Round 4 (Coming soon to a theater near you)

Hm. Well, it's unfortunate that I couldn't get myself squared away in less than FOUR rounds.... but I guess that is my reality and I'm just going to work with it :)

The Goal:
Lose additional 40 pounds in 45 days.

The Plan:
Begin Round 4 January 15.
Follow the darn protocol and don't cheat!
Be skinny by February 28.
Celebrate by wearing bikini to work on February 29.

:)

Phase Three!

My first day of phase three :) It feels good.... :)

Now all I have to do is try to maintain this for the next couple weeks. Hopefully I can make good food choices while I'm in Hawaii ;)

Current Weight: 232.6
R3 Weight Lost: 25.7
Total Weight Lost: 56.4

Almost my last day....

I leave for Hawaii in a few short days, so its almost time to wind this round down :) I've decided I'm going to keep going until I run out of HCG in my current vial. I figure that should only be a few more days then its on to phase three! This is the lowest I've been in weight in a long...long... time. I'm only about 7 pounds away from my weight when I was playing college volleyball. Granted I was far more muscular then...but still!

Current Weight: 232.8
R3 Weight Lost: 25.5
Total Weight Lost: 56.2

Round Three, Day......?

I've finally broken into the lowest weights I've ever achieved on the HCG protocol :) YAY!

I also went out to dinner with friends of mine friday and received a number of compliments. They called me "Skinny" all night. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought I would be eligible for the nickname "Skinny"!

Current Weight: 234.7
R3 Weight Lost: 23.6
Total Weight Lost: 54.3

Update!

I had a real lull in weight loss. All do to make lack of discipline. *sigh* Unfortunately I've been at this weight before with the HCG protocol.... would have been great if I had stayed a little more focused!

C'est la vie. No use crying over spilled milk! I leave for Hawaii in about a week and a half, so I still have a little time to lower my weight!

Current Weight: 236.6
R3 Weight Lost: 21.7
Total Weight Lost: 52.4

Day 18 of Round THREE!

Not too shabby! I have definitely had a few slip ups, and I still haven't started P90x like I promised I would have by now. Despite all that I seem to still be rolling right along!

I was definitely my most disciplined during my first round of HCG. I really stuck to eating all organic, I was drinking my teas regularly, and I wasn't really sneaking any significant snacks. Other rounds I have definitely been more "casual" in my approach... eating non-organically, sneaking snacks almost regularly, not drinking my teas or apple cider vinegar at all. I'm still losing the weight, but I notice my stomach doesn't appear to be as flat as in previous rounds. Just an observation to share with all of you considering to embark on this little experiment ;)

Current Weight: 238.7
R3 Weight Lost: 19.6
Total Weight Lost: 50.3

Past the 50lb mark!!! DAMN! :)

Round Three Update

I don't have time to really write much! Here is the update! :)

Current Weight: 240.6
R3 Weight Lost: 17.7
Total Weight Lost: 48.4

Round THREE!

Well here I am beginning a third round of phase two on the Simeons protocol. I didn't do very well on my second round...mostly because I thought I could attend social events and still stay on protocol. Wrong! I also didn't even try to eat properly after stopping the injections. I know I went up by more than two pounds on several occasions and didn't do the steak protocol, and I also went straight back to eating starches and sugar.

This time around will be different!! I'm going on my vacation in mid August and I need to be on my A-game! I also bought P90X to accompany phase two, and Dale has agreed to do the workouts with me. Hopefully that will help me tone up before the big trip.

I'm currently on my second gorge day and feel SO GROSS. Tomorrow I will start the VLCD and hopefully drop all the weight I gained as a result of the gorge days, and my mini-vacation to the Outer Banks this past week :)

Although I've gained a bit of the weight back, I still feel WAY better than I was feeling before embarking on this Simeons experiment. I've also noticed that it takes longer for me to gain weight than it did before.


Current Weight: 258.3
R3 Weight Lost: ----
Total Weight Lost: 30.7

Round 3....?

Weird. I didn't think NASA approved my access to this site, but maybe I just needed to spend a few weeks away from it! :) Hopefully I'll be able to post again from work!

Quick updates: I re-ordered a new cycle of HCG and it's already arrived in the mail. Yay! I also restocked on supplies I need to make phase 2 happen. I'm thinking that I will probably start another round at the beginning of July. This will give me ample time to lose and tone before my trip to HAWAII on August 18!!! YYYAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!! :)

Round Two, Phase Three!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I had posted on here... Unfortunately NASA decided that blogspot should be a banned website, so it makes posting a little tricky.

To summarize:
I ended Round Two, Phase Two weighing 233. I was pretty happy for my weight loss considering my lack of commitment this time around. I really could have done a better job, but the fact of the matter is...I didn't. I'm now finally down a pant size. Holy moley did it take a long time to drop one freaking pant size! Just a testament to the fact that this protocol "reshapes" you. Once finishing this round of phase two, I did an absolutely awful job of transitioning to phase three, and I gained about 8 lbs back, which is where I currently am in terms of weight. Disappointing? Yes. The timing was just not good in general this time around. I had a super stressful project coming to an end, and we really had to deliver. Not to mention this project required me to travel, which was simply awful for following phase three guidelines. My project went absolutely fantastic! Could not have gone ANY better and if it was possible I am loving my job even MORE now than I was before :0) At the completion of this "project", which happened to be guiding NASA through a National Level Exercise with all of its senior leadership (I realized I was being vague and cryptic by calling it a "project" repeatedly, haha!) the design team I led went out for a major celebration..... And celebrate we did!!!!!!! :0) Not good for the Simeons protocol, but it was completely necessary.

Looking forward:
I'm not happy with how I've left things, and ideally I'd like to lose a bit more weight. I'm considering starting another round of phase two in July, however I realize that may be pretty difficult considering the summer parties, BBQ's, Snowball Stand trips, and of course summer libations :0) I'm going to have to really look at the calendar and decide what I can, and cannot handle. I'd like to get down to 200 on this next round, so I can't afford any screw ups!

I've noticed that I really don't have much muscle tone anymore. I don't have much time to get to the gym and lift weights, or even to do body weight exercises at home. I'll have to figure something out though because it doesn't help to lose a bunch of weight if you still look sloppy! haha!! *sigh* I'll have to work something out with this crazy commute to DC every day....

So that's where I stand! :0)

Day 39

I must say.... I did not do a good job this time around. I was definitely not focused or committed enough. I'm on day 39 now, I currently have no kitchen, and at work I've been preparing for the biggest federal level exercise I have ever designed and executed in my life! These were all contributing factors to my limited success, but my intention is not to make excuses for myself.

I'm calling it quits today on Round Two, Phase Two. And even that decision is based on this huge exercise I'm planning. I can't be worried about eating exactly on protocol for two days after stopping injections because the timing would make those two days right in the middle of the exercise, so I'm just going to have this be my last day.

All those blah comments out of the way... I still lost almost 20lbs on this round! And my biggest accomplishment is that I finally bought new pants, a size smaller than what I started out at in January!!! It took me 50lbs to drop one freaking size!! hahaha! So I ordered some pants off gap.com and was actually able to order pants from the tall section now :0) Yay! "X-Tall" inseam, hooray!! :0)

I can't remember what I weighed in at this morning, so I'll have to post that tomorrow. Until then......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Day 32 - Down 2 lbs!!!

I may actually be incorrect with the number day I'm on at this point.... I would check my calendar right now, but unfortunately NASA has deemed blogger.com a "Unapproved/banned website". I don't even know why that happened all of a sudden?? As if I hadn't been writing my blogs from there every morning for months! :0)

Two POUNDS!!! Holy moley!! Let me document exactly what I did yesterday to try and replicate... Drank morning coffee (little bit of organic cream, and stevia), skipped morning apple, ate lunch consisting of leftover salad and chicken (didn't really eat the whole thing because the lettuce was gross, and there probably wasn't 100grams of chicken), skipped afternoon apple and substituted coffee (+ half and half and stevia), two lifesaver mints (to combat previously listed "coffee"), dinner of 100grams steak. Apparently, once you're established in phase two, skipping apples reap tremendous results!

