Apple Day, you get six of the biggest, juiciest apples you can find and eat them throughout the day. That's it. And by "that's it," I mean, that's all you eat and that's as easy as it is. The first time I decided to do an apple day, I was very apprehensive. Apples are yummy, sure, but nothing except apples for an entire day? Blech. However, I found that I really enjoyed the freedom of not having to plan my meals or carry food around with me if I were going to be out during a meal time. I just brought a couple apples with me. So on days when I know I'm going to be running all over creation, I sometimes will do an Apple Day, just because it's easier.
2. The Detox Bath. I am a big fan of baths. I love to sit in warm water with some music playing, a large glass of water and a book or magazine. It's one of my favorite ways to unwind. This bath is like that, just a little different. This bath is full of all kinds of fun stuff to help pull the gunk out of you. Through your sweat pores. If you don't like to sweat, get over it. Add 2 cups of baking soda, 2 cups of epsom salts and 1 cup of sea salt to a bath that's as hot as you can stand it. If you've got some, throw in some ginger, maybe a little tea tree oil. If you want it to smell good, add some lavender oil, or another that you love. Soak in it for 40 minutes. You are going to sweat. If you're not sweating, make the water hotter. I also use a portable heater to make my bathroom warm, since my skin is pretty sensitive to hot water. When the 40 minutes is up, drain the water and rinse off in a warm shower. Don't plan on taking a normal shower and washing your hair and stuff. Your body needs to rest. In fact, this is an excellent time to go to bed. You may continue to sweat for a good while after your bath. Awesome! More detox! (If you have high blood pressure, you probably should skip this bath.)
3. Journal your Food. I use SparkPeople to track what I've eaten throughout the day and my daily weigh ins. When I'm not on protocol, I also use the site to track my workouts and calories burned. If you're not writing down everything you eat and making sure you're hitting and/or not exceeding your allotted 500 calories for the day, you might want to start doing that during a stall. Remember, not eating enough is just as bad as eating too much!
4. Check your labels. I'm not talking food labels; I'm talking personal care products. If there is oil in, say, your moisturizer, your skin may be absorbing enough that it's having an impact on your scale. And check all of it, not just obvious things. Oil can be in anything from lip gloss to shampoo.
5. Add some variety. If you're eating chicken and spinach for two meals a day, your body is liable to think there's not enough food around, and start holding on to everything it's got. If you're stumped for things to eat, check out Lianne's blog over at My HCG Cooking for some great ideas.
6. Chinese Water Torture. Okay, not really. But upping your water intake can get the scale moving again. You should be drinking 2L of water per day, as it is. If you're doing that and still facing a stall, try drinking even more. My rule of thumb, whether I'm on protocol or not, is that my pee needs to be nearly clear. If it's not, I'm not drinking enough water.
7. Poop. Yeah, I said it. There's something about this diet that makes bowel movements somewhat rarer than they'd been previously. Lots of people swear by Smooth Move Tea. I am not a big fan. A friend who is an RN suggested Milk of Magnesia instead, and on the few occasions I've used it, I've been happy with the results. Please understand that taking any kind of laxative is not PART of this diet and is not in any way required. If you haven't had a bowel movement in a few days, though, you could be facing some compact issues, and might need a little boost in that department. Some people suggest taking a daily fiber supplement while you're on protocol to avoid this problem altogether.
8. Exercise. A little. Too much strenuous activity on 500 calories a day is going to backfire. You're likely to make your stall last longer, and do some damage to your body in the process. Best case scenario of overexercising while you're on the Very Low Calorie Diet, you're gonna end up with hands like Madonna or Sarah Jessica Parker. (Google them. Frightening.) So you definitely don't want to overdo it. But, a nice walk, or some gentle yoga, even a little extra playing in the yard with the kids can help to break through a stall. Again, I'd avoid anything having to do with weights, because, seriously, look at SJP's hands!
For my part, I did a nice detox bath last night, drank enough water to drown a cow, and took a half mile walk today. I'll report back in the morning!
Here are some of the better ideas I've found, just in case you also require a way to beat a stall into the ground.
