We're BOTH LEGAL again!

Monica- R2P3
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 161.9
Today: 159.1 -2.8
.9 ABOVE LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: ???
Today: 238.1
.9 ABOVE LIW

WOOO HOOO! I love steak days (the day after)... LOL. I think Nakia had a really good loss this morning too because he ate super light yesterday. He did have a hamburger roll on his hamburger & a few bites of potato salad, but he didn't eat many calories. It was some store bought potato salad that a friend brought to our bbq. He siad it was so salty he couldn't eat it. We both have developed an intolerance to both salt and oil. I tried to eat a few Lay potato chips over the weekend and couldn't get past one because of the salt. That is so NOT me! I used to polish off half a bag with no problem! I also made some coconut bark and I got to try some this morning. I couldn't eat more than 1/8 of it because the oil upset my stomach a bit. That's okay though because there are alot of calories in that.

Now today is the day that I see whether or not I can really maintain this weight. **finger's crossed**

Victoria - I'm handling it well? I thought I've been screwing up from the beginning! LOL. My fear of a repeat of last P3 is keeping me honest this time around, but it really doesn't seem as hard. I don't think my body ever really set to my round 1 LIW, but I definately feel a difference this time.

Mary - Well... look at that. His fear of the scale seemed to pay off.. although he confessed this morning that he did get on the scale 2 days ago and he was well into the 240s. Whatever he did to correct it worked though. He sure did eat alot of fruit yesterday!

Jan - He sends a big thanks to you my friend! I had sooo much fun on HIS birthday too!

Happy times in protocol land folks!

Maintenance is much easier this time

Monica- R2P3
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 161.6
Today: 161.9 +.3
3.7 ABOVE LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: ???
Today: ???

Fogo De Chao was FANTASTIC! I've never had so many delicious meats. There really weren't many carbs to even try to resist. There were mashed potatoes and polenta on the table, but the meats were center stage for the night. I highly recommend this restaurant for any P3'ers. Fabulous meats & fabulous salad bar. They had these broiled bananas on the table that were really good too so I had a few of those because there was no added sugar. They brought Nakia a complimentary flan for dessert, and I had a bit of that so that was my only deviation for the day & well worth it. Only .3 up from the day before is wonderful! Today will be another steak day for me and then I think I'll have everything back under control.

Nakia really enjoyed his birthday. He sends a big thank you to everyone who wished him a happy birthday. He had a great time last night and I bought him a 1/2 shot of Louis XIII de Rémy Martin cognac. He's been eyeing it since his favorite spot started carrying it a few years ago and it's $100 per shot so it made a really good birthday present for him. Yup... he had a great day. He's still not ready to face the scale, but I actually think it won't be that bad. The only time he had any sugar was his flan last night. He's been eating alot of fruit, veggies, and protein so I think he'll be ok.

Ed & Jenn - Jenn, you were right on time girlie girl! Nakia says thanks. That steak day RAWKED! Doin a repeat today... no problem!

Mary - Yeah girl... this weekend looks like it did a number on all of us, but we can get it back together. YOU had a fantastic steak day too sweetie! Great job!

Becca - You are sooo right. That place was perfect for a steak day or any P3 day... just don't eat lunch... LOL. Nakia really is eating sooo much better. I'm so proud of him.

Burcu - Thanks a bunch! We're feeling great and enjoying our P3 very much. This coming week should be easier to navigate because all the festivities are over.

Shelly - Hi! so nice to see you! I'll get over to your blog in a minute. Can you tell that we LOVED Fogo De Chao?! We will definately be back before we start another P2.

Great Steak day!

Monica- R2P3
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 165.7
Today: 161.6 -4.1
3.4 ABOVE LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 239
Today: ???
1.8 ABOVE LIW

I had a really good steak day yesterday. Now, I think I remember Biz writing somewhere that she thinks you should do a steak day and then try to maintain the next day. Well, that sounds good to me because I just don't want to do 2 steak days in a row. So today is maintenance day. I'm going to eat just enough calories to reach my BMR level & see how that goes. Then I'll do another steak day tomorrow.

Today is Nakia's birthday so he has elected not to do the whole "scale thing" today. He's gonna eat what he wants and let the chips fall where they may.... From the looks of his P3 so far, he can get away with that.... not me though. We're going out to dinner tonight (Fogo De Chao) so I had breakfast and I'll be munching on celery with mustard dressing during the day until dinner since it's a natural diuretic & I'm still retaining some water weight. I just read that the potassium in bananas can help the body to release water as well, but I think the calorie & sugar content in bananas is a bit high for me today. I'll definitely try it another day though. I am such a monkey-head! I love bananas!

Jan - Yup... most of that water weight came off today. I'm hoping to see more of it gone tomorrow. As long as I don't overdo it at dinner tonight, I should be fine.

Vic - Nakia says thanks for the birthday wishes. He sure is enjoying himself. Of course he took the day off from work, so he's having a good 'ol time at home today.
I love my little snack bags of lunch. It keeps me honest and keeps the guilt out of eating them.

Great Memorial Day weekend! Time to regroup!

Monica- R2P3
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 162.9
Today: 165.7 +2.8
7.5 ABOVE LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 238.5
Today: 239 +.5
1.8 ABOVE LIW

We both had a great Memorial day weekend. We went to a carribean wine festival, and a cookout on saturday. On monday we went and saw the new Indiana Jones movie, then had crabs with friends that evening. We didn't have crabs until yesterday and the old bay and salty crab is making us both retain a lot of water. Today I'm doing a steak day and Nakia is eating light. We both went off protocol yesterday at the crab party, but no sugar, just carbs. I did managed to stay away from nuts until yesterday as well. I think it'll all work itself out this week with some damage control. I'm starting my workouts today and drinking plenty of water. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tomorrow is Nakia's birthday and we'll be going out to dinner at Fogo De Chao so I'm not going to eat anything until dinner, then I'm only going to have protein. They're known for their roasted meats on skewers that they carve table side. Should be fun!

