215.2 - Down 1.6 Pounds

Now it's moving again...good! Think I can hit 210 by Christmas? I'm not sure, but I'll try... I wanted to be at 190 by Jan 1, but that's obviously not going to happen. By the end of January, at the latest though, I will be at goal. Man that will feel good.

216.8

Not losing quite as fast as I would like, but then I haven't been as strict with the VLCD as I should have been so it's going well!

218 - Down 2 Pounds

Now that's more like it!

220 - Down 0.6 Pounds

Not as big a start as I would have hoped for, but moving in the right direction...

220.6 - no change

I've been travelling this last week for work, so I am happy to have maintained. I'm back in town and back on VLCD today...

220.6 - Up only 2.4 Pounds

I say 'only' because I was expecting to be up by probably 5 or 6 pounds, so I think this is great. While on my little vacation I didn't worry at all about what I ate (or drank). To have only gained 2.4 pounds during those 4 days is amazing to me. Makes me think that maybe my hypothalmus is already reset at the lower weight.

Back on the hcg and VLCD today again....

218.2 - Down 0.6 Pounds

Not as much as I was hoping for, but I'll take it! I'm on my way out, so I'll check back in on Tuesday 12/11 and let you know how it went...

218.8

Ok, so I have had a couple of 'off' days, but I'm still thrilled with this number. FINALLY below 220! I stopped hcg today (should have stopped yesterday probably) before my little Vegas trip. Hopefully I'll lose some more again today, and then I'll just try not to go too overboard on Friday, which will be the first day out there. I know I will probably creep back up to slightly above 220 while on the trip, but from past experiences I have found that after a gain I can usually lose all of it plus a little more my first day back on VLCD. I'm still going to watch the starches and sugars while I'm out there, though (except for any sugar there might be in any 'adult' beverages I might have, of course)....

This will probably be my last post until 12/11 (my birthday!) since I leave very early tomorrow morning. I'll try to update tomorrow morning before I leave, but it all depends on how rushed I am. When I get back, I'll let you know how much (if any) I gained on the trip!

220.2 - Now I'm Just Fat

Well, I had to go out of town on business for a few days - and we all know what that means...I didn't stick to the VLCD so well. But, today I am at 220.2, so I still lost overall just very slowly. However, I am glad to report that today I am officially no longer 'obese,' barely, according to the BMI charts. Yes, that's right folks - I am now just overweight! Woo hoo! Odd to cheer being overweight, huh? But it's a new beginning that's for sure.

Another thing - yesterday I finally decided to go out and get some new clothes since everything else hangs off my ass like I'm some hoodlum teenager. I had to get size 36 jeans, which I haven't been able to wear for several years. When I started this diet, I was wearing a TIGHT size 42. So, that was awesome to have to buy smaller. At first I tried size 38s, but they were a little too loose so I had to go out to get a smaller size. It was nice to have to go back to the rack to get a smaller size instead of a larger one!

I will be going to Vegas next Friday, and I'm not going to worry about sticking to the diet while I'm there. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right? I'm hoping that includes pounds and inches! Anyway, I will stop hcg on Tuesday so that it will hopefully be out of my system while I am on this little mini-vacation. I'll just try to stear clear of the starches and deserts...

221.8 - Down 1.6 Pounds

Man, I really like those 4-5 pound loss days! Of course, that really only seems to occur if I cheated the day before or if I had a lot of sodium, so this is definitely great. 1.6 Pounds in a day - I'm hoping that tomorrow or the next day I can be below 220 - that will make me just 'overweight' and no longer 'obese' according to the BMI charts! So, I'll be just fat instead of 'holy shit, he's fat!' HA!

223.4 - Down 4.6 Pounds

Back on track -- I hope!

228 - Up 5 Pounds

Well, I didn't eat as much as I normally would on Thanksgiving, but I did overdo it on the wine a bit I think! Oh well, I had a good time. I was up 5 Pounds on Friday, and am still the same today since I didn't go back to the VLCD yesterday and had chinese food (lots of sodium, and thus lots of water gain, you know - I'm sensitive to it just like a girl! :)

If history is any indicator though, I will probably lose this all today and be back at 223 by tomorrow and then it's onward and downward again...

223 - Up 0.4 Pounds

Hmmmm.. Odd. I don't know why I would be up 0.4 pounds today. Could be water I suppose (hope?). Today is Thanksgiving, and the 2nd day without hcg - I won't be sticking to the VLCD, obviously. But I definitely won't eat like I used to. I look forward to the good food, but really not as much as I would have last year, which is interesting to me. Hopefully tomorrow morning won't bring a huge gain.

222.6 - Down 0.4 Pounds

Any loss is good a loss, right? :)

One thing I've noticed from posts at the other forums, is that people using hcg sublingually have typically not experienced immunity no matter how long they have gone on P2 taking hcg that way. I have switched back and forth between injections and sublingual and have never experienced any signs of immunity. Of course, disclaimer, this is just me and every person's body may react differently.

I'm wondering if maybe the sublingual leaves your system more quickly than injections, and this could be the reason. I guess I'll find out based on how much I gain on Thanksgiving. I should have stopped hcg yesterday, but just couldn't! I stopped today, so it will only be 2 full days without it instead of 3. I'll let you all know what happens!

I also noticed that Dr. S. doesn't mention any danger of going longer - he only mentions that the chance of developing immunity greatly increases. He was so precise in his writings, that I feel sure he would have mentioned if there was any known adverse health effect of going longer.

