Friday, July 31, 2009

Day 7- Things are getting a little more difficult!

First I will finish off Day 6:

Lunch: poached eggs! These were so unbelievably good I thought I might die and go to heaven! I think I have just been having a hard time when I am making all this food for my girls and husband and not even being able to take a taste. I am getting better at making the food more flavorful, but it is pretty bland. I poached one whole egg with the whites of 3 other eggs as directed in Dr. Simeon's manuscript. I also had strawberries and spinach with some really delicious tomatoes.

Dinner: chicken breast, orange and asparagus. This was another pretty good meal. I squeezed the juice of the orange onto the chicken and asparagus along with garlic and basil.

Day 7
weigh in: 169.8 pounds
loss of: 1.4 pounds
total loss to date: 10.4 pounds!

I am feeling pretty good physically. I am at that moment though psychologically that I just need to push through. I am craving food I can't have because it is in abundance around me. :( The girls had a grilled cheese sandwich yesterday for lunch that I was just dieing to have just a bite. So far I am remaining strong, but jeez it is hard! I just need to remember this diet is easily disrupted by the slightest deviation and I can't give in. Only 33 days left! :)

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Day 5 & 6

July 29, 2009
Day 5
weigh in: 175 pounds
loss of: 1.4 pounds
total loss to date: 5.2 pounds

I was a little disappointed at the amount I lost, but I guess you can't lose 3 pounds everyday. :) Felt pretty good today. The shakiness and slight hunger has all but disappeared.

Breakfast:
1 cup of coffee
1 cup of tea

Lunch:
shrimp, strawberries, cucumbers

Dinner:
chicken breast, cucumber, apple

Drank about 3 .5 Liters of water. Need to drink a bit more, though.
Took a walk to the park with girls in the afternoon.

July 30, 2009
Day 6
weigh in: 171.2 pounds
loss of: 3.8 pounds
total loss to date: 9 pounds!!!

I am really excited! If I continue to follow diligently I will break into the 160's tomorrow! Yay!

Have a bit of a headache this morning. I wish I could work out this tension headache, but I will have to just keep working on it. I don't think it is related to the diet at all, which is good. I will update tomorrow.

I want to include a picture of my journal that I have been religiously writing in. I think it is important to write exactly what you have been eating and how you have been feeling while on a weight loss venture. At least that is what I have read many experts suggest. I have actually been sticking to it too! Usually, I keep up with it for a couple days and that is all, but I think the weight loss it giving me incentive.


Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Dance your ass off?

I watched an episode of this new TV show, Dance Your Ass Off. It is like Dancing With The Stars, only there are obese people dancing with professional dancers. Each week a contestant is eliminated. They are judged on their dancing in addition to how much weight they lose every week. Most lose between 1 and 4 pounds a week! After coming in contact with HCG this would drive me nuts!!! These people are working out with trainers, eating a low calorie diet, and with the scrutiny of everyone watching. This is always what I have said in the past, "The only way I can lose weight is to work my ass off and starve myself." Well, no more! I have only been on the diet portion for two days and lost more while still feeling just fine. It just reminded me if this doesn't work I don't know what I will do. Losing weight is a difficult endeavor and this way is not all together that easy either, but after a couple weeks I will develop new habits and ways of looking at weight loss.

I am so excited and so glad I am not proceeding down the same, usual drudgery-filled path of losing weight! :)

Day 4

weigh in: 176.4 pounds

loss of: 3.8 pounds in one day!!!

Today I have been feeling much better. I think my awful headache was menstrual related. :( I ran an did a bit of yoga yesterday evening to see if it would relieve it at all. It didn't and I ended up taking some Tylenol PM last night so I could at least sleep. My period should be over within the next day so at least that will be behind me. (Please note, if you should or if you should not take HCG during your menstrual cycle is not especially clear. If you are on the injection form of HCG it is stated that you probably should not on heavy flow days- check up on this! If you are taking the drops it should be fine. Personally, I have experienced no problems. I started taking HCG on Saturday morning and that afternoon I got my period so I just kept going with it.)

