Official start of my first P3

LIW 2/26/08 161.7
Yesterday: 160.7
Today: 161.7
At LIW

I had a so so day last day. I was so hungry that I caved in to a craving of walnuts and peanut butter yesterday. For some reason I wanted walnuts dipped in peanut butter. I still had a little hcg in my system so I had a gain, plus the peanut butter was honey roasted. No biggie, I'm just at my LIW.

Short post today. Busy baking cookies for a friend, but here's the rest of what I ate yesterday:
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: chili with salsa & an apple
S: 5 oz walnuts and 1/4 cup of honey roasted peanut butter from whole foods
D: 6 large shrimp with cocktail sauce and an apple
2.5 liters of water

Mary - I'm starting to see a difference now that others have pointed things out to me. Thanks for that :)
I try to freeze EVERYTHING :) The empanadas should be fine too.

Ed & Jenn - I didn't notice the bones on my chest until you mentioned it! You are so right. Amazing how we don't see stuff in our own pictures. I don't blame you for not getting the Windsor pilates. It's definately not intense. It helps with flexibility, but that's about it. In my opinion, the Firm is the way to go. I got the fastest results from that and the videos are interesting and fun. I wouldn't part with any of those DVDs. P90X looks great too, but I haven't tried it yet.

Off to eat my omlet...

Day 41 of VLCD Done! Last day of R1P2

LIW 2/26/08 161.7
Yesterday: 161.1
Today: 160.7
1.0 BELOW LIW

It sure did take me a while to take off that weekend weight I gained. I guess it Wasn't water weight. Whatever... I had a great time. I'm a little concerned that nothings moving south of the border though.... not since about 8-9 days ago. I've had chocolate smooth move tea 2 nights in a row, but it didn't work. I didn't drink any last night, but if something doesn't happen today, I'm just gonna take some Milk of Magnesia. I just feel heavy right now.

Here's what I ate yesterday
B: small slice of sweet potato pie
L: catfish creole, strawberries, 2 melba rounds
D: steak and caramelized onions
Lots of tea and 2+ liter of water

DH left a slice of pie on a plate on a counter when he left for work. It was just too much for me to take. Oh well.... I've settled for staying in the 160s for now. I was going to start P2 again on Apr 5th, but I just realized I'm going to Philadelphia to see Steve Harvey on Apr 19th, so I'm going to start P2 on Apr 21st when we get back, because we'll be eating out all weekend.

I took my final measurements and pictures for this round. I really don't see a difference in these photos, but I certainly feel a difference when I put on my clothes. Maybe it's because I always suck in my stomach when I look in the mirror and when I'm out. I must have strong abs, cus I hold m stomach in ALL the time, but I decided not to do that in my pictures. I wonder if anyone else has that "belly issue". Anyway, here are my pics & measurements:

	Day 1	Day 13	Day 41	CHANGE
NECK	15	14	14	1.00
BUST	41	39.5	38	3.00
UNDER BUST	36	35.5	34.5	1.50
WAIST	36	34.5	32	4.00
HIGH HIP	40.5	39	38	2.50
LOW HIP	40	40	38	2.00
UPPER THIGH	25.25	25.25	24.25	1.00
LOWER THIGH	22.25	20	19	3.25
KNEE	15.5	15	14.5	1.00
CALF	16	15.5	15	1.00
UPPER ARM	14	13.5	12	2.00
LOWER ARM	12	11.25	11.25	0.75
INCHES LOST				23.00

Images are clickable

Well, that's it. I'm hoping that working out over the next 7 weeks will help me tighten up a bit. I took some pics in a pair of jeans as well, but I haven't loaded them on the the computer yet. I'll get those up tomorrow.

I really want to say thank you to everyone that checks on my blog. Thanks for keeping me honest and offering so much encouragement and support. I couldn't have gotten through this round without that. I love all of you dearly. Now let's get this quite blogging town movin! I'm going to keep up with mine as much as possible through P3, and at least put up my stats as well as Nakia's if that's ok.

In response to yesterday's commentors:

Mary - I've never frozen uncooked sweet potatoes. I wouldn't think they would do well while still fresh. Let me know how they come out of the freezer. Sweet potato pie is my absolute favorite! I thought I could eat sweet potatoes in P3, but quickly realized that I can't so I made DH some pie's instead. He's using them for his load this week.

Ed & Jenn - LOL...You are too funny. Yup... that freezer is totally stocked for my next load :) I'm gonna have fun raiding it. For now, I just need to get through this last VLCD day. This is the longest 72 hours EVER!

Becca - The table that they normally put food on is right behind MY chair! I can actually smell it all day. It really makes you strong though. If I can resist that all day, I can resist anything. At least, that's what I tell myself. The real test will be P3 when I'm allowed more calories.
I know the sweet potato pie keeps really well in the freezer cus I freeze those all the time as well as the peanut butter pie, but I'm not sure about the cakes and breads. I'll let you know. Cake usually does ok in the freezer, so it should be fine.

Day 40 of VLCD Done! 72 hour countdown to P3

LIW 2/26/08 161.7
Yesterday: 161.7
Today: 161.1
.6 BELOW LIW

Yesterday went great, but they sure do bring in a lot of food at my job. Zucchini bread and pizza yesterday... oh yeah & someone restocked the chocolate jar. Such is life. I stuck to my chili with salsa while everyone ate pizza at the meeting. I've NEVER done that before, but I just thought "that's not the last pizza in the world. They'll make more." That got me through it.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: Coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: Chili with salsa, an apple, 2 melba rounds
D: Catfish creole, strawberry sorbet
Mid afternoon, bite of zucchini bread

I took a bite of zucchini bread as I packed away a piece to put in my freezer. It was really good, and it's in my freezer now for when I'm in p4 or loading. There's a bunch of stuff in my freezer. There's a sweet potato pie that DH begged me to make... so I stashed one. There's a piece of birthday cake from my birthday on 2/2. There's some no bake peanut butter bars that a coworker made for my birthday as well. I just take them and pack them up in my lunch container and throw them in my freezer for when I can legally eat them. Am I crazy? It does seem a bit weird, but it keeps me from feeling deprived when these are things that I would be missing out on. I don't care about things like pizza and ice cream... I can buy those for myself anytime, but when someone makes something special, I'd eat it if I didn't think of freezing it. It's gotten to be a joke at work. "Give Monica a piece for her deep freezer." LOL.

I've been meaning to take measurements and pictures, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll try to get them up tomorrow morning. I certainly notice a difference. 20 lbs is a huge change. It's 2 lbs more than I lost on WW and I'm only 1 lb more than what it says on my drivers license now!

In response to yesterday's comments:

Shelly - I wasn't hungry when I started my break a few weeks ago. The 72 hours was a breeze. I'm hoping it'll be the same this time. This is the first day with no shot so I know I'll be fine today because I was skipping Sunday's anyway.

Ed & Jenn - It was hard for me to load too. I told him that most people have trouble with that part because we've all been dieting so long, but he's doing it. It's weird that I'm ending with my 500 cals still and he's gorging on food. Our dinner table looks really strange... LOL

Mary, mary - Luckily I've been super busy at work so the days have been flying by. That makes it easier and I'm not thinking about food as much. I do keep finding myself writing P3 grocery lists though while I'm sitting in a meeting...LOL. Hope I don't get caught.

Try - Thanks! I'm trying. I spent yesterday making all my meals for today and tomorrow so I don't have to think about it.

Day 39 of VLCD Done! R1P2 LIW

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 162.1
Today: 161.7 LIW
.4 lb. Release Overnight
20.3 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.5 Avg Daily release

It's LIW day! Not too shabby. I've lost 11% of my body weight & my BMI has dropped by about 10 points. I feel really good. I haven't taken measurements yet. I'll get to that later on today.

Yesterday' menu was:
B: nothing
L: an apple, steak and caramelized onions coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
D: catfish creole, strawberry sorbet, grissini
3+ liters of water and tea

ok... I've got 72 hours of VLCD left and what does my boss do? He's ordering pizza for the department today! Well, of course he is. I'm going to be eating my chili with salsa for lunch with a couple of melba rounds for dipping. I've already got all my meals prepared and planned out for the next 3 days so it'll be a breeze.

My hubby, Nakia is ready to start. He's not going to be able to load well because his first injection day will be a work day so I told him to eat anything he wants this week without any dieting. He feels weird about that because he's already gained alot in the past 2 months or so, but there's no point in him watching his calories this week.

Oh yeah, I ordered the insulin needles from healthwarehouse.com yesterday morning and I got an email yesterday afternoon that they had been shipped. NICE! Well... gotta start my day.

On to yesterday's commenters:

Shelly - I'll be checking my inches when I get home from work today. I'm sure they've dropped significantly. My size 10 slacks are fitting very loosely this week. The next 72 hours of VLCD will be no problem, even with the pizza.

