A day in the life

Hello everyone! Man, it has been a while since I posted. I've mainly been floating along doing my thing, but I feel the pull to write today.

There is a debate on whether you should weigh yourself everyday or not. The HCG diet says you have to as part of their program and after. Mainly because you can gain and not have it show up in your hip size for a few days. Speaking from experience, I know this is true.

It's an up and down battle to maintain but the scale helps me know where I am. I gained weight (of course) on my trip to Disneyland and I've been working to get back to where I was. It can be frustrating, but I have done it.

Here are a few things that I know about myself--things that I know I can't eat without gaining. I cannot have bread on a regular basis. Bread is one of my all time favorite foods, but if I have to choose, I choose to feel good instead of eating bread. Bread makes me feel bloated. It makes me tired and sluggish, so I stay away from it.

I can't eat refined sugar. It really screws up how I feel. It is something people get addicted to and is not that hard to clean out of your system. You have to decide what you want more. A healthy body or sugar. Duh. That's an easy one for me.

Dairy. I LOVE milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese etc... So, I seldom drink milk anymore and I don't feel clogged. It wasn't that hard to cut out. I do still eat a tiny bit of cheese. I like pepperjack sticks. I seldom buy ice cream because if I do, I WILL eat it. I have no self control there.

What do I eat? I eat a TON of food. I'm always full. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies, but veggies are hard for me. I never feel like eating veggies. They don't call to me and they don't taste that great to me. I try to get at least one big salad in a day though. I snack on blueberries, strawberries, apples, oranges and stuff like that. I try to eat plenty of protein and I am always full.

I eat hummus for a snack with those awesome whole grain corn chips from Costco. SO DANG GOOD! I hate sharing with my kids! =) They're gone too fast! I also buy sugar free jello. That's another good snack that feels like a dessert.

I do buy sugar free chocolate candy. I learned that it is the mixing of sugar with fat that makes you gain. If you just eat the fat without combining it with starch or sugar, you are okay. Put them together and just plan on gaining.

Do I feel deprived? Sometimes. Except when I'm working out and feeling great. When I check my weight, it feels good that I was able to discipline myself, only putting high quality fuel in my gas tank. THAT feels good. Better than that sugary snack that is instantly gone in two bites.

So, that is where I'm at. Also I work out every day. I never miss except for once a week. I alternate walking really fast for an hour and jogging for 20-30 min. I have to be careful because I'm dealing with keeping Achilles tendinitis at bay on my left calf. So far, so good, but it's only a slow jog I can do for now. After my walk or run, I lift weights for 15 to 20 min. Then I ALWAYS do at least 20 min of yoga. It centers me and gets me ready for my day. I'm lucky enough that I can do this with my schedule. I feel very blessed that I can take this time to focus on my body and spirit.

Anyway, this is just what I'm doing. You should know, that one of the reasons I have time for this kind of workout is because it is a super high priority for me. I let the house go, computer work go, and other things. They are pushed back so I can fill my cup. If I don't get to them . . . oh well. I have teenagers that can help! =)

The Perfect Storm

My nose hurts. Lets me explain, and some of you may already know about this if you read my facebook posts. I passed out on Thursday morning. I'd created the perfect storm and with everything put together I did a timber flat on my face.

First, I'd made myself get a bit anemic. I'd quit eating beef, which you are supposed to have on the hcg diet, because there is hidden fat in beef and people say they tend to lose better if they don't eat it. Then, I'd quit eating the dark green leafy veggies that are high in iron because I hate all the sugar free/fat free dressings. Yuck. So I was taking in no iron. I was eating other veggies but who cares when you're not getting what you need?

Next, when the hcg has dissolved all your abnormal fat, it quits working. When the fat cell is dissolved, all the nutrients and vitamins are dumped into your system. I think I'm at the end of my abnormal fat and so I wasn't getting anything there. Then, I had just taken a nice hot bath, so all my capillaries were nice and dilated. I was reading Tristi Pinkston's book, Agent in old Lace, so some of this could be laid at her feet too! =)

My husband had just gone out to feed the animals and Wyatt was in the next room watching cartoons. He'd turned the tv up really loud so I decided to hop out, run in the family room, turn it down, then get back in the tub. When I got out, I started to feel very dizzy, very woozy. Next thing I knew, I was moaning, peeling my naked self off the family room floor. Wyatt hadn't even looked at me. He was still watching cartoons.