I have been a little shaky today. I think it is psychological more than anything, but I hope I gorged enough, because that is partly the reason to gorge is so you can go into the diet off of plenty calories.

Breakfast:
1 cup of coffee, black
2 cups of tea, plain

Lunch:
100 grams of Halibut (from Alaska, thanks to my friend, Patricia! Yummy!)
strawberries, spinach with some tomatoes

Last night for dinner I had 100 grams of shrimp, strawberries, and cucumbers.

I have been trying to hold the HCG longer under my tongue. Trying for 15 minutes, but so far have just made about 8 minutes. I have also been much more conscious of making sure it is 30 minutes or more after I take the HCG that I eat.

Today I also cleaned out our two refrigerators and dedicated one shelf and the fruit/veggie bins solely for my food. I knew two refrigerators would come in handy one day. :)

Also, I would like to describe just how dedicated I am to this diet. I was making toast for the girls this morning and I licked a little bit of butter off of my finger. I ran to the sink and immediately rinsed my mouth out with water. Not that it is the end of the world. I am just glad that I have that attitude rather than, "Oh, well. It was just a little bit." I also have to admit that the hardest part of the diet so far is not eating any of the food left over from that my girls don't eat. I developed a really bad habit, and I know that is awful, but I haven't succumbed and don't believe I will. I want to lose weight too badly! :)

I also need to check into what makeup is allowed. I know HCG makes your body extremely sensitive to any introductions of oil, etc. I wore makeup yesterday and it didn't seem to affect it, but I want to make sure.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Awesome informational website!

Check this website out! Very helpful in explaining the diet, who Dr. Simeon's was, what he did and why it works!

HCG Diet Info

Day 3

weigh in: 180.2 pounds!

YIKES! A little scary, but I trust this diet. So we will see what happens.

I did get a digital scale that takes the weight out to the tenth so I can see a little better exactly how much weight I am either losing or gaining. :( Hopefully, not too much more gaining. :) I have felt really lousy much of the day though. I had a headache and feeling slightly hungry. Can't really explain it, but perhaps my body is just starting to adjust? Not feeling hungry this afternoon- kind of full actually. I think it is more just training your brain that you don't need to eat like you usually do at this time, and hopefully I will develop some really good habits over the next 40 days.

Took first dose of HCG at 7:35. (oh, it is sublingual- goes under the tongue for 2 minutes or as long as possible to attain high absorption.)
Ate an apple at 8:15 am.

Took second dose at 1:00 pm.
This is what I ate for lunch. I grilled 100 grams of chicken breast and ate three cucumber slices.
Will more than likely have the same for dinner. Need to get some breadsticks (grissino) and Melba toast. You can have up 2 breadsticks and apples a day.

Questions:

  1. Can you eat less than 500 calories per day? I know you can't go above. Yes, if you don't feel like you need all of the 500 calories, which is very unusual.
  2. What do you do for breakfast? (Not especially clear from the diet) coffee, tea, or water
  3. How much of the vegetables can you have? Still don't know for sure, but it seems like a reasonable amount is just fine and is working.
Will attain the answers soon.

Day 2

July 26, 2009
Day 2

weigh in: 174 pounds

I am holding steady on my weight so far. I don't know if I should actually be gaining at this point or not? I can't wait until the two-day gorge is over, it is way more difficult than I thought it would be. But, only two days.

Day 1

July 25, 2009
Day 1

weigh in: 174 pounds

If I lost my goal loss of 35 pounds I would weigh 139 pounds!!! That would be below what I weighed before I got pregnant with my first child! Now, I need to calm down, relax and be happy with whatever loss will surely occur.

*Need to get a better scale and scale to weigh my food.