Mary - Yup... those darn 160s. Hopefully this means I'll have a bigger cushion during P3. DH is excited to start losing weight. He says he wants to have the same feeling I do of seeing losses everyday.

Ed & Jenn - WOO HOO... it's all coasting from here. Of course I have my first P3 meal all planned out & then on to preparing Nakia's menu. They're so lucky to have us... LOL.

Becca - You're not doing that badly. You're making the best out of your situation. You have to enjoy your vacation and eating different food is part of vacationing. So you'll be back home tomorrow. I don't think it'll be very damaging. Keep us posted.

Try - Yup... that's what I decided to do. 20 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. AND I had that loss with taking a break in between, so all in all, I'm very happy. We get caught up on these numbers, but the real prize is that it won't be as easy for the 20 lbs to come back as it has been in the past. I have an exact plan of action if I start to gain and that is very comforting. I'll be on P3 until the end of Mar and I'll start my next round of P2 around Apr 5th.

Have a great day folks & thanks for checking on little 'ol me :)

Day 38 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 162.8
Today: 162.1
.7 lb. Release Overnight
19.9 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.5 Avg Daily release

Good... the scale is moving back down again. I'm still working on losing the weekend party weight, but at least I didn't have a gain. I was worried because last night I was up to 165.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: an apple
L: grilled chicken and baked celery & grissini. coffee with stevia and 1/2 & 1/2
D: Biz's catfish creole & warm mott's natural applesauce with cinnamon & grissini
4+ liters of water, yerba mate tea

OK... That is the first time I've tried catfish creole. Biz, I see why you eat it almost every day! That stuff is delicious. In fact, I don't think I've ever eaten catfish before, so thanks for the recipe.

Look like I may not get below 160 for my LIW tomorrow. I guess I have the option of skipping tomorrow's shot and giving myself one more day since I didn't skip my shot this past sunday, but I'm not sure I'll do that yet. I might just settle for ending at 160 something. I guess it doesn't matter much. It's just a number, but I've been in the 160s for 31 days! It just seems like I've been there forever! 31 days is only forever in hcg land. BTW researchsupply.net is out of insulin needles but I found them on healthwarehouse.com for $9.75 a box which is about 1/2 the price of other sites! I don't know how long they'll be on sale though.

I don't have much time today cus I spent this morning searching for supplies online. DH has decided to start P2 while I'm on P3 so he's going to use the rest of my supplies & I need to buy some more. He'll be taking his first shot on Mar 3rd and going for at least 21 days. That means I don't get a break from measuring and weighing. That will also force me to still keep fresh foods in the house. That's probably a good thing. So, I'll be posting his progress starting next week.

In response to yesterday's comments:

Mary - LOL... yup, they have balls and I was nibbling on 'em... ROFL. I sure am glad that scale is moving downward. I still feel a bit bloated so maybe I'll have a better loss tomorrow after another big water intake day.

Ed & Jenn - I absolutely LOVE dancing and I don't do it enough. We're going to have to sample all the clubs on the ship together!

CB - I had a really good time saturday... the best time I've had since being on P2. I've sequestered myself to my house & it looks like for good reason. I seem to give in when I'm around my friends. Unfortunately all my friends are great cooks! LOL. Tomorrow is my LIW so I don't have much time to have the big losses. We'll see what happens. The suspense is killing me! Stay tuned. :)

Day 37 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 160.9
Today: 162.8
1.9 lb. GAIN Overnight
19.2 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.5 Avg Daily release

Just a quick update. I didn't totally blow it yesterday. It just looks like I did. I think that gain is water weight, plus I weighed myself 3 hours later than normal. My wedding rings are really tight today & they've been so loose recently that they've almost fallen off so I'm not worried about that gain. I hardly got any water in yesterday & I nibbled on some crab balls at one of the parties last night. I'm just going to have a huge water and protein day today. I'll have some celery too because they have natural diuretic properties.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: yerba mate tea
L: sauted spinach and 1 scrambled egg with 1/2 strawberry sorbet
At pampered chef party: 12 small shrimp with cocktail sauce, pampered chef pizza roll, strawberries, bite of apple turnover
At birthday party: 3 chicken nuggets with teriyaki sauce, 2 small crab balls, glass of peach arbor mist

I had a great time last night at the club with my girlfriends and I must have danced for 2 straight hours. I'm a very energetic dancer... definately not a wall flower so my legs are really sore, my ears are ringing & I have a terrible headache. I just got out of bed to take my shot and update my blog while it warms up under my arm.

Mary - I'm glad I had a plan yesterday because it could have been alot worse. I even had the guy that wanted to buy me a drink get me a bottle of water instead! I have NEVER drank water in a club before. Therefore, I'm not kicking myself today. I think I followed it pretty well.

Have a great sunday folks

Day 36 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 161.4
Today: 160.9
.5 lb. Released Overnight
21.1 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

WOO HOO! Still losin! I thought that doughnut was gonna hit me from 2 days ago. I'm almost out of the 160s!

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: Hot cocoa with splenda and 1T of 1/2 & 1/2 & 1 large strawberry
L: remaining strawberries, shrimp cocktail and tomatoes with mrs dash & 2 melba rounds
D: steak & caramelized onions with 1/2 a strawberry sorbet & 2 petit grissini... another hot cocoa with just water

I actually found grissini at my regular supermarket "Shoppers". They're much thinner than regular grissini so I chose to eat 2. There's an italian community near by and the store just renovated so I guess they added some more italian fare. Yaaay for me. They're much better then melba rounds. I'll be getting those from now on.

So I was pretty good yesterday. No real deviations. I think the hot cocoa is keeping me sane right now, but I'm not going to have any today. I have 2 parties to go to today. One is a pampered chef party where there will be a chocolate fountain to deal with & the other one is a birthday party that starts out at a house with or'devours and ends at a club. I do have a plan. I'll have a plate of sauted spinach before the party at 3 so I'm not too hungry. I'm bringing a shrimp cocktail ring so I'll eat that with the store bought cocktail sauce. I know there's sugar in it, but it's the lesser evil. Where there's a chocolate fountain, there are strawberries so there's my fruit.

Then I'll go home and have my dinner, which will be flounder with sauted spinach because of the low calories. The birthday party isn't until 9 tonight and I don't eat past 7. All my girlfriends think I'm obsessed with my weight so it'll be easy to use that as an excuese to not eat any or'devours. I won't be able to get away with not drinking & I don't want to try so I'll have my usual kamikaze.

I'm writing this plan down because I really want to follow it and be held accountable for it. I don't lie on my blog because that just wouldn't help me or anyone else, and for me, the whole point of blogging is to be helpful to myself and whoever reads it. Plus, I'm at 160.9 today... I soooo want to get out of the 160s by the end of this round. Including today, I have 4 shots and 6 VLCD days left. I want to end this round at 158. It's still a possibility, but I need to keep it together today. I've avoided eating out and parties throughout my P2 so this will be a first for me. Whatever happens, I'll definately update tomorrow.

Oh yeah. I got into my skinniest jeans in the house yeserday! I actually wore them to work. My apple bottoms are actually too big now. These where my junior size 9 ecko reds. I'll take pictures in them on my last day and post them. I still have to hold my stomach in, but I do that all the time anyway :)

Folks, we have a new blogger in our community. Please go and say hi to trysomethingnew12 and welcome them to the fam.

In response to yesterday's comments:

Mary, Mary - I did enjoy the tuna, but it left me hungry, plus it made me want bread since I'm so used to eating it that way. I enjoy the other meats more so I can do without that one. You WILL lose weight again after your break. I'm sending those loser vibes our way.

Ed & Jenn - You are so right and TOM didn't help either. I feel my determination coming back though. My numbers are giving me purpose right now. So I am going to sprint to the finish line, but I'm still gonna have that drink tonight LOL.

Renee - 6 days of VLCD and counting! My last VLCD day will be thurday and then I'm going to NJ to visit family for the weekend and go to my favorite restaurant. I'm still going to blog cus I'm bringing my laptop, so I'll be around.

Shelly, shell! - Hey honey... I cannot believe the donut incident! I might be a pound lighter if I didn't eat it. That's how I'm gonna think of it, cus my numbers are not punishment enough & I need something to make me not do that again... LOL. And yes... over 20 pounds is fantastic. That was my goal for this round so I'm very happy.

try - Nice to see ya. I really wanted to support you on your new endevour, especially since you're doing this at college. have you read pounds & inches? If you haven't there's a link to it to the right of my blog.

becca - Thanks. I really have been pushing the envelope lately. Luckily it hasn't ripped wide open, but today is the day that I get back into it. Thanks for being real with me. No more self sabotage. I have enough external stuff trying to do that already.

Biz - Stripping classes are so much fun... you just gotta try it sometime!
Everyday is a learning experience for me. I try to take the best out of it. Just following your example miss skinny thang :) I hope you're having a great time. Miss you too missy!