Burcu - We had loads of fun this weekend. Now it's time to get back into the swing of P3.

Jan - OMG... me too! I've learned about nuts the hard way, but I know I have them under control now. Separating them into serving sizes also keeps me from nibbling on 1 or 2 at a time all day. I don't want to break of the servings so I don't fool with them unless I'm going to have a whole serving. It's working out so far. One bag of nuts every other day seems to keep the nut monster away :)

Day 31 of VLCD DONE! Let's get this P3 party started!

Monica- R2P2 72 hrs after LIW
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 157.1
Today: 156.9 -.2
1.3 BELOW LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 233.5
Today: 235.8 +2.3
1.4 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: 8 oz coffee, 1 T half & half
L: apple, chicken cacciatore, 1 melba toast
D: chicken breast, cabbage, natural applesauce, 10 macadamia nuts & 10 raw almonds

Click here for Nakia's food journal

WOOOO HOOOO! I had a great P2! Now I can get on with the business of maintaining until I start round 3. The biggest thing I need to watch is my love for nuts, so this morning I separated my entire collection of nuts into snack bags with 200 & 300 calories worth of nuts in them. They are surprisingly small which lets me know how much I was probably eating on my first P3 when I didn't measure them. I don't want to cut them out completely cus I'll go nuts (pun intended) so "P3 in moderation" is going to be my mantra. I'll be fine if I follow the advice that I've been giving Nakia.... yeah... sure.... I can do that... LOL. I just had my first P3 meal of canned salmon and eggs with havarti cheese and minced onions with a large mug of coffee with half & half.

We have a full day planned. We're going to a wine tasting with friends and then to a cookout this evening. This is the weekend before Nakia's birthday and we've been treating this memorial day cookout as his birthday party for the past 2 years so I don't think he's going to stick to protocol today, but he's got plenty of wiggle room. It will most likely be carbs and not sugar though. I'm going to stick to my buffalo wings, crabs with butter and veggies with blue cheese dressing from Trader Joes (if they have one with no sugar). If I can't find one without sugar, I'll make one. I found a great recipe in one of my Better Homes and Garden's cookbooks. Here it is if anyone's interested.

Blue Cheese Dressing

1. In a blender container or food processor bowl combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt or dairy sour cream, 1/4 cup cream-style cottage cheese, 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese. Cover and blend or process till smooth. Stir in 1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese. If necessary, stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons milk to make the dressing of the desired consistency.
2. Serve immediately or cover and store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Makes 1 1/4 cups.

Nutrition facts per tablespoon: 45 cal, 4 g total fat (1 g sat fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 101 mg sodium, 1 g carbs, o g fiber, 2 g protein.

Vic - I'm really glad that I can give up making separate food for a while. It creates so many dishes! I am definately going try the coconut bark sometime this week. I don't think I'll need any help making my calories today though. I'll have wine and buffalo wings to help me with that :) Thanks for all your advice and support. Luv ya lady!

Jan - I wish we could too! Say it with me now.... MEN!

Burcu - Thanks B! we'll see how this weekend goes. I'm going to enjoy it!

Enjoy your memorial day weekend everyone! :)

Day 30 of VLCD DONE! Last VLCD

Monica- R2P2 48 hrs after LIW
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 158
Today: 157.1 -.9
1.1 BELOW LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 235.5
Today: 233.5 2
3.7 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: 8 oz coffee, 1 T half & half
L: apple, chicken & broccoli, 1 grissino
D: catish creole, 1 melba toast with strawberry spread, 3 small strawberries, 1 slice of banana walnut friendship bread

Click here for Nakia's food journal

I sure didn't expect a loss today so that's a nice site. I've been making friendship bread for a while now and giving it to my co-workers and friends even while on P2. If you don't know what friendship bread is, here's an article: Amish Friendship Bread. So yesterday it was time to make another loaf. I always make a different variety so I did banana walnut because Nakia hasn't eaten the bananas that I bought a week ago and they were turning brown. I was slicing a piece to give to a friend of mine with her starter & it was warm and gooey and I just had to have some! I know hcg has left the building because I did that same thing twice with no problems on P2 & I was never tempted to have a piece. So I'm surprised and delighted at that loss. It was worth it though. That bread is absolutely delicious!

Ok... Nakia just got up... Um... ok. He lost 2 lbs. All I can say is, he got all his calories in yesterday. I made him an omlet with salmon and havarti cheese yesterday morning and gave him 300 calories worth of peanuts for a snack at work. He was still just a tad low on fats, but over 750 of his calories were from alcohol... There is really something to that. Everytime he drinks he has a huge drop the next day! He always stays away from drinks with any sugar. He either has rum/vodka with diet coke or hennessy with nevan. He's not really a social wine drinker. We normally just have that with dinner. Well... obviously he's happy. He didn't even workout yesterday! Does the protocol work or what?! His birthday is wednesday of next week so it looks like he'll have plenty of wiggle room for his favorite meal of meatloaf & mashed potatoes with gravy.

Hey Biz, I don't even know how concerned I should be right now. I remember how your son was still losing weight after he stopped his injections. How's he doing by the way?
I sent Nakia to work with cheese snacks and I picked up some coconut oil last night. I'm going to make some coconut bark tomorrow so I can try it too. The only nuts he likes are peanuts and cashews so he won't eat the macadamias, but he loves cheese. I think we've figured out the calorie gap...
More Alcohol! LOL

Day 29 of VLCD DONE!

