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*

P2R2 Day 35: Birthday Party Bliss! Not.

I'm evidently one of those dense people that needs to learn lessons over and over (and over and OVER) again before I actually get it.

Sit for a nonce whilst I spin ye a tale...

One month ago (ish), I bought a cute little pink book titled Pink Princess Tea Parties. I brought it home and my daughter and I immediately started planning one for her birthday, a little over 3 weeks away.

Three days ago, in preparation for the party, I called a local salon and made an appointment to get mine & my daughter's hair cut and styled for the occasion. We bought cute little matching, sparkly crowns, and I wanted our hair to be done similarly. Because it's PRETTY, dammit. ;) I kept it a secret, because I wanted it to be a surprise.

Yesterday (by my calculations - HA!) the food, decorations and presents had all been bought and were ready to go. I'm not always the most organized person, so I was pretty proud of myself. I decided to relax a little, which must have been my first mistake.

Last night, we went out to eat at one of my favorite restaurants. I had their portabella ravioli. It was horrible. I'm calling it karma. (lol) After arriving home, I realized that I'd somehow neglected to buy several necessary ingredients for the food. It was after 10 p.m. so I high-tailed it to the nearest 24-hour supermarket - 15 miles away. I was shopping for about 30 minutes and a little voice in the back of my head whispered to me that I'd also forgotten to buy a punch bowl. Punch bowls evidently do not exist at this particular supermarket, so I settle for a big chip bowl and matching cake platter (30% off - cha ching! lol). That started something bad, and $250.00 (yeah OMFG) and an hour and a half later, I was finally on my way home.

Before departing, I asked my lovely BF oh-so-nicely to please wrap my daughter's gifts. I arrived home around midnight and ummm... no wrapped presents... (@%$#^$*!) I managed not to freak out, presents got wrapped and I began my cooking adventure.

A word from the now-wise: that book is great for ideas, but there are such simpler ways to accomplish almost every recipe in it. I was up until 6 ... yes, six ... a.m. baking those mini strawberry cupcakes with the special whipped frosting. Btw - only add one cup of powdered sugar to the container of frosting or it's stiff and tastes gross. Also - the box of batter makes almost one hundred of those little buggers. I'd only bought one mini-muffin pan, so after the third I had to stop. It wasn't pretty.

BF left for work right after I went to bed, and I managed to sleep until 10. I got up, got ready and we were off to the salon! We got there fifteen minutes early (!!), crowns in hand, just so that two of the stylists and the receptionist could look at me like I'd grown another head because there was no appointment in their computer. Oh yeah, and it would be at least a 40-minute wait to squeeze us in. I was livid. Thank God for anger management classes... I politely refused and we went to another salon in town, which praise sweet Jesus had time enough to do my daughter's hair. Unfortunately, we didn't get to have our hair done together, but she ended up looking beautiful and that's all that really matters! :)

Back home, I hastily made the fudge-dipped fruit and tried to put everything together. The BF had been told he had to work over today, so he wouldn't be getting out until 6, but he ended up getting out early!! :D He helped me get everything together, we got to my dad's house, started decorating and setting out the food, people began arriving, and the Smooth Move tea I drank while baking last night decided to kick in! LOL I had my dad knocking on the door asking if I was alright... and when should so-and-so's mom come back and pick up her daughter... oh yeeaaaaah.

There only ended up being two little girls at the party, but my daughter had a blast and ended up going home with one for a sleep-over. I got back here and crashed like the Hindenburg, woke up a little while ago and here I am!

So all-in-all the day wound up working out. I ate totally off-protocol and I know I'm going to pay for it. Ceste la vie... or however it's spelled. ;)

That concludes this segment of "A Day in the Life of Psycho-OCD-ADHD Mom". Thanks!

P2R2 Day 34: Over 15/35 Pounds Gone!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 145.8
Today: 144.8
Released Since Start of VLCD: 15.6 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 35.4

I have hit my goal this round of 15 pounds lost and am officially a member of the "35 Club" today, so everything from here is gravy! I should only have a little bit of hCG left, so I'll be on VLCD for another week-ish. Then comes P3 BLISS... right?

RIGHT?? (lol)

From what I've heard of P3 (I didn't do a real P3 last round) it's kind of a mine field, or at least it can be. Luckily for me, I've got the awesome and experienced HTA team to guide me through the process!! As a matter of fact, one of the lovely ladies of HTA is coming out with something to help everyone with the "maintenance" phase. I'm not sure how much info she's put out there about it, so I'm going to keep my mouth shut for now. All I can say is that there will soon be a LOT more people succeeding through P3. In the meantime, there is definitely still Boot Camp! (discipline? what??) I'm excited!

Aunt B is doing AWESOME - over 14 pounds down in two weeks! Wow! She is loving this protocol, just like I knew she would. ;D You go, girl!!

I was thinking that maybe I'd cut this round a little short, but I have so little hCG left and I'm still losing. I guess I'd better see it through to the end. Sigh. ;)

Later on... ~*~

P2R2 Day 31 - I am not a Role Model.

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 148.0
Today: 146.6
Released Since Start of VLCD: 13.8
Total lb. Released with hCG: 33.6

So, yeah. Been absent a minute... and it's mostly because I feel guilty and ashamed of myself and because I hate, hate, hate to disappoint people. I know that sounds ridiculous and this is my protocol and my weight loss and I shouldn't care what other people think.

But I do.

SO - I have not been good for... oh... about a week now. By "good" I mean eating on-protocol. I think that my first "all on protocol" day this week was yesterday, and I lost a good pound-and-a-half overnight. Which is great!

Except we went to Uccello's today for lunch.

I had a grilled chicken and pesto pizza... which isn't so bad, except for the gallon of olive oil they must put in the pesto. :P Add a lil cheese and crust in there, and I feel like a total goon. It did taste good, and I didn't overstuff myself. Still, I am still on hCG, and I probably will not see another loss tomorrow morning, if not a gain.