My take on him is that he wrote the plan so that it would work for everyone, and was very precise and cautious about the diet and injections for that reason. For example, some people can change up the diet a bit, mix veggies, use lotions, etc. and not have an adverse effect - but the SUREST way for EVERYONE to succeed is definitely to follow his plan to the letter.

223 - Down 0.4 Pounds

It's funny how on this diet you get used to big drops of over a pound a day, and then when you have a day where you lose less than that it is disappointing. Still, at 223 that's 37 pounds gone! I'm obviously not going to meet that T-Day goal of 215. Oh well. Maybe I can at least make 220 - we'll see...

223.4 - Down 5 Pounds

Guess it was water from all that sodium! Feels good not to be so bloated, although my face still is a little bit - so I think I'm still holding on to some water.

All in all, I've now lost 36.6 pounds since I started this. I know that if I had stuck to it I would already be at my goal of 185, so there's a lesson for all of you! For me, I'm not too concerned about it though. I've 'cheated,' and as a result not lost as quickly as I could have - but I'm still thrilled with what I have been able to lose even doing that. Without this hcg diet I'm sure I'd still be back close to my starting weight and feeling miserable.

I'll really try to watch the sodium again today and see how much I lose by tomorrow...

228.4 - Up 4 Pounds

Man, I blew it yesterday. Went 'off-plan' a bit, but I think mostly I had A LOT of sodium, so this is probably mostly water weight and I'm not worried about too much of a stall as a result. Water is not the same as fat, so it's not a big deal if it shows on the scale to me. According to Simeons, just 1 teaspoon of salt more than your body is used to will cause you to retain about 2 pounds of water so your blood can accomodate it.

But, after entering all my foods, spices, etc. into FitDay.com, I found that I had 11,939 mg of sodium. 11,939! Holy crap. That can't be healthy. I really need to watch that.

Luckily,water is not fat - so it will flush out in a couple of days and isn't really a hinderance in fat-loss - but it sure can throw you for a loop mentally if you don't know what happened!

I'll have just plain food today, nothing added for seasoning that has ANY sodium.

224.4 - Down 1.6 Pounds

Feels good to see the scale finally make a real move again! I have to admit I was hoping for more than a 2 pound loss though, since the losses the last couple of days have been small.

I don't feel too confident about reaching my Thanksgiving 11/22 goal of 215 - only 5 days away, and I would need to lose 1.88 pounds per day to reach that. Hopefully I'll be close though. It might be tough, since I am stopping hcg on 11/20 (11/19 will be the last day) to let it get out of my system by the 22nd so I can hopefully eat normally on Thanksgiving w/out a huge gain. I know I will probably gain a little bit, but then I've been there before MANY times during this process.

I'll start back up on the 23rd w/ hcg and the VLCD and continue until 12/04 and take another short break (Vegas, baby).

226 - Down 0.2 Pounds

Only lost another 0.2 pounds this morning. How frustrating! I did 'cheat' a little bit last night, I have to admit. But by cheating I mean lots of salad late night, not too bad for a cheat I guess. I did put some Craisins and chopped peanuts in it, so that was a definite no-no. Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

226.2 - Down 0.2 Pounds

Well, how disappointing. I was planning (well, hoping) to be at 224 this morning. Oh well, I'll just keep plugging along...

226.4 - Down 2.4 Pounds

Nice loss for the day! It feels great to see the scale moving again. I'm not too sure I'll be able to meet my goal of 215 by 11/22, since that would be 11.4 pounds in 8 days, or an average of 1.425 pounds per day - but I suppose it's possible.

Funny today looking in the mirror - for probably the first time I noticed that my 'love handles' aren't very noticable anymore. Still definitely fat, but the bulges or 'pooches' that kind of protrude seem to be going away...

228.8 - Down 0.8

Well, it's a start at least! Glad to see the scale changing again...

I'm switching to Sublingual today for awhile.

229.6

Yep, again...

229.6

Missed a day updating. I'm up a bit, obviously. Didn't stick to the letter of the law last couple of days, but I think this is mostly because I have had quite a bit of sodium, based on looking things up on FitDay.com.

I have never really used salt on anything, but the last few days it turns out my seasonings have been pretty high in sodium. I also tried the "Saltwater Flush" I read about on 1 of the yahoo groups, and had no results from it - except maybe a big water gain I think. I kind of feel like my body is fighting me to get back up above 230 to its old 'set point,' but who knows. I used Smooth Move tea too, with no results. So, we'll how long this takes to come back down... I'll just stick to it and wait for the big 'WHOOSH!' I'm not worried about it...

Today is my 'skip day' for hcg, so I'm not expecting much change for tomorrow.

227.8 - Down 0.6 Pounds

Wah!!! I know I should be thrilled to lose half a pound in a day, but I was really expecting/hoping for more - guess I'm spoiled. Oh well, a loss is a loss...

That gives me 13 days to lose 12.8 more pounds if I'm going to meet my 11/22 goal. We'll see...

Good Riddance!

It was TOUGH yesterday - not that I was really hungry or anything, but just getting myself past this mental stuff that for some reason I had over the weight 230. But I did it. No more 230's. Never again. This morning I weighed 228.4 - a loss of 2.2 pounds since yesterday. Amazing how well this stuff works when you stick to the plan, huh?!

My goal is still to be at 215 by Thanksgiving. That gives me 14 days to lose 13.4 more pounds. Should be do-able if things continue as they have been, so far as the rate of loss goes ...