Have a great day folks!

Day 35 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 162.1
Today: 161.4
.7 lb. Released Overnight
20.6 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

Ok... I had a good loss today, but I'm still kicking myself for yesterday. Here's what I ate.
B: yerba mate tea & 1/2 an apple
L: can of tuna with relish sweetened with splenda, mustard & mrs dash rolled in 6 lettuce leaves. 1/2 an apple. 2 melba rounds
Mid afternoon: Dunkin donuts glazed doughnut
D: 6 large shrimp with cocktail sauce, 2 cups of yerba mate tea

I like the fact that I had a loss today, but yesterday I felt my self sabotaging mindset setting in. In the past, whenever I've gotten close to my goal I've started cheating heavily with a thought of "I deserve it after all this hard work" running through my head. I need to change the tape that's playing in my brain because it's happening again. Why in the world did I chose to eat tuna yesterday? That's not on the protocol. The doughnut was a combination of a strong sugar craving yesterday and my silly entitlement issues. I felt really guilty as soon as I ate it. I hate that feeling, and I almost wish I hadn't lost weight this morning because now I can think "I didn't gain weight last time I had a doughnut". I hope I can keep it together during P3.

Ok... maybe I'm being a little too melodramatic. Next time I want any of the temptations at work, I'm just going to jump online and find SOMEONE to chat with. I hope somebody's out there then.

In response to yesterday's comments:

Ed & Jenn - That hot chocolate really hit the spot and it didn't seem to hurt my weight loss one bit. I may have it again as a small indulgence.

Mary - Well... the tuna didn't seem to hurt me. I don't think it hurt you either. You'll break your stall. Just keep swimming girl.

Crystal - oooh... I don't have any videos for that. I should add some to my collection. I remember seeing something about the S factor videos on Oprah, but I don't remember the Carmel Electra video. I'll check that out.
I LOVE "Buttons"! I had it as a ring tone for a long time. Another good stripping song is "Ass Like That" by Eminem. Don't ask me how I know :-D

Day 34 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 163.1
Today: 162.1
1.0 lb. Released Overnight
19.9 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

WOO HOO! A one pounder! I love seeing those & in my last week no less.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
S: half serving of strawberries & english breakfast tea
L: chili with trader joes mild salsa and 1 tsp grated parmesan cheese, 2 melba rounds & remaining strawberries
D: spinach salad with grilled chicken and strawberries with strawberry viniagrette dressing & hot chocolate: t T cocoa powder, 1 T splenda, dash of salt, 1/4 tsp vanilla & hot water

I got my normal 2 liters of water and my teas yesterday, but I just couldn't kick this craving for chocolate that I had all day. There's always a candy dish full of chocolate at my job, but I just didn't want to indulge. I had a little piece of something sinful yesterday and I didn't want to do that 2 days in a row. That's when I came up with my hot chocolate idea. I don't know if Dr. S would have allowed it, but I justifed the cocoa powder as being a spice. Probably not... but I NEEDED it or I was going to REALLY deviate the next time I saw chocolate. I had already had my 1/2 and 1/2 for the day or I would have added some, but it still hit the spot.

I didn't obsess over weighing my food yesterday. I just weighed my protein. I have an idea of how much fruit and veggies I can have now so I just eyeballed it. I just didn't feel like all that & look at that... a 1 lb loss. I think it's also due to Aunt Flo being almost out the door.

On to yesterday's commentors:

smacmo - Hey Shelly... OMG! the chili and eggs was DAH BOMB! thanks again.
There are pole dancing and striptease classes in most cities now. Xpose is in the baltimore MD area, but I'm sure you can find one near you.

Mary - I was sure TOM was going to reek havoc on my weight loss because last time I had a 4 day stall. I'm sure glad that did'n't happen this time.

Ed & Jenn - WOO HOO sexy mama! Those classes are sooo much fun. The pole classes are some serious excercise and they'll even rent you a pole for "special" occasions. I'll bet Ed wouldn't mind that.... LOL.

Make it a positive day folks.

Day 33 of VLCD Done! I Passed the 50 Yard line!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 163.8
Today: 163.1
.7 lb. Released Overnight
18.9 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

Look at that! I passed the 50 yard line! These are really good losses for me this week. I accidentally went over 500 calories yesterday. I actually got 535. I had beef and chicken in the same day, but I really wanted beef for dinner, so I had it without calculating it first. Here's what I ate.

B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 and 2 melba rounds
L: Lemon Mustard Broiled Chicken with cucumbers & an apple
D: steak & carmalized onions with an apple

I also had small bite of a no bake peanut butter pie at work yesterday so I skipped my 2nd serving of melba rounds. I have a weekness for peanut butter. TOM is still around too and I'm experiencing some hunger. My stomach was actually growling yesterday, so by dinner I really didn't want the fish and spinach meal I had planned. I wanted something more substantial, so I had steak instead. I got my 2 liters of water yesterday and 2 cups of tea so I had plenty of liquids.

I've taken a page out of biz's book lately and started to make sure I eat dinner by 7pm at night. I normally go to bed at around 10 or 10:30 & I used to eat as late as 9 or 9:30. I think it's really helped my weight loss. I've had way better losses since starting that practice. Thanks again biz.

In response to yesterday's comments:

Bizinator! - I need to get a head start... You're gonna blow me away on the next P2! I just have to try excercising. I miss the feeling it gives me afterwards. I'll keep you posted in how it works out though. Thanks for stopping by. I know you must have been so busy getting ready to travel.

Mary - I hate when that happens. I try to eat a few of them when I first purchase them. Then I make some of tammy's strawberry viniagrette dressing from a few and then I slice & freeze the rest. With doing that, I haven't had any spoil on my lately. I think the lemon juice in the viniagrette helps them stay fresh longer. I learned from Dr. Oz that lemon juice has anti-oxidents and that's why they keep things from aging.... That's pretty cool.

Ed & Jennifer - Yup... 14 whole months & I thought I was a total failure. At 186 lbs I was still a size 12. I don't think I ever had enough calories on weight watchers. When they changed their plan to account for different body types I got another 8 points added daily, but I had already been going for a year. It was brutal!
Feb 26 will be my LIW & as far as excercise goes, I do The Firm right now and I'm thinking about getting P90X. I also used to go to bally's every saturday for a hip hop dance class. Oh yeah and I can't forget about my strip tease classes at Xpose fitness. The dance classes are the most fun.

Have a great day folks. I think we're getting snow today. Wish me luck!

Day 32 of VLCD Done! Broke the weight barrier

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 164.3
Today: 163.8
.5 lb. Released Overnight
18.5 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release


Happy Dancing today!!

With that .5 loss I have broken my lowest Weight Watchers weight of 164! WOOO HOOO!

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2, 2 melba rounds
L: romaine salad with grilled chicken and mustard dressing & an orange
D: chili with 1 scrambled egg with 2 melba rounds & strawberry sorbet.

The chili with the egg was fabulous! Thanks smacmo :-)

Last time I was at this weight I was so hungry and miserable that I just couldn't do it anymore. I was excercising like CRAZY and I couldn't loss another ounce. Only thing is, when I was working out, I was a solid size 8. I can get into 8's now, but they're tighter than they were then. I think I was a little more solid before because of the weight lifting. That doesn't matter. I plan on going back to my daily excercise routine when I go on P3 next week. I'm going to do that for a month and see how tight I can get before my next round of P2. Since I workout in the morning, I'll only be doing quick updates during P3 unless I get some time later in the day.

So it has taken me a little over a month to do what I did on weight watchers in almost 14 months & towards the end I started to gain it back so I was actually 168 when I stopped going. Then I quickly gained it ALL back. I think I've told that story before, but I'm just so amazed at how easy this is. I don't mean to say that measuring and preparing food is easy, but sticking to that food and not saying "To hell with this"... that is easy. I've never felt like this on any diet plan. There was always a time when I felt..."yeah, I have this frozen healthy choice meal, but I'm gonna eat that pizza instead. I've got the Points for it." And that feeling was a serious force to be reckoned with! When I resisted it for too long, it would come back with a vengence. I think it's a combination of not having to make too many choices and not having the cravings. Whatever it is, Dr Simeons was a genius!

On to yesterday's commentors:

lili - Thanks Lili. Its really easy for me to get bored with food, so I always try to dress things up whenever I have time. It really works.
I tried the calamine lotion that you recommended... I had forgetten about that stuff. You know... It' not pink anymore! It still works great though & there's no oils in it... thanks for the suggestion. In return... Here's the cabbage recipe :)
I cut up a half head of cabbage & boil it in water mixed with either chicken or beef broth. I throw in some crushed garlic (1 tsp or so), oregano, onion powder, sylvia's secret seasoning, salt & pepper. I sometimes throw in some crushed red pepper flakes too. I don't really measure any of the spices, but it's about 1 tsp of each. Boil it until it's tender for about 20 minutes and it's done. 1/2 medium head of cabbage makes 2 servings. I use a little more pepper right before I eat it as well.

smacmo - Thanks hon... I went and got a brand new non stick skillet just to make my egg. That amount of mixing proteins didn't seem to hurt me at all. I will definately have that again.