Yesterday afternoon I also spent portioning and cooking proteins for the next few days. I finally have my kitchen renovation underway, and...... Well you see the obvious hurdle this throws into the mix:


Current Weight: 235.3
R2P2 Weight Lost: 19.2
Total Weight Lost: 53.7

Day 31 - Down 1.7

Awesome! I wasn't really expecting more than a one pound loss, let alone almost two! :0)

I just need to stay the course for a few more days so I can have a somewhat respectable round two, phase two. Naturally I'm tempted tonight because it's 1) Cinco de Mayo and 2) I just received an invitation to come out for a drink and see my friends new motorcycle.... *sigh* Must. Be. Committed!

:0p

I just counted back on the calendar and I still have the potential to lose 10lbs, bringing my total weight loss for round two: 27lbs

Sweet.

Current Weight: 237.3
R2P2 Weight Lost: 17.2
Total Weight Lost: 51.7

Day 30 - Up 0.2

I can't even talk about this weekend. I had tickets to a wine event and the rest is history. The good news is that I don't have anymore social events for the remainder of this round of phase two!!! So I should be able to just put my head down and focus on doing what I need to do. Lesson learned. You pretty much have to isolate yourself while doing phase two. It's just incredibly hard to "attend" a social event while not really participating as you normally would. Moral of the story: Do yourself a favor. Just avoid social functions while you're on phase two.

In other news almost all my clothes are now too large, and make me look ridiculously frumpy. I have ONE pair of pants that fits me anymore, and even those resemble pajama pants. This is definitely a good problem to have, but I need to get some new clothes asap before my customers and colleagues starts to think I wear hand-me-downs from a two ton gorilla. I had planned on waiting until I lost a little more, but I guess I can't avoid it any longer.

Anyone up for a shopping spree!!!??? :0)


Current Weight: 239
R2P2 Weight Lost: 15.5
Total Weight Lost: 50

Day 23 and 24 - Down 2.6

Hell yea....hell yea... :0) Not only am I finally in the 230's, but I have now officially lost 50lbs!!!! (and the crowd goes wiiiilllddddd)

I write this good news, however I did not have a very good lunch today. My customer/boss insisted that I go with her to lunch, and well....how do you tell the woman who keeps you employed "no"? I should have stuck to a strategy of eating only half the meal, but instead I ate the whole thing. It wasn't awful, but all the same. I'm going to go without dinner and see if it effects me too badly. For those of you interested in what I ate (aka: the true fatties at heart), it is kabob Thursday at FEMA. So I had a chicken kabob, which would have been fine if that's the only thing they gave me. But the kabob also comes with about 3/4 cup of rice, a small salad, and a piece of naan. I didn't eat it all, but I ate enough of it all the same.

Maybe a little working out is in order tonight ;0)

Also, I decided to stay on the protocol for the 45 days. I'm already half way through, and Jami is right. The summer will make it incredibly hard to adhere to phase two. The good thing about this strategy is that I will still give myself a good amount of time to lose some weight. It may not be the 40lbs I was envisioning, but even if it's 20lbs that will still make me feel better about myself! I also calculated my daily weight loss and it comes to an average of about 0.65lbs per day. I couldn't get those same numbers on my own...! So even though its not 1lb per day, it's still a good number and I'm going to roll with it.

Current Weight: 238.8
R2P2 Weight Lost: 15.7
Total Weight Lost: 50.2

Day 22 - Down 0.4

Such a disappointing number this morning... :0( I thought for sure I would be down 1lb. I guess I could attribute it to stress...? I'm trying to refinance my house for some renovations, and let's just say it hasn't exactly been a walk in the park.

Since this round of HCG has been less than stellar, I was actually toying with the idea of ending early. Ending early would allow me to take less time off between this round and a future round. A future round where I could begin in a more focused state of mind. Summer is just around the corner though, and it wouldn't be easy to do a round of HCG during the summer months. Or should I just stick it out? Any thoughts?

Current Weight: 241.4
R2P2 Weight Lost: 13.1
Total Weight Lost: 47.6

Day 20 and 21 - Up 1.5

Ouch. This weekend was NOT good!!!! I mean...it was good because it was fun, but I was pretty much completely off protocol for both Friday and Saturday. As penance I did an apple day on Sunday, and I'm pretty happy with my results.

First came Friday... I was good all day in anticipation of my night out on the town. Once the festivities were underway I drank pretty much whatever I wanted, and at dinner I indulged in fried calamari, and an huge entree of Parmesan crusted scallops with roasted tomato risotto. Then we went to the show, and drank some more....I obviously didn't get the recommended amount of sleep this night either.

The next morning.... I woke up bleary eyed and somewhat feeling the effects of my drinking the previous night. I saw a bag of dark chocolate and almond candies and immediately ate three to console my body. This later turned into three more, washed down with a few Ferrero Roches. I had made plans to attend an informal BBQ with my coworker and a few of his friends. I decided it was a futile effort fighting against what was clearly meant to be. So I had a few beers, ate a couple quesadilla triangles, chips and guacamole, and a few chocolate cookies for good measure. Hey. If I'm gonna cheat I may as well cheat. The weekend was a dietary bust anyways.

Sunday I was back on track and did my apple day. I brought me back to a comfortable place considering my weekend sins. After Friday night I was up two pounds. After Saturday night I was up another two pounds! I did my apple day, and I'm back down 2.2 pounds. Tomorrow morning I should be exactly where I left off.

Current Weight: 241.8
R2P2 Weight Lost: 12.7
Total Weight Lost: 47.2

Are you guys tired of my yo-yo dieting yet?? :) This is a great example of some pretty blatant self sabotage...

Day 19 - Down 1.4

I'm catching up!!! Although, I'm not sure how tonight may impact things... I'll do my best to not affect my progress so far.

I went shopping last night and was able to try on a few new things. I tried on clothes that were 2 sizes smaller than my usual. I should have tried on clothes only one size smaller, but they were hard to find. The clothes didn't look great on me and it actually was a little discouraging. I'm just not quite there yet. I'm still not happy with the way my body looks, but it is a VAST improvement on how I was looking before. I can't even fathom the idea of how I used to look anymore...

I also took some measurements last night just because I was curious. Since the beginning of Round two, Phase two I've lost a combined......

9.5 INCHES off my body!!! That's pretty amazing to lose that much in just 19 days :) It's just another testament to how awesome this protocol is.


Current Weight: 240.3
R2P2 Weight Lost: 14.2
Total Weight Lost: 48.7

Day 18 - Down 1.3

Oh thank god. I'm coming down in weight, and I'm gaining on some of the ground I lost in the beginning. I was looking in the mirror this morning and I'm both thrilled and surprised at how flat my stomach is becoming. It hasn't looked this way in a looooong time :) I even did some lunges and squats the other night to try and tone up, and boy am I sore! Where did all my muscle go??

Coming up: Friday is a night out with the girls. I'm super excited and a little bit worried about how things might affect my weight loss. I'm also not really able to drink very much anymore, so I'm going to have to pace myself otherwise I'm going to be flat on my face, flat on the floor by 9pm!

Current Weight: 241.7
R2P2 Weight Lost: 12.8
Total Weight Lost: 47.3

Day 17 - Down 1.0

So here I am again. Back at this familiar number. I was really hoping I could erase my mistakes in one day and I would somehow magically be back to 242. I guess tomorrow it may be in my cards.

I ate exactly on protocol yesterday. I even made brownies for Administrative Assistant Day, almost as a test of will power. I'm proud to report I didn't so much as lick the spoon! :)

Current Weight: 243
R2P2 Weight Lost: 11.5
Total Weight Lost: 46

Day 16 - Up 1.5

This is what happens when you try to attend social events while doing this damn protocol. I'm really not thrilled with my dedication this time around. I should be down 16lbs by now, but instead I'm floundering in no man's land. That's it. I'm fed up with myself. Enough playing around. It's time to get serious.

Current Weight: 244
R2P2 Weight Lost: 10.5
Total Weight Lost: 45

Day 14 and 15 - Down 1.0

I'm really frustrating myself here... I should be down 15 lbs, but because I've been back and forth attending social events, and putting myself in tough positions I haven't done a great job staying on protocol. Friday nights at the firehouse are always super hard, because my crew is always going out to get dinner, and there are always goodies sitting around. This past Friday in particular someone put a BAG of chocolate covered peanuts in front of me. I couldn't take it anymore and broke down. I had one...then a handful....then I just said screw it and filled up a little cup and chomped away on the banned goods. Ugh. I suck. It totally wasn't worth it. Wasn't even dark chocolate for god's sake! (Here is a picture from the training we did Saturday morning. I'm the one pointing at the fire hydrant.)