230.6 - Down 1.4 pounds

Okay, let's see if I can finally put this 230 thing to bed once and for all. I think I have both a psychological and physical resistance to going below this number for some reason.

I'm determined today will be my last day in the 230's - EVER...

232 - Up 0.2 pounds

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr........

231.8 - Down 4.2 pounds

Whew! Lost 4.2 yesterday. I was worried about a long stall. Of course, if it weren't for my night out I would probably be at about 227 right now instead of 231.8, but at least things are back going in the right direction. Hopefully I can be back under 230 when I weigh in tomorrow morning...

Re: How is this even possible???

I just discovered something that I think may be why I have been prone to 'cheat'. I have been mixing 1500IU,with the goal being 200IU per day. I normally would just fill a syringe each day, but last week I decided to pre-fill syringes for the whole week. It turns out that when I went to mix my batch for this next week, there was a HUGE amount left in the vial (I have it wrapped in foil, so didn't notice this when I pre-filled the syringes last week).

I have been injecting 0.5 CC per day, and I think I messed up my mix and should have been injecting 1.0 CC per day this whole time...so I have been only getting about 100IU per day instead of the 200IU I had been planning on. I have apparently been adding twice the amount of bac water that I should have been based on a 0.5 cc per day dosage. Maybe that's why I have still been a bit hungry and tempted throughout. I'll be more careful with the calculator from now on!

How is this even possible???

OK, sorry I didn't post yesterday. I did get below 230, barely (229.7 WOO HOO!) but here's the kicker - Mr. Self-Sabotage rears his ugly head again. I went out last night (something I guess it is best I just avoid altogether until I am done with this - since apparently the will power isn't so great when I am out w/ friends).

I had beer, chicken quesadillas, and various other crap. Well, this morning my weight was 236!!! That's a gain of 6.3 pounds in 1 day. How is that even possible??? My understanding is that it takes 3500 calories to equal 1 pound of fat. There is no way I ate 22,050 calories yesterday. I don't think that's even possible! (although if it were possible, I guess I would be the one who could do it)

So my question is this for any of you out there who might have thought about it:

Do you think that when we gain while taking the HCG that it is really mostly water weight, and then it just takes us awhile to get rid of that excess water - and that is the reason for the "stall"?

I note that there is a section in Pounds & Inches where Dr. Simeons says this when writing about the need to continue for 3 days on VLCD after stopping your injections: "...if they start eating normally as long as there is even a trace of HCG in their body they put on weight alarmingly at the end of the treatment. After three days when all the HCG has been eliminated this does not happen, because the blood is then no longer saturated with food and can thus accommodate an extra influx from the intestines without increasing its volume by retaining water."

This makes me think that when you eat "normally" while HCG is in your system and your weight goes up as a result, you are not actually re-storing more fat, but rather your body is forced to retain an unusually large amount of water until you bring your daily calories back down and it can be flushed back out (usually with a long night of frequent trips to the bathroom).

What do you all think?

Well, it's VLCD today and LOTS AND LOTS OF WATER!

-Jeff-

Down another 2.6 Pounds This Morning

My weight this morning was 230, a loss of another 2.6 pounds in one day this round, a total loss of 10.2 pounds in 5 days. Need to lose 15 more pounds to meet my 10/22 goal, or an average of 0.75 pounds per day...

It's kind of weird, there is this little part of me - the little devil that sits on your shoulder - that is resisting getting below 230. I haven't been below 230 for years. Many people have a fear of failure, but I think I have always had what is known as a fear of success. Not sure why, but it seems I tend to repeatedly sabotage myself in a lot of areas of my life when I get close to reaching my goals or dreams. Maybe it's to avoid the attention of others, or to avoid placing new expectations on myself that I would feel compelled to live up to. I know I have used my weight in particular as an excuse for not doing all sorts of things for a long time now. Doing this protocol kind of makes you face those things, which is hard - but a good thing.

So, I know today is going to be a challenge - because if I stick to it, I will break through this new 230 barrier that I for some reason have been resisting. I wonder what I'll be like when I don't have all this fat to hide behind???

Down 3.4 Pounds This Morning

Lost 3.4 pounds, so down to 232.6 this morning. So glad I didn't stall for more than a day! That's 7.6 pounds lost in 4 days, even with gaining 4 pounds on one of those days - so that's still pretty good! I'll be more careful from now on.

17.6 pounds and 21 days to reach my 10/22 goal - need to lose an average of 0.84 pounds per day...

Gained 4 pounds in a day

Well, this morning was a shock...up 4 pounds to 236. I didn't stay on the diet very well yesterday, and wasn't expecting much loss, but I didn't expect this. Apparently with the injections it really does make a HUGE difference - it also makes a difference on the sublingual, but not quite as much from my experience. This could just be because not as much hcg is in your system w/ the sublingual?

So, I may stall for a day or two, we'll see. Still, I'm on track to meet my goal of 215 by 11/22 - but now I need to have an average of .96 pound loss per day. Will I never learn....

Down another 2.4 Pounds

My weight this morning was 232 - that's a loss of 2.4 more pounds in 1 day. 17 more to go to reach my Nov. 22nd goal of 215, or .74 lb per day...

1st Day Starting Over - 5.8 Pounds Lost

My weight this morning was 234.4 - a loss of 5.8 pounds in a day. Not a bad start! My goal is to get to 215 by Thanksgiving, which would be an average of about 0.8 pounds loss per day - definitely do-able if I stick to it ... of course, we all know my history!