Biz - So true. That looked like a regular delicious meal to me. I might do that more often. I just love eating beautiful food. Have a safe and happy trip.

Mary - Yaaaay... TOM is still around and I had a loss. I am soooo happy today! I love that strawberry sorbet. I make it in my magic bullet and I'm going to continue to have that on P3. Love it.

TNgal - Yup... Iim a foodie. I guess that's always been my problem. My favorite is Paula Dean.... yup, BIG problem... lol

Ed & Jenn - That post time is always wrong for me. I don't actually post until around 6:45 or 7 am, but it always says like 2:30 or so. I guess it's west coast time.
No gain with TOM is fantastic. I did have some cravings tho and snuck in 3 semi sweet chocolate chips on sunday... shhh.
The calamine lotion that lili suggested totally took away the itchiness and it's oil free, but check the bottle. The rite ade brand had oil in it.

CB - You know what? I really did think about adding vodka! I probably could have gotten away too if it wasn't for my pesky diet policeman (DH) in the kitchen with me.... LOL

becca - I've been meaning to try the orange julis, but I want to cut the pulp out of the orange first & then freeze it. I think it might work well that way.
I still can't believe I didn't gain after that cake. You know my girlfriend brought me ANOTHER piece of cake the next day. I did take it, but it's in the freezer right now waiting for my next load day because I AM the boss of me!

Gotta get a move on peeps. It's getting late. Have a wonderful day in protoland!

Day 31 of VLCD Done! TOM TOM go away!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 164.3
Today: 164.3
0 lb. Released Overnight
17.7 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

Awww... another stall. TOM came last night though so it's cool. I normally GAIN 5 lbs whenever Aunt Flo comes around. I knew something was up yesterday cus I drank my regular 2 liters of water and hardly went to the bathroom at all. No deviations yesterday. Here's what I ate:
B: an apple & 2 cinnamon stevia melba rounds
L: grilled chicken & boiled cabbage
D: shrimp cocktail and tomato slices with strawberry sorbet.

Yup.. I took a picture of my dinner last night. It just looked so good, I wanted to remember it. I try to make my food look as appetizing as possible. I think I enjoy eating more when I do this, no matter what's on the plate. It's my way of treating myself well.

I just love how much strawberry sorbet I get out of 6 oz of strawberries. All I use is frozen strawberries, lemon and stevia. I get even more volume when I make them into a smoothie with water and ice. Very filling.

Yesterday was ok except I keep getting these rashes. They're really itchy and bumbpy. I guess it's toxins being released from my fat cells. It's still pretty annoying with all the itching. I can't use cortisone so I called my mom for a suggestion and she suggested dusting the area with corn starch. It's actually working! It really helped the itching and the rash isn't as red today. The weird thing is, they where only on my left elbow, inside left thigh and the left side of my lower abdomen. This morning I noticed one starting on my right elbow. These are the areas that I usually don't lose fat from. Kind of interesting.

Oh yeah... DH has decided to eat the same food I'm eating until I do my next round and then he's going to start P2 with me. That'll make life alot easier because I normally cook for both of us.

That's all for today. It's going to be a great monday.... except for these stupid CRAMPS. :)

Hey smacmo, I had some hunger over the weekend as well, but I think it might have been TOM cravings. I'm having chili for dinner tonight and I have about 85 calories to spare. I just may try your chili and egg. It sounds really tasty. How do you prepare your eggs? scrambled, poached, over easy?

Day 30 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 164.8
Today: 164.3
.5 lb. Released Overnight
17.7 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

Late post today, I was busier than normal this morning.

Another good loss today. Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: 1/2 pink grapefruit & cup of red zinger tea
Snack: 2 melba rounds
L: Lemon Mustard Broiled Chicken & boiled cabbage
D: Indian spiced spinach & pan seared flounder, warm strawberry compote with cinnamon, stevia melba rounds.(thanks Tammy, yummy)

I did something I don't normally do yesterday and made my spinach with 2 T of minced red onions. I hadn't been using onions for flavor before. It was great & it doesn't seem to have caused a problem.

There's not much else to report on today. I 'm just counting down to the end of my round right now. I'm really ready for P3 now.

In response to yesterday's comments:

Biz - Thanks, I am sooo happy with my progress after this break. It's nice to see some good numbers.

smacmo - Yup, stressing about it never helps. I'm sure glad it didn't seem to hurt me though. Whew!

Ed & Jenn - That's what I was thinking too. That's why I didn't eat anything else that day. It seemed to work.
Yaaay! you booked! Can't wait to meet you guys. I'll keep you posted on what I decide. I'm leaning towards switching though. Thanks for your input. It's a huge huge help.

Mary - No.. not the arm! LOL
My mom's pretty stubborn too & since I've always been the smallest one in my family even at nearly 200 lbs, they all think I was thin enough already. It'll be harder to convince them, because I've never been as heavy as they are. Even though they've seen me struggle to stay that size. Hopefully, they see enough of a change in me so they'll want to do the same thing.

Have a good evening folks.

Day 29 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 165.9
Today: 164.8
1.1 lb. Release Overnight
17.2 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

WOW... I don't know where these big losses are coming from, but I love it. OMG! I could be out of the 160s by the end of this round! I had planned on that, but it's different to actually see it happening.

Here's what I ate yesterday.
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 & 2 melba rounds
L: chinese chicken and broccoli & an apple
D: chili made with 96% lean beef & canned organic salt free diced tomatoes. 2 melba rounds for dipping

I'm in a much better mood today. Losing over a pound overnight tends to do that to me...lol. I just decided to end this round 2 days earlier because we're going to see my family on March 1st to see my little cousin in a play. Most of my cousins are 10-15 yrs younger than me so they have alot of functions for school and such. I like to go see them whenever I can because I moved from NJ to MD a few years ago and I don't get to see them as much anymore. Needless to say, where there's family, there's food. I can handle it much better if I'm already on P3.

I'm also going to use this visit to teach my sister and my mom more about the protocol. My sister is really interested, but my mom is harder to convince, even though she has been overweight ever since she had my sister 27 yrs ago & now she can't excercise because of her fibromyalgia. I really worry about her because she's also got high blood pressure and heart issues. I think this protocol would be perfect for her because it would get her eating better and probably feeling much better too.

Gotta get to my day so on to yesterday's commentors.

smacmo - You are so right. I should always go back to look at my WW stats when I get down about any of this. This is an amazing experience and it's got me on a roller coaster of emotions.

Biz - I'm usually the positive one & in yesterday morning's post I was just so NOT. I felt better throughout the day though. The fact is, that cake tasted really good so at least I didn't deviate for a dry mess of a cake & I know that if I took a bite and I didn't like it, I would have put it down. In the past I would have eaten it just because it was cake. That has changed about me. If I deviate... it had better be good!

Mary - Oh yeah... blame the arm! It is sooo real.

Ed & Jennifer - It looks like I might be dodging the bullet because of my half day water and tea fast after the cake incident & now that I look back on it. It wasn't as bad as I made it out to be. Even if I had gained weight... that cake was delicious! I don't know why i beat myself up over it.... you guys have come through with flying colors with a few deviations inbetween. I just love you both!

Everyone enjoy the weekend!

Day 28 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 167.1
Today: 165.9
1.2 lb. Release Overnight
16.1 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

This is what I ate yesterday. I'll explain what happened below.
B: yerba mate tea with stevia, coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 L: Spinach salad with grilled chicken and sliced strawberries with strawberry vinaigrette dressing
4:00 PM - piece of white buttercream sheet cake
D: 1 piece of steamed chicken and 1 piece of steamed broccoli, 3 cups of tea.

Ok... I seriously need to be smacked silly today. I was REALLY bad yesterday and I probably haven't paid for it yet. My job gets 1 birthday cake per month for all the monthly b-days. Since this was my month, they got a cake yesterday with my name on it. How nice. Well... I thought I'd be ok because they usually do this right after lunch and I just knew I wouldn't be hungry. They didn't get around to the cake party until 4 in the afternoon! That's my hungriest, weakest part of the day and boy did I blow it. I took a piece and thought I would just take it home to DH, then it turned into "just a little taste" because how could the birthday girl have NO cake. Then I felt like that hand from that hot dog commercial came out of my stomach and started shoving cake in my mouth! Yup... ate the whole thing. A corner piece no less! Well, needless to say, I felt horrible after that. I decided to not eat anything for the rest of the day since my body was now flooded with sugar, carbs and buttercream icing. I did manage to just have 3 teas with stevia & just water for the rest of the day except...

