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.