Though I've been deviating from protocol, there are a few reasons that I don't feel so much regret. For one, I know that my fat is still redistributing. My clothes continue to feel looser, and my boyfriend still comments that my hips feel smaller and I look like I'm still losing weight. For another, I was feeling reeeally crappy there for a week or better. I don't know if it was low iron or what, but I could hardly get out of bed and I felt like something the cat dragged in for most of the day, every day. I ate a somewhat normal meal last week, and I felt better almost immediately. I was thinking about maybe testing my hCG to make sure it's still good.

Still, for those who I've encouraged and admonished and tried to support through their deviations (or very near), I feel like a big jerk admitting that I've not followed protocol. I should probably just get over myself, huh?! lol I just don't want someone starting new with hCG to read my blog and think it's cool to just lah-dee-dah through P2. I'm sure my stalled losses speak for themselves, though.

Am I over-thinking this?? I feel bad because I did it, but I also feel bad because I don't really feel bad about it. LOL I think the best thing to do is start taking this one day at a time again, and stop feeling bad.

On the upside, I've made it my goal to finish this round in the 35 (Total) Pound Club. I only have 1.4 pounds to go, and I'd really like to end up in the 40-Club. I'll keep my fingers crossed. We also went shopping today, and I am officially in a size 8! :D All of my jeans are too big, so I went and bought a couple of new-to-me pairs at a local re-sale shop ($3.00 per pair and 50% off today!) along with a couple extra size 7's for incentive. Along with the jeans, I found a really pretty pink skirt outfit and a gorgeous black and white formal gown - both in size 7. So I have a goal again... I think part of my problem is that I fit into a bunch of my smallest clothes and temporarily lost my drive... Hmmmm....

Anyhow, we are off to shop again - this time for groceries and a princess dress for my daughter. Sunday is her birthday, and I found the cutest Pink Pricess Tea Party recipe book at her last book fair. So yes, we are going to have 6-10 beautiful pricesses in my house for Saturday afternooon tea, and the Guest of Honor simply must be the most beautiful princess of all. ;)

P2R2 Day 27 - Holding Steady

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 147.0
Today: 147.0
Released Since Start of VLCD: 13.0
Total lb. Released with hCG: 33.2

Nothing exciting to report, I just wanted to check in with everybody. I've pretty much been holding at this weight for three days now, but I'm not concerned. I'm not hungry, and I know that my fat is on the move.

That said, I do hope the whoosh-fairy visits soon! :)

This next ten pounds is likely not going to come off easily, because I haven't been below 135 pounds since early high school. I'm going to finish up this round and get as far as I can get - P3 ought to be fun! lol

P2R2 Day 24 - Reflections on Deviating & Stalling

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 148.0
Today: 148.0
Released Since Start of VLCD: 12.4
Total lb. Released with hCG: 32.2

Am I sensing a lot of frustration out in blogland or WHAT?! ;) I'm going to take this time to breathe, relax and maybe talk through some things.

The past few days have been a debacle VLCD-wise. I gained back nearly 13% of my total loss, and I'm halfway through protocol. Not good. I knew it would happen, I was in total control, and I chose to sacrifice my awesome progress for the short-term. I own it, and I just hope that decision doesn't affect my ability to maintain in the long-run.

I ate next to nothing yesterday, and nothing that was on-protocol. I also skipped my injection for the second day in a row yesterday. I'm not sure if that was wise or not, but I took my dose today and am starting fresh. Regret is a wasted emotion.

My main concern when I (or anyone else) deviate is that my hypothalamus is not going to be properly reset and that I will have a harder time maintaining my total loss. This is especially crucial during the first 23 days of protocol. Doctor Simeons writes,

It seems that even in the mildest cases of obesity the diencephalon requires about three weeks rest from the maximal exertion to which it has been previously subjected in order to regain fully its normal fat-banking capacity. Clinically this expresses itself in the fact that when in these mild cases treatment is stopped as soon as the weight is normal, which may be achieved in a week, it is much more easily regained than after a full course of 23 injections.

This is one of several reasons that people progressing to P3 can have more of a challenge keeping their weight steady. Not deviating from protocol, especially during the initial three weeks, is crucial. But that is another blog-post altogether! :)

I also wanted to talk about stalls. I was stalled before this debacle came about, but I am sure that I was losing inches. I was told about one person who played with the same weight over an extended period, but ended up losing over 2 inches in each thigh during that time. The protocol was and is still working, even though the scale hasn't registered the way I'd like it to.

Long story short, I am not going to crown myself dubiously as a "Deviating Diva". I made a choice and am simply reaping the "rewards" of it. It was a learning experience and is now part of the past. If I continue to be stalled, I will not fret. I am going to honor this time of rest for my body, and trust that the protocol is still working for me, even without the drop in numbers scale-wise.

This protocol is a God-send and a miracle. I will not squander its potential any more for the short-term.

I will succeed.

P2R2 Day 22 - Chocolate Hell

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 147.8
Today: 146.2 (-1.6)
Released Since Start of VLCD: 14.2 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 34.0

I'm experiencing some frustration and confusion today.

I have not moved on the scale one stinken ounce in the past three days. I have also not had a BM in over a week. (Sorry, no TMI warning... I'm just rambling.) BF could not find any "booboo tea" (as he calls it. lol) at the store the other day, and I have not had the ambition to go to the store and find my own.

Yesterday, I went to a close friend's 50th birthday party. I didn't realize there were going to be 30 people packed into this nice lady's single-wide. :) I sat at the kitchen table with her for most of the party, and directly in front of me was my water... a pan of brownies and two pans of cupcakes. I saw the chocolate icing, and strangely enough I really could have cared less if I ate one or not. They looked good, don't get me wrong, but not unavoidable even at 6 inches. I was hungry, though. I ended up rationalizing in my head that she was never going to have another 50th birthday party, I haven't seen this nice lady in years (she was my mom's best friend and we keep in touch online mostly) and oh well if I gain some back.

I ended up eating one cupcake (which tasted like crap except for the icing) and three brownies. The brownies tasted good, but I was left feeling like... "That's IT??" They didn't taste all that great, and I was not even close to satisfied. Plus, about two minutes later I felt like there was a rock in the pit of my stomache, my teeth felt gritty and my head was buzzing from all the sugar. I felt sick and ended up leaving early. D: If anything has cured my "sweet" cravings - that was it!