...it was Valentine's day yesterday, and my wonderful hubby decided to get us chinese food for dinner because he wanted to give me a treat and he knew I was planning on trying steamed chicken and broccoli. That was so sweet of him. I ate one piece of chicken and one piece of broccoli and packed up the rest for lunch today.

Yeah, I had a loss today, but it might have been more and this might cause a stall, but at least I didn't gain. Oh yeah, I'm back to my lowest P2 weight today, 2.2 below my break LIW. 1.2 released in one day is still nice to see. Hopefully I can stay here & not gain tomorrow. I am sooo bummed right now. I need to eat well today so I can feel better about myself tomorrow.

To yesterday's commentors:

Mary - Another big drop today. Bittersweet, but still big. I hope I minimized the damage by minimizing dinner.

Biz - Awww, I don't know how you do so much as it is. You don't have to comment on my blog everyday, but I'm so glad you take the time to visit.
I'm still trying to get back on the wagon. Today will be better.

Ed and Jennifer - I love homemade seasoning mixes & this one is great cus you can control the spicyness. I even made my own celery salt so I could control the amount of salt in it. Great job on getting below your LIW... We WILL keep losing all the way to the end. You're one of my greatest inspirations. Thanks for all your encouragement.

Regina - Oh.... let me know how my recipe compares. I'd love to try yours too!

Becca - HA... glad to hear I'm not the only one. My hand seems to have a mind of its own. I managed to make the cookie dough without so much as a lick too.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Day 27 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 169.2
Today: 167.1
2.1 lb. Release Overnight
14.9 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
.6 Avg Daily release

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
1 lbs UNDER LIW

WOO HOO! I'm below my break LIW. I am so happy about that. I'm going to be ending this round on March 3rd which will give me 17 more VLCD days and 45 VLCD days total. I'm just going until I run out of my next batch of hcg which I will be mixing tomorrow. I've started mixing 125 iu's and I've done very well on that switch. I feel fine and my eye has stopped twitching. I use 1500 ampoules and that has worked out very well for me. I don't have to worry about the hcg losing potency that way with such a low dose.

Oh yeah... my menu yesterday:
B: yerba mate tea with stevia. Bite of a chocolate chip cookie (oops, was still sleepy)
L: boiled cabbage and chicken with 1/2 pink grapefruit.
D: boiled cabbage with shrimp steamed with homemade old bay seasoning with an apple
Mid afternoon: 2 melba round

Ok so I took a little bite of a cookie yesterday morning. I baked some for DH's doctor and they where cooling on the counter. I took a bite without even thinking. It was a little bite though and I took a 20 minute walk at lunch time cus I felt guilty. I also tried my own old bay yesterday. It was soooo good! I can't remember where I got this recipe but I'll put it at the bottom of this post.
DH is actually considering doing the protocol. He's gained some weight during his recovery and he was trying to lose weight through excercising & dieting when he got hurt. He won't be able to excersize for a long time so he thinks this will be his best shot to take off the weight now. I think he's right. He's back on healthy choice meals and other low calorie food for now though. That means there won't be as much temptation food in the house now... except for the skinny cow ice cream sandwiches. I love those things! My sister is considering it too. I guess I'm their guinea pig right now.

Anyway... I'm done rambling. On to yesterday's comments:

Mary - Yes! back on track. It feels wonderful!

Ed & jennifer - Seeing that scale move up like that was heartbreaking, but it looks like it's going down just as fast. I tell you what though, I'm way better prepared for my real P3. I start that on March 3rd, so I don't have much time left. I can handle it.

Becca - Seeing that 16... sure is comforting. My lowest weight so far is 165.9. I REALLY want to get back to that and hopefully I'll see it by the end of this week. I guess I could have skipped work. I wore jeans and boots to work instead. I'm used to driving in these conditions, but it still sucks. We've got a little snow on the ground today so it'll be more of the same.

Everyone: I actually had time to read blogs last night, but my cable was out! I was so glad to see it back up this morning. I'll try to make the rounds tonight.

Oh yeah... here's that recipe:

Old Bay Seasoning
1 T ground bay leaves
2 1/2 tsp celery salt
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground red pepper flakes or cayenne
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp cardamom

There's a few expensive spices, but if you have some of them, it might not be too much to get a couple more to try this out. It was great. Have a good day everyone!

Day 26 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 170.8
Today: 169.2
1.6 lb. Release Overnight
12.8 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.5 Avg Daily release

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
1.1 lbs Over LIW

Felt much better yesterday. The hunger went away and I was able to stick to the VLCD without any problems.

We had an ice storm last night so I wasn't able to update my blog until I got to work so I'm not at home with my food log. So from memory I had a grilled chicken salad with mustard dressing & an apple for lunch and flounder with cucumbers and applesauce for dinner. I also had 2 melba rounds as a snack. I think my calories added up to 456. I've figured out how to use the total button on my little nutrition scale so I also have fat, carbs & protein stats. I'll start adding those soon.

Reflecting on my break last week, I think it went fairly well. It could have gone better and it could have gone alot worse, but I still think it was worth it. I'll probably end up losing about 5-7 days of weight loss over it though, so if anyone else plans on interrupting their P2, keep that in mind. I'm just really glad to see the scale moving back down.

To everyone that left comments. Thank you for your encouragement. I can't express how much it means to have your support.

Mary - Thanks sweetie. I forgot that it would take a day or 2 to get back into my system. I was just feeling like a total failure that day.

Ed & Jennifer - I let the stress go. Stress can sure screw with your appetite. I really do like the control that I feel with hcg. The chocohalic in me was starting to come out as soon as the stress hit and I felt it go away yesterday.

Biz - Yup... lesson learned & when I think about it, I really didn't do as badly as I thought, but I tend to beat myself up about stuff more than anybody else does.

becca - Yeah! A mini-load... that's what that was! Thanks for that perspective.

Last P3 eating day and 1st return shot didn't go so well :(

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 170 (gain of 1.9 yesterday)
Today: 170.8
.8 lb. GAIN Overnight
11.2 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.68 Avg Daily release

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
2.7 lbs Over LIW

Really quick update today. I'm at work and I needed to sneak this in.

The last 2 days have not been so peachy. Yesterday I forgot to set my alarm clock so I was late for work & unprepared for my day, but it really started sunday night. I got really stressed out over something that I don't want to go into detail about. This lead to me finishing off the infamous bag of nuts that I had managed to stay away from all weekend. That got me a 1.9 lb gain the next day (monday). Yesterday I took my first shot. I didn't bring my lunch with me so I got a grilled chicken ceasar salad with tomato bisque soup from a local resteraunt. I was doing ok until mid afternoon when I was insanely hungry and caved to a 1/2 a snickers bar. I just didn't feel very hcg'ish yesterday. I guess it wasn't in my system yet, and I didn't handle it very well. The rest of the day was downhill. I just kept snacking on stuff! It wasn't all protocol food, but there were no carbs involved. I ended up with about 1000 calories yesterday! So I had another gain today. Examples of what I ate where, some soy nachos & 5 layer dip, a bowl of mashed cauliflower, carrots & half a cheeseburger with no bun.

So needless to say, I'm kinda in a funk. Therefore. I tried on a pair of jeans that I couldn't get into when I was at this weight on day 14 I think. Ok... so I can get them on & still zip them up. I don't really get it. I gained the weight but not the inches. Hopefully that means it will come off quickly.

I'm totally prepared today. I've got all my measured food with me at work & things are back to HCG normalsy (sp?).

Well gotta go. I was just sneaking a moment, because I NEED to report on all this.

Third & last day of my little P3 break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 168.2
Today: 168.1
.1 lb Release Overnight

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
At LIW

Well look at that. I'm right back at my LIW, so I get to start my injections tomorrow where I ended. I used my little weight cushion & I really enjoyed myself. I even had a few nuts yesterday, but I kept control of it this time. Here's what I ate... be warned.... NOT diet food!

B: 3 scrambled eggs with cheddar and cilantro with salsa. 1 piece of bacon. Homemade hot chocolate with stevia. (followed the recipe on the cocoa box & substituted splenda for sugar)
L: slow roasted pot roast with a sauce made with beef drippings, heavy cream, and mushrooms. Garlicy mashed cauliflower with butter & the pot roast sauce. An apple
D: bacon cheeseburger with salsa (no bread) & mashed cauliflower.
Snacks: 1/4 cup of low sodium mixed nuts & yerba mate tea, 2 apples with 3 ounces of gouda, celery with 2 T smuckers natural peanut butter.

Amazing how long my meal lists have been this weekend! That actually added up to more calories than I thought, but I just ate when I was hungry and listened to my body when I was full. 3600 with 266 fat, 106 carbs, 196 protein. I kept the carbs lower this time around. Tomorrow I start my injections again and I'm ready to finish the 2nd half of my P2. I enjoyed my weekend, but now I'm ready to get the rest of this weight off.