I'm already beginning to think this may not be my last round of HCG because of my lack of discipline... :( I'm super close to the 230's though so I'm going to focus on that. It's been a loooong time since I've been in the 230's.

Small success: I put on a pair of jeans I've had in my closet for probably two years. I've never worn them before because they were always a bit too small. I loved the style though and kept them because I thought one day I would fit in them. Well that one day has come!!! Hot damn! I wore them yesterday :) All my other clothes are a little baggy on me now, so it was so nice to put on something that actually fits my "new shape" :)


Current Weight: 242.5
R2P2 Weight Lost: 12

Total Weight Lost: 46.5

Day 13 - Up 0.6

I cheated yesterday. My team at work was going to lunch for a "team event" and I really felt like there was no way around going. I want to maintain a leadership position, and it just would not have looked good. I could have gotten the salad, but I didn't.... I got a burger (that was freaking delicious!!!) and I'm paying for it today. Hopefully the effects won't last too long, and tomorrow I will see a loss. On a more cheery note! Here is the link to where we went for lunch, and OMG was it delicious! Owner = Spike, from Top Chef



Current Weight: 243.5
R2P2 Weight Lost: 11

Total Weight Lost: 45.5

Day 12 - Down 1.6

I wasn't expecting a drop like this! Apparently the volleyball did my body good! And to add to that... (cue music) Weeeeeee are the Champioooonnnnnsss!!!! That would be six seasons (three years) running! So every other team pretty much hates us. Oh well.

Game Summary: I had a great showing on the net for both games, however in the second match my passing fell to pieces and my team opted to hide me on the end line during serve receive. Whatever. My passing has always sucked. They were gracious enough to even let me try passing in the first place :0) My teams hitting was on POINT last night, and there were several times when Nate hit ON the ten foot line.....from the back row. Un-freaking-believable.

Also, I have a confession to make. Every day I allow myself 1-2 crackers with a bit of cheese on top. Not only is this totally permitted by Simeons manuscript, but I've found that it does not effect my results at all. It definitely takes that edge off as well. Just that small intake of bread/carb is enough to satisfy the craving, allowing me to adhere to the protocol much better.

The section of Trudeau's book where he talks about mental blocks, and mentally not allowing yourself to lose the weight... Very accurate. For some reason the 240's is very intimidating for me. All the dieting I've done in the past, 240 was always the lowest I was ever able to achieve (after my college volleyball years). As I get closer to 240 I'm getting nervous that I may hit a wall like I have in the past. I'm going to try really hard to maintain a good positive attitude, get plenty of sleep, and just put my faith in the protocol. I'll see where it gets me!


Current Weight: 242.9
R2P2 Weight Lost:11.6

Total Weight Lost: 46.1

Day 11 - Down 1.0

I'm really happy to report the dinner with my colleagues didn't stall my weight loss for a few days like it normally does. I didn't get a chance to eat lunch yesterday until 3pm because work was so crazy. Not having food for that long actually made me really cranky which never really happens to me. Usually I can go a whole day without food and not be affected. That being said, my crankiness may have also been a result of an awful meeting with FEMA, followed by a meeting with a security investigator, and then a meeting with this goofy lady I don't communicate well with, so who knows...

When I got home I didn't even feel like eating dinner, but luckily Dale made me eat something. I have volleyball tonight, and lots of it! So hopefully my VLCD doesn't effect me too much.


Current Weight: 244.5
R2P2 Weight Lost:10

Total Weight Lost: 44.5

Day 10 - Down 0.1

That's hilarious :0) Down 0.1 lbs haha! I'm ok with that thought because I had dinner with some colleagues the night before and had a salad with goat cheese on it and definitely more than 100 grams of chicken.

Current Weight: 245.5
R2P2 Weight Lost: 9

Total Weight Lost: 43.5

Day 8 and 9 - Down 2.3

Finally figured out why I didn't have the huge initial drop that I was anticipating...TOM. Sucks. I had an "ok" weekend on protocol. I actually ended up not eating dinner Saturday, and went to the super nerd extravaganza, also known as Yuri's night. I didn't have any of their catered food, but I did indulge in two beers. I was actually down more than the above mentioned weight after skipping dinner Saturday and drinking, but I seem to have corrected myself on Sunday when my parents came over for lunch. Dale and I made them burgers on the grill. I made their burgers separate from my own, but also had a 100g burger for myself. Since they were having fries, and a much tastier looking burger I decided to treat myself to a slice of cheese on my mini-burger. That may have pushed me back up in weight, but overall I'm still in a good place :0)

Today at work is flying by! I have a hundred things to do and just not enough time to get everything done. I was invited in on a special meeting today though, so I'm pretty stoked to get confirmation that I'm gaining distance in building solid relationships. I had coffee this morning, but didn't get time to eat my morning apple, also known as "breakfast". I was able to have my small salad for lunch with cucumbers and shrimp. I'm going to try and squeeze in an apple this afternoon before I meet up with some former co-workers for dinner. I'll get the salad, I promise!!


Current Weight: 245.6
R2P2 Weight Lost: 8.9

Total Weight Lost: 43.4

Day 7 - Down 1.1

Yesterday was a weak day for me. I was sneaking some sweet potato chips and had two crackers with cheese on them. If I put this into perspective though, it's really not bad. My customer at work had invited me to lunch for pizza, I came home and there was a dark chocolate candy bar in the fridge, I worked at the firehouse last night and upon arrival I walked into the kitchen to see four CASES of donated girl scout cookies, banana breads, and other specialty breads. And to top things off, my crew hadn't eaten dinner yet so we had to go to Chipotle AND this delicious sub shop.... After explaining all that I actually don't feel bad about my cheats at all!!!!

My mitigation strategy for the donated girl scout cookies was to take four boxes for once phase two is over. This actually made me feel better. Less of a feeling of missing out, and more of a feeling of "these are on hold for the moment" :0) They are in my car and will soon be transferred to my pantry for consumption later.


Current Weight: 247.9 (yay for the new scale and tenths of a pound!)
R2P2 Weight Lost: 6.6

Total Weight Lost: 41.1

Day 6 - Down 0.5

Back down to my lowest weight since starting this HCG experiment :0)

I finally got the scale situation sorted out, and this morning I put them side by side to test things out. Old scale read 248, and new scale read 249. Since I'm transitioning over to the new scale I'll just go with the 249 even though it's possible I lost more than a half pound... I'm so excited to have a scale that will actually measure to the tenth of a pound! I know that sounds pretty lame, but I am.

I was asked to lunch today by the task owner of my contract. Super excited to be building awesome rapport with her, but of course she wanted to go to this pizza joint. I somehow managed to balance the invite and my diet, by telling her that I brought my lunch but that she should ask my coworker to get pizza with her, and I would love to walk along with them. Totally worked, and I was able to balance the two. I was also able to pick up SUPER useful information as my contract moves forward from a business development stance. I love my job :0) In fact, I love my career :0)

On the books for this weekend: Super nerdy party a Goddard Space Center called the Yuri Gagarin party. Picture this...large congregation of nerds, some dressed in costumes, booze, cool science displays, and DJ Scientific ;0) Oh yes. I'm there. $10/ticket if anyone wants to come! http://dc.yurisnight.net/



Current Weight: 249
R2P2 Weight Lost: 5.5

Total Weight Lost: 40

Day 5 - Down 2.5

I'm only half a pound away from my lowest weight achieved on HCG! Although I had expected to be at this point a few days ago, I'm certainly not going to complain.