I'd bruised my hip really bad, gave my face some good road rash and my nose was killing me. The kicker here? I was still holding Tristi's book! I'd never let go.

Anyway, I can look back on it now and laugh...kind of. I've started taking my liquid iron again. (I've always been kind of anemic) and Bry bought me some liquid B complex. Both of those have really helped me feel better. I'm super exhausted still, but I am not going to continue with the shots. Like I said, I think my abnormal fat is gone. Now I just need to tone up and get in shape. I do need to continue watching what I eat so I don't gain any weight back, but I've developed some really great habits on this diet so it shouldn't be too hard.

I don't want to discourage or scare anyone from doing the hcg diet. I've loved it, but you do need to be smart. Don't cut out your vitamins, don't quit eating healthy food just because it doesn't taste as good, (and people, believe me, it doesn't taste as good) and when you know you're close to being out of bad fat, really watch your "tired" level. You don't want to deplete yourself like I did.

And just to brag for a moment . . . I'm stopping at 143.4. Perfect for me! I am so happy and I look fine! LOL Thank you all for your concern and support. I sure love you guys and can't wait to see you at the conference. XOXOXOX

Great quotes

I get these weekly emails that I love about the hcg diet. They have great advice and really motivate me. Today, she sent this saying with the email and I had to share it.

"Fat people approach dieting like a hobby. Fit people approach dieting like a war." By Steve Siebold from his book, "Die fat or get tough."

Other quotes I liked were: "While fat people are struggling at every meal deciding whether or not to remain compliant, fit people waste no mental energy because the decision has already been made."

"Adopt the belief that 99% compliance is complete failure of your diet. It's like saying you're 99% faithful in your marriage. Only accept 100% compliance from yourself."

"Yo-you dieters are slaves to their emotions." He talks a great deal about how fit people eat and think. "And it takes 21 days to establish new habits," but what wonderful healthy eating habits you will have when you finish this diet. I have found for myself, that once I am on the diet a few weeks, it's like I'm on a roll. If I don't lose, I tweak what I am doing, figure it out and make changes."

He was talking about the hcg diet in that last paragraph. Anyway, these were great for me. Hope you liked them too.

Clearing up some misconceptions

Hey guys! Today is my fourth day on the hcg diet, but the second day of the 500 cal. eating. I'm so glad the load days are over. You'd think being able to eat whatever you want would be great. In reality, I always get sick eating so much crap. Anyway, in this post, I want to clear up a few misconceptions about the hcg diet.

When I first heard about it, I thought, "Of course you lose weight. You're only eating 500 cals. a day. Duh." Then I learned that the reason for the low cals is because the hcg is burning up to 3500 cals. of fat in your body a day. If you eat more than 500 cals, you will gain weight. Period. It's just the way hcg works. Also, if you tried eating 500 cals without hcg, you'd starve to death. The hcg keeps you from being hungry and is giving your body a lot of cals with the dissolving fat.

Also, I had quite a few comments on my last post about following my doctor's advice on how much to lose. The funny thing is, it doesn't matter how much I WANT to lose, or how much my doc. says is safe. With hcg, you only lose as much as the hcg will burn. Let me explain. Hcg only dissolves "abnormal" fat, or bad fat. They don't know why it doesn't attack the good fat too, but it doesn't. When your body runs out of abnormal fat, the hcg quits working. So, if I want to get down to say, 120, but my body only has enough abnormal fat to get down to 135, well then. I'll only get to 135. See?

After the hcg is out of your system, I suppose you could become anorexic to get down further, but that wouldn't be healthy. You'd be burning good fat and muscle which you don't want to do. In the beginning, I used a doctor for the hcg diet. The last two times, I haven't. It's expensive to go through a doctor. I do it on my own. I like it, I know what to do and I know what is safe for me. Anyway, I hope that answers any questions you might have if you are considering doing this diet. I love it. Nothing else works as good and I love seeing the progress.