I know I haven't been the best example for you folks out there considering my frequent falling off the wagon - but maybe my experiences so far will help some out there see that you can 'get back on it' and things can still turn around.

Regardless, it is nice to know that I CAN take the weight off quickly with this program if I stick to the plan and am consistent about it.

Sorry so late...

I obviously haven't posted for quite awhile. I've been travelling a lot off and on for work, and really haven't stayed focused on the protocol for some time. I have continued taking hcg orally, but have basically eaten whatever I wanted. My weight has fluctuated up and down, but not drastically.

This morning, I started back on injections, 200iu per day, and will do my damndest to stay true to the program at least until Thanksgiving day. My weight this morning was 240.2. I have been as low as 230.4, but have pretty much fluctuated between 234 and 239 for the last month.

You may be wondering why I am switching back to injections. There are a few reasons. 1)Sublingual is much more expensive since you have to use more hcg. 2) I think with injections I will be less likely to 'cheat' - why would I want to stick myself with a needle for nothing? 3) No hard evidence for this, but I feel like injections may be a bit more effective since you are sure that you are absorbing all of the dosage of hcg.

I may switch back to sublingual at some point, or possibly try using it during breaks from the injections to see if that would allow me to continue with the hcg for a longer period of time while still avoiding developing immunity.

Back on it, I'll let you know what happens tomorrow...

Re: Ok, this is weird...

Getting ready to head out to Cleveland for a few days. Sure hope the Bengals pull it out, or I'll no doubt be getting crap from people up there.

I just weighed again, and have lost another 2.1 pounds so far just since my weigh-in this morning. Can't wait to see what the scale says tomorrow...

Ok, this is weird...

As I mentioned previously, I have been doing hcg sublingually for awhile (using Gloria's recipe from the hcg dieters yahoo group) since my travelling schedule was making it difficult for me to be strict w/ the diet. I figured the sublingual would not cause me to build immunity to the hcg based upon other peoples' experiences, and didn't want to stop using it yet.

My thought was that this has enabled me to eat pretty much whatever and as much as I wanted and still maintain within a few pounds of my last posted injection weight. Now I'm not sure. I think it could be possible that my hypothalmus has already been reset at around that weight and maybe that is why I have been able to eat like a pig and not really gain weight back.

Yesterday morning was my first day back in town for a week (I have to leave again this afternoon). I weighed myself yesterday morning, and the weight was 238.2. I ran out of the sublingual I had mixed, so I decided to mix up a vial for injection at a dose of 175 units per injection, and took that in the morning.

I planned on doing the VLCD yesterday, and stuck to it until last night. A friend wanted to go out, and so I said screw it and decided to go to a sports bar. I thought I'd have maybe a couple of beers and that's it - no loss expected, but no major damage done based on my prior experience. I weighed myself before I went out, and was down to 236.5 - so I had already lost 1.7 pounds just during the day and was pretty happy.

Well, we went out and I ended up having about 3 1/2 'tall' Miller Lite drafts. I also had some chicken nachos, hot wings and potato skins. So, I was sure that this morning I would be back up around the 238 mark again - no big deal. Well, I weighed myself this morning and I was at 235.8. So that makes a 2.4 pound loss in 1 day with a fresh mixture of hcg and injecting, and eating well off the VLCD plan. I'm assuming that if I had stuck to it for the entire day and only ate the 500 cals and the allowed foods my loss would have been very big!

So, today I will do the 175 units of hcg again and stick to the VLCD - I will be busy and then on the road, with only myself, so it should be easy to do. This kind of re-motivates me, and my plan is to stick to the VLCD again and see what the results are.

I know I'm not following the Simeons plan as strictly as I should, and that some people consider this almost sacreligious and are very adamant that you must follow the plan to the letter. While this is true if you want the fastest and best results, my experience at least is that you can 'fall off the wagon' and get back on and pick right back up where you left off. This may not be the case for everyone though - I have seen some posts from others where even a slight deviation from the diet part of the plan has set them back several pounds and it has taken them several days of VLCD to get back on track. But for me, luckily, this has not been the case.

Do I wish I had stuck to it more strictly? Sure. I know if I had that I would probably be down around 220 by now if not a bit lower. But for the way my lifestyle has been lately, this has worked fine for me and has been acceptable success. I am still very satisfied with my results, and know that the weight loss will continue and pick up in speed as I get back in the groove of things again. I guess I'm one of the lucky ones...

Been A While...

I've been travelling A LOT for work the last few weeks, so haven't updated in awhile. I've also been avoiding updating since I haven't lost any more.

My fault completely - it's SO hard to stay on the plan travelling so much, especially when you're kind of expected to eat out/go to bars every night. I've still been taking hcg, sublingually now, and I guess that has enabled me to at least maintain within a few pounds (up and down) of my last posted weight even though I haven't made the best choices food/drink-wise - and have pretty much eaten whatever I felt like or whatever the group I was with was having.

I do plan on getting back on it hardcore soon with the VLCD - I'm ready to start losing again. I did manage to do 1 VLCD day the other day, and actually lost 7 lbs in a day - so I feel confident that once I really hit it again the weight loss will start back up at a fast pace...

28th VLCD Day Results

It's been a couple days since I updated. 234 this morning. 26 pounds gone in less than a month.