I am really grateful to know that this weight will come off for sure & I'm so grateful to have found this community.

On you yesterday's commentors:

Mary - I just discovered smoked gouda this weekend. I co-worker was eating it with an apple on friday and she gave me a taste. I totally fell in love! So creamy and perfect with an apple. Today's my last break day and I start back on my injections tomorrow. Hopefully I can get back to 165.9 quickly.

Biz - Thank you so much :) I am sooo happy to start VLCD right back at my LIW. I also feel better prepared for my real P3. I'm proud of myself too. I even found a way to get some chocolate and stay on the plan :)

TNgal80 - Oh wonderful! You're going too! We just have to email each other about it! My email address is
I really do try to stay positive. I really feel that it brings more good things into my life.

Have a good one everybody!

Second day of my little P3 break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 167.9
Today: 168.2
.3 lb Gain Overnight

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
.1 lbs OVER LIW

mmmm..... great day yesterday. Dinner was fabulous. I had a few no no's but all in all, not too shabby. Here's what I ate yesterday.

B: 2 eggs with 1.5 ounces of cheddar, 3 ounces of ham steak. cup af yerba mate tea with stevia.
L: cup of homemade chili with 2 T grated cheddar
Snacks: apple with 1.5 ounces of gouda, plain apple, 4 celery stalks with smucker's natural peanut butter
D: 2 large sea scallops with mixed vegetables and a reduction of balsamic vinegar
broiled salmon with a brandy based cream sauce with tomato and capers
1 cup of pasta with marinara sauce
vanilla gilato with fresh strawberries & half a cannoli
coffee with cream and splenda

That adds up to about 2500 calories with 110 g fat, 125 g carbs, 184 g protein.

Ok so, everything after the main course was a total and blatant deviation. I was planning on eating the dessert, but I ate the pasta too! ARRRGH! I did manage to stay away from the bread on the table though. Now it's clean up time. I'm still below my LIW threshold. I was totally prepared to do a steak day today, however, I'll just be eating light today. I'm going to keep it at around 1500 calories & see if I can either repair the damage or not have another gain. As it stands, I'm happy with the results of this break so far. Dinner was amazing and I'm TOTALLY going back to that resteraunt.

I was really happy to get DH out of the house yesterday. He hasn't been out besides going to see the doctor since jan 14th when he had his surgery. We also went to see our travel agent to compare prices for the carnival cruise that jennifer told me about. Now... I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. When she inquired about the cruise, they said they were running a special on that particular cruise where we would pay for the lowest level stateroom and get bumped up to the highest level oceanview stateroom for the same price. We just had to book it before monday. We then went back home to crunch some numbers and decided that we would do it. When we went back to the travel agent & she called carnival back, they couldn't FIND the special. She insisted that she was told by the other agent that this special did exist & after about 20 minutes, they gave us the special & we booked the cruise. If we had gotten the 2nd agent first, we would have never know about the special and probably wouldn't have booked it. The group's travel agent already has enough peolple to get their group discount, so it won't hurt the group for us to use another travel agent. Now we're going on this cruise and we haven't been on one since our honeymoon. I am sooo excited! So... Ed & Jennifer and anyone else that's going... We'll see you there! Jennifer - thank you so much for bringing it to my attention.

Thanks everyone for your well wishes yesterday. I have an appointment to get to so I gotta go. Enjoy your weekend!

First day of my little P3 break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 165.9
Today: 167.9
2 lb Gain Overnight

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
.2 lbs Under LIW

I totally expected that. I did a few things right yesterday, but I also did a few things wrong. Here's what I ate:
B: an apple and an ounce of cheddar cheese & some coffee with 1/2 & 1/2.
L: romaine salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, red onions, shredded carrots & about 2 T of corn & goddess dressing. 12 oz of shrimp bisque from whole foods (thickened with heavy cream).
D: romaine salad with 10 oz of chicken breast, crumbled blue cheese, tomatoes, 1 T pine nuts.
Snacks were 2 hard boiled eggs with salt & about 1 1/2 cups of mixed nuts without peanuts with 50% less sodium.

All that added up to about 2200 calories with roughly 139 fat, 90, carbs, 160 protein. Most of that came from the nuts. Hopefully the weight gain was mostly due to water retention, but I'm glad I had a little wiggle room.

Here's what I think I did wrong:
I WAY overdid it with the nuts. I meant to only have a handful which would have been about 1/4 cup, but I kept going back! Even though they were lower sodium, that was still alot of salt. My wedding ring is fitting really snug today so I know I'm retaining some water. I also put that corn on my salad. I always forget that corn is a high carb vegetable even though I just looked it up the other day... DUH. On top of all that salt, I barely drank any water yesterday. I think I had about 2 pints of water all day. I normally have nearly 3 liters. I just wasn't as thirsty.

Here's what I think I did right:
I got enough protein in & I started the day out pretty well. I ate alot of vegetables and I made sure I ate an apple. Even though I got too many carbs yesterday, they were good carbs. I still didn't have any of the chocolate or bagels at work & I feel great about that.

Today will be much better. I won't be as excited about eating because I got that out of my system. I'm just going to stick to simple small meals because I'm going out to dinner tonight and I want to leave plenty of calorie room for that. I just want to make sure I get plenty of water today & I'm not too hungry when I go to dinner.

On to my commenters from yesterday

Mary - I really did enjoy yesterday. I enjoyed mixing my veggies most of all.

Biz - I hope I gave enough details. I didn't really want to, cus I kinda screwed up a bit, but it was a learning experience. On to the next day.

CB - I'm glad I lost weight over the last few days. It gave me a little wiggle room. Hopefully I won't have to do a steak day tomorrow.

Regina - I think it's still a success so far. I expected to gain something and I'm still under my LIW.

Ed & Jennifer - Yes! the cruise is a definite possibility. DH is uncomfortable with sending money to folks we don't know though, so we will probably use our regular travel agent. In fact, we're going to see her today to make a final decision. I'll keep you posted.

Have a great Friday everyone!

Day 24 of VLCD Done! - 3rd day of planned break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 166.3
Today: 165.9
.4 lb. Release Overnight
16.3 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.68 Avg Daily release

Break LIW: 168.1 on 2/4/08
2.2 lbs Under LIW

wow.... another loss. I wasn't expecting that but I'll take it!

Yesterday's menu was:
B: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2, an apple
L: grilled chicken and boiled cabbage (I never get tired of that)
D: grilled chicken and strawberry spinach salad with tammy's strawberry viniagrette dressing, strawberry lemonade & 2 melba rounds & 3 slices of DHs steak.

OK.... I was so hungry last night I felt like taking a bite out of the couch! I guess the hcg was starting to leave my system. I took 3 bites of DHs steak instead. He cooked it with no oil & just spices so it wasn't a complete deviation. I was only at 400 calories for the day by that time anyway & it was delish.

Thanks to the hcg2 message board, I realized yesterday that I was planning on increasing my calories too late. Since I took my last shot at 6am monday morning, today is my day to increase my calories. I'm just going to have an apple and coffee for breakfast, but I'll eat have a P3 lunch today.

I've noticed a few rashes on my skin this past week. It doesn't look serious, and I'm guessing that toxins are being release from fat that hasn't been accessed before. That makes sense to me because I'm getting down to a weight that I haven't reached in a long time. 163 is the lowest I've gotten in the last 10 years & I certainly didn't lose abnormal fat when I was down to that weight. That's what I was when I decided I just couldn't handle weight watchers anymore because I was so hungry all the time. It took me 28 weeks to get to that weight and I shot back up to 186 within 12 weeks. So... 162 is my "I made it over the hump" weight. I know everyone must have one of those. I guess I can go ahead and use some cortisone ointment on those rashed today though.

I've also noticed that I've been really snippy to people over the past few days. I seem to be coming off of that hcg euphoria that I had. Goodies were more difficult to resist at work yesterday too. I know it wasn't in my head because it was just too strong. It did go away if I refocused my energy though. I drank a LOT of tea yesterday.

On to my much needed support system

smacmo - I am definately going to enjoy it. I'm going to try not to go overboard. I'm going to try some of the P3 recipes that I've seen on the message boards as well.

Regina - The bullet sure made my dinner easy yesterday. I used a lot of puréed strawberries and it was super quick.

Mary - Oh, I highly recommend it. I can think of all kinds of things to do with it. It will also make juicing my lemons much easier. Ha... I sound like a commercial now :)

Ed & Jennifer - Actually monday was my LIW so I'm 2.2 under it already. I'm glad to be ahead by a bit, just in case I go a little nuts. You're quite welcomed for the recipe links. That's one of my favorite sites for reference. oooh, I called to inquire about the cruise last night. I'm pretty sure we'll be there. DH and I haven't planned our yearly trip for this year yet, and this is my year to choose. I think this would be perfect & he agrees so it's in the works. We haven't been on a cruise since our honeymoon.

biz - Thanks for your reply yesterday. I probably would have been starvin marvin today! After I ordered my bullet I saw one in BJs for $50, so I guess they're selling them in retail stores now.

becca - Hey... nice to see you! I haven't tried the orange julius recipe yet, but I was thinking of doing an orange sorbet. I would cut the orange pulp away from the sectional skins and freeze them first. Those section skins can be bitter sometimes. They're high in fiber though so I wouldn't do that with an orange often.