***TMI Alert***TMI Alert***

So I had a (very) small BM when I got home, probably from the sugar-shock. Does anyone else's stool look funny since starting the protocol? Don't give me that funny face, either, because I know you all look. HA! I ate an entire head of broccoli yesterday and drank at least a gallon of water (before the party) trying to get something to happen, and nothing.

So how did I drop over 1.5 pounds?? I don't get it... Probably the mass amount of water. Who knows. Anyhow, hope your weekends are going well and take it from me:

Stay AWAY from the sugar! It's NOT worth it!! >:P

R2P2 Day 20 - Zzzzz...

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 147.8
Today: 147.8
Released Since Start of VLCD: 12.6
Total lb. Released with hCG: 32.4

I've decided not to include my daily average release anymore. I'm not really concerned with it. It can feel kind of negative, actually, since it almost always goes down. So I'll do one at the end of P2 but no more daily tally.

Yesterday was fun. Uneventful VLCD-wise, but it felt so good to be able to put on those pants and zip them up all the way without sucking in my gut. That feeling of success is worth every second of effort put into this protocol. I also bought a string-bikini the other day while we were at the store... Something I never, EVER would have worn after I had my daughter. You know what? I put that baby on last night and my BF's jaw dropped to the floor. LOL I'm no model, y'all, but it actually looked good. Yesterday was full of firsts... It was a great day!

Today I am tired. I stayed up way too late doing schoolwork I'd procrastinated on all day long. This morning I woke up to no movement on the scale. More than likely due to no "movement" of another kind in about a week. Wonderful BF is going to the store for me as we speak to get the "good" tea. ;) So once I get a cup or two of the "poopy tea" (as it was coined during my first round - lmao) and a good night's rest, I should be right back on track.

Until tomorrow ~*~

R2P2 Day 19 - Muffin-less Me!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 148.2
Today: 147.8
Released Since Start of VLCD: 12.6 lb.
Average Daily Release: 0.79 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 32.4

Playing catch-up today. Yesterday we were up and running most of the day and I just plain forgot! Nothing really eventful with protocol, though.

BF is really noticing the changes in my body and says so often. He kept pulling at the seat of my jeans yesterday and saying things like, "Where's your butt??" LOL All in good fun, because I've never had one! Seriously, though - I put on a pair of jeans yesterday (fresh outta the dryer) That are always a bit snug at first, and they slid right on with room to spare! OMG! Same this morning, except these are my "muffin-top" jeans because they sit so low on my hips. Guess what - NO MUFFIN!! I'm going to be adventurous after I post this and go try on my "boloney-skin" khakis that I used to only wear to work when there was nothing else.

This is what I ate:

Breakfast: 1 orange

Lunch (4 p.m.): 3 asparagus spears and 100g low-fat cottage cheese + 1 orange (yuuummm)

Dinner (8:30 p.m.): Krab un-wich with mustard

Have any of you ever been to Jimmy John's? They have an un-wich that's wrapped in huge lettuce leaves instead of bread. SO good. I don't seem to be stalling with the imitation crab meat, so I'm going to keep it unless I stall. I also bought broccoli last night and I'm going to try it out. I know it's a little late this round, but I cannot stand the sight of asparagus, cabbage or celery anymore! lol

I bought Vitamin C, zinc and echinacea last night, because I am NEVER sick this long. Every morning I wake up with a swollen, sore throat that is starting to last though most of the day. I'm starting to think it might be allergies. I'm going to see my NAET lady not this coming Monday, but the next. Gotta love the budget.

Aunt B. will be here soon to walk. This is something new we're doing... Physical Exertion. Grimace.

More tomorrow ... ~*~

P2R2 Day 17 - Milk Mishap & Aunt B's On Board!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 148.8
Today: 148.8
Released Since Start of VLCD: 11.6
Average Daily Release: 0.83
Total lb. Released with hCG: 31.4

Big 'o goose egg today. My eating has been very clean, but I can't seem to shake my aversion to veggies and chicken. All I ever want is eggs, eggs and more eggs! I have to get to the store and get some more 96/4 burger and low-fat cottage cheese.

Last night I did not eat dinner. I also did not drink enough water because we were over at my dad's doing laundry, at the park and then back to my dad's to finish the laundry. All told, we didn't get home until 10:30. We won't even talk about the Diet Pepsi. Sigh. There is always tomorrow! Except...

Today was Eat Lunch with a Special Person Day at my daughter's Elementary School. I dutifully packed a container with romaine salad and hard-boiled eggs and went on my merry way - totally in control. I'm not sure how it happened, but in the ten minutes I stood there holding my lunch and my daughter's hand, I forgot that I couldn't have milk. She handed me a pint of chocolate, we went through the line and I sat and drank the whole stinken thing while she and five other first-graders jabbered my ears off. We then proceeded to the book fair to pick out a book about pets, and I went home. I didn't even realize what I'd done until I was all the way home! D:

Oh well, we shall see how this affects the bottom line. I will drink extra water and cut my protein at dinner, maybe. Any suggestions?

On a brighter note, my aunt is ready to start! We sat down and figured out the cost of doing 2 rounds for her and one more for me. How much does it cost to lose 100 lb. on another plan? I can't say from personal experience, but from the stats in the article, it will take 3 years or better. Any commercial plan you follow has some type of fee involved, not to mention special food. All told, I'm sure it's a whole lot more than you would pay for a nice pair of shoes!!

Anyhow, I ordered the supplies today and will be ordering the hCG within the next couple of days. I did have an extra vial of it left over from my last order, so I gave her that to do this round with. As soon as her shipment comes in, she'll be ready for the dreaded Load. Yipee! My first hCG recruit! LOL I'm so happy for her. I just hope that the rest of our family will see and maybe want to do it. I'd love nothing more than to have the 'fat' stigma gone from this family. It's like, if you're one of us, you're doomed for obesity. How excellent would it be to shift that paradigm?

Until tomorrow,
Your Dairy-Deviating Paradigm-Buster - moi!