25th VLCD day - Ah, another day, another pound

Lost another pound. 236 now. I can't wait to get into the 220's!

25 days, 24 pounds gone now... :)

24th VLCD day - down another 1/2 pound

I'm a little late posting this. I was down another 1/2 pound this morning to 237. That makes 23 pounds in 24 days....

23rd VLCD day - down another pound

Good....I seem to be moving in a positive direction again - 2 days in a row with a loss, so maybe my stall is over. 23 days, 22.5 pounds gone!

22nd VLCD day - down to 238.5

I would be lower, but there are a few factors involved in this. Firstly, I was at 240 for a couple of years, so I have been hovering around this 'set point' I think for a few days - up, down, up, down. But I also had a few days where I didn't eat as I should (in other words, I ate more than I should, ate some things prepared at restaurants incorrectly for the diet, and I also ate some things that I shouldn't have). Travelling and also a few 'functions.'

Oh well. I'm still doing great, and people are starting to notice that I'm losing weight which is nice. Basically, in 22 days I have lost 21.5 pounds!

Today I 'm back on the diet strictly ... I'm ready to post some big numbers again. :)

16th 500cal day Results - Up 0.5 lbs

Well, crap. I'm having a feeling I may be hovering around this weight for a few days. It was a weight I stayed at for a couple years, so it may be a set point my body needs to get past.

I was a bit hungry last night, and ended up eating something late (around 10pm). I made french onion soup, Simeons style - it did have a high sodium content in it, and I normally don't add salt to anything, so that may have something to do with my weight this morning. Can you tell I'm trying to make excuses? It was pretty good, but probably not good to eat so late. I have normally stopped eating for the day by about 7-7:30, so that may have something to do with it. Plus I'm weighing myself about 2.5 hrs earlier this morning - think I can lose a pound in the next 2 hrs???? :)

I decided to mix up a new batch of hcg this morning, since I have started getting a little hungrier the last couple of days and am thinking maybe my old batch was losing its potency.

15th 500cal day Results - down 0.5 lbs

I've now broken 2 milestones - 250 and 240. Weighed 239.5 this morning. I haven't seen that in awhile, that's for sure.

Actually, I was kind of expecting it to be even this morning. Had another family function last night, and we went to a Mexican restaurant. I had a ceasar salad w/ grilled shrimp and used pico de gallo (sp?) for my dressing. It was pretty good, but everyone else's dishes smothered w/ cheese sure looked good! I totalled my cals for yesterday, and I was over. Total was 645 actually, so that's why I didn't expect any loss. Maybe I would have lost a little more if I had stayed below 500, but I'm definitely happy with it!

One of my cousins mentioned that he could see I'm losing weight last night. That was nice to hear! I don't really see it myself when I look in the mirror yet. However, I took a Day 1 pic of myself and took another pic yesterday and looked at them side-by-side. In the pics it is actually amazing the difference you can see - in just 2 weeks! Still a LONG way to go, but seeing the pics next to one another does give me more motivation...

14th 500cal day Results - down 3.5 lbs

Well, this is starting out as a good morning. Love my scale today...

I must have had to get up to go to the bathroom 5 times last night - I guess I must have been 'holding water' for awhile as Simeons mentions will happen occasionally, and then WHOOSH! Out it went!

So that makes a total 20 lbs lost in 14 days of VLCD, with a new average of 1.43 lbs/day. Gotta love this...

13th 500cal day Results

Up 1 lb today, but I think I know what the problem is. As a matter of fact, I KNOW what the problem is ... so I went to Wild Oats this morning and bought some 'Smooth Move' tea that I will try this evening - gotta love that name! :)

I forgot to mention before that I decreased my daily dosage a few days ago from 200IU to 160IU. Not sure if that will make a difference in weight loss, but from reading I thought it would be better to do this in order to avoid developing immunity to the hcg too soon.

I'm still VERY happy with my results so far on this program. I've had up days and down days, but as of this morning after 13 days on the VLCD I have lost 16.5 pounds from my weight after loading (during which I gained 5) - an average of 1.27 lbs per day!

12th 500cal day Results - Down 2 lbs. :)

I guess I'm lucky! After my day where in a weak moment I went off the diet, I expected I would stall for awhile as everyone warned. But this morning, after being back on it 1 day I was down 2 lbs!

I don't know why this is, but here are a couple of ideas:

1) Maybe I didn't gain enough on my load days and still had a pound of structural fat I needed to gain (was up 1 lb after my 'cheat'). I do notice that after my 'cheat' day I was not hungry at all yesterday and am still not hungry this morning like I was before, so this is just a guess.

2) Maybe because I didn't go overboard (I only had a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and 1 beer) it didn't have a lasting effect of more than 1 day (my next morning weight was up 1 lb).

Here is what it says in Pounds and Inches where Dr. Simeons is talking about 'politicians,' etc. who have to attend party functions from time to time:

"...They should take dainty servings of everything, bide what they can under the cutlery and book the gain which may take three days to get rid of as one of the sacrifices which their profession entails.

Allowing three days for their correction, such incidents do not jeopardize the treatment, provided they do not occur all too frequently in which case treatment should be postponed to a socially more peaceful season."

Anyways, I feel fortunate. So, I guess the moral of the story is: If you do slip up, make sure to limit yourself and don't go crazy eating everything in sight. And don't get discouraged with yourself. Don't give up and tell yourself that you have 'failed' again on yet another diet. Get right back on the protocol and stick to it. Whether it takes you 1 day or 4 to get back on track, it will happen and you will be on your way to success again. This program really does work...