After the diet it over, I will work out to tone and tighten, but for now, it feels good knowing that the bad fat is slowly disintegrating and being flushed out.

Update

I haven't written for a while, but just to post and update . . .

I'm in phase three of the hcg diet and doing fine. You're not supposed to let your weight go more than two pounds over the weight you were on the day of your last shot. So far so good for me. It is hard not to indulge though. For these three weeks while my body sets its new base weight I need to eat proteins and and veggies with no starch and low sugar. After these three weeks, then you slowly add those things like bread, high-sugar fruit and pasta back in.

I am going to do one more short round of the hcg diet though. I'll start again Valentines weekend. I planned it that way so that Valentines day would be a load day. I find myself cheating a bit more now that I decided to do another round. Bad writer! Bad bad bad! But what can I say? I miss toast with grape jelly! I only had one piece!

So I'm sticking at about 150, give or take a few ounces. I hope to get down to 140 after the next round. Let me tell you, it felt good to wear a pencil skirt to church today and dang, I looked good! Woo hoo!

A dream come true

Today, for the first time in fourteen years, I bought a pair of size 10 jeans. Not only did I just buy them, but they actually fit too! Since my first child was born, I've worn size 14.

Last fall, I went shopping with my sisters and all the size 14 jeans were too tight. I cried. I didn't want to go bigger. I felt hopeless as I'd tried every other diet out there with no lasting results. It wasn't that I wasn't willing to try, it was that nothing worked.

Then I heard about the hcg diet. I tried it. I've just finished my second stint and so far, I've lost 27 pounds. That may not seem like much, but it was a lot to me. To me, it's huge. I come from a family of skinny people and for many years, I was the fattest one. Not that I compared myself, but, well, you know, I did.

So, now I am down to 148. Most people would not admit all this but I want to give hope to those out there who are struggling. There is a way. It works. I have developed great eating habits and I feel wonderful. And let me just say, pulling on those size 10 jeans was just plain orgasmic. All I have to say is . . . YOU GO GIRL!!

Before and after

As much as I hate to show the before pic, I will. I have my pride after all. K, I'm not wearing makeup here because, hello, I haven't put any on.


Also the pick in the sweater is the before. I couldn't get the dang things to go where I wanted. Those boobs are due to a great bra! LOL

PS. Really hard to take a pic of yourself and not chop off your head!

Oh well. Excuses, excuses.

The end and the beginning!

Hey guys. That leptin diet sounds interesting but I think I like the hcg diet better. That could be because I've done it twice with amazing results. I'm all done with the twenty three days and am starting off phase three at 148. I feel so good! So thin! That is the best part! I love how I look. I'm going to go the rest of the way just eating the phase three part which is basically no starch and sugar, but I can eat as much as I want including healthy fats.

The first time I did it, I wasn't as committed. This time, I'm die hard! I'm going to make this work. I refuse to grow old feeling like crap. The worst part is I've lost my boobs. I mean, dang! I never thought I'd be one to consider a boob job, buy hey, my mind wanders there sometimes. We'll see. I want to see about getting fit and strong before I do anything drastic! =)

Good luck with all your goals!

Ten down!

Tomorrow is my last shot on the hcg diet. I only did the short, 23 day stint this time. It made it much easier. As of today I have lost ten pounds. I feel so good. I now wear a size twelve and even some of those jeans have a bit of room. It feels so good.

For the next three days after the last shot, I have to continue with the 500 cal. diet as the hcg is still in your system. After that, for the next three weeks, you can eat as much as you want but no starches or sugars. If I stick to that, I'll keep losing slowly while my body resets its base weight. I am bound and determined to stick to the rules this time. I really want to make this work, to make it stick.

I don't want to grow old feeling like crap, always tired, always hungry, always guilty. I have learned to master my hunger, cravings and habits. This diet forces your spirit to prevail over your body. It's hard. I won't lie, but the results are so rewarding. I can't even describe how good I feel. I haven't been 150 pounds for over ten years. I still can't believe my scale. My goal is to be between 140-145.

I want to start running again if my foot will let me. I want to be the kind of mom who likes to be active, who has energy until the day I die. Wish me luck!