P2R2 Day 16 - Busy Weekend

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 148.4
Today: 148.8 (+0.4)
Released Since Start of VLCD: 11.6 lb.
Average Daily Release: 0.89 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 31.4

Still in the 140's. I am not complaining, even with the small gain from yesterday. My body is still probably like... WTF??... After getting out of the 150's after all of these years, plus I didn't drink all of my water, plus we went out to eat night-before-last and I ate all of my plain, grilled chicken breast instead of only half like I'd planned, plus I polished off a 20-ouncer of diet cherry Pepsi right before bed. Woops. 1+1 = Amie gained a teeny bit yesterday. No sweat.

I got to the store this weekend and bought some magnesium and potassium supplements. I've heard they keep you regular and help abate hunger, respectively. I'm not entirely sure what the magic cocktail is, but I've been taking them like the bottle says: one 99-mg potassium plus one 400-mg magnesuim/15-mg zinc tab with a meal.

We are getting a new couch today! YAY! Plus the BF got a bunch of cool stuff to hang on the walls, so this place doesn't look like such an asylum. lol He's way more into the decorating thing than me, so I told him to go for it and just keep me informed.

Speaking of which, they will be here anytime with that couch and I have to get this computer out of their way. :)

Hasta man-yana (someone get me a tilde! lol) ~*~

Progress Pics & Measurements (Halfway)

Sorry for the graininess of the photos - it's my phone camera, and I tried to fix the lighting. My BF took them both times, and the first time he was kneeling down... sigh... but I think we've got a good system now. :)

Measurements were taken 03/01/09 and again today.

Chest: 40.5 ... 38.5 ... -2.0
Waist: 35.0 ... 32.0 ... -3.0
Hips: 39.1 ... 38.0 ... -1.1
Thigh: 23.5 ... 23.5 ... 0.0
Calf: 14.8 ... 14.5 ... -0.3
Bicep: 11.0 ... 11.0 ... 0.0

Inches Lost: 6.4

Woot!

P2R2 Day 14 - Expect the Unexpected

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 151.2
Today: 149.2 (VIRGIN TERRITORY!!)
Released Since Start of VLCD: 11.2 lb.
Average Daily Release: 1.0 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 31.0

What?! I said, WHAT??! I did not just lose two pounds overnight, break into the 140's, which I haven't seen in 10 years, officially lose over 10 lb. this round and hit the 30+ total pounds-down mark... Did I??

I think I just DID!

Aright everybody... This is how we celebrate in MY place - TURN IT UP!!

*~*~*~PARTAY PARTAY PARTAAAY! ... PARTAY PARTAY PARTAAAAY!~*~*~*



Aright... calm down y'all. Back to business.

I've been battling this stupid cold for over a week now, plus TOM officially showed up yesterday and I spent the majority of my afternoon in bed sleeping.

This is what I managed to eat:
Lunch: 4 boiled eggs sans 3 yolks with about a tablespoon of mustard mixed in and a sliced tomato with basil. So, so, good.

Snack: 1/2 Grapefruit

Dinner: Ummm... yeah. I did eat about 60g of that imitation crab meat. (I know, I know! Bad, bad, bad) No veggie. I wasn't hungry at all.

Snack: 1 orange, and I shared a couple of wedges with my daughter.

See - worrying about stalled losses, as long as it's not accompanied by ravenous hunger or deviation from protocol, is pointless. Thanks anyhow for being my sounding board and for GETTIN KRAZY with me today! lol

I'm planning for a little slowdown or rebound tomorrow since I didn't get all the fluids I should have yesterday. I may even bump temporarily back up out of the 10/30 clubs, but you never know. I'm going to ask the BF if he'll take progress pics and measurements when he gets home from work, so I can post them later.

Hasta luego! ~*~

P2R2 Day 13 - Close to the Line

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 151.6
Today: 151.2
Released Since Start of VLCD: 9.2 lb.
Average Daily Release: 0.92 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 29.0

I feel different. It's like my body has slooowed down, or is resisting something. I have a couple of ideas what it might be, but there is a nagging little voice that keeps saying to me, "It stopped working for you, and now you're just starving yourself." Sigh.

1. There are signs of TOM. Amenorrhea (likely attributed to PCOS) has been an issue I've dealt with since puberty, and I'm used to getting it, then not getting it... Sometimes I'm monthly and sometimes every other or few months. Heck, I didn't even know I was pregnant for my daughter until around 10 weeks. Regardless, I think this is just about a month since my last menses.

2. I could be pregnant. There is always a chance. I'm not on BC, and haven't been on it regularly for over a year. I hate the way it messes with my hormone balance; I'm messed up enough hormonally as it is! lol So, you never know. I'll have to go back over P&I where it talks about the symptoms while on protocol. If I am, then I have to make some serious diet and supplemental modifications, stat.

3. I am about to hit a weight milestone. I haven't been under 150 pounds since high school. Granted, my lean muscle mass was much higher then too, so I wore much smaller clothing, but a very likely weight set-point nonetheless. OK - I know, I know. I've only lost under a pound a day a couple of times and zeroed once. It's my blog and I'll whine if I want to. ;)

4. Sodium intake has been relatively high compared to my normal diet. For some reason, for the past week I haven't been able to stomache food without a bunch of salt on it. Last night I had 1 boiled egg + 3 whites and a good-sized kosher dill pickle for dinner. Delicious. Except that now I'm crawling down my numbers... Woe is meeee... LOL

AH! I'm going to SNAP out of it now!!

Gotta get baby to the bus... RUN!

This was my day.

P2R2 Day 12: What a Crappy Day!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 152.2
Today: 151.6
Released Since Start of VLCD: 8.8 lb.
Average Daily Release: 0.98 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 28.6

**TMI**TMI**TMI**TMI**TMI**

You've been warned.

So... ummm... When I woke up this morning I did not weigh 151.6 lb. Nope.

I weighed 153 lb. On the nose. All three times that I weighed myself.

I had a few ideas as to why, when I felt like I'd lost overnight and hadn't deviated all day yesterday and have been drinking water like a fish, I managed to gain almost a pound overnight. I just wasn't sure what to do about it.