1. The Apple Day. I actually kind of love Apple Days, and I've been known to do one even when the scale is moving just fine. On an Apple Day, you get six of the biggest, juiciest apples you can find and eat them throughout the day. That's it. And by "that's it," I mean, that's all you eat and that's as easy as it is. The first time I decided to do an apple day, I was very apprehensive. Apples are yummy, sure, but nothing except apples for an entire day? Blech. However, I found that I really enjoyed the freedom of not having to plan my meals or carry food around with me if I were going to be out during a meal time. I just brought a couple apples with me. So on days when I know I'm going to be running all over creation, I sometimes will do an Apple Day, just because it's easier.
2. The Detox Bath. I am a big fan of baths. I love to sit in warm water with some music playing, a large glass of water and a book or magazine. It's one of my favorite ways to unwind. This bath is like that, just a little different. This bath is full of all kinds of fun stuff to help pull the gunk out of you. Through your sweat pores. If you don't like to sweat, get over it. Add 2 cups of baking soda, 2 cups of epsom salts and 1 cup of sea salt to a bath that's as hot as you can stand it. If you've got some, throw in some ginger, maybe a little tea tree oil. If you want it to smell good, add some lavender oil, or another that you love. Soak in it for 40 minutes. You are going to sweat. If you're not sweating, make the water hotter. I also use a portable heater to make my bathroom warm, since my skin is pretty sensitive to hot water. When the 40 minutes is up, drain the water and rinse off in a warm shower. Don't plan on taking a normal shower and washing your hair and stuff. Your body needs to rest. In fact, this is an excellent time to go to bed. You may continue to sweat for a good while after your bath. Awesome! More detox! (If you have high blood pressure, you probably should skip this bath.)
3. Journal your Food. I use SparkPeople to track what I've eaten throughout the day and my daily weigh ins. When I'm not on protocol, I also use the site to track my workouts and calories burned. If you're not writing down everything you eat and making sure you're hitting and/or not exceeding your allotted 500 calories for the day, you might want to start doing that during a stall. Remember, not eating enough is just as bad as eating too much!
4. Check your labels. I'm not talking food labels; I'm talking personal care products. If there is oil in, say, your moisturizer, your skin may be absorbing enough that it's having an impact on your scale. And check all of it, not just obvious things. Oil can be in anything from lip gloss to shampoo.
5. Add some variety. If you're eating chicken and spinach for two meals a day, your body is liable to think there's not enough food around, and start holding on to everything it's got. If you're stumped for things to eat, check out Lianne's blog over at My HCG Cooking for some great ideas.
6. Chinese Water Torture. Okay, not really. But upping your water intake can get the scale moving again. You should be drinking 2L of water per day, as it is. If you're doing that and still facing a stall, try drinking even more. My rule of thumb, whether I'm on protocol or not, is that my pee needs to be nearly clear. If it's not, I'm not drinking enough water.
7. Poop. Yeah, I said it. There's something about this diet that makes bowel movements somewhat rarer than they'd been previously. Lots of people swear by Smooth Move Tea. I am not a big fan. A friend who is an RN suggested Milk of Magnesia instead, and on the few occasions I've used it, I've been happy with the results. Please understand that taking any kind of laxative is not PART of this diet and is not in any way required. If you haven't had a bowel movement in a few days, though, you could be facing some compact issues, and might need a little boost in that department. Some people suggest taking a daily fiber supplement while you're on protocol to avoid this problem altogether.
8. Exercise. A little. Too much strenuous activity on 500 calories a day is going to backfire. You're likely to make your stall last longer, and do some damage to your body in the process. Best case scenario of overexercising while you're on the Very Low Calorie Diet, you're gonna end up with hands like Madonna or Sarah Jessica Parker. (Google them. Frightening.) So you definitely don't want to overdo it. But, a nice walk, or some gentle yoga, even a little extra playing in the yard with the kids can help to break through a stall. Again, I'd avoid anything having to do with weights, because, seriously, look at SJP's hands!
For my part, I did a nice detox bath last night, drank enough water to drown a cow, and took a half mile walk today. I'll report back in the morning!