I followed through with my plans to buy a new scale last night. I stopped at Bed, bath and beyond to pickup a nice, sleek new Weight Watchers scale that apparently measures your water weight, body fat percentage, and the whole nine yards. Not that I really care to know those things, but it was pretty so I bought it. Upon arriving home with my new purchase at 10pm, I excitedly opening the packaging to reveal what I thought would be a grand purchase. I pulled the scale from it's box only to reveal the ENTIRE glass plate you are expected to stand on was shifted to the right, wires exposed and severed! DAMMIT! I just can't seem to get this scale thing right! I was beaten. Dejected. Dale offered to exchange it for me today thankfully, because I just can't deal with the process of getting a new scale anymore. I kept saying I needed one...for months. Then I finally motivate myself to get one (only after arguing with the cashier about the price variation between the register and the shelf) and it's broken. *sigh*

The dizziness is gone this morning! Thank goodness. However, these past few days I have wanted to cheat in the worst way. I don't think I experienced this the first time around, but man what I would give for a slice of pizza, or a milkshake right now :0) I just keep reminding myself that I had to wait 45 days to even be able to start phase two again, and it's only going to last 45 days, so I should just suck it up and control myself. I had another headache yesterday. It was milder, but a headache all the same. After playing some volleyball it went away, and I'm happy to be past the initial phase two headaches now. If I can just put my head down and charge forward, following the rules for the next 40 days, everything should work out just great :0)

Current Weight: 249.5
R2P2 Weight Lost: 5

Total Weight Lost: 39.5

Day 4 - Down 2.5

I have to be honest. I was expecting a bigger loss. I'm not sure why I had these expectations, but I did. Actually, I just looked back in my blog and I was expecting a larger loss because on my first round of phase 2 I lost 5.5lbs on Day 4!! A measly 2.5??? What the hell is that? On top of that I had to step on the scale a few times because I was getting inconsistent numbers, some of which recorded a loss of ZERO. I need to get a new scale. I said I was going to do it last time around, and I didn't.

I ate perfectly yesterday though, so I'm not sure why the number wasn't larger. I guess I won't get too upset about it though since it is still a pretty decent loss for one day, considering I did nothing other than eat on protocol. This time around on phase two, my first day headache wasn't nearly as bad. I was able to fend off the headache until almost the end of my work day. I was pretty dizzy yesterday, last night, and again this morning. I don't remember having those feelings in the past, except on occasion later in phase two and they never lasted very long.

Last time on phase two I was able to pretty well isolate myself and ward off much temptation. Although it left me feeling alienated from my social life, it was a great way to get results. This time around I've noticed my April schedule looking rather full with events I've committed myself to. Events that will undoubtedly bring temptation, and probably some cheating on occasion. I'm going to cross my fingers this round is just as effective as the last! :0)


Current Weight: 252
R2P2 Weight Lost: 2.5

Total Weight Lost: 37

Day 3

Gorging is so fun, but so gross... I felt absolutely sick last night after I ate about a pound of pasta with vodka tomato cream sauce, chicken shumai, ice cream cookie sandwiches, Starbucks frappacinos, and the list goes on and on.... The idea must be to get you so disgusted with yourself that you don't want to eat anything for the first few days of the protocol! Well mission accomplished. My jaw even hurts from chewing so much yesterday!

I only accomplished a few things on my list yesterday. Let's recap, shall we?:

List of things to do for tomorrow:
1. Buy a tape measure and take my damn measurements

• I didn't buy a tape measure, but I stole my Mom's from her house and took my measurements this morning. If you're reading this...Sorry Mom! I'll bring it back!
  

2. Measure out 100 grams of protein for the next few weeks and freeze

• Didn't even attempt to do this. Found a bag of chicken in the freezer that I measured last time around and used it for my lunch today.
  

3. Steal my Mom's scale because it's better than mine

• Unsuccessful! She took it with her on vacation to South Carolina! The nerve....
  

4. Take a "before" picture (possibly in the seal suit for those of you interested in this atrocity)
5. Research more HCG recipes
6. Schedule (at least tentatively) days of the week I can plan on lifting/working out

• Let me save you the time reading... I didn't do any of the last items listed either

So I guess technically, I didn't accomplish even ONE thing! At least I have some measurements though. I'm planning to take comparison measurements every week to see how things progress. I was surprised this morning to see that I hadn't gained anything despite my best efforts to gorge.

Current Weight: 254.5
R2P2 Weight Lost: 0

Total Weight Lost: 34.5

Gorge Day 2

I did a pretty fantastic job of gorging yesterday. Despite not having shopped in advance for the two day gorge, I still managed to get in plenty of chocolate, greasy foods, and best of all Easter dinner :0) Too bad poor Dale got sick during dinner, otherwise I was going to make him stop at Baskin Robbins with me for a milkshake :0p

This morning I decided to get breakfast at work, and I was actually feeling pretty faint by the time I finally got in and ordered my breakfast sandwich. I actually contemplated stopping at Chik-fil-a first and then ALSO getting a breakfast sandwich upon arrival at work! Haha! The breakfast sandwich definitely helped, but I'm still hungry! Last time I did my two day gorge I noticed that I had a hard time feeling "full"... For some reason I eat and eat, and still can't seem to get that "full" sensation. Game plan for today at work: Mid morning snack from the cafe (probably a cinnamon bun), lunch at potbellies (big sandwich and milkshake), afternoon snack (Ritters dark chocolate hazelnut bar), possibly followed by some pit stops on the way home to get "commuting snacks", spinach and ricotta tortellini covered in vodka cream sauce for dinner, and to round things out nicely, maybe an ice cream cookie sandwich....or two for dessert :0)

I'm still feeling dizzy though...Maybe the mid-morning snack will get pushed up on the schedule.


Current Weight: 254.5


List of things to do for tomorrow:
1. Buy a tape measure and take my damn measurements
2. Measure out 100 grams of protein for the next few weeks and freeze
3. Steal my Mom's scale because it's better than mine
4. Take a "before" picture (possibly in the seal suit for those of you interested in this atrocity)
5. Research more HCG recipes
6. Schedule (at least tentatively) days of the week I can plan on lifting/working out

Round TWO - Phase TWO, Gorge Day 1

The original plan was to start Round Two - Phase Two yesterday, April 3rd. Well I was up really late on Friday night and with the combination of sleeping in, and not already having a batch of HCG mixed and waiting in the fridge, I just opted to start today. Plus, I was hanging out with my coworker and his girlfriend yesterday. There is no way I could have been gorging in front of them! They would have thought I was nuts!

This morning I mixed my HCG, gave myself the first injection, and then realized I did NOT plan this gorge well!!!! I have nothing in my house to gorge on except half a bag of peanut butter oreos! Ok, well those are gone now, so NOW I have nothing to gorge on. I think this calls for a trip to the grocery store.

Current Weight: 251.5

Phase 3 - Day 37

Gross. Rainy Friday's are so depressing.

I'm slowly beginning to assemble my goods for the next phase 2. It stinks that I'm pretty much going to be doing this on my own, but I guess I'll manage. My support network from the previous Phase 2, well they've already started their second round while I've been patiently waiting for 45 days to pass. Since I was on HCG for 45 days it calls for at least a 45 day break. It actually works out well with my schedule since my birthday is MONDAY!!!! :0) I've already looked at the calendar and identified 3 possible cheat days. However, if I get to these events and deem them unworthy of cheating then I'm sticking to the program.

I'm really looking forward to buying new clothes :0) Thankfully, most of my pants are noticeably looser, but still acceptable for work. It makes me wonder just how bad I looked in these pants before... Hahaha! I know they were tight, but damn. How tight were they?? Now that I've had a taste of bending over to tie my shoes and still being able to breath...well I just can't go back to the way those old pants used to fit!

I've also been talking to my Dad about doing this diet. He has been having some unexpected trouble with his heart lately. Arrhythmia. His heart will start racing for no reason, and they can't seem to figure out how to slow it, or why it's happening. It's happened twice now, and has scared him and our family pretty significantly. He spoke with his doctor about the Simeons protocol, and she knew exactly what he was referring to. Her comments were, "Let me fix your heart first, and then you can do the Simeons protocol if you want." I'd be so excited to help my Dad through the whole process!! :0) It's worked so fantastically for me, I'm really excited by the thought that it may work just as well for him!! Next goal: Get my Mom on board for the "reshaping" benefits. She has been doing Weight Watchers for about a year now, and has lost an amazing 30lbs just using portion control, and changing the types of foods she eats. (She is only about 5'6" so thirty pounds is huge for her) Since she prepares the food in their house, my Dad has also lost 40lbs just by her habits rubbing off on him! I know how hard it can be to use the portion control/exercise route though... I've done it before and been pretty successful, but damn is it hard. Hungry all the time, lack of motivation to go exercise, fatigue, and I still never had the reshaping effects that HCG has had on me! My upper body and waist got smaller, but my legs and hips stayed about the same. It was a huge source of frustration!