11th 500cal day Results

I blew it last night... I went to a Reds game, and had the full intention of just drinking water and that's it. I ended up having 1 Miller Lite (wow, who knew you could get so buzzed from drinking just 1 beer??? I also ended up getting a grilled chicken sandwich, bbq sauce, bun and all - and waffle fries.

Now I know if I wasn't taking hcg, that would not be a big deal really, because I didn't eat much at all throughout the rest of the day, but I know w/ hcg it can cause you to gain. And guess what? Up 1 lb this morning.

Oh well. I'm not going to beat myself up over it. It was nice having a somewhat 'normal' evening (actually not really normal, because I normally would have gotten something even more fattening, and more of it I'm sure).

Even with the 1 lb gain, I'm still well over the stated average of 1 lb loss per day. So, I'm starting over today. I enjoyed my 'cheat' day and am ready to move forward (or downward) again!

10th 500cal day Results

Down another 0.5, so that makes it 243.5. hcg is working - and I'm not hungry like I was the first couple of days. I do get hungry right before I would normally eat, but that's about it...

I decided to lower my daily dose of hcg from 200IU to about 166IU. People seem to be having just as much success at lower dosages, and I figure it may help keep me from developing any immunity to it sooner.

Going to a Reds game tonight, will try to be good!

9th 500cal day Results

Ok, things are back on track. I was down 2.5 lbs from yesterday when I weighed myself this morning - 244. Looking back and analyzing the days I gained, I'm thinking 2 things happened. When I gained the 0.5 lbs, it was the morning after I ate out. I had grilled red snapper, but I thought that maybe they put some oil or butter on it before they grilled it, because it was more moist than I would have thought it would be just grilled. Should have specified no oil, etc. when I ordered.

The night before I gained 1.5 lbs, I had bison. I don't think it was the bison that made me gain, because I have lost 1.5 lbs the morning after eating beef. I think it was water retention probably - I added Montreal Steak seasoning to the bison burger, which contains course salt in it. I never add salt to anything, so this probably made me hold more water.

Live and learn....

8th 500cal day Results

AAAARRRGGGHHH!!! Today I am at 246.5 - up 1.5 lbs. This is frustrating. I've been good, I swear. Well, maybe I've been SLIGHTLY over 500cal (I'm talking maybe 10cals) for a few days - I'm going to have to really pay attention to what I'm eating and make sure my weighing of the food is right on. I may drop the cals a little today - I seemed to lose better when my daily total was under 500cals. Plus, yesterday was my skip day for hcg, so I don't know if that had anything to do with it.

Hope tomorrow morning is better...

7th 500cal day Results

No change today. Still at 245. Damn! I know that the weight loss comes in a 'stair-step' fashion and the average is a pound per day during the course of treatment, but I really got spoiled my first few days.

I went to a party for awhile last night. There was all kinds of tempting junk food. Chips, dips, cookies, chili dogs, beer, beer and beer.

I had water w/ lime. Surprisingly, I wasn't very tempted - even though friends kept trying to tempt me (not to be mean, just the typical, "you can have a couple of beers, it won't hurt anything.") I think part of it was that I had my dinner before going so I was not hungry at all. I felt really good about myself and my ability to have will power after I left. I did 'cheat' a little when I got home, though. But by cheating I mean that I had some celery and some salad - so if that is my new 'cheating' then I guess it's not so bad! I don't know why I had it - I actually wasn't hungry at all, but just kind of wanted to taste SOMETHING. In the old days, I would have pigged out and drank at the party and then probably gotten some fast food from Taco Bell or some such place (enough for 2 or 3 people, most likely) to eat when I got home - so I think this was a definite improvement.

I have a family get-together to go to this afternoon, where the temptations will likely be similar - so this will be my third day to prove to myself that i can have a good time w/out it being centered around food and alcohol. No problem...

Today I am skipping my hcg (I'll skip Sundays) to prevent building immunity.

6th 500cal day Results

I was up 1/2 pound this morning. I'm not too concerned about it though. I've had a good run and I'm sure my body needs to balance out a bit. I'm probably holding some water (and food!) a bit too.

Tomorrow is another day!

6th 500cal day

Well, I went out for 'Happy Hour' with some friends from work this evening. I drank iced tea and water with lemon (that was tough). There was an order of wings sitting on our table, and I only had a little of the celery. Man, I wanted some wings!

For dinner I ordered a ceasar salad with grilled red snapper. I had them hold the dressing, and the croutons and used some habanero mustard hot sauce on the salad instead (no fat - checked the ingredients). I think the fish might have been grilled w/ a little olive oil, but I'm not sure - hopefully not too much though. I probably had more than 3.5 oz. of fish - maybe even double that. But still when I entered everything into fitday.com I came up with 510 cals for the day, even with 7 oz of red snapper (didn't count any oil, since I can't be sure there was any). We'll see how tomorrow's weight comes out. I weighed myself when I got home and it said 251 which kind of concerns me, but I figure I drank a lot of water and tea that hasn't worked it's way out yet.

5th 500cal day Results - 1.5 lbs lost - 244.5

I was sure that I wasn't going to see any weight loss this morning. I had prepared myself for it, and was ready to chock it up to holding water weight. I drank a lot of water last night before going to bed just to help it along a bit.

Well, this morning I had lost another 1.5 pounds, so I am down to 244.5. That's 15.5 lbs in 5 days!

