hCG Overload!! (It's a Good Thing)

Ohhh my goodness y'all. Let me tell YOU... Ha!

So, we found out about 8 weeks ago that I am pregnant for my second child! (Guess that hCG stuff works after all, huh??) Since I have PCOS, we're wondering if that second round of hCG had anything to do with jump-starting ovulation. (???)

Our wonder-hormone has also seen me to many porcelain-god-hugging sessions of late, which I guess is very good. Pffft. I did manage to lose a few pounds there in the early days, but I've been reassured by my doctor that I did manage to gain it all back and then some. Darnit. Thankfully, I have developed a rather curious aversion to meat, so I'm thinking seriously about just stocking up on fresh fruit, veggies and protein shakes. I think it was that last chicken sandwich I bit into and found a vein.... OMFG I cannot tell you how much control it took not to barf all over the interior of my car. I have excersiiiiized the (meat) demon! Yuck!!

We've pretty much settled on a boy first-name, but can't agree on a girl's name yet. I am taking any and all suggestions, and even if it's what you want to name your next baby - it's not like we live next door! LOL Please help!

That's about it for the latest news. Other than the fact that *none* of my clothes fit me now, since I got rid of most of my "big" clothes and my smaller clothes stopped fitting not long after I got into them. *cough* (oops) I have thus far been pretty unsuccessful at finding maternity clothes that fit at thrift shops. It's all either size small or double-XL. Grrrr! I'm about to say screw it and just get down to Old Navy already.

Gotta get the rest of this house clean. Later!

Round 2 Progress Pics!

I had my BF take these yesterday, and they turned out a lot better than the first ones... I think we finally got the hang of the whole phone-pic-taking thing. lol Again, sorry for the poor quality of the "before" pics, but even I can see a definite difference! I had to buy new undies 'cuz the old ones just don't fit or look right anymore. :P lol Here they are:





Measurements 02/28/09 ... 04/18/09 (inches)

Chest: 40.5 ... 37.9
Waist: 35.0 ... 31.0
Hips: 39.1 ... 36.1
Thigh: 23.5 ... 22.1
Calf: 14.8 ... 14.2
Bicep: 11.0 ... 10.5

Yes! Yes! YES! I lost over 12 inches this round, a whopping THIRD of which was from my waist! :D :D :D

OK, back to reality. ;) I'm up a couple of pounds today... very likely holding water from the fudge sundae BF brought me yesterday. X( I'm tired of telling him to stop bringing me sweet treats, and I feel like a real meanie telling my daughter she can't stop for ice cream. I don't know if he's trying to make me happy or make me gain weight back because of an insecurity issue or if he truly just doesn't think about it, since he's been lean his whole life. Any way you look at it, it's up to me to say no.

I will try for a steak day today. The egg day didn't happen on Friday, so I think a correction day will work to get me back within range.

Dusty Rose - I really do love the HTA community. They're great people! The site is also undergoing a lot of construction right now, so please don't give up. You do have to post a certain number of times before joining the Boot Camp group... Biz is the Boss over there, so if you want to - she'd be the one to go to with questions. Otherwise, if it's something specific, I'd be happy to help!

P3R2 Day 6: Over LIW but Still Within Range

LIW +1.6

TOM is finally outta here, so I'm going to try another egg correction day to see if I can lose a couple of omg-I-ate-a-calzone-yesterday pounds. *cough*

I will keep updating here about once a week or so, but my daily check-ins for P3 will be with Biz's Boot Camp over at HTA. Join us over there if you want the daily Amie-Scoop. ;)

Just to give y'all and idea, I've pretty much been living off of egg/ham/cheese omelettes and turkey/cheese/mayo unwiches. (That's a sandwich wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of bread, a'la Jimmy John's)

I've had to do one correction day thus far, with a 2-pound loss registering the next morning. BOOyah! I officially love P3, and it's ONLY because of the awesome guidance and support I get from you all and the wonderful peeps over at HTA. I can't stress enough how important it is to have this kind of support system.

Thanks for stopping by - caio for now!

P3R2 Day... Oops...