Well, off to work now. Time to hurry up and wait for April 3rd to get here...


Current Weight: 254

P.S. I wage battle with the seal suit.....TOMORROW!

Phase 3 - Day 30

The second steak day did finally help get me down to a comfortable level. I think I got back to 251, but I can't exactly remember.

My new batch of HCG came in the mail a few days ago, and I spent this morning looking at my calendar to determine the best day to start my second round of Phase 2. Considering my work schedule, and my upcoming birthday... I believe March 31st is the best time for me to start. I would generally prefer to start on a weekend so I could dedicate all my time to gorging, but I guess this will do :p This will give me two days of gorging in the middle of the week, then a Friday as my first day on the very low calorie diet, and then a whole weekend for easing into the VLCD. It may be challenging, but maybe it will turn out to be a good thing.

Bathing suit season is right around the corner!! While the weight loss has been great, I've been feeling a little less "toned" than I'd like, so maybe during this round of phase two I'll focus more on getting to the gym and lifting (since that's been approved by Trudeau/Simeons).

Oh!!! And in other news...!!! I haven't had a volleyball tournament since the beginning of my last Phase 2, and if you've been following my posts you're familiar with the "seal suit". Well I have a tournament on March 27th and it will be the first time I've put on the seal suit since losing 40 lbs. I'm anxious to see how it fits! I'm guessing it still won't fit perfectly since it IS entirely spandex, but I'm looking for some pretty significant improvement. Maybe I should take my "before" picture in my seal suit since I've been talking about it so much :) ....you all can look forward to that one! ;) hahaha!

Current Weight: 252

Phase 3 - Day 28

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everyone!!! :)

I have news to report! This is especially important for all those currently on phase three or about to start it. If you read my blog from yesterday, I talk about how much of a gain I had after the birthday festivities. I ended Phase 2 at 249, and let myself creep up to 251. Post-birthday event for my friends husband, I weighed in at a whopping 256.5!!!

Well, as a result of not rigidly following Phase 3 protocol, and pretty much freelancing which portions of the protocol I wanted to follow.... I did a steak day in hopes of bringing my number back down to 251. This has historically worked like a charm. Well not this time buddy!! My weight came down, but definitely not back to a comfortable level!

So word of caution to all of you out there that may be abusing the steak day protocol.... It will start to catch up to you. Instead of all the weight coming off after one steak day you will be forced to do multiple steak days in a row to correct your bad choices. I will also add that the farther away you are from your last day of Phase 2, the harder your steak day will be. The first few steak days I imposed on myself were really not hard at all, but again I caution... They become harder after the initial 21 days of Phase 3.

I plan to start another round of Phase 2 sometime between March 30th and April 3rd. I have learned a lot from this first round of Simeons phases, and plan to be very rigid in my next Phase 3 activities. This upcoming round may be my last and if so, I want to do everything perfect so I never have to be uncomfortable in my body again :) <------- That is a promise I'm committed to, and will have no problems following through on. This is my life, and I'm taking control of it. This may be the first summer in YEARS that I actually wear shorts and feel good about it....


Current Weight: 254.5

Phase 3 - Day 27

Ugh....I feel like crap this morning. I went to a friends house last night to celebrate her husbands birthday and meet the newest addition to their family :) They prepared a wonderful meal, and we drank lots of delicious wine. I also topped off my meal with a big slice of German chocolate cake. We got home super late (for a work night), and I only ended up getting about 5 hours of sleep. On top of that I had attended an association meeting for work yesterday, where they provided us a tastey lunch of bistro sandwiches, pasta salad, and a tray full of various desserts....none of which I should have consumed.

To be honest, I haven't been very strict with eating only organic food. It could just be paranoia, but I feel like my stomach just doesn't look quite as flat anymore. I ended the last phase 2 at 249. I had creeped up a bit on the scale and for the most part have been hovering around 251. Until this morning..... (*cue music for when the plot thickens!*) dun dun duuuuunnnnnnnn..... I got on the scale and I was at 256.5. Holy Jeebus!! Apparently wine, cheese, sandwiches, cookies, brownies, and small cocktails weenies will really put you over the top! I had been avoiding steak days recently because, well, I'm just bored with them. Today I will make an exception though, and I'm doing a steak day darn it.

For people about to go onto phase 3 I want to stress some important things. Some of them I've already mentioned, but I'm going to say it again so it reeeeaaalllly sinks in. Take your measurements at the end of phase 2!!! Do this so you have some standard to gauge if your body is changing any during phase 3. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I can't really say for sure because I didn't take ANY measurements at ALL before I started this process....phase 2 or 3! Also, take phase 3 seriously. For the first 21 days of phase 3, honestly do what you're supposed to and don't try to justify cheating to yourself. If you can go 45 days on phase 2, you can do 21 days on phase 3... (this is as much a message to my readers as it is to me for future rounds)

Current Weight: 256.5



This would be my friends new baby :) Myra Elizabeth. I think she makes cranky old man faces.

Phase 3 - Day 20

Ok, I find it really hard to post every day about phase 3 activities. I feel like I write the same thing over and over each day. Here are some thoughts that may be more useful to all my people doing the HCG diet...

1. I wish I would have taken my measurements upon completion of phase 2. This would have given me a baseline for phase 3, and I could have seen if my weight stayed the same and my measurements changed. I seem to have problems with this "measurements" thing and getting it done in advance of a phase...

2. I've had this experience a few times, and still have no idea how to address it. I lost 40lbs in my first round of phase 2, and people are noticing. Inevitably comes the question, "I see you've lost weight! So what's the secret??" How do you tell people what the "secret" is without sounding like a complete lunatic?? "Oh, the secret is eating organically and injecting yourself every morning with a hormone made from the urine of pregnant women." Some of these people I work with, and I'm a little fearful of the impact it may have on my professional life if people start walking around talking about Pam, the girl that injects urine hormone into herself. So I need help. Please tell me if any of you have experienced this, and if you have, how do you answer the question?


Current Weight: 251

Phase 3 - Day 14

The gods have heard me, and seen mercy on me!!! Back down to 249.5! Hot damn!

Steak days work. W-O-R-K. WORK!

Will write more later.

Phase 3 - Day 13

And thus I have my hands slapped..... 254 this morning. That would be five pounds I'm up since my lowest weight doing this protocol. Moral of the story is: When you're up two pounds or more...do NOT freelance and decide to skip the steak day :)

Steak day it is.....

I offer this steak day penance to the gods of hcg and ask their forgiveness in the form of a 5lb loss!! :)

Phase 3 - Day 12

This morning I woke up at 251 and I actually determined that I was going to actively ignore the steak protocol. I'll see the results of my defiance tomorrow morning, and I'm sure it won't be pretty. I ate dinner this evening with my coworkers and chose to eat half of my veal parmesan, obviously a largely starch dish. I also ate about a dozen cookies. Because.....I was out of control.... hahahahhaha!! My punishment will more than likely be a steak day tomorrow.


Current Weight: 251

Phase 3 - Day 11

Woke up this morning expecting to see that I was relegated to a steak day, but instead I was pleased to see that my weight was actually down a little bit.

I wasn't very hungry for breakfast, so I opted for an apple and coffee. Dale and I had tickets to the National Trade and Craft Show (or some title like that) so we left the house at a weird time. I munched some organic apple chips on the way to the Baltimore convention center, then ended up sharing a lamb gyro with Dale. Tonight we had planned for dinner with my parents so I ate broccoli and beef stroganoff. So I think it's safe to say that I really didn't do what I was supposed to for phase 3. Oh well, I don't really care right now. If I have to do a steak day tomorrow I will. I'm off to bed!