Monica- R2P2 1st 24 hrs after LIW
LIW: 158.2
Yesterday: 158.2
Today: 158 -.2
.2 BELOW LIW

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 236
Today: 235.5 -.5
1.7 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: hot mocha drink (2 T cocoa powder, 2 T splenda, dash of cinnamon, 1/4 t vanilla, 12 oz coffee, 1 T half & half)
L: strawberries, chicken cacciatore, 1 grissino
D: salad with romaine, apple slices, chicken with Biz's ginger dressing & 1 grissino

Click here for Nakia's food journal

Well look at that. Releases all around! Ok... looks like Nakia is stabilizing now. He only had just over 1300 calories yesterday & he worked out. I just can't get him to eat! We both tried Dawn's chicken cacciatore yesterday & he only ate one 3.5 oz piece of chicken for lunch! I made it in my slow cooker overnight and it was wonderful! Then he did something that looked delicious for dinner... he sliced some tomatoes, spread on some guacamole and chopped up chicken cacciatore and ate them like little pizza's. My boo is so creative :) I just love watching him eat all this fresh healthy food! This has always been unheard of in our home! Where's the oreos, chips, pizza & chinese? My fridge is full of veggies and fresh meat! WHAT?!

Cooking fresh everyday sure does make alot of dishes though. My ziploc steamer bags help alot with that. I know some folks have issues with cooking in the microwave, but I've given up so much already. I'm just not ready to give that up. I made Biz's catfish creole in one of them at work for lunch one day and it was so good folks were asking me what it was. It came out like tomato catfish soup... YUMMO! I use them to steam my veggies and my chicken or fish. It cooks easily with no oil or butter & it's quick easy cleanup. Plus I get freshly cooked food at work! Ok... the commercial's over :)
I can't wait until the weekend! I get to start my workouts again and I'm going to get my tattoo sometime during this P3-P4 break. I've wanted a dolphin tattoo for years & Nakia took me to get one on my birthday but I was on P2 at the time and didn't want to risk putting the ointment on my skin... well... at least that was my excuse . I'll keep y'all posted.

Also... tomorrow is picture and measurement day for us..... I'll be posting all that tomorrow morning.

Mary - Awww... you know what to do. I'm on day 2 of no deviations... Let's do this girl.
I think Nakia is doing great, but I also think it's good that we're both on the protocol at the same time so we don't even have "bad" food in the house. That helps alot. I'm feeling better about my P3 now. If he can do it, so can I.

Biz - Thanks Biz... you will certainly see me over there. I've been lurking to get prepared and looking at some fitday menus. I'm ready! bring it on!

Liz - Thanks a bunch! I did get hungry, but it went away after lunch. I drank tons of water and tea & I also allowed myself to have 2 pieces of sugar free gum and that helped alot.
I will definately be staying away from sugar. Fruit is going to be my treat.

Burcu - I was sooo happy with that steak day. I didn't think I would have a loss today after that, so I was glad to see the scale move down this morning. I'll take a pic of my tattoo when I get it.

Have a great day & thank for stopping by!

Day 28 of VLCD DONE! Monica's REAL LIW

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -23.8 13%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 159.5
Today: 158.2 -1.3
R2 14.2 Total 8.2%

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 235.7
Today: 236 +.3
1.2 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: Red zinger tea with lemon & splenda
D: 7 oz steak, sliced tomato

Click here for Nakia's food journal

Ok... that's more like it. I've decided to use today as my LIW instead. That means saturday will be my first P3 day. That steak day really did the trick! I do think it was strange that one extra fruit would cause such a gain, but I guess that's just how my body works. I can usually have extra protein without gains, but I guess I'm more sensitive to fruit.

I have to say that I'm terrified of P3 right now. The last one didn't go so well, but I have a few theories about that now. I took a break on Day 24 which was my 22nd VLCD day & my weight was 168.1. When I came off my break I went another 16 days and lost 6.4 lbs. When I ended my P2, I almost immediately shot up to around 168 and stayed +/- 2 lbs from there for most of my P3 and P4. I believe that my body had a set point at 168.1 when I took my break because I didn't do another 21 days of P2 after that. I never made the connection until analyzing my weight spreadsheet. It's so important to keep good records on this protocol.

Since I didn't realize it at the time, I didn't bother doing steak days anymore once I got that far away from my LIW so I gained 3 more pounds right before starting P2 again. Therefore, I am a true believer now that I must do at least 21 days of VLCD before and after a planned interruption before going into P3. I'm hoping that my theory is correct and I'll have a better experience with P3 this time.

Biz - I try not to worry about the gains, but with him complaining about them and my gains on my last P3, it's difficult to just let him gain without doing something different. I do think he's doing ok though & I'm just making sure he keeps his fitday journal updated so we know what to change if we need to. And that fruit? HA... brain fart! LOL

Mary - He has gained 4 days in a row and he's STILL below his LIW by more than a pound. I guess that's ok. I hope he stabilizes soon. He's got a little over 2 weeks left of P3. I'm sure he'll do fine. He's working out everyday again and he's happy with that. Now you! Miss deviator! I eat one extra fruit and I go haywire, but you lose! What's up with that?! ROFL.

Jan - Hey girl... I guess I had tremendous success as well. It was difficult during the first part of that day, but steak never tasted so good! I do NOT want to do that again.