Weight: 144.2
LIW +1.4 lb.

I've been bad... So bad... HELP! D: lol

So aside from the fact that I've been a deviant little sh!t since being off of P2... TOM is here in full force. I got sick yesterday morning and had to pee on a stick just in case. LOL But ol' TOM showed up today, so no worries. I think I just drank too much carbonation before bed. Or something.

I'm not out of the 140's though, which is heartening. I have not been this light for years and years. I think part of me coming off of P2 was like, "OK - here we go! Back up to 150!" Nope. No sir. Considering that it's period time, I actually think I'm doing OK. Lots of water, lots of protein... and get my butt over to Boot Camp!

Yes, Biz - I'm omw! LOL

I haven't had to use the Correction Day book yet, thank goodness... But you can bet I've got it sitting right here, just in case. Speaking of which, Biz has an AWESOME recipe for Roasted "Beer Butt" Chicken in there. It's absolutely delicious!

I will check in more often now - sorry for the hiatus. :) Daughter's back to school in the morn' and it's back to the old routine!

P.S. I'll have BF take the R2P2 After pics once TOM has passed on by. :P Toodeloo!

P2R2 Day 39: The End is Just the Beginning

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 144.6
Today: 142.8 (-1.8!!) LIW R2
Released Since Start of VLCD: 17.6
Total lb. Released with hCG: 37.4 lb.

All good things must come to an end, and what a great Round 2!! I lost almost 20 pounds this round - almost 40 total with hCG. That's about ten weeks' time total, and I have been imperfect in my protocol. Amazing!!

Here is a graph of my R2 progress for all of my beloved data-heads:

My Weight Chart:


And the numbers for both rounds (pounds released - percent of body weight):
P2R1: 22.6 lb. - 12.5%
P2R2: 17.6 lb. - 11%

Wow!! 22.3% of my body weight released in ten weeks' time!!

My last dose was this morning, so I will be P2-eating for today and the next two days (3 days? I'll have to read back thru P&I to make sure... Biz?? Monica?? lol) It feels weird to be done with this round, but I am so looking forward to P3. Meat and cheese! And cheese and cheese! LOL My BF will be relieved that he doesn't have to sneak his snacks around so much anymore.

So I'm already contemplating my next round. I believe that I'm going to do a shortened stint next time, depending on how I feel. I'm also going to up my dose, because I had a pretty rough time with hunger and cravings during R2. The deviations didn't help, though, and one begets the other. R3 should start around the first of May. Then again, I thought I'd be doing another round right after my last one, and here I am 17 months later! :)

I'll be looking into HTA Bootcamp today, and I also got a copy of Biz's P3 Correction Day eBook to help me in case my weight starts to fluctuate. I highly recommend this eBook to anyone going through Protocol - it's chock-full of excellent information, tips & tricks on how to maintain your hard-earned weight during Phase 3 (no sugars/starches) - and best of all, it's CHEAP!



Maintenance can be somewhat of a jungle after the strict P2 diet, and many people feel frustrated and a little lost. If in addition your weight isn't stabilizing the way you'd like... Let's just say it's easy to get a little discouraged. This eBook is a goldmine with specific strategies, recipes and protocol information. 'Nuff said. :)

I'd like to get below LIW just a little for that extra "cushion" just in case. I think that is very possible, given my deviant behavior these past couple of weeks and that enormous drop overnight. Follow-up pics and measurements coming later on! TTYL ~*~

P2R2 Day 38: Nearing the Finish & Already Planning P2R3 ;)

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Today: 144.6
Released Since Start of VLCD: 15.8
Total lb. Released with hCG: 35.6

Well, I am officially almost out of hCG, which means tomorrow will be my LIW for P2R2! Awww... I'm almost sad... :( Not! lol I am so ready for P3 it's not even funny. Okay - I'm a little sad that it's almost over, just because this has been such a learning experience. This has been my first round all on my own, which brought about a whole new set of challenges. I do kinda wish I had a little more time to correct my mistakes and lose a lil more weight... but there will be a next time. P2R3 is slated for May 1st... still in time for bikini season! I should be very close to goal, if not there, by then.