The first two days you are supposed to gorge. Eat as much as possible. Do not pass up this step! You would be making a huge mistake. You have to gain before you lose. This also activates the fat you want to lose not the "good fat" you want to keep. It is harder than I suspected. When I am told to eat, eat, eat- I don't want to. I hope this is a sign that when I am told to only eat these foods and only this specific amount I will be able to maintain.

I took pictures of myself, but I am not going to post them yet, because I am kind of embarrassed. I will post them at the end if all goes as planned. :)

The night before Christmas...

I felt like a kid waiting for Santa once I received my HCG. I could hardly sleep. I was so anxious to start. I received my HCG on July 24, 2009.

(I am writing these first posts from my journal I am keeping during this experience. Once caught up I will plan to update this blog daily.)

My projected end date will be September 2, 2009- 40 days of taking HCG and on the diet. My goal is to lose 35 pounds. I think it is important to have a set number in your mind when embarking on something like this, whether it is wise, I am not sure?

In my HCG tracker journal I will make note of the following:
  • date
  • morning weigh-in
  • food consumed
  • any additional or notable feelings or experiences
I will recap my writings in my journal thus far.

July 24, 2009

The night before starting HCG. I am so excited and nervous all at the same time. I worry about the diet. (It will become clear just how strict the diet is in future posts- HCG makes your body extremely sensitive to any deviations of the diet, but this is also why it is possible to lose so much so quickly and safely.) But, I am committed- only 40 days of my life initially to potentially turn everything around in regard to not only how I look, but also my self-image, which has suffered far too long. I am ready for this.

I have had diet plans since I was in high school. I have pulled out many of my "goal journals" and every single one has an eventual goal weight of 120 pounds. This is the weight I would absolutely LOVE to attain, but it has always been a wish, never a realistic possibility. Now, I think perhpas I can reach that goal after a couple rounds of HCG. How amazing to be on the brink of a diet that I don't believe will defeat me even before I begin! I just have to remain diligent and make the most of this 40 day period.

I would like to take a moment to show some pictures of a few garments I would love to wear that have been hanging in my closet for quite some time.

This dress is so pretty, and I would love to wear it on August 22, 2009 to a auction/dinner called An Evening at the Ivinson's.

I bought this jacket on sale at Nordstrom's and the price was so good, I justified buying a size 8. I have been saying for 2 years now, "Oh, I'll lose the weight to fit into it." Well, it hasn't happened, yet!


The only piece of clothing left from my "skinny years" are these jeans. I bought them when I was working one summer on a guest ranch as a wrangler. They are a size 6! I love them and they fit so well when I can squeeze my butt into them. :)

So, there you have it, my incentives! I yearn for some future day when I can go into a store and basically buy whatever I want within the constaints of my body type. I look forward to being able to look at different styles trying them on and realizing, "Yep, I can pull this off, and look darn good!"

Tomorrow is the day. Wish me luck!

How my HCG Journey Began...

I started investigating HCG after my mother mentioned her weight loss story to me. I was extremely excited and leery. "Please... give me a break! Don't get my hopes up, right?! :) Well, as I am writing this I don't know if it works yet, but I am going to give it a try.

I researched reviews of the product HCG and came up with two websites I debated between: YourHCG and DIYHCG. I eventually went with DIYHCG. I chose DIYHCG because of several reasons:
  1. I spoke with a very helpful and genuine woman on the phone. Thank you for your help!
  2. I could just pay for the HCG singularly instead of buying additional add-ons I didn't necessarily desire.
  3. I could receive my HCG within 3-4 days.
See link list to visit this website. I would also, encourage anyone interested in HCG to read everything available on the subject. Diet scams are prevalent and very frustrating or even detrimental to your health. Be cautioned, and my advice is DO NOT purchase HCG from foreign distributors!

What is HCG? It is a hormone found in pregnant women. You read right! Dr. Simeon found that taking HCG in conjunction with a very strict diet can actually produce extreme results. Take a look through Dr. Simeon's manuscript (provided through DIYHCG) and you will be amazed! This is not your typical weight loss plan and to me the theory seems sound. Time will tell! :)