Burcu - I've been too chicken to do it too. If you lived close we could go get one together. I've had mine picked out for about 3 years and Nakia wanted to get me one for my birthday in feb, but I was on P2 and couldn't put the ointment on my skin so we agreed that I'd get one on my next P3 break... wish me no pain.

Becca - Hey! Well... hopefully this new LIW sticks :) And.. yup, that's a flute and I'm a flutist... flautist... whatever :) Actually I haven't played in years because I can't practice at home living in apartments and townhouses for the past 10 years, but it made a cool looking prop for a picture

Day 27 of VLCD DONE! Monica's LIW

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -22.5 12.4%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 159
Today: 159.5 +.5
R2 12.9 Total 7.5%

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 235.4
Today: 235.7 +.3
1.5 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: hot mocha drink
(2 T cocoa powder, 1.5 T splenda, dash of salt, 1/4 t vanilla, 8 oz coffee, 1 T half & half)
S: gala apple
L: buffalo chicken strips & cucumbers with italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, & red pepper flakes
S: orange
D: baked catfish filet, sauted spinach with Biz's ginger dressing, strawberry sorbet

Click here for Nakia's food journal

Oops... I had an extra fruit yesterday and totally forgot about it until just now. I had an apple in the morning, an orange in the afternoon & then had a strawberry sorbet after dinner.... I completely forgot about that orange! I was totally baffled by that .5 gain until just now. Bad mistake to make right before LIW day huh? That's what I get fot not planning out my whole day of meals. I'm really not happy with this LIW, but it is what it is. I'm still hoping to maintain in P3 at around 157, so I'm going to do a P2 steak day today.

Nakia had another gain today, but it was much smaller than yesterday and he's still below LIW. I'd like to stop his gains though. I know he had too many carbs yesterday because of too much fruit so today I gave him more veggies & healthy fat and less fruit. He has been eating salmon all week too. He loves the stuff! I actually found some Coho salmon at whole foods and he said it was delicious, but I'm not sure he should be eating half a pound at a time! Oh well.... at least it's not fried chicken... LOL.

Mary - So much for 158... I was so sure I was going to see that. I can't BELIEVE I did thiat. I must have been tired or something.

Jan - Well... this is it. This is my LIW. I'm not happy with it, but it's still below 160 & below my LIW from round 1.

Ed & Jenn - What's up you guys? Thanks for the compliment on the pic. We're doin ok over here. I'm terrified of P3... especially after my screw up yesterday, but I'm going to join Biz's bootcamp first thing friday morning and hope for the best.
Wow 199! Go Ed! Well... he's on his way. He's doing great.

Vic - Hey lady! Funny you should mention evoo. I actually did put vinegar and olive oil in Nakia's cucumbers this morning with some lemon pepper seasoning. I definately need to raise his fats and lower his carbs. Nakia carries alot of muscle too... mostly upper body. I think that once he gets to 220, he'll want to shoot for a lower number, but one step at a time for now.

Burcu - Hey B! Thanks a bunch! Yeah.... I guess we're still doing okay. I'm just all bummed out today over the scale, but I'll get over it.

Day 26 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -23 12.6%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 159.3
Today: 159 -.3
R2 13.4 Total 7.8%

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
Yesterday: 234.5
Today: 235.4 +.9
1.8 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: 1 melba toast with Trader Joe's strawberry spread, hot chocolate drink
(2 T cocoa powder, 1 T splenda, dash of salt, 1/4 t vanilla, 8 oz water, 1 T half & half)
S: strawberries
L: hamburger topped with TJ's salsa. Tomato slices with italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt & red pepprer flakes.
S: Gala Apple (mmmm)
D: baked catfish filet, sauted spinach with Biz's ginger dressing, 1 melba toast with TJ's strawberry spread

Click here for Nakia's food journal

Alright already! Lets get to 158! 4 days in the 159s. We sure do get impatient with this fast paced weight loss don't we? Well... it'll keep me from deviating... I hope. Nakia made salmon and eggs for dinner last night and I did taste it, but I don't think that counts. I think I found my first P3 meal... that was really good :)

Ok... Nakia is back within his LIW threshold... reluctantly. I made him eat a chicken sausage with cheese last night because he was only at 1400 calories for the day and he needs at least 2200 on his sedentary days. That only took him to 1663 though. He says he was stuffed. Today I gave him salmon salad with TJ's mayonaisse and more chicken sausage with cheese. Hopefully he'll eat it. He doesn't want to stay within the 2 pounds though. He wants to continue to lose so we compromised that he would stay within the threshold this week and next week he could go ahead and lose more weight. We'll see how that works out.

Biz - Yaaay! goodbye TOM. Now you can get down to bizness :)
I'm going to give Nakia a few more fats today, but I don't want him to eat when he's not hungry. That just seems wrong. Hopefully the extra fat will help. Thanks for the suggestion.

Mary - Nope... he's not hungry. He'll eat a very small plate of food and just get full. I think his body really just wants to stay below his LIW, but I just don't want him to be thrown into that starvation mode that Biz mentioned. He doing great though... his P3 is going way better than mine did, that's for sure!

Jan - Thanks so much Jan. Your encouragement means alot. We both really appreciate it.

Becca - Yeah... the girls at work are great... the guys though? HA! They're all jokers, but they all agree that I don't need to get any smaller cus I "look just fine. Here have a brownie." LOL.