This also gives me time to shed a few extra lb's before the HTA Las Vegas Trip!!

Woohoo! lol If my calculations are correct, I can make the budget work to go. I just have to get on it and buy my plane ticket now. Do any of you HTA'ers reading know if there is an itinerary or hotel selection yet? Lemme know!

So my menu today was pretty basic: 1 hard-boiled + 3 whites and 4 celery stalks, a strawberry/stevia/ice smoothie & one of Biz's famous P2 Smoothies. Lots of water... and like 6 Pringles chips. D: BF brought home 2 canisters of spicy Pringles (one of my fave chips)! I was like, "GET these chips OUT of my sight!" Aaargh! Let's just hope it was early enough in the day that it didn't mess me up too badly. I never made more grissini, so I haven't been eating any bread at all, except off-protocol stuff.

That's about it for today. I've been pretty busy with school and trying to get caught up on my bills. Pffft. :)

Gotta get the little one to bed - later all!

P2R2 Day 37: Sugar, Cheese and a Dental Debacle.

Welll... I've gained a little the past few days, but I'm still on hCG so I know that my fat is on the move! Not much since the Birthday Party Incident to report, except that I've been nibbling here and there on sugary foods...

So, what IS it with the damn sugar cravings?? Does my body WANT to be overweight? Doesn't it realize how terrible sugar is?? X( I just don't get it. My big issues have been with sugar and cheese.

Cheeeeeese....

God, I want some right now. And chips. I ate some organic, spicy tortilla chips the other night and they were so fricken delicious. I kept eating them until I felt satiated, and then stopped. My lovely BF (skinny, muscular... never, ever has had a weight problem) even brought me a small plateful of them after I was done. It was done out of love, because he wants me to be happy. He knows that when I eat food I like, I'm "happy". (Or at least easier to get along with! LOL) It was really cute and I thanked him, but refused. He took them right away and apologized... I felt a little bad, like I was being mean, but I really really want to get down another few pounds before I call this P2 done.

He keeps telling me that he wouldn't care if I was overweight. I love that he is so unconditional (the great thing is - he wouldn't care either. He wouldn't treat me any differently at all), but I am doing this for me. I want to be thinner and healthier. I want to look good in that bikini and in a pair of butt-hugging jeans... I want men to mumble under their breath about my BF and "how the hell did he score that babe??" LOL Is that bad? I don't care.

I want to be a Hottie again, and the great thing is - I CAN be.

I can also be healthier and make better decisions and thus be a much better rolemodel for my daughter. I want HER to be healthy and happy with her body, too. Her little face is so precious... if she hears me say something about being fat (or not wanting to be - I try very hard not to call myself "fat" around her), she always looks me right in the eye and says, "Mommy, you're not fat." and usually gives me a hug. I just love that little girl to pieces.

OMG - totally off-topic: I took her to the dentist today for the first time in like, two years... oops... because one of her adult front teeth was coming in behind the baby tooth and pushing it outward. (lol - cute, but not good) He is a guy I went to school with, and he's a really good doctor. Cute, great with kids.... good thing I'm taken... LOL But ah... we went there today and they decided to extract the baby tooth. First, they gave her gas. Which... I wasn't aware they were going to do until she got the mask out. He told her he was going to "freeze" her tooth (wtf? "Freezing" is not a nice, comfortable feeling if you ask me!) and take it out. So I thought... OK, a little gas, a little numbsy-gel... no big deal. Then ol' boy pulls out a fricken foot-long silver SYRINGE and starts jamming the needle into her gum. D: D: D: D: D: WTF??? She freaked OUT.

Now, you have to understand my relationship with my daughter. I pull no punches. When something bad is going to happen, I let her know. She went into the hospital once because she was throwing up blood. They had to run an I.V. and the nurses could not get over how good she was about it. I guess normally they have to restrain 5-yr-olds for an I.V. ... ? But I told her what was going to happen and to please be very still, and I held her hand the whole time. I got no chance to do that this time, and I'm a little pissed.

*End Rant*