I'm not feeling quite as hungry this morning either, so hopefully that part of it is finally subsiding. I will have a bit of a test tonight - 'happy hour' after work. I'm determined not to sabotage myself though...

Day 7, 4th 500cal day results - Down 1 more - 246

I was kind of hoping to have a big loss when I got up this morning, but I lost 1-lb. I am happy with that I guess. It's a little different to get disappointed when you lose 1-lb per day! I was really hungry last night for some reason...so much so that I nearly cheated. But I just kept drinking water instead.

Today was pretty good. I was a little hungry, but not horribly so - I think it's getting better. Even if not, it's worth it if you can lose a pound a day on average!

So far since I started the 500cal days, I have lost:
Day 1: 8 lbs
Day 2: 2 lbs
Day 3: 3 lbs
Day 4: 1 lb

I'm done with my eating for today, which is my 5th 500cal day (actually it ended up being 511cals today - I ate a whole grapefruit instead of a half, and I also had sirloin instead of chicken for the first time). We'll see what tomorrow's weigh-in brings... I'm a little nervous about tomorrow, because I weighed myself this evening and the scale shows 249. Hopefully it is all water and will be gone by morning!

Day 6, 3rd 500cal day results - 3 more pounds

Good Morning! Down another 3 today. That's 13 lbs in 3 days. Woo hoo!I don't seem to feel or look like I've lost though, so I have a feeling this is fat that has been packed around my heart and other internal organs - so this is probably a very good thing!

Day 5, Lost 2 more pounds - 250

How sad is it that I am disappointed with losing only 2 pounds in a day. That's definitely something I should be excited about! I guess I was hoping to drop below that magic number this morning, not be back at it. Oh well, tomorrow will be the day instead, I guess...

Day 4, Part 2

Today has been a little harder so far as the hunger goes. I kind of hoped that I wouldn't have any since I ate so much on my 2 loading days, but oh well. Nothing I can't handle. I've been drinking a lot of water to keep my stomach full - but it has definitely been growling - or to more accurately describe it, roaring!

I can barely wait until tomorrow morning so that I can weigh myself again. I feel pretty sure I'm going to be below 250, since I weighed myself this evening and it still said around 252 - and that's even with all this water sloshing in my stomach... and you usually weigh more during the day than in the morning. I swear I've been gaining and losing the same 5 pounds over and over again for the last year, so if I dip below 250 that will be a real milestone for me.

Here's what I ate today:
Morning:
Coffee w/ Stevia
Mid-Morning:
1/2 Grapefruit
Lunch:
100 grams chicken breast
Mid-Afternoon:
1 tomato w/ fresh basil
Dinner:
HUGE salad (lettuce wise)
1 tomato w/ fresh basil
w/ 100grams chicken breast
Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Pepper
Mid-Evening:
Coffee w/ Stevia
1 cup slices strawberries w/ stevia

According to fitday.com, that's 482 calories.

Day 4 - Lost 8 lbs! - 252

When I got up this morning, I was hoping to have a loss of 5 lbs, which would be what I gained during the loading phase. Well, the scale says I lost 8! I got off and on a couple of times, shifted my weight on it in different ways, and same thing. 8 pounds - in 1 day! Damn thing must be broken. :)

So, that makes me 252 today.

Day 3, First 500cal Day, Part 2

Here's what I ate today. I shouldn't have added the spinach to my salad - the protocol is very specific that you are supposed to only have 2 of the vegetable choices on any given day, I assume because of how the react w/ one another. But it was only a very little, so it shouldn't be a problem.

According to fitday.com, I've only had 410 calories. I've been a little hungry today, but nothing terrible. If I get hungry later this evening, it's going to be just water, water, water. I had my dinner at 7pm, and don't want to eat past 8pm.

Morning:
Coffee w/ Stevia
Mid Morning:
1/2 grapefruit
Lunch:
100 grams chicken breast
13 med. spears asparagus
Mid Afternoon:3/4 cup sliced strawberries
Dinner:
Salad w/ 100grams chicken breast
7-8 cups lettuce
1/2 cup raw spinach
3T Braggs Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
pepper on salad
Mid-Evening:
Coffee w/ Stevia

Day 3, 1st 500cal Day

Well, today is day 3 of my shots, and will be the first 500cal day for me. I didn't gain anything on day 2 of loading, but gained 5 lbs on day one - so I am starting today off at 260. Everything I've read seems to say that most people lose all of their loading day gains within the first 48 hours of being on the 500cals, so we'll see...

Woke up with a bit of a headache this morning, but nothing so bad that my morning coffee shouldn't take care of it. If it doesn't get better with that then I'll probably take some tylenol later.

Last night before going to bed I threw out pretty much everything that would tempt me to cheat during the 500cals, and will be going to Wild Oats later this morning to stock up on what I will need for this part of the diet. I'll probably prepare most of my meals for the entire week today just to make it easier.

Day 2 Loading - YIKES!

I gained 5 pounds - in one day! Yikes. Now I start day 2 of loading. This makes me nervous... I hope day 3 goes the other direction! :)

I had trouble getting everything down yesterday - but i did eat A LOT. Tonight before I go to bed I think I'm going to throw out or freeze everything that won't be allowed on the 500 cal days so I won't be tempted.

First Day of HCG and 1st Day Loading

I started my first injection this morning - SQ the stomach (lots of fat there to work with, ya know). It was easy, didn't hurt - but area is a little sore now. Oh well, small price to pay!