Day 24 & 25 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -22.7 12.5%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
9/16: 159.8
Yesterday: 159.7 -.1
Today: 159.3 -.4
R2 13.1 Total 7.6%

Nakia - R1P3
LIW: 237.2
9/16: 235.8
Yesterday: 234.2 -1.6
Today: 234.5 +.3
2.7 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 and splenda
L: chicken tenders baked with hot sauce & melba toast crumbs
cucumbers with oregano, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt
apple slices coated with lemon juice
D: steamed chicken, celery dipped in mustard dressing, strawberry slices
S: spoonful of sugar free vanilla ice cream & a baked chicken leg

Click here for Nakia's food journal

I couldn't post yesterday. My friend and I were working at the Preakness as bet tellers & we had to be there at 7:00 A.M. She stayed over and Nakia drove us to the track and picked us up. It was a long. exhausting day sitting on a hard stool, dealing with a bunch of drunken gamblers. Good times :) One of my co-workers sent her with a bet and actually won over $1200 on a $1 bet! So exciting... so I guess lunch will be on her sometime next week. We were exhausted when we got in. My friend wanted some ice cream so I gave her some of nakia's sugar free ice cream and I had a small taste. Good stuff. I was also a little hungry so I grabbed a chicken leg off of a rotisserie chicken so I'm happy that I had a .4 release today in spite of that. I was probably still under 500 calories because the rest of my meals where only 453 total.

While we were at the track, Nakia went to a wine tasting here in baltimore called "Wine in the Woods" with some of his co-workers & he says he probably had about a bottle of wine... maybe more during the whole tasting which probably accounts for his gain, but he didn't succumb to all the other festival food like hot dogs and funnel cakes. Funny how his co-workers have complimented him so much on is weight loss, but then offer him junk when they go out. My co-workers are actually shielding me from office food. Last week they ordered pizza and made sure no-one asked me. I just happened to see the boxes later... they're so sweet :) But I guess that's rare.

He has continued to lose weight after stopping his injections though so he's still under his LIW. I'm amazed! I'm trying to get him to eat more, but he says he's just not hungry. He's pretty much eating the same type of food that he was eating on P2 in larger quantities with just adding cheese and mixing veggies. He's doing just fine.

I've got 2 shots left after today & I'm hoping to get to 157. I'm not sure I'll make it, but I'm certainly going to try. Maybe with no more deviations and plenty of water, I can get there in 2 days.

Shelly - Hey girlie! so nice to see you! I am sooo happy to see these numbers. I haven't seen a 1 5 anything since Nakia and I went to Jamaica in 2000 before we got married!

Mary - I'm still happy dancing... Another half pound gone! Nakia seems to follow directions way better than I do. He's starting his P3 out perfectly!

Biz - I am so proud of my man! He's looking great and eating what he should be eating... albeit a little less, but we're working on that. And YOU!... you're going to get to the 150s as soon as TOM is gone. He's just making his rounds reeking havoc with all of us in turn.

Vic - I got some really great suggestions on the forum... I think I'm going to try all of them! :) I was actually going to do some measurments and pics today when I get some time. I'll be posting them very soon!

CB - Hey girlie! Thanks a bunch! Nakia's birthday is coming up, then our anniversary is at the end of June, then were having a July 4th cookout so I'll be starting my next P3 with Biz on July 7th, so we'll be off sync unless you want to wait until after the 4th. It would be really fun to have another P2 sister!

Jan - I'm going to get him into bootcamp, but right now it doesn't seem like there's any rush. He's maintaining a great weight right now & has plenty of wiggle room. I'm putting his menus into fitday so we can keep track of all his changes. It's actually kind of fun monitoring someone else's menu. I'm also happy that he can make his own meals now.

Day 23 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -22.2 12.2%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 161.3
Today: 159.8 -1.5
R2 12.6 Total 7.3%




Nakia - R1P3
R1 Starting weight: 256.3
R1 LIW 237.2
Total R1 Release: -19.1
Yesterday: 236.6
Today: 235.8 -.8
1.4 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu:
Monica
B: Coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 & splenda
S: 1/2 Apple slices with warm cinnamon sauce
L: catfish creole made in a ziploc steamer bag... mmm mmm!
S: 1/2 Apple slices with warm cinnamon sauce
D: 96% lean burger with carmelized onions, strawberry sorbet

Nakia
S: 3.5 oz chicken
L: cucumbers & 3.5 oz chicken, 1 orange, 1 melba toast
S: an Orange
D: 3.5 oz steak & caramelized onions & 1 melba toast with lemon juice, cinnamon & splenda warmed in the microwave


WOOOO! HOOOO! Finally! I got on the scale about 5 times!



I had a feeling I'd have a good release today. My rings almost fell off in the supermarket and I had to take them off to make sure I wouldn't lose them! I am now officially lighter than it says on my drivers licence (160)! LOL.

This is a really good thing too because my girlfriend called last night and reminded me that we have a memorial day cookout to go to next saturday so I need to stop my injections 4 days early. Now I know I'll be under 160 so I'm good to go! I'm just wondering what to do with the extra 4 injections. Should I just take them for the 4 days after the cookout? I'll have to think about that. I don't want to waste them.

I just finished making Nakia his first P3 meal. He can have 2700 calories a day to maintain his weight while working out everyday. I don't know if he'll make it! He had 3 scrambled eggs with cheese & a chicken sausage for breakfast, and he has a romaine salad with tuna fish and tomatoes for lunch with some strawberries and oranges so I think he's all set for the day until dinner. He doesn't think he'll be able to start eating more food today because he's been perfectly fine with the extra serving of protein for the past 2 days, but I explained to him that he does need to eat today because he doesn't have the hcg to help him out anymore. We'll see if he listens because he's also worried that he'll gain it all back as soon as he starts eating more calories.

Ok... 6 days of VLCD to go. I wonder how much I can release? Cheating is not an option!

Biz - I am extremely proud! Thank you so much for your advice and support. I really really appreciate you. BTW... absolutely love the superfoods discussion! I didn't get to post yet, but I'm definitely glued to the screen! Keep 'em comin!