Current Weight: 249.5

Phase 3 - Days 9 and 10

Yesterday I weighed in at 248.5, and this morning 250. (I went to dinner with friends last night and ate a big sandwich which may account for this increase) I haven't been overly rigid in not eating starch, but I have been very strict on not eating any sugar. The great thing about this diet is that I haven't had any cravings for sugar at all! So it's been pretty easy to keep away from the sweets. I will admit I have not been too successful in staying away from the booze... I don't even know if there are any restrictions on drinking during phase 3, but I figure most of the drinks I've been consuming aren't exactly "organic" and they probably carry a fair amount of calories but overall I haven't really been counting calories! My whole plan for this diet was to do exactly what the book outlined, and see where it got me. In an effort to stay true to that, I haven't been counting calories and have been eating as much as I want of whatever I want as long as I stay away from starch and sugar! I just don't feel like I would be getting the "true" experience if I reverted back to my old ways of counting calories, excessively working out, and obsessing over the scale numbers. I want to be that person that doesn't worry about what I eat, and my weight because my metabolism supports my lifestyle! The book claims you can be that person if you follow this protocol, so I'm testing the validity of their claims.

My plan to start lifting more frequently, has not really taken off just yet because of my hectic schedule. My team was able to hire 5 new people for the work we recently captured, so that should take some pressure off as soon as they start.

This morning I have a party to attend, so I'm off to shower and get my pretty on! ;)


Current Weight: 250

Phase 3 - Day 8

So after my little trip to the fish restaurant with my former co-workers, I was up to 252. I did the steak protocol once again and was back down to 248.5 by this morning. Score! That means I can have breakfast! :)

I indulged in two scrambled eggs, an apple and coffee this morning. Then had a few organic banana chips when I got to work. Unfortunately I didn't pack a lunch today so I ended up buying a sandwich from the cafe downstairs. I picked pumpernickel bread since I feel like the darker the bread, the better for you. It was delicious fresh roasted turkey they cook on site, with a smidge of mayo, lots of lettuce, cucumbers, and red hots. It was delicious :) I had another apple before I hopped on the metro to come home, and then decided to make a heartier chili than my usual for dinner tonight. I added organic kidney beans to the recipe, doubled the amounts for all the ingredients and I ended up with a delicious organic chili. I never quite know how my body is going to react to hamburger meat, so I may be doing the steak protocol again tomorrow.

And speaking of the steak protocol...! I feel like I've been on the steak protocol every other freaking day! They weren't kidding when they said it would take about 21 days for your body to stabilize itself! I feel like my body chemistry must be all over the map right now. One day up, one day down, steak, steak, steak. It's actually not hard to do the steak day. I know a lot of people have some apprehension about having to do this, but it's really not tough at all. I wasn't very hungry most of the day, but my schedule has made it very late before I can actually cook and eat my steak. I will say....since you don't eat all day until 6pm, you get that "I'm hungry and haven't eaten in forever" bad breath. If you need to interact with important people at work throughout the day like I do, then you need to make sure you take some listerine into your office for safe keeping ;) haha!

Current Weight: 248.5

Phase 3 - Day 6

Yesterday I did the steak protocol, and this morning I weighed 250.5 so I felt that was adequate enough to return to the recommended eating habits for phase 3.

Tonight I went to dinner with some old work friends. We ate at a local fish restaurant and I ended up having a meal containing three small portions of different fish, along with green beans, and wild mushrooms and onions. Of all the selections on the menu, I feel like I made some pretty good decisions there! Oh, and I also had one glass of white wine. I think that's allowed on phase 3 though. I'm not sure.

I was asked about continuing to lose weight during phase 3, and here are my thoughts on that. The book recommends that you do not actively lose weight on phase 3 because the only weight lost would be structural fat surrounding your joints. Well, I can't afford to lose any cushioning or padding in ANY of my joints so I'm not going to focus on that for phase 3. Instead I'm going to focus on making sure my diet and food choices are consistent with what the book recommends, and I'm going to start integrating gym visits back into my weekly schedule. I want to strengthen my body and follow the rules and see where that gets me. Already, I'm not 100% happy with the way I've been approaching phase 3, so I'm going to work on making myself happy with the strengthening portion of my strategy :)

Oh!! Update! I ordered my HCG for the next phase, and it should be arriving in about four weeks. Game. On.

Current Weight: 250.5

Phase 3 - Day 2-5

**disclaimer** I wrote this first section on February 19th.

Back down to 249, so the apparently the steak protocol DOES work!

Another busy, BUSY day was in store for me at work. Literally, I did not sit down until 3pm. All great stuff though! I'm not complaining, just very drained at the moment.

I must confess, I've been looking forward to the day when I could once again... eat eggs! This morning my boyfriend lovingly woke up and made me scrambled eggs with a little cheddar cheese while I got ready for work. They were pretty darn good, but I actually couldn't finish them all. I probably ate a total of two eggs. I also had some coffee on my drive this morning which was just perfect. It probably wasn't the "big breakfast" that Simeons had in mind, but it was a start. I really couldn't fit anymore into the old stomach.

**disclaimer** From this point in my post I will now account for my missed days and catch you all up!

The steak protocol worked wonderfully to keep me at the weight I ended. Unfortunately, this weekend I had a formal event to attend where I boozed it up and ate a few things I shouldn't have. In the realm of eating bad things, it really wasn't awful, but it wasn't what I should have been doing... There was lots of sugar involved....

As a result of said "formal event", I've gained some weight back. I believe I'm up 4 lbs from when I ended phase 2. I'm doing the steak protocol again today, and hopefully I haven't missed the opportunity to reset my body weight set point. I think it will all work itself out, even if I have to do the steak protocol two days in a row. I think it's really key to follow the rules and truly focus on the first 21 days of Phase 3. Message heard loud and clear!

The short period of time I followed the rules I made a tasty little dinner of organic tomato sauce (bought at Safeway), shrimp, and a few handfuls of frozen organic veggie mix (bought at Costco). It was actually really delicious and turned out a bit like a very hearty stew/chili!! See below ;)

Phase 3 - Day 1

*I actually wrote this earlier this morning, but today has been insanely busy and I am just now getting into bed to rest up for tomorrow...and finish this :) It's 11:45pm! Ugh!*

I've just completed 45 days of Phase 2 on the Simeons protocol and I have a few reflections. There are a number of things I would do differently, and a number of things to note.

Things I'll Do For Next Phase 2:

1. I will actually follow the recommendations from the book that suggested taking my measurements before I started, and taking a "before" photo of myself. I totally regret not doing this my first time around.
2. I felt socially isolated during phase 2, so I may start my next round by hanging out with my friends for both gorge days and totally "gorging" in the truest sense of the word.
3. I will actually walk, spend time in the sauna, and lift weights during my next round, because I am now realizing how weak I have become since finishing college volleyball.
   

Interesting Notes:

• My body does not appreciate major cheat days. It usually takes me about 3-4 days to recover.
• The first time you have a "major cheat".... you will get sick. So just know that when you're making your decisions ;)
• I got a major headache on the first two days on phase 2, and the last two days on phase 2. I don't know why, but I'm making note of it so I can possibly adjust next time around.
• Grapefruits are apparently magical. Every time I hit a plateau and couldn't' shake it, I had grapefruits instead of apples and it totally helped jump start the weight loss again.

There were a ton of things that I really wanted to remember to post here, and of course I can't think of them all now.

So it's the first day of Phase 3. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I.....gained two pounds. Yes. Two freaking pounds. Unbelievable. So it's day one of phase three and I'm on the steak protocol. Shit. This is definitely not as awesome as I thought it was going to be. My hope is that tomorrow I will be back down to 249 and I can continue on my merry way with phase three.

Per protocol, I went the entire day without eating anything which was pretty unreal. I actually wasn't hungry. I thought it would be impossible to do something like this without using the hcg injections, but it was actually pretty easy. My coworkers even ordered pizza for a meeting we had, and I didn't have a single bite. Unfortunately, my plans to make the steak protocol happen were a struggle and I'm actually eating waaaaaaayyyyy later than I had wanted. Here's hoping tomorrow morning I'm back at 249!

Oh, and the steak... It was so incredibly wonderful to taste something with loads of spices :) Eat your hearts out everyone on Phase 2!!! MUHAHAHAHA!

Day 45

So yesterday was the longest freaking day ever! I found out I had to attend this training from 7-10pm. WONDERFUL. I was totally unprepared. I ended up eating on protocol for most of the day and having to improvise dinner. I decided to eat my mother's homemade vegetable soup since I didn't have anything salad-like, and I didn't have any organic proteins. I could have opted to eat the crab cakes my mom was making, but they had a few contraband ingredients. So, I gulped down some soup and ran off to this dumb training after a long day at work.