Day 23 of VLCD Done! - 2nd day of planned break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 167.2
Today: 166.3
.9 lb. Release Overnight
15.7 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.68 Avg Daily release

Nice... I had a good loss 2 days in a row. That hasn't happened since my first week.

Here's yesterday's vittles:
B: Coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: shrimp with cocktail sauce & sliced tomatoes with salt and mrs dash with an apple
D: 96% lean hamburger made with bragg's amino acids and spices with mustard dressing on top, sauted spinach in garlic & beef broth with strawberry sorbet.

I got a new magic bullet. I've been meaning to buy one for a while and I thought it would be perfect for this protocol. I made the strawberry sorbet in it last night, with frozen strawberries, water, lemon and stevia. It was so good, I almost felt guilty! I MUST have that again. I was thinking about trying it with frozen oranges as well.

I am sooo ready for this break this weekend. I was thinking about why I need it. Why did I need this weekend to shoot for to keep me sane? In my head, I just felt that I could resist anything for one more week if I can just have ham and cheese eggs on saturday morning! I am sooo looking forward to that. I'm going to stick to just coffee and an apple on friday morning, just in case there's any hcg left in my system, but saturday morning... It's ON! So... that has been the source of my willpower, and it's a good thing too because one of my really sweet co-workers made me rice krispie treats for my birthday and brought in alcohol mini's for my team yesterday. I took one and stuck it in my lunch bag to bring home to DH again. I'm keeping the little bottle of wine for me this weekend. Did I pick the worst month to go through P2 or what?! I just returned to this company recently, but I don't remember there being THIS much food. I think evil forces are trying to make me fail, and I just won't let them get that satisfaction.

The time is getting away from me so I'd better wrap this up.

In response to yesterday's comments.

lili - You got that right. I would have loved the ten bucks instead! Apparently the salad was really good accorging to DH.

biz - Thanks. And another big loss today for me! I'm loving it. Now I guess I go by yesterday's injection weight to check my 2 lbs over against for the weekend. Is that right? If so, I'm ahead of the game already. WOO HOO!

ed & jennifer - Hey peeps. That cocktail sauce was a doosey. I started out with tammy's recipe, but I didn't care for it so I went to allrecipes.com and altered these 2 recipes chili sauce & cocktail sauce, but I just kinda threw it together. I'll put it together again and write it down next time.

CB - I am going to savor that dinner and breakfast the next day. mmmm cheese :) It was really difficult making that choice, but now that I've done it once, I know I can do it again. I just put it away so I couldn't see it & Biz's mustard dressing had somethig to do with it too because I knew my salad would taste really good.

mary - You know, I really was in great spirits yesterday. I am again today. I'm feeling lighter and I keep getting compliments. Can't beat that.

Sorry I haven't been able to make many blog rounds lately. I've been short on time because of working late. I'll try to catch up with everyone over the weekend. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Day 22 of VLCD Done! - First day of planned break

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 168.1
Today: 167.2
.9 lb. Release Overnight
14.8 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.67 Avg Daily release

Good grief... finally a good loss! Last week was not that great for weight. I'm still only 1.6 lb lighter than I was on this day last week, but any loss is a good loss. I had a REALLY good VLCD day yesterday. Here's what I ate.

B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2, yerba mate tea with stevia
L: grilled chicken with essence over romaine lettuce with mustard dressing. Strawberries
D: shrimp with homeade cocktail sauce, an orange & 2 melba rounds.

Yesterday my boss decided to buy everyone in my department lunch to celebrate meeting a deadline, so they went around and took everyone's orders. I ordered a grilled chicken ceasar salad with no cheese or croutons & dressing on the side. I had some mustard dressing with me for my salad from home. Of course, the salad came with both the cheese AND the croutons on it, so I put it in my lunch bag to take home for DH & ate the salad that I brought in. I got some questions about why I wasn't takinig advantage of a free lunch, but I've been telling them that I've decided to be really strict with my diet this month. I just don't feel like explaining anything further to them. In this way, I'm able to stay away from all the office goodies and they already know why so they don't press.

So far this round has been about what I expected. I anticipated that I would be slower to lose weight than some because I'm closer to my goal than some so I was going for a .5 average. I'm above that. I do think I've had some slip ups due to not being used to this whole thing & I expected that as well. I also expect my next round to be much easier. I have some recipes that I really enjoy eating & I've learned how to make my food less boring thanks to the recipes that I've found on blogs and in tammy's cookbook. I've also made up my own stuff by altering recipes that I already have. I'm making a whole lot of dishes with this little bit of food though! Yup... R2P2 is gonna be much much easier.

Today is the first day of my planned break so I won't be taking another shot until monday. Here's my plan (I always have a plan). I'll be eating VLCD today through thursday and I'm going out to dinner with DH on friday night. I may eat a few carbs at dinner, but only if they're worth it. If I go over 2 lbs over today's weight, I'm gonna do a steak day over the weekend. I am definately eating all atkins phase 1 food for the weekend. I don't want to loss any of my progress so far. Monday I go back to my 125 iu injections, which has turned out to be a good change for me. My eye isn't twitching anymore. I did have a little hunger 1 day last week, but that has since gone away, so I'll be doing 125 from now on.

To everyone that stops by: Thanks for taking an interest in my progress. You're support has been invaluable. I don't know what I'd do without your input and encouragement. I look forward to writing in the morning now and catching up on peoples blogs when I can. I don't always have time, but I try.

In response to yesterday's comments.

Mary - Thanks, it was a blast! You're having some nice losses lady.
WTG!

Regina - That was a great game. It's being called the greatest upset in the
history of superbowls. I don't know if I agree with that, but it's definately a
close 2nd.

Winston - Eli was a beast out there! I know Tiki is crappin a cow right
now! Good goin at your party. I just couldn't have all the food around me. I did
end up making hot wings though, but that's no problem for me to resist cus I can
whip them up whenever I want. We keep our freezer stocked with wings all
football season. I just couldn't let the guys go without their last wing fix of
the season though.

Biz - hey... thanks so much.

lili - Well, it looks like it DID come right back off. I'm glad too, but
that treatment was sure worth it.

ed & jennifer - How did you know about those! LOL

becca - Wasn't it fabulous? My girlfriends want me to gossip with them
during the games, but they don't bother to come over for football games with
their husbands anymore because they've noticed that I don't pay attention to
them along with their husbands, so I'm always the only girl in the house
now. Oh well... it WAS a great birthday. Thanks!

Have a cool tuesday!

Day 21 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 167.5
Today: 168.1
+.6 lb. GAIN Overnight
13.9 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.66 Avg Daily release









OK... first BOOOOOYAAAAAAH. Take that Patriots! I never had a doubt. Not bad for a the underdog wildcard team. HA HA HA HA HA!

I guess it can't be a PERFECT weekend but it was pretty darn close. I don't know what that gain is from really, but I did a few things out of the ordinary this weekend. I had chicken and beef in the same day which pushed me just over 500 calories to 512 & I also had lotion on my skin on saturday. I also didn't drink enough water yesterday. It could be any of those things or a combination. It's not a huge gain though. I'll get enough water & I hope to bounce back in the next 2 days.

Here's what I ate yesterday:
B: nothing
L: chili with tomato garnish with 1 melba round & an apple with stevia lemonade
D: spicy chicken fingers, strawberry lemonade smoothie, boiled cabbage.

WOW, that was a good weekend. I'm tired today because I went to bed late last night and I couldn't really sleep. I think I was having a serious adrenaline rush. I must have hit the snooze alarm 10 times this morning. My cats finally decided that I should get out of bed. Therefore, I don't have much time this morning. Gotta get to work and gloat :)

In response to yesterday's comments.

mary - Thanks... I started to get a french manicure, but she had blue
polish! I couldn't resist!

Ed & Jennifer - You should have seen DH yesterday. He has a Giants hard
hat that he wears for every game & he took out all of our giants stuff and
set it around the tv room! He also has an NY tat on his arm. That also happens
to be his initials & now they won the superbowl! Maybe he'll get an XLII
underneath that when I go to get mine next month.
I'm sure my fingers and toes helped!

smacmo - That game was AMAZING. Eli's escape from the sack, Plaxico's
catches... we were on the edge of our seats the whole time! I didn't have an Eli
Manning jersey before because frankly he just wasn't cutting it before this
year, but he really proved himself this year.

Have a great day everybody.