I wanted 200IU per injection, with each injection being 0.5ml. So, I took 12.5ML of bac water into syringe, then put about 1ml into the amp of 5000IU pregnyl. Put the rest of the water into the empty glass vial, then added the pregnyl mixture to that. I figure that would give me 25 injections of 0.5ml, each containing 200IU of hcg. Does that sound right? Hope so, 'cause that's what's coursing through me right now! :)

My HCG is here - 10 Days Exactly!

Well, I got home this evening and there was a slip in my mailbox that my hcg package is waiting for me to pick up at the Post Office tomorrow morning. I ordered from drugdeliver.ca on July 1, and was notified it shipped on July 2 - not too bad! I'm very excited to get started.

So, starting tomorrow I will be eating like a madman for 2 days, then the dreaded 500cal days will start. I am so ready to get this going!

Why I'm doing this

It's kind of funny. My mother recently came across some old photos of me from when I was in high school and we went on a trip to the Bahamas. Thinking back, I always considered myself fat - but looking at those pictures I was amazed that I was actually quite thin.

Maybe my thinking I was fat ended up being a self-fulfilling prophesy in a way. By the time I got married (at 24 - I'm divorced now) I weighed about 210-215 and in the pics from my honeymoon in Hawaii I definitely look fat. Now at 255 it's amazing. When I look in the mirror, which is rarely these days, I don't really see how big I am usually...but if I see a picture of myself I am shocked. That's not me! At least that's not how I feel inside.

I love the tropics - I don't care how hot it is, if I can see palm trees I am happy and don't feel the least bit hot. But it has literally been years since I have been willing to go to a pool party or anywhere where I would have to take my shirt off in front of someone. Being this fat has had such a detrimental effect on my ability to do the things and go to the places that I enjoy most.

Sometimes I will even make excuses and stay home rather than go out with friends because I am embarassed by the way I look. This time I am determined that I am going to lose the weight and finally KEEP IT OFF. Life is too short to waste it feeling and looking unhealthy. I'm so excited to get started on the hcg, and I really hope it works as well as everyone seems to say it does.

I'm at the point now, where I not only want to look and feel better, but I don't want to be one of those young people who end up having a heart attack or stroke - how embarrassing! (and scary, too, but mostly I would be embarrassed - how sad is that!) I definitely look forward to starting a new and active life again.

What do I tell family and friends?

I'm going to be starting the hcg protocol as soon as my supply arrives from drugdelivery.ca (hopefully in a week or so) and am very excited!

I'm kind of struggling with what to say to family and friends when they ask me 'how are you doing it?' (Of course, I'm assuming this will work and I will lose fat quickly and people will notice) There is a part of me that is still a little leary about this, and that's after researching and finding virtually no reports of negative side effects.

I can only imagine the reaction I would get if I told anyone I was taking hcg injections to lose weight. They would probably think I had lost my mind, was putting my health at risk, and needed counseling or something...

I placed my order today

I ordered 3 x 5000IU of Pregnyl from drugdelivery.ca last week, and it should be here soon I hope!

I have seen in doing searches that some say inject intra-muscular, and some say subcutaneous. The Pregnyl literature saysit can be done either way, and I have read that it is recommended that intramuscular injections only be done by a physician/nurse due to the potential complications if you don't know what you are doing. I think I feel more comfortable doing subcutaneous.

The syringes and other supplies (BA water, empty vials, alcohol swabs) I ordered from hcgsupplies.com The needles are 29 gage 1/2 inch, the same as used for insulin injections, so I'll be doing my injections the stomach fat (which I obviously have plenty of)!

I'm tempted to place another order from NHW just in case my orderfrom drugdelivery.ca doesn't come or is delayed. Much more expensive though...

So just what is HCG?

You can do a search on the Internet using 'hcg weight loss' and find lots of information there. One site that I found quite helpful is http://www.hcgdietinfo.com/ .

I would highly suggest you read the short book Pounds & Inches: A New Approach to Obesity by Dr. A.T.W. Simeons. It explains the entire program and the science behind it. It is quite fascinating - amazing really - and explains exactly why standard methods of losing weight always fail in the end, and how the use of hcg and a very low calorie diet overcomes this - and it really seems to ring true, at least for me. You can read it online for free here:

http://www.hcgdietinfo.com/HCG_Diet_Dr_Simeons_Manuscript.htm

I have done A LOT of online research about this protocol, and have come across absolutely zero severe side effects to using hcg in the very small amount that it is used in this program. I have come across many who doubt its effectiveness, and some studies that suggest that it is no more effective than a VLCD (very low calorie diet) on its own, but I have also come across studies saying just the opposite - so, the jury is still out. However the success stories I have heard about both from online searching and from newsgroups of people who are acutally using this method have been tremendously inspiring!

I have decided I am going to give this a try. I have tried so many different things to lose weight, (yes, even diet and exercise) and have had only limited, very slow success and always have gained back the weight, felt tired, hungry and 'out of sorts' while losing weight and have generally ended up discouraged and giving up.

Most physicians and dieticians recommend that you only lose up to 2 lbs. per week, saying that you are likely losing lean muscle mass if you try to lose more than that. What is so great about hcg, is that it 'mobilizes' abnormal fat so that it is used almost exclusively for your daily caloric requirements - this means NO MUSCLE LOSS and an average FAT loss of approximately 1 lb PER DAY during the course of treatment.