I've been known to get these ridiculously intense headaches that originate in/around my eye. They are completely awful, and I pretty much live in fear of them. Well, before doing the Simeons protocol I could count on getting one of these every month, and if I was lucky every 6 weeks. Well I hadn't had one...until yesterday. It started late in the afternoon, and I thought if I could just get through the class and get to bed I could sleep it off. Well I did indeed try to sleep it off, but alas I woke up with it this morning :( The prospect of trying to push myself through the day with this headache was too daunting for me, and so I broke down and took an excedrin extra strength on my ride to work. I know, I know.... I couldn't even drive properly though!! The headlights of other cars were agony! ...Anyone with any experience of migraines will agree I was justified in my actions.

As a result of my unexpectedly late night, I was unable to prepare lunch for today (I also couldn't seem to muster the strength to iron any work clothes, so it was a comprehensive blow off of responsibilities) I ended up having my morning coffee, sliced apple and then for lunch I had to figure it out on the fly. I ended up getting a gyro from a local shop and eating everything IN the gyro, and only half the pita thingy. It CAME with fries so can I at least get some credit for not eating the fries??? As penance I came home, ate an apple for dinner and went off to my volleyball game. I even stayed afterward to do a little light lifting in the weight room. Oh man have I gotten weak.

I'm going to make a conscious effort to make it to the gym a few times a week to lift. I used to be SO freaking strong! I don't know when all this happened, but I guess I have been noticing that I've been feeling rather girly when it comes to manual labor type activities. It'll make me happy to regain some strength, and it will certainly help with the volleyball.

So there you have it! 45 days. Hm. I'll type up some reflections on this first round of phase 2 tomorrow. For now I'm off to finish preparing my lunch and dinner for tomorrow's long day. In hopes of keeping me satisfied all day, I'm taking two apples, a grapefruit, and two large salads with two small chicken breasts marinated in southwest chipotle seasoning. I know it sounds the same as the protocol, but I also plan on having eggs tomorrow morning with my coffee and maybe eat my grapefruit. Anyone with recipe suggestions, they are welcome!!!!

For those of you following my blog, I'll post recipes for phase three as I go along. Hopefully documenting my experience in phase three will help some of you! :) Oh, and a big thanks to Jami for holding me accountable, and demanding to know where my blog was for today :) Latest blog post to date! hahaha!

Day 44

No change. I've been sneaking too many cheats over this long weekend... :( It's ok though, because today and tomorrow are my LAST two days eating on the VLCD protocol. I WILL eat 100% on protocol because that's what the book said to do, and because I'm too afraid to go against THE BOOK.

I've heard that you can't necessarily eat "as much" as you want, but rather you need to stay within a reasonable 1800-2000 calories per day. Any input from anyone else on that?

I have to admit, that I'm a little nervous about leaving phase 2 behind. I almost feel dependent on the injections to keep my weight at a manageable level, or to keep me in an emotionally balanced state where I'm not feeling constantly guilty about not exercising enough, not eating the right things, cheating, etc. Today is my first day without an injection, and it hasn't been as bad as I thought. I haven't had any major anxiety attacks just yet! haha! I am fearful that I'll immediately start gaining weight back once I move to phase 3. I'm going to do my best to push that feeling aside and just follow the instructions laid out in the book.

It's really nice to have lost 40 lbs, and it would be really awful to immediately start gaining it back....especially since I still don't really feel my reflection in the mirror is the body image I have in my head. Did that make sense? I feel like I still have a ways to go, so I don't want to have any backwards slides! :)


Current Weight: 249
Total Weight Lost: 40

Day 43

Same. No change in weight, but this was my last day of injections! Wooooo hooooo!

For the next two days I'm expected to continue following protocol for the VLCD, but I think that should be no sweat. That will give me time to plan my first meals on phase 3 :) Any suggestions are MOST welcome!! My two major rules: No sugar, and No starch. I need to figure out what this means about alcohols.... Is beer permitted? Wine? Red or white?

I'm looking forward to the next phase :) I am committed to doing at least one more round of phase 2, so I'll be ordering my hcg soon to ensure I'm not held up by the postal service. Goal achieved!!!!!

Current Weight: 249
Total Weight Lost: 40

Day 42 - Down 1.0

GOOOOAAAAALLLLLLLL!!!!!! Achieved. :) Down 40 lbs!! hot damn!

I was impressed with this diet before, but just impressed... Now that I'm down forty freaking pounds I'm genuinely, honestly the most impressed with a diet that I have ever been. I would dare anyone to identify another diet that had these kinds of speedy results. Speaking as someone who has successfully implemented the "consume less calories, and workout every day" diet, it took me about 6 months to lose twenty-five pounds. It was also insanely difficult, I had feelings of hunger almost all the time, I was tired, I had to make myself workout even though most times my body was tired and achy. This protocol was so much better!

The aches and pains I've felt in my knees for most of my volleyball career have completely disappeared. I was extremely intrigued to read about the rebuilding of structural fat that pads your joints. As someone whose experienced these joint problems in both my knees and my back, I can honestly say I'm thrilled to have finally found myself pain free in those areas!! ...without the use of anti-inflammatory drugs! Amazing! I actually look forward to warming up for my volleyball matches now, rather than dread having to get my achy body moving. And best of all, I may be able to postpone my 10yr "clean up" surgery for my knee :)

All you women out there will be happy to hear this as well... I have noticed the cellulite on my thighs has reduced itself considerably. My cellulite was awful. I had accepted it as something I could probably never change, as some people consider it a genetic affect that individuals must deal with. It had become a source of embarrassment during volleyball tournaments, as I am required to wear spandex shorts. I had chosen to accept it for what it is, and move on. Now, I can't wait to see how I look in my volleyball uniform!! Finally, normal looking legs!!! YAY!


Current Weight: 249
Total Weight Lost: FORTY! (40lbs)

Day 41 - Down 0.5

Yesterday was a disaster. The closer I get to being finished with the 45 days, the harder it is for me to stay faithful to the protocol. The anticipation of being free to cook, and consume a wider range of... EVERYTHING is just getting overwhelming!!

Things were good until I finished work. I faithfully drank my coffee, ate my grapefruit, had my salad (which made me feel sick), and after that things got rocky. I stopped by my mom's and ate two crackers to get rid of that sick feeling, then came home and had a little organic tomato soup (not exactly on the program), then went to the firehouse. UGH! So hard going to the firehouse.... They ordered chinese. My ever so considerate friend offered to share his Chinese with me, and I obliged by eating about a half dozen pieces of General tso's chicken :( And maybe a half dozen fortune cookies.... It smelled so good, and was so delicious! I was consumed with guilt after that. I woke up this morning and confessed my sins to Dale....

For some reason I still lost weight. I definitely don't feel that I deserve the loss of the half pound. I really need to figure out what I need to do to avoid cheating!! Even the little cheats add up! I can't help but wonder how much weight I would have lost if I had stayed 100% loyal to the protocol.... But then again, maybe this is how I've kept myself on the 45 day phase two for so long. Maybe I would have lost my mind and given up without these cheats! Ugh. Who knows.


Current Weight: 250
Total Weight Lost: 39

Goal weight achieved. Wooo. Ugh, it just doesn't feel good to accomplish my goal this way. It's like getting an "A" on a paper knowing you downloaded the entire thing off the internet... Not that I've ever done that!! Ok, it's like winning a volleyball game because the other team just watched your serve drop onto their side without any attempt to pass it. Clearly I'm not good at coming up with these analogies....

Day 40 - Down 1.0

*cue music* In walks Pam with top hat and cane doing a happy dance :)
Score! Being snowed in is so freaking tough while doing this protocol, but this morning I stopped by my parents and they actually BOTH said it was very noticeable that I had lost weight. It may sound weird to some of you that it would be hard to distinguish if someone had lost almost 40 pounds, but let me put some things into perspective.