Fortunately, nature answered that question for me in relatively short order, and after some very successful potty time... Voila! 151.6!

That, in more ways than one, left me feeling very relieved. ;)

Okay, enough about pooping.

I have to go do laundry here shortly, so this is what I've eaten today:

Breakfast: coffee and 1 grissini

Lunch: 1 orange, 1 grissini, chicken and asparagus. I've had an aversion to chicken for some reason lately, so I'm glad that it tasted good!

Snack: 1 grapefruit

Dinner: Probably 1 egg + 3 whites and tomato. With Biz's admonishment about nonfat cottage cheese on my last post... I'll be buying low-fat cottage cheese tomorrow when we go grocery shopping. Seriously, I looked at the ingredients in the non-fat and I can't pronounce any of it! I wouldn't give it to my animal, and I'm not going to eat it either. Oh well, $2.50 down the drain. There are worse things!

I'll see y'all around tomorrow... My tummy is starting to rumble again... D:

P2R2 Day 11 - Mmmm... Cottage Cheeeese...

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 152.6
Today: 152.2
Released Since Start of VLCD: 8.2 lb.
Average Daily Release: 1.0 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 28.0

Whoa, so I'm posting this way later than usual. Everything went pretty swell today. No deviations, I was feeling alright, making my blog rounds earlier in the day and then some beta testing for the good folks over at HTA. I even got ahead on my schoolwork and went shopping for pete's sake - so I've got more in the house than a few 100-gram bags of chicken and some sad-looking celery. lol

So I bought some no-fat cottage cheese (yum!), more eggs, some tomatoes, oranges and grapefruit. Lemme just tell you how good that grapefruit tastes with a lil stevia sprinkled on top.

THIS (!!) good.

So overall, not much big news. Another half-pound bites the dust, and this was my menu:

Breakfast: Green tea with lemongrass (Yum! SO fragrant) and stevia.

Snack: 1 grissini (just one this time)

Lunch: Beef and cabbage soup. Not bad, but not the greatest either.

Snack: 1/2 grapefruit with stevia. Oh yeaaaah.

Dinner: 1 grissini, 1 tomato and 100g fat-free cottage cheese.

Caio for now. ~*~

P2R2 Day 10 - Sick Yesterday

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 152.6
Today: 152.6
Released Since Start of VLCD: 7.8
Average Daily Release: 1.1 lb
Total lb. Released with hCG: 27.6

I have felt like POOP for the past couple of days! I didn't even get up yesterday until after noon (thank God for my wonderful BF who got my daughter ready and brought her to school!)

Yesterday I ate nothing at all, except 2 grissini and 2 hard-boiled eggs. I took the yolk out of one, just for good measure. I did make homemade Chicken and Dumplings for the fam and ate a little bit of a dumpling and some broth. I may just be retaining water, or the flour and milk is affecting me. Either way - stalls are normal, even when adhering strictly to the diet. So guess what I'm going to do - drink, drink, drink my water, get back on track and move on! I did learn yesterday that there is a difference between "drop" dumplings and "noodle" dumplings. Huh! Never woulda guessed it. :) BTW - AllRecipes is the BOMB. If you're going to make that recipe, I'd suggest adding a can of cream-of-something soup for texture, some soup veggies like carrots, celery, onion and potatos, plus a bay leaf, thyme, basil and maybe a little dill. I also had to put a bit more flour in the dough before it was un-sticky enough to roll out.

I seriously need to go shopping. Nothing in my fridge even looks good.

P2R2 Day 8 - Grissini Galore!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 154.6
Today: 153.6 (-1.0)
Released Since Start of VLCD: 6.8 lb
Average Daily Release: 1.36 lb
Total lb. Released with hCG: 26.6

Ugh. I am so tired today. Daylight savings' end always kicks my butt.

I am skipping my injection today to see how it goes. So far, so good. I didn't even feel like making lunch until 2 p.m.

Today's Menu:
Breakfast: coffeeee!

Lunch: 96/4 beef seasoned with all sortsa stuff. Seasoned salt (yikes - the ingredients are a little scary, but I may have used 1 tsp. total), pepper, garlic and onion powders with 5 ripped cabbage leaves and about 1/3 c. water to make a flavorful broth. :) This was pretty good.

Dinner: 4 grissini and Diet Pepsi. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! lol I finally made that grissini and it was so damn good I ate double my daily portion at one meal! But that's all I ate. Which probably isn't good either.

The recipe is very good and easy as-is. I did change a couple of things, just to make it "mine". I brushed the grissini lightly with one beaten egg before I put them in the oven so they came out soft inside and firm outside. I also only baked them for 10-15 min. total instead of 15-20 because I divided the dough into about 30 bread sticks. They were way too thin to bake that long on that temp and not burn or dry right out. If you are going to try this recipe, make sure you rotate the pans in the oven so that the same one isn't on the bottom rack the whole time. You'll burn 'em that way. Also feel free to experiment with the spices you use - basil, thyme, rosemary and garlic powder are what I used and oh - my gawd - they are good.

I skipped my injection today to see how I'd do. I don't know that I'll do that again. I was doubly as hungry and also a little 'sick' feeling all day. That's another reason I didn't have a normal dinner, but I may have just been so hungry that I felt sick. Wouldn't be the first time. I could just be coming down with something, but I'm suspicious that it was the lack of hcg. We will see.

I'm a lil scare to weigh in tomorrow morning, but I danced and now I have to pay the piper!

P2R2 Day 7 - Over 25 lb. Lost Using HCG!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 155.6
Today: 154.6 (-1.0)
Reduced Since Start of VLCD: 5.8 lb
Average Daily Loss: 1.45 lb
Total lb. Reduced with hCG: 25.6

I have officially lost over 25 lb. using hCG! PAAARTAAAY!!

What I ate today:

Breakfast: The usual ... I want some oranges bad. I drank some Diet Coke around 11 a.m.

Lunch: I sliced 5 or 6 cabbage leaves into a shredded salad, chopped the chicken I used to make broth last night (I seperated it as well as I could from the spices - I'm not sure yet what their caloric value is, or if they're considered veggies if they don't dissolve in water) and made it into a salad with spicy mustard dressing. Meh. It was OK.