Mary - I really hope he'll do another round. I don't want to see him struggle with the losing and gaining cycle again, but he doesn't REALLY believe yet. He's convinced that he'll gain it back as soon as he eats more calories.

Jan - I nearly fell off the scale this morning! I broke the 160 mark! WOOOO HOOOO! oh...did I say that already?

Burcu - Yeah... I figured I'd add something on each round. I usually go by Biz's research. I might as well put it to good use since she takes all that time to do it! Next time I think I'll try the blueberries & cottage cheese.
Yes... shopping time! Not too much though... I still have 15 lbs to go.

Day 22 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -20.7 11.4%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 161.7
Today: 161.3 -.4
R2 11.1 Total 6.4%

Nakia - R1P2
R1 Starting weight: 256.3
R1 LIW 237.2
Total R1 Release: -19.1
Yesterday: 238.1
Today: 236.6 -1.5
.6 BELOW LIW

Yesterday's menu:
Monica
B: Coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 & splenda
L: chili with TJs salsa & 1 melba toast
S: 1/2 pink grapefruit
D: chicken & celery salad with mustard dressing & spices. Apple slices with warm cinnamon sauce

Nakia
B: apple slices & 1 melba toast
L: 1 8 oz chicken breast
D: catfish creole
S: an orange

Yaaay... We both had decent releases today! I've been up and down over the past few days, but each time I go down, I reach a new low so, I can't call it a stall because it IS going down. Nakia is really happy about his release today. He didn't like how I made his vegetable & he was really hungry so he ate a whole chicken breast from his work cafeteria instead. He said the protein really helped the hunger and he was fine for the rest of the day. It seems to have worked out fine because he had a 1.5 drop today! This is his last VLCD day and of course he has a meal planned already... he's going to bonefish for a cobb salad. It's chock full of P3 friendly stuff... romaine lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, pine nuts, blue cheese, mangoes & either grilled chicken or grilled salmon. That is our favorite salad there. I'm going to stay home because I don't want to be tempted by it.

We did it! His P2 has gone so well! He started out, like many of us, thinking that somehow he would be the one this doesn't work for, but once again, Dr S. proved someone wrong. He followed the protocol almost perfectly and now he's down almost 20 lbs in 22 days! That is simply amazing & he looks fantastic! I didn't really see him as being heavy before, but 20 lbs sure does make a difference. He bought some clothes just before he started the injections and they are all way too big now, so we need to go shopping again... well both of us do because I'm running out of belt holes myself... I'm on the last whole! WOO HOO!

I actually have been telling a few people about the protocol lately because I've been getting questions on how I've lost weight. I'm glad that I can refer them to Biz's website. My sister in NJ is planning on starting her first round with me next time and a co-worker (that forced me to share) is VERY interested in learning more. I'm much more confident about talking about it to people now that I have some real experience with it. I looked back on my old posts, and I predicted that this round would be easier because I'd have more experience with it, and it really has been. I did my first round by the book & I've done some experiments this time. I've found that I have no problem with broccoli or using a few chopped onions as a spice. I may try some brussel sprouts this week too. I do think it's important to do the first round by the book so that there is a round to compare any changes to. My changes seem to work well for Nakia too! LOL. Yup...this is a great round and I'm hoping to end it at 155. So I'm on a mission right now and cheating is not an option.

Mary - oh girl... it doesn't stop there. Someone brought in a sheet cake with chocolate filling yesterday! What is going on?! I'm ok though... I have HCG in my back pocket all day. I'm too close to a new century screw it up now! I haven't even taken some home for my deep freezer this time.

Jan - Thank you sooo much. I need all the encouragement I can get now that Nakia will be eating P3 food. I've got about a week and a half left... wish me luck :)

Biz - It really is nice to be in a zone. I wish my weight loss would catch up with my zone though. My motivation is seeing that 15something on the scale in the morning.

Burcu - Thanks for that b... I know this protocol works so I'm just going to stick too it so I can see that next big drop.

Becca - Hey... you were right. We both had a release today. We seem to be pretty coordinated with that. It's probably because I'm cooking for both of us.

Liz - You know... it's not as hard now that I've decided to not give myself an inch.... I will certainly take a mile if I do. There's so much of it around that I can't afford to cave even a little. It'll be all downhill from there if I do.

CB - Hey you! nice to see ya! We have been doin ok. It's been a trying round for me because of TOM, but I'm coming up on the end of it. Now I gotta get over to your journal missy!

Thanks for all the love guys... I appreciate every one of you. Happy losing today!

Day 21 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -20.3 11.2%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 161.4
Today: 161.7 +.3
R2 10.7 Total 6.2%

Nakia - R1P2
R1 Starting weight: 256.3
R1 LIW 237.2
Total R1 Release: 19.1
Yesterday: 237.2
Today: 238.1 +.9
LIW +.9

Yesterday's menu:
B: (Monica) coffee with 1 T 2% milk & splenda
L: (Monica) chicken & broccoli, an apple, 1 melba toast
(Nakia) taco meat, romaine lettuce with mustard dressing
S: (Nakia) an orange
D: (Monica)baked catfish and sauteed spinach with ginger & bragg's amino acids, strawberry sorbet & 1 melba toast with TJs strawberry spread
(Nakia) steak & sauteed onions with 1 melba toast with strawberry spread

OK... not sure what happened there. Nakia did have 2 beef servings yesterday & the last time he did that he had a gain as well, so today will be a chicken and fish day for him.