Friday, November 11, 2011
HI! Miss me? ;-)
I missed you too! I took pretty much the entire summer and most of the fall off from all things HCG, and here I am, ready to start my next (and possibly last!) round.
I must confess that I have gained some of my weight back. I'll tell you why. First of all, I haven't done a full, real Phase 3 since my first round, and second of all, wheat is not my friend.
Phase 3 is just as important as Phase 2. In Phase 2, you lose the weight. In Phase 3, you tell your body, "Okay, this is where we want to stay." Phase 3 is vital to stabilizing. Obviously, I KNOW this. I just have a hard time DOING it. Interestingly, I'm back to where I was at the end of my first round. You know, the time I did a full Phase 3. (headsmack)
I cannot tell you how much different I feel without wheat, in any of its insidious forms, in my body. I spend the first few days of any Phase 2 talking about how light I feel, and how energetic. I'm not bloated, I'm just...different. A better different. Then I leave Phase 2, do a half-assed Phase 3 and remember how delicious mozzerella sticks are. (headsmack 2) Here's the thing; in moderation (for me), yes, mozzerella sticks are fine and delicious. When you eat something breaded and fried more days than you don't.... problem.
I was doing okay, honestly, and then I went on vacation. Somehow in my mind, vacation=license to eat everything on the menu. Twice. And I went on TWO vacations. A week with my family and then four days in Vegas. It's kind of amazing, really, that I haven't gained everything, plus some, back. Again, I point to the fact that, eating whatever I wanted, for a couple MONTHS, has put me back to the point of my last real Phase 3. This just goes to prove that Phase 3 really is resetting our hypothalmus, and it's not all smoke and mirrors.
So, I loaded this past weekend, and in the past five days, I'm back down 4.8 pounds. That puts me about 10 pounds away from my lowest weight on protocol and about 15 pounds from my goal. I might be able to eek that out on one round. We shall see!
In the meantime, I'm making meatloaf for everyone tonight and I am really excited to eat mine with a little of Lianne's ketchup, designed specifically for Phase 2. :-) Go to her site and browse the recipes, there is some incredibly yummy stuff on there. I am so jonesing for some Phase 3 pizza!
I must confess that I have gained some of my weight back. I'll tell you why. First of all, I haven't done a full, real Phase 3 since my first round, and second of all, wheat is not my friend.
Phase 3 is just as important as Phase 2. In Phase 2, you lose the weight. In Phase 3, you tell your body, "Okay, this is where we want to stay." Phase 3 is vital to stabilizing. Obviously, I KNOW this. I just have a hard time DOING it. Interestingly, I'm back to where I was at the end of my first round. You know, the time I did a full Phase 3. (headsmack)
I cannot tell you how much different I feel without wheat, in any of its insidious forms, in my body. I spend the first few days of any Phase 2 talking about how light I feel, and how energetic. I'm not bloated, I'm just...different. A better different. Then I leave Phase 2, do a half-assed Phase 3 and remember how delicious mozzerella sticks are. (headsmack 2) Here's the thing; in moderation (for me), yes, mozzerella sticks are fine and delicious. When you eat something breaded and fried more days than you don't.... problem.
I was doing okay, honestly, and then I went on vacation. Somehow in my mind, vacation=license to eat everything on the menu. Twice. And I went on TWO vacations. A week with my family and then four days in Vegas. It's kind of amazing, really, that I haven't gained everything, plus some, back. Again, I point to the fact that, eating whatever I wanted, for a couple MONTHS, has put me back to the point of my last real Phase 3. This just goes to prove that Phase 3 really is resetting our hypothalmus, and it's not all smoke and mirrors.
So, I loaded this past weekend, and in the past five days, I'm back down 4.8 pounds. That puts me about 10 pounds away from my lowest weight on protocol and about 15 pounds from my goal. I might be able to eek that out on one round. We shall see!
In the meantime, I'm making meatloaf for everyone tonight and I am really excited to eat mine with a little of Lianne's ketchup, designed specifically for Phase 2. :-) Go to her site and browse the recipes, there is some incredibly yummy stuff on there. I am so jonesing for some Phase 3 pizza!
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