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