Yesterday was a good day for me. I resisted brownies and candy that co-workers brought in and I went to bed feeling really good about my diet and my resolve. I'm guessing that I'm still having a little water retention due to TOM still being here so I'm not worried about it. I did have over 2 liters of water yesterday, but I still feel a little puffy. This was the first time in a while that I didn't have any cravings or hunger. If those brownies had been there a few days ago, it wouldn't have been pretty, but I just kept forgetting they were there until someone mentioned them! That is sooo not me.... that's definately HCG talking!

Biz - It was a great day yesterday! I still feel great about it. I feel good and I'm ready to go the next 10 days!

Jan - Thanks! I don't think it'll be that hard. Nakia is just going onto P3 so he won't be eating the stuff he was eating during my first P2. Now THAT was hard. This time will be much better because we'll still be eating much of the same food, but he'll be eating more of it & mixing his veggies.

Ed & Jenn - Yes! He actually did it. He made it & I'm so proud of him. He only really deviated once with the fried chicken incident and he reached his goal... on your alcohol protocol no less... ROFL!

Burcu - I am sooo ready to lose new fat. I was a little dissappointed with today's weight, but I know I stuck to the protocol so all is good. It'll work itself out.

Day 20 of VLCD DONE! Nakia's LIW

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -20.6 11.3%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 162.3
Today: 161.4 -.9
R2 11 Total 6.4%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 239.2
Today: 237.2 -2
R2 19.1 Total 7.5%

Yesterday's menu:
B: (Monica) Coffee with half & half and splenda
L: chili with TJs salsa, 1 melba toast, (Nakia) strawberries, (Monica) 1/2 grapefruit
S: 1/2 c TJs chunky natural applesauce with cinnamon
D: (Monica) baked lemon pepper catfish, romaine salad with mustard dressing, 1 melba toast
(Nakia) chili, 2 alcohol beverages

WOO HOO! Just like that... I'm finally below my LIW! What a week it has been. Nakia lost 2 lbs today and this is his LIW. I'll be going for another 11 days. I have 1 shot left and I'll be mixing another batch for another 10 days. Now it gets really interesting. I get to start losing new weight this week. I am so pumped right now! Now the goal is 159 & I should be there by the end of the week.

Nakia is sooo ready to be done. He's really happy with his losses and even more happy that he will be able to workout by the end of the week. He had to work late last night and went to bonefish to get a couple drinks before coming home. The alcohol really seems to help his losses. The only thing he skipped yesterday was 1 melba toast. He had both his fruits & alcohol and STILL lost 2 lbs... although I think 1.5 of that was water retention from not drinking water over the weekend. Either way... he's right where he wants to be and will probably lose a few more over the next 72 hours. I'm going to put him onto Biz's bootcamp on the MyHCGJourney forum because his birthday is in 2 weeks and I know he's going to go off the protocol for at least that day and I think he should have some cushion to work with.

OMG.... gotta run. work is calling

Thanks for all the wonderful comments! You guys really held me up this past week and I truly appreciate all of you.
Two Doves - He has decided to do another round, but not until during the summer. He's going to shoot for september so he can be closer to his goal when we go on the HCG cruise in november. I decided to do my 3rd & final round in july.

Day 19 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.7 10.8%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 162.7
Today: 162.3 -.4
R2 10.1 Total 5.8%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 237.7
Today: 239.2 +1.5
R2 17.1 Total 6.7%

Yesterday's menu:
B: strawberries (Monica) 1 melba toast with strawberry spread
L: chicken & broccoli
S: (Monica) 1/2 tsp Natural peanut butter & hot cocoa in water with splenda, vanilla & 1 T half & half
D: steak & sauteed onions. 1 melba toast with strawberry spread

Well.... TOM finally decided to show up yesterday afternoon. I still feel like crap, but now I know it'll be over in a few days. I am NOT doing this again. I'm going to make sure he comes before I start another P2. Maybe now I can get over my R1 LIW hump. Well, I've got to be losing some inches right now because I was able to get into a pair of size 7/8 jeans without muffin top and actually wear them in public! I actually noticed a reflection of myself in a glass door and I actually looked thin! Nakia has also started calling me "slim". I thought he was joking or just being encouraging until I slipped on those jeans. I couldn't even wear those at the end of my last round? What's up with that? I'm not even back at that weight yet.

Nakia hasn't had any deviations at all so I think he's retaining some water today. He didn't drink a much water as he normally does. He skipped his second melba toast and fruit yesterday so I know he was under 500 calories. Tomorrow is his LIW so we're hoping it drops off tomorrow. He's had a very good round so he's very happy with his weight right now. His goal was to get into the 230s and he's there. I think he's going to do very well on P3.

I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day yesterday!

Biz - I didn't really have the same issue on my last round because TOM came right after the short break I took & I continued to lose at about a 1 lb a day rate. I think that's because I was on my break during my Pre-Mens. This is the first time it's come well into my P2. Well, I too am THRILLED that it came. Now I can get on with the business of losing weight! Oh... and I did think about stopping the injections, but I hesitated because I hadn't reached 21 days yet. Now I don't have too. :)

Hey Ms Mary - I'm almost through this little trial. I'm still all crampy and a bit snappy at folks, but I haven't deviated too badly and I'm hanging in there. Nakia is being really great about his successes and not jumping for joy too much in front of me, so it's all good ROFL.

Burcu - I am so happy today & I'm so glad I have a short TOM (normally). This should be over by the end of the week, and I'll be able to report on a great loss soon.

CB - Yeah, we are at about the same weight. I finally found your journal on the forum & congratulations on getting into the 150s! I'll be joining you soon so keep it warm for me :) I'm not sure when I'm going to start my next round, but I'm stopping right before Nakia's birthday at the end of the month, and I may just take a short break, but I haven't decided yet.

