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! ~*~

P2R2D2 - Second Load Day ... Kinda

Hi! :)

Brandi's hcg came in!!! We injected Wednesday after I helped her mix her first batch .. we're splitting it so that it won't lose potency. My hcg is on its way, and I need to order a few supplies yet. I'm so EXCITED!! (a la "The Cat in the Hat" lol)

The only little thing messing up my load THIS time is the fact that, after we injected Wednesday, I had a consult with my surgeon who advised me I'd be getting my gallbladder removed ... on FRIDAY. Yep, that's today! :P So I loaded on Monday, skipped the hcg yesterday (so that the pregnancy test they gave me in the hospital wouldn't show positive - wouldn't THAT be a mess!) and injected again today after I got home from the hospital around 1:30. I've been loading as well as I can between naps with the diet restrictions I've got - chicken and corn chowder, Ritz Toasted Chips, Keebler's Fudge Strips cookies, milk, part of the chalupa I didn't eat yesterday (prolly not so smart, my tummy's mad about that one) .. things that are higher-fat but not so much greasy. I WILL prevail!

VLCD begins tomorrow!! WOOO HOOO!!

Brandi said I could post her info on her, since she isn't an internet/blogging sort of person. :) Once I get ahold of her, I'll post some stats.

Hasta luego ~ Amie

P.S. Went to order supplies from Researchsupply ... but no bac water!! Would you guys plz let me know where you're getting your supplies from so that I can get it here ASAP? ;D Thank ya!

Welcome, VLCD! (and Before Pics)

Enough already! I am so over this loading thing. Eddie and I will attest that hcg has truly tempered our appetite. It was all we could do to stuff down any amount of food today, let alone load all day. We did manage, and I had my probably-last-ever "Free to Pick 3" fried appetizer combo at Logan's Roadhouse tonight. I can't say that I even enjoyed it, when just two weeks ago I gobbled one down like I hadn't seen food in months. I watched Eddie force down an 11-oz. sirloin with a look on his face like, "Just a few more bites..." We are both (former) huge fans of food, so tonight was nothing short of a miracle! We have to locate the flexible tape before we can post measurements... sigh... guess that's as good a reason as any to get this house picked up! *snort*

Here are my Official Before Pictures. They are clickable now, so you can see me up close. Ugh! lol (P.S. Really, really sorry about that little bit of cheekage in the "back" pic - hope I'm not violating any terms of service or something. Feel free to send nasty-grams to Eddie for NOT telling me I had a wedgie. Yikes.)

Sick Sick Sick

Argh! If adversity only makes us stronger, I'm going to end up the strongest woman around!

So - my second official load day was spent 90% in the bathroom with the flu! I couldn't keep anything down until about 9:00 tonight. LOL and sigh...

So, I guess I should do a third (or I guess a "second" second .. *g*) load day .. ?? .. or should I do another two load days since there was about 24 hours between my two load days? I guess I should go back and see if Dr. Simeons says anything about it in Pounds and Inches.

Injections are going well. We are using 1" 25g needles, and I think I *might* have nicked a muscle yesterday when injecting Eddie. He has a bit of padding over his abs (*g*) but he said it hurt quite a bit. (Eddie's a big baby, mind you. lol) I was careful today to make sure the needle went in on an angle, and he said there was very little stinging.

Onward and upward!

FRIDAY

It's FRIDAY! Official first Load-Day of our HCG Protocol! WHOOPEEE!

...

And I'm avoiding it like the Plague.

...

Some reservations:

First of all, I'm scared as hell that I'm going to start this and just end up cheating and wasting all of my money because I can't stick with a "diet" that doesn't allow me to eat all of the crappy Taco Bell, Burger King, etc. that I want. Gross, I know. :(

Also, we can't do morning injections because Eddie goes to work M-Th at 5:30 a.m. and F-Sun doesn't get up until 10 a.m. or so. We could do the injections at night, but I'm afraid it won't work as well ... or not at all.

Finally, I'm going on at least two trips this month. One trip will be to a Chiropractic conference, which I have to go to or lose my job. The other, which I can postpone, is to a University out-of-state that I'm applying to. My sister is also flying in from CA some time in the next couple of weeks, which poses less of a problem, but could still complicate things.

I've been loading today... kinda... I didn't eat breakfast (doh!) but I did have pancakes, sausage and an egg covered in organic maple syrup for lunch and tortilla chips with cheese-salsa for a snack. I usually don't start eating until later in the day anyhow, so as long as I keep eating until tonight I should be good, right? Well, I'm going to mix my HCG here soon so wish me luck!

Hasta ~ Amie