Dinner: 96/4 beef patty and three asparagus spears grilled with salt & pepper and garnished with regular mustard. I took a long nap today and didn't wake up until dinnertime (woops) so I just didn't have it in me to make it very interesting.

Snack: 1 med-sized green apple around 10 p.m.

I've had a couple of glasses (8-10 oz apiece) of Diet Coke today... Still waiting to see if it will affect my losses.

I need a blender and some strawberries STAT. I want to try a smoothie losing-experiment! ;)

We also went out and about to try to find Ketostix at Meijer's and Walgreen's. No luck. I may have to just buy them online.

P2R2 Day 6 - Soda Confessions

I posted my stats earlier - I've already lost almost 5 pounds this round alone, which makes my grand total with hCG almost 25 pounds GONE! In five weeks' time!

My Menu Today:

Breakfast: coffee

Lunch: 96/4 burger patty mixed with garlic/onion powders, salt & pepper, and about ten shakes of tabasco, grilled to a nice med-well, then served with two large celery stalks and a 4 tsp. side of spicy mustard. Yum-my.

Snack: 1 apple

Dinner: My P2-version of egg-drop soup. I got the recipe here, and substituted homemade chicken broth, 1 whole egg + 3 whites, and one white onion. Salt & pepper I kept. :) Very good!

I have a confession to make. I drank Diet Coke yesterday and today. Some say they can drink it and not stall their losses. I've had probably ten oz. in the past two days, and to be honest it doesn't even taste that good. We'll see if it affects my progress or not.

I'm done - time for the Sarah Connor Chronicles! ~*~

Round 2 hCG Day 6 - This Is Why

P2R2 Post-Load Weight 03/03/09: 160.4 lb
Yesterday: 156.4
Today: 155.6 -0.8
Released Since Start of VLCD: 4.8 lb.
Average Daily Release: 1.6 lb.
Total lb. Released with hCG: 24.6 Yes!

I got very little sleep last night. I'm positive I'd have lost more, but I am exhausted today. Lesson learned: Do not procrastinate with class assignments, or you will retain water! Friggen karma. On the bright side, in a few days I will weigh less than I have since high school. Imagine that... ;D

I laid it out for the friends and fam on my MySpace blog yesterday, so I'm likely to get some OMG-mail today. Maybe a few of you decided to actually come here and at least follow my progress and find out for yourself. I appreciate that very much. Like I said - whatever our relationship, I care about you in one way or another. The hCG Protocol works, period. It is safe. It is fast. It is cheap. As long as you don't resume old habits, the weight stays off. Forever. It will work for anyone, regardless of age, sex or whether you're ten or 200 pounds overweight. It's an absolute no-brainer.

The only reason that every American doesn't know about or understand this protocol is that there is much less money in health than sickness. Don't be fooled into thinking the FDA is a public entity with solely our best interests at heart. Food is BIG business. So is medicine. The more food you eat, the more money they make and as a result, the more overweight you get. No one WANTS to be overweight, do they? So why don't people just eat food that is healthy for them, exercise enough and lose the ugly excess fat?

We are addicted, people. There are reasons for that. Overweight is HUGE money.

Obese people are, generally, overeaters and consume more commercial, processed food. ($Bling!$)
They are also less healthy, which means more visits to the doctor, ($Bling!$)
which means more pills, ($BLING!!)
which cause side effects, which require more pills, ($BLING BLING!!$)
which cause more side effects, need more pills and an array of medical procedures ($Blingblingblingbling!$)
and they convince you to stay on this s#!% for the rest of your life, ($$$The Price Is Right! The Price Is Right!$$$) shortened though it may be by years of abuse.

So the younger you get addicted to commercial, processed, additive-laced food, the sooner you will get obese, the longer you will eat the food and the longer they can milk you and your insurance for expensive pills and medical procedures. HELLO?!

This isn't some whackjob conspiracy-theory. It is the truth, and it's time we opened our damn eyes to it. You do not have to be overweight. You can lose the weight, start looking damn good and get healthier in a very short period of time. What's more, you can overcome your likely food addictions and bad eating habits to stay that way. There is an answer and there is support.

More later today... Hasta luego ~*~

R2P2 Day 5 - Blogging, Blogging, Blogging

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 157.8
Today: 156.4
Released Overnight: 1.4 lb
Released Since Start of VLCD: 3.6 lb
Average Daily Release: 1.8 lb
Total lb. Released with hCG: 23.8

I am officially below my LIW by 1.2 pounds!! *happy dance!*

I have been blogging and web surfing all day. I just figured out how to do a bunch more cool stuff on HTA, so I'm stoked about that. They're just about to do a big format change, and I've been helping them beta test. Very exciting! The new interface should be much more user-friendly. Yay!

What I ate today:

Breakfast: coffee, 1 apple (I was really hungry this morning!)

Lunch: 100g of 96/4 burger mixed up with 1 large clove of garlic, salt, fresh-ground pepper and about ten drops of tabasco sauce. I formed it into a patty, grilled it on the Foreman and ate it with a squeeze of spicy mustard between 4 cabbage leaves. YUM!

Dinner: A creamy lemon-chicken asparagus soup concoction... I don't measure anything, but I think it was 5ish cups of water (enough to fill a small saucepan 3/4 full), 100g cubed chicken, 1-2T salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, a pinch each of dill, thyme, basil and 1 bay leaf. I put everything in the pan on med/hi heat and chopped 3 asparagus spears into 1-inch sections before adding it. I let that boil 10ish minutes, took it off the burner and added 1T milk about 1/4c lemon juice.

Snack: 6 strawberries + stevia powder

I dunno if all of that stuff should be mixed together or not, but it sure did taste good! ;) I should probably also consider cutting my salt intake. I have a bad habit of freaking out every time I eat, because if I start to feel full I automatically think I'm going over my calories.

I never did get around to baking grissini. No Melba today, either. *pukeyface*

Can't wait to weigh in tomorrow! ~*~

R2P2 Day 4 - Onward & Downward!