I'm 6'2" and for most of my life I've been characterized as having an "athletic" build. When I put weight on, I usually put it on everywhere so i guess it's not really as noticeable if I gain or lose, say twenty pounds. As evidence of this, I'm almost down 40 pounds and I'm JUST now beginning to think I may need to try on one size smaller pants. Most of my current size pants still fit, they are just more comfortable or they are slightly baggy. Of any part of my body, I have always had muscular legs, which upon gaining weight turned to "thick" legs. (The fat girl equivalent to muscular legs!) Since I started doing this protocol, I've noticed that my legs were the FIRST area to be "reshaped". Then my stomach area, arms, and face. It's been a really interesting experience, which is exactly what I signed up for. My goal in doing this protocol was to see what it was all about. Well I'm seeing what it's all about! And apparently so are my parents finally :)

Five days is all I have left of this round of phase 2... Is it possible that I blow my goal of 250 out of the water and end with a staggering 245??? Oh I think so..... I. Think. So! :)


Current Weight: 250.5
Total Weight Lost: 38.5

Day 39 - Down 0.5

Three freaking apples all day yesterday and all I lose is 0.5 stinking pounds!!!!

I'm going to assume that had I not done the apple day I still would have been stuck with a flat weigh-in day. I probably shouldn't complain too much though...now that I think about it, it wasn't three apples. It was three apples, a handful of raw organic trail mix, and two crackers with cheese on them. So I cheated! Jesus, I couldn't even stay on protocol for an apple day. Well then I guess I should be counting my blessings for losing a half pound.

Today I'm going to get back on the straight and narrow. I'll probably grill some chicken for a salad at lunch, and maybe have some Chilean sea bass for dinner. It hasn't been easy to stay even remotely close to protocol while snowed in for a WEEK. In fact it's been really tough, especially since Dale has been talking about making cookies, and brownies...a perfectly normal human reaction to being snowed in! It's just tough for me to keep it together.

I only have four days left!! If I could pull it together and average 1 pound per day, then I'll hit my goal!!!


Current Weight: 251.5
Total Weight Lost: 37.5

Day 38

No change. I guess this is just par for the course. I've had a few cycles of this where I lose a bunch of weight and then flatten out for a few days. I don't really have a few days to shake these flat weigh-ins anymore, so I might just go ahead and do an apple day. I haven't been real hungry lately anyways, so this won't be hard. I'm going to keep drinking water though. I just cannot go that long without water.

It's generally taken me three to four days to shake the flat weigh-ins, so knowing my patterns I'm going to cross my fingers that eating apples today shakes things up and gets me moving towards 40lbs!!!!


Current Weight: 252
Total Weight Lost: 37

Day 37

No change, although I deserve to gain 10 pounds after yesterday!! The longer this snow event drags on the harder it becomes for me to stay on protocol. Yesterday I did fine until lunch, which is usually my way. Then Dale and I ventured out to get supplies for round two of the snow event. I bought things that I was permitted to eat on the protocol, and he bought....crap. Well actually it wasn't crap, it was just stuff I am not allowed to have. He proceeded to make this pasta thing that includes peas, ground turkey, cheese, and noodles. There was extra left over that wouldn't fit in the bowl, so I trimmed off the top. And then I trimmed a little more off the top. And before I knew it, there was no extra anymore!!! :(

I was very disappointed in myself. I don't have time to be having major cheats like that anymore! I only have a few days left to lose lose LOSE! So I mentally slapped my hands for cheating, and resolved to be better today.

Those others on the HCG diet.... STAY STRONG!


Current Weight: 252
Total Weight Lost: 37

Day 36 - Down 1.0

I feel like I've really got some momentum going! That being said...I felt like yesterday was a really awful day of cheating due to my lack of will power and the snow. My day was as follows:

Coffee - 1 tbsp organic creamer (permitted!), dash of stevia
apple
Chilean sea bass with tomatoes
*here is where I lose it*
two crackers with two slices of cheese
small bowl of popcorn I pilfered from my boyfriends larger bowl
salt and pepper pistachios
two MORE crackers with two slices of cheese (Jami...I also have a love affair with cheese)

In light of all my cheating (that is pretty bad when I look at it), I tried to stay aware of the 500 calories, and I may have stayed under. I'm not really sure. The only reason I can think I still lost weight is that my body is already flooded with HCG and my cheats were not enough to derail the momentum that was already built up. I was also outside shoveling snow for about two hours, so maybe that helped out.

I went ahead and mixed my last batch of hcg yesterday, and I did something really embarrassing... I know Ryan can relate to this. I went to snap off the top of the HCG ampule by placing the top into the wrapper of my alcohol swab. Ok. Place fingers on both sides of the break line of the ampule. And BREAK! Uh, yea. I broke it all right. I crushed the entire top into a million pieces! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! As I pulled the ampule out to look at my destruction, a dozens shards of glass feel out onto the table, and as I tilted the ampule to look inside at the hcg powder I saw a huge shard of glass nestled in the powder. :( NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! What a freaking waste. For a split second I thought about ways I could use it anyways. I eventually decided it wasn't realistic to use the powder for fear of injecting myself with a minuscule shard of glass. Thankfully I had one last ampule of HCG I could use, so it didn't effect my schedule too badly. I just don't have any extra HCG anymore. Whatever. I might take this snow day as an opportunity to order my HCG for the next round of Phase 2!


Current Weight: 252
Total Weight Lost:37

Three small pounds away from FORTY!!! :)

Day 35 - 1.5

I feel like I must have finally honed in on what works for my body in terms of losing this weight quickly and efficiently. Don't get me wrong. I've had some major cheats during this first round of Phase 2. I had my brothers birthday dinner, that business development lunch, my friends lavish lasagna dinner, and a few other small cheats holding the potential to ruin my momentum.

It was really tough to keep myself from reverting back to my old habits yesterday. It snowed all day yesterday and I found myself dreaming of baking cookies and making chili. Instead I ate my salad for lunch, and had organic tomato soup for dinner. The tomato soup was definitely not on the list of approved items, but considering my alternatives (COOKIES!!) I think I made the better choice. It was 90 calories per serving, and was organic, so not TOO bad overall. Today holds another day of challenges related to the snow. I don't anticipate being plowed out until tomorrow evening...

I need to decide today if I'm going to mix another batch of hcg and continue for a full 45 days. Considering I don't have the food necessary to transition into Phase 3 it's probably better if I just continue on for the full 45 days.

Current Weight: 253
Total Weight Lost: 36

Day 34 - Down 2.0

Hell yea!!! :)

This is going to be tricky to stay on protocol during the Snowpocalypse 2010. Up here in Baltimore, I have about 24 inches of snow in my backyard right now, and they are calling for a total of 30 inches by the end of it all. I'm getting ready to go outside and play in the snow with the dogs, which will include snow tubing/sledding in my back yard and probably making a snow man. I know I'm going to want to come back inside and have hot chocolate, soup, etc. I know I'm going to have the urge to make cookies as well, dammit. I'm just going to have to figure out how to deal with it. 40lbs or bust!!! :)

Happy snow day everyone!!!


Current Weight: 254.5
Total Weight Lost:34.5

Day 33 - Down 0.5

Not bad, not bad. I'm continuing to trek along losing little bits of weight each day. Yesterday I could tell I was back on track because I had a constant feeling of slight hunger. I've noticed this small tugging in my stomach for food most days since I've started this, but it's hardly ever overwhelming and it usually goes away after a few moments. I guess you could say this is how I know the hcg is working :)

In the past when I was dieting, this feeling of hunger would be so overwhelming that it became a sheer game of will power and determination to stay faithful to a self imposed regime of low caloric intake and exercise. Usually I would have feelings of fatigue and irritability because it's just so miserable! HCG has been nothing like what I just described. In fact it's been an incredible dieting experience that I would best sum up as only mildly difficult. At a minimum you have to keep yourself truthful to the food portion of the protocol. And it's been my experience that even that is negotiable. I haven't walked an hour each day, in fact the only real "walking" I've done is during my commute to work. Walking from the metro parking lot, to the train, and then from my train to my office. And even that walking was only Monday through Friday. I've been pretty liberal with spices to cook my proteins. I haven't been taking vitamins, and I've only been drinking the organic yerba mate and chamomile teas recommended.

I tell you all this information, not to brag but to highlight how great I think this diet has been. It's completely possible for anyone to do this! And I write this for anyone that may have read about this diet and thought, "I could never do this..."

Yes you can. :)


Current Weight: 256.5
Total Weight Lost: 32.5