Day 20 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 168.2
Today: 167.5
.7 lb. Released Overnight
14.5 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.73 Avg Daily release

WOO FREAKIN HOO! I'll take it!

Yesterday's menu was in no particular schedule, 1/2 pink grapefruit, chicken in marinara sauce, strawberry smoothie, cucumber with dill and acv, lemon pepper flounder, 2 melba rounds. I also had 1 semi sweet chocolate chip... not a whole cookie, just a chip. It was gooood :) I calculated that it was 2 calories.

I had a GREAT day yesterday. I had my chocolate chip in the morning so I had time to burn it off. Then DH told me to put on some sweatpants over some shorts and get in the car. He had me drive towards a main street in our area and when we got close, I figured out that he was going to get me a tattoo for my birthday. I've been talking about getting a tattoo for years, but have been chickening out all that time. Quickly, my mind went to all the reasons why I couldn't get the tattoo today (was chickening out again). Oh yeah... I said "Don't I have to put neosporin on the tattoo for a few days afterwards?" That was it! My out clause! "I can't do that right now honey, but what a wonderful thought!" Whew! That was a close one. He was kinda disappointed because he had really put some thought into getting me something that wasn't food. Don't get me wrong, I really want the tattoo. I've had it picked out for over a year, and I know exactly where I want it, upper right outside thigh. So I'm going to get myself mentally prepared and get the tattoo during my break in march. That'll be better anyway because there will be less of my thigh to put it on...LOL.

After we got home I went to the spa and had an acne treatment facial with a pedicure. She gave me a nice mini massage with oil free lotion, but they put regular lotion on my legs for the pedicure. I didn't really care by that time. I was way too relaxed by then. I had some tea with sweet and low while getting my pedicure. They brought me cookies as well, which I put in my purse to take home to DH. Then I went over to my regular salon to get my nails and toes painted because they're good at designs. Check this out. The pic is clickable to see a larger view.

After that, I came home and DH had another gift for me. He got me a 30 gig Zune mp3 player. I had been eyeing that for a while. So now I can join the rest of the modern world and stop using a cd player! I just found a great website http://www.uniqueskins.com/ where you can get personalized skins for handheld devices for a really good price. So I'm gonna go try that out. Plus I have to get ready for folks to come over this afternoon.

In response to yesterday's comments.

smacmo - Thanks. It was a great day.

Biz - That's right WOO FRICKEN HOO!

CB - Hey... were they friends in college? That is sooo cool!
I posted pictures on VLCD Day 13. There is a promo code on the hcg boards. I can't remember what it is right now. Do a search on the hcg2 group for "tammy coupon code". That should bring it up.

Mary - Thanks, but I am sooo happy with 35. I'm claiming it cus I
look GOOOD :) Girl... whatever you're into, gets you a guy that's into that too so hang around places where there are guys that are into the stuff you like & make
sure you stand out and look fantastic. You know how visual they are.

Ed & Jennifer - YAY 60s & lovin it! Lower 60s is just around the corner.

lili - Awwww... thanks for the kind words about DH. I just told him and he
chuckled. I really enjoyed reading your comment. I like to hear about women who had their first child in their 30s. It's just nice to have company. I really
thankful to have an arsenal for baby weight, and you've already done it. How
awesome!

Have a great sunday everyone & GO GIANTS!

Day 19 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 182
Yesterday: 168.2
Today: 168.2
0 lb. Released Overnight
13.8 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.73 Avg Daily release

I'm switching to my new scale today. That number looks great and it saved me from agonizing over a new century. There it is! I'm in the 160's! What a nice birthday present & if we win the superbowl, that'll just add some more punch to this weekend!

Here's what I ate yesterday
B: Yerba Mate tea with stevia
L: Boiled cabbage & shrimp with essence & strawberries
D: Steak, carmelized onions, baked apple, stevia lemonade

I'm going to take it easy today. I'm turning 35 and I'm feeling pretty good that I'm going into it lighter than I was last year & I'm so grateful for finding this protocol now. I don't have children yet and I've always been afraid of how I would take off the baby weight. The women in my family have never been able to do that, but now I know how.

I did get a chance to do a chart of my progress so far. You can click on it to see a larger view:

This weekend... so far so good. I'm going to look for a special protocol recipe to try today.

In response to yesterday's comments.

Biz - aawww... thanks :) I did a whole lot of my research by reading your blog, so thanks for being so open with your own research and information. I needed to be super informed if I was going to start injecting myself with something I got off the internet. I could never have been a pioneer at going it alone. I was way too scared in the beginning. Now, doing these shots everyday is like a walk in the park.

Ed & Jennifer - I am certainly going to enjoy myself. I'm going to find as many non-food related fun things to do as I can think of and plus... My BOYS are in the superbowl! It's going to be a great weekend! Oh yeah... almost forgot. White grapefruit is 9 cal per oz & Pink grapefruit is 12 calories per oz.

Mary - Yeah... I'm kinda glad I don't have to excercise, but I love the muscle definition the firm gives me, plus DH says he likes to watch me do squats in the morning ;-) Gotta get back to that.

Day 18 of VLCD Done!

Starting weight: 186.2
Yesterday: 174.0
Today: 172.4
1.6 lb. Released Overnight
13.8 lb. Released Since Start of VLCD 1/14/2008
0.77 Avg Daily release

Hot diggity! Although yesterday's gain is a little suspicious. My old scale is really screwy. Tomorrow I'm gonna start using the new one. I got on it again after I blogged and it showed a 1.7 loss! So, I'll start using the new one tomorrow, but today, I'm going to enjoy my 1.6 :-) The point is, the scale is going down baby!

Yesterday's menu was:
B: Yerba Mate tea with stevia
L: grilled chicken with essence, boiled cabbage & pink grapefruit
D: chicken in marinara sauce (tammy's w/o onions) & strawberry lemonade smoothie with stevia.

I need to be careful with that pink grapefruit. I've been counting it as regular grapefruit, but I justs realized it has more calories than regular grapefruit. I got a new food scale that's loaded with nutritional information for hundreds of foods. It also has user settings to add new foods in, but it doesn't accept decimals so you need to round the number up when entering them. So far I love it, except the total daily calories feature. It allows you to total your nutritional information per meal or per day but it seems to always add too much. It was off by as much as 150 calories, but I'm going to test it a few more times to be sure. The nutritional info is accurate though & having the nutritional info all in one place is cool though. Ok... there's my comentary on the scale. I got mine at Target. You can also get it on there website here.

Today is my 3rd day on 125iu. Yesterday I noticed less thirst, but my eye was still twitching yesterday morning. There was no hunger though. I think I'll be fine on this dosage & it'll save more hcg for DH's round. He's gained some weight while recovering & he's gained some weight. He won't be able to workout for a long time so he thinks this would be a good way to take off the weight without having to workout.

I actually miss working out in the morning now. I used to do the FIRM every single day. I have great muscles underneath this layer of fat. I can't wait to see what they look like!

Well, that's all I've got today.

In response to yesterday's comments.

lili - I had originally decided to load this weekend, but now I think I can handle it. I've been doing this for 2 weeks and I really like the food I'm making for myself. I LOVE spices & I've been using alot of fresh ones lately. I'm gonna take your advice and get that facial. I was taking nature's cure & I stopped when I started the shots. Now my face is starting to break out again. I could really use a facial.

biz - I have a crazy scale. I don't think I really gained that pound yesterday, but it was a little more stressful than usual. I'm just glad it cleared itself up today. My husband is the best. I really never even thought he would do this for me so I didn't bother asking so I was floored when he offered. That song by En Vogue... "What A Man" comes to mind. He's a special guy. That's why I married him & he's gonna get more than a fat wet kiss when he's better! Children avert your eyes! LOL

smacmo - That is exaclty what I was thinking. Memorial day will be HOT :)

maryg - You must be referring to my referrence to popcorn. Hey... I always think of popcorn as a vegetable, at least that's how I justify eating so much of it, but I looked it up and surprise... it's a carb! ok ok... no popcorn. womp womp

CB - Thanks. I always get all warm and fuzzy when I talk about my man :) I also found out that it's restaurant week here in baltimore, so I'll be able to go to a really great restaurant next weekend for around $30/person. That should make up for overpaying for my brunch last weekend.

Ed & Jennifer - See Ed, that's how husband's are supposed to act! LOL
I can't believe how I'm able to separate the occasion from food now. I'm going to "eat to live" this weekend... I might have a glass of wine though. Gee.. I wonder where I got that idea from? LOL

ewewho - HA! That Would work wouldn't it?! You had me cracking up when I read that one :)

becca - Oh... Regina! I didn't know that was her name.
Thanks for the kind words becca. I'll tell MY husband you love him. He'll get a kick out of that... LOL
I plan on making some chicken fingers too. I was going to dip them in hot sauce and roll them in melba toast crumbs, then bake them. I've done this with chicken and crushed frosted flakes before so I figure this'll probably work too.