P2R2 Starting Weight 03/01/09: 160.0
Yesterday: 160.4
Today: 157.8
Lb. Released Overnight: 2.6
Lb. Released Since Start of VLCD: 2.6
Average Daily Release: 2.6 lb
Total lb. Released with HCG: 22.4

I'm only 0.2 lb over my LIW! I feel this is especially significant, since my LIW was taken in November of 2007. That is solid proof that not only does this protocol work for the short-term, it will also work for you long-term!

Breakfast: coffee
Water, coffee, water, coffee, water...
Lunch: celery with spicy mustard & grilled chicken (I got my scale today!!), 5 strawberries, 1 piece of Melba.
Water, coffee, water, water...
Dinner: Ate dinner @ 10 p.m. because I was over at my dad's house doing laundry all evening (gotta love apartment life). At his house I did have 2 kosher dill pickle spears to stave off hunger. I checked the ingredients, and it looked safe. When I got home, I ate two huge strawberries and poached 1 egg + 3 whites with fresh-ground pepper, salt and about 10 drops of tabasco. YUM!!

Melba is gross. I am making grissini tomorrow. Bleck!

I wanted to let everyone know that I've been getting a lot of support from the people at Happily Thinner After. They are an awesome group of people, many of whom have completed multiple successful rounds of hCG. There are numerous discussion forums, progress photos, blogs, and so much more. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants more support & encouragement during their journey with hCG and/or a comprehensive, realiable source of information.

Hasta manana...

P2R2 Day 3: VLCD Day 1 - It Has Begun!

Starting Weight: 160.4
Yesterday: 160.4
Today: 160.4
0 lb. Released Overnight
0 lb. Released Since Start of P2R2 03/01/09
Average Release Daily: n/a
Percent Body Weight Released: 0

I am injecting 150 IU hCG subcutaneously using 28g insulin syringes. I am using the reconstitution (mixing) guidelines provided by Tim - YouTube's Delmem, who has worked in the medical field since 1982. If you have mixing questions, you can get your answers here or by clicking the link "MIXING INSTRUCTIONS" under header "HCG Supplies" to the right. He also provides a lot of very helpful info on his site, relatively cheap supplies, Simeons nostalgia, and has been an invaluable source of hcg protocol knowledge for me personally. Thanks, Tim!

OMG ... Loading is SUCH a pain - literally! I spent most of last night wandering around with a brick in my stomache and it was most unpleasant. I did, however, only gain 0.4 of one measly pound while loading. Hello?! I ate like a PIG, especially last night... fast food and soda and cheese and wine and all sorts of naughty things. I am coming off of TOM, though, so that always means lost water weight.

BUT - all that is behind me, because toDAY is my very first VLCD day!

I did take before pics and measurements already, but I'll wait to put them out there until I have something to compare to. Last night I finished up my protocol food-shopping with some thyme, rosemary, basil, a BIG grinder of multi-colored peppercorns (YUM!), lemon juice and strawberries. (3 containers for $5 on sale, y'all!) We didn't get up there until after 7 p.m. so my health-food store was closed again. No liquid stevia for Amie. I might just get it online. Anyone have a supersecret stevia site where they get it really cheap?? :D I am the Bargain Diva - Never Pay Retail!!

For those of you who can't eat the same thing every day, you can utilize the hcgrecipes blog. There are a bunch of P2-friendly recipes there. Also at your fingertips are the recipe blogs posted on Happily Thinner After. Links for both sites are on the right side of my blog under "HCG SUPPORT & INFORMATION".

This is what I ate:
Breakfast: coffee - per my daily routine
Snack: 1 small, green apple
Lunch: 3 asparagus spears, 1 egg + 3 whites & 1 T low-fat milk. I figured this would be best since my scale is not here yet. All seasoned liberally with salt, pepper, onion powder and parsley. I sauteed the asparagus in water for about 5 min. first with salt & pepper, then added the egg mix. I let all simmer covered until the egg was cooked. I did have to scrape a bit off the bottom of the pan, but no biggie! The inspiration for this one came from hcgrecipes Asparagus Frittata. Very good!
Water, Water, Water...
Snack: Eight (count 'em - 8) strawberries with the powdered stevia. It makes me suspicious because the powder contains dextrose, but so do Sweet & Low and Splenda... and we can have those, right? Some input here would be appreciated.
Water, Water, Water...
Dinner: 5 or 6 cabbage leaves with imitation krab meat, sauteed in lemon juice with basil, thyme, salt and lotsa fresh-ground pepper. Realized shortly after putting in the pan that "krab" contains wheat and soy and egg and Godknows what else. Ate it anyways. Couldn't weigh the stuff because I gots no stinken scale. >:P Hopefully will come tomorrow.
Water, water, water, water...!

I feel... full! It's a very nice feeling. The lemon juice and extra pepper helped, I think. Plus I took a nice, healthy swig of ACV for good measure. ;D I'm a sicko. I know this. I'm a little afraid of what the scale may or may not say in the morning. I weighed myself in the middle of the day (don't do that to yourself btw) and it showed a 3.4 pound gain. I will not freak out, I will not freak out. But hey, it's my first day and things will be P2-normal soon.

P2R2 Day 1: First Loading Day

I couldn't wait anymore. I started today.

AND I AM SO FRICKEN EXCITED!!! WOOHOOO!

I have been eating ice cream and Hamburger Helper and baloney sandwiches with mayonnaise, poptarts... and everything else in my house that I won't be able to eat for the next MONTH. ;) lol I weighed in this morning, took before pics last night and had the BF take my measurements this afternoon.

While I did false start a couple of times this past year, I am counting this round as my official second P2. The last 14 months have been pretty rocky, so I'm just going to cut my losses there and start fresh.

I haven't received my food scale yet, but it should be arriving before Tuesday. I have all of my supplies and food... except that I read the ingredients on the Stevia box, and it contains dextrose. That means it's not allowed, right? >:( Darnit.

But past that... I am on my way! 135, here I come! ~*~

Getting Closer

I got an email this morning - my food scale has shipped! Check one off the list...

Went to Meijer's tonight and got some 96/4 burger, a 1/2 gallon of ACV, spigot-mount water purifier, Melba toast, sea salt, cabbage, asparagus, stevia packets, (I prefer liquid stevia, but the health-food store I get it at closes at 4 p.m. on Fridays. Growl.) two pints of ice cream and a bag or two of random candy. Thank yooooou skinny boyfriend and 6 y.o. daughter! lol Funniest thing, though... I have no desire for any of the junk. I made them hot chocolate when we got home. I didn't want any. They ate Cadbury cream eggs... OK, so I had one of those. ;) But the ice cream and candy don't even sound good. I am so ready for P2.

Although I bought two boxes of Melba toast today, I think I'm going to use them as backup and make my own grissini again. I can't find the recipe I used last time, so I went surfing tonight and found a few that sounded good. One of them even gives an interesting little history on the grissini. If any of you are sick of the bland, store-bought version and want to try your hand (it's not that hard, trust me!), I've linked the recipes I liked best below. I'm going to try the basil & parmesan for sure, omitting the parmesan. The grissini I made last round had all sorts of italian seasonings in them, so I'll probably add just a little garlic and rosemary and fresh-ground pepper too... Mmmmmm...

Aparna's Grissini Recipe

Parmesan & Cracked Pepper Grissini

L.A. Times Grissini Recipe

Frasca's Grissini Recipe - More of the same, but sounds really simple.

Culinary Bazaar Grissini - This recipe looks delicious as well as easy. I'm going to try this version for sure, sans parmesan.

Buhbye for now ~*~

Gallbladder & Intestinal Cleansing

I was poking around this morning and came across this cleanse on the same site as the salt water flush I have linked. It is a kidney/gallbladder cleanse and evidently can clear your body of gallstones without surgery! I wish to heaven that I'd have known about this before my surgery last year, but it is what it is. I have heard rumblings that the one issue this protocol *might* exacerbate is gallstones. I have a strong family history of gallbladder issues, and my attack happened six months after completing my first P2, so I am not convinced that hcg + VLCD had anything to do with it. However, for those that do or might want the info, here is the link:

Gallbladder Cleanse

There is a testimonial from a couple that did this cleanse and this is what came out! D:

Just for reference: the P2-friendly digestive-tract cleansing

Salt Water Flush

I have come to terms with the fact that I do not have everything I need at this very second for a successful P2, especially if I am going to go ahead and do it with someone else. Soooo, I am shooting for a Friday or Saturday start date to give my aunt a little more time to research, and if she isn't on the schtick by then I am going it alone. I also have some shopping, chopping, weighing and grilling to do. Wish me luck!

Impatience!

So I'm ready to start my next P2! Do I have my food scale yet? No. Do I have anything that resembles P2 food? Ummm... not really. I do have chicken breasts and some apples. And coffee (blessed coffee!), and some tea. Annnnd... lotsa water! That's good enough, right?? RIGHT! :D

OK, maybe not. But I am officially CHOMPING AT THE BIT. My aunt hasn't gotten back to me as to whether she really, officially wants to do this with me, and I'm thisclose to just saying screw it and starting alone. I hate to do that, though, because I really want her to experience this protocol. I'm going to call her shortly and work it all out. I do have enough supplies for us to start together... I think the only thing I don't have for us both to do a full 30-40 day round is enough insulin syringes. We can get those pretty easily.

I may mix tonight and start loading tomorrow. I am also just getting over TOM, which is the time to start according to Dr. Simeons.

So much to do, so much to do...

Gearing Up

*** I have been reading & trying to comment on my fellow Blogger.com'mers today, but the word verification won't pop up!! GRRRRRR! Sorry, I will try again later on.

Oooo Baby! I just got my daughter off to school and I am ready to tackle this day! (God, I love coffee! LOL) I had a craaaappy day yesterday, feeling like poop with TOM and all, so today is a refreshing turn for the better.

Well, with the exception of a couple of minor details, everything is in the works for my next P2. I took inventory this morning and I have (2) 5000-IU vials of hCG, 40+ insulin syringes, a couple of greatbig 12-mL mixing syringes, one clear 30mL vial, one vial of bac water (I thought I was out! Yay!!), 100 or so alcohol prep pads and a whole bunch of luer-lock 3mL syringes left over from my very first P2. I've since learned that investing in luer-lock syringes is a waste of money, since the darn things are supposed to be used with disposable needles! Grrr... Oh well. I'm saving them for a rainy day, in case I happen to run out of the other. I do need to procure, before too long... more bac water, another couple-few empty vials and a food scale. Somewhere in my adventures this past year or so the darn thing disappeared. Double Grrrrr!

On the upside, I found my indoor grill!! :D **Happy Dance!** I should also get ahold of a decent digital camera. I have a 2 megapixel camera on my phone, but I'd like one with a date-stamp. I know that everyone reading my blog is pretty bright, so if y'all have any ideas where I can find this stuff... uhhh ... cheap... - lemme know! ;)

I did post a little blurb on my MySpace about starting the protocol. I haven't given any details yet, but I am going to let my friends and family in on this round. I've done it once and succeeded despite myself, and if anyone in this world knows how well I sabotage my own success - it's my friends and family! Pffft... But honestly, I deviated and messed around a lot during my first P2 and still lost over 20 pounds. I am living proof that if this protocol worked for me, it can work for anyone! I know a lot of people that would benefit dramatically from Dr. Simeons' protocol, and it is my hope that they will see my experiences and successes and want it for themselves.

I'm off to do some more poking around! Hasta luego ~*~

I missed you, I missed you!!

Hello all!!!!

I am so jazzed to be back up and running with my home, with my family, with my love, with my LIFE! I am close to being ready to do another round of hcg to take off what is hopefully my last 20-30 pounds. I finally have someone in my life who is supportive of my desire to lose weight this way, and one of my family members is willing to do it with me. YES!

Thank you to everyone who has helped in the past, and welcome to those new to this whole hcg "thing". I've found a few new resources and have a couple of new tricks up my hot little sleeve, so watch out! Amie's BACK!

xoxo ~*~