Day 17 & 18 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.7 10.8%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
5/9: 162.3
Yesterday: 162.3 0
Today: 162.7 +.4
R2 9.7 Total 5.6%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
5/9: 239.9
Yesterday: 238 -1.9
Today: 237.7 -.3
R2 18.6 Total 7.3%

Yesterday's menu:
B: sliced apple
L: 4 oz chili lime chicken burger with tomato and 1 melba toast
D: (Nakia) steak with sauteed onions & 1 melba toast with strawberry spread
(Monica) chicken with broccoli, 2 strawberries, 1 6 oz glass of merlot

Nakia is doing so great. He's really into the 230s now! So now he's excited & he was jumping for joy yesterday because he had almost a 2 lb drop overnight. I can't even believe he's still losing like this, but I'm so happy for him. Maybe some of that will rub off on me this week. He's got 3 days until LIW so that's 5 days of VLCD left including today. I will be going on for another 2 weeks so I've got plenty of time to get out of this rut I'm in. Still no TOM. He's now officially late. Just great. I've been at 162 point something for 5 day's now. Oh well... I'll live through nakia's losses for now. We're eating the same food... what gives?! Well... I did have 2 glasses of wine on friday night & one last night. I'm really stressing right now. My rings are still tight, still getting these stupid cramps & no sign of TOM. Can you tell I'm a little irritable today?

Today is another day. I'm putting myself in "one day at a time" mode.

Biz - I guess wine doesn't work so good for me, well at least not for weight loss, but it sure did make me feel better! Nakia's spirits are great really good and I'm so glad he's losing because it reminds me what it feels like and that my weight will start dropping again soon too.

Becca - Still lurkin & I'm still staying the course. I'll report as soon as I have that big drop. I know it's comin!

Burcu - Thanks for all the encouragement girl. Luvya!

Lili - Thanks. Yeah... I know that in my head, but this it torture!

Day 16 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.7 10.8%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 162.5
Today: 162.3 -.2
R2 9.9 Total 5.7%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 241.7
Today: 239.9 -1.8
R2 16.4 Total 6.4%

Yesterday's Menu:
B: (Monica) coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 & splenda
L: (Monica) steamed shrimp and broccoli, & an gala apple
(Nakia) seared steak, romaine lettuce with mustard dressing, an orange & grissini
S: (Monica) apple & 1 melba toast spread with natural applesauce and cinnamon warmed
D: Catfish creole, 1 grissini, (Monica)lemonade with splenda
(Nakia) 2 glasses of heavan (hennessy & navan)

WOO HOO! Nakia is in the 230s! He said he'll jump for joy when he's more than .1 away from 240, but he did say WHEN and not IF. That's progress :) He even went out for drinks with his friend last night and he did much better this time. He had 2 drinks and nothing to eat while his friend had bang bang shrimp and bread. I wonder if that is the reason for his really good release today? Navan is a vanilla flavored cognac and it's actually pretty good even though I don't really drink dark liquor.

And my weight is traveling back downward... thank goodness. I thought TOM would be here this morning because he kept waking me up with cramps last night, but nope, not yet. The hcg really seems to stall TOM for me, but I'd really like to get it over with.

To yesterday's commentors

Mary - Hey girl... yeah, looks like it. I certainly had the cravings! I didn't give in, but it was torture! And I gained anyway! Well... whatever. I'll be good today, even though I do have to go to the grocery store.

Biz - Yeah... I had a stall last P2, but I didn't gain. That may be due to my workouts this week. Maybe I should have some drinks today so I can have a loss like Nakia's! He's definately pulling away from me now. I'm so happy for him and he looks great.

Jan - Yeah... I'm sure it will. I would take a break if I were further along, but I'm gonna stick it out.

Becca - HA... so much for stair stepping. He slid down a slope last night with nearly 2 lbs!

Day 15 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.5 10.7%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 162.1
Today: 162.5 +.4
R2 9.9 Total 5.7%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 241.8
Today: 241.7 -.1
R2 14.5 Total 5.7%

Yesterday's menu:
B: (Monica) coffee with 1/2 & 1/2, melba toast with strawberry spread
L: spinach, strawberries, & grilled chicken salad with strawberry viniagrette dressing, with 1 grissino
S: an orange
D: (Monica) grilled chicken marinated in mustard dressing and broccoli (Nakia) grilled chicken & sliced tomato with salt and pepper with mustard dressing for dipping & 1 grissino

What the?! Ok... I know I'm still retaining water, but another gain? I had nearly 3 liters of water yesterday, but I wasn't in the bathroom as much as I thought I would have been. I wish TOM would just get it over with already, the bastard! My fingers and ankles feel so bloated... very uncomfortable. I almost feel like doing an apple day, but I'll see what happens tomorrow.

I looked in the mirror yesterday and was actually surprised at what I saw. I have been paying so much attention to other things that I hadn't really taken the time to LOOK at myself. My face looks at least 5 years younger! It looks thinner and my normally acne prone skin is more clear and radiant. When did that happen? So I just need to remember that this protocol is more than the number on the scale. If my skin look this good, then just think what must be going on inside my body, so I decided to stop obsessing over the scale for once. It will come off and I will get into the 150s. I just need to follow the plan & watch it happen.... eventually :)

And Nakia... well, any loss is a good loss. He doesn't like it though. He's really gotten used to 1> releases so he's a little spoiled now. I keep reminding him that he couldn't have gotten this far this fast on any other plan & to let his body catch up.... and at least he didn't have a GAIN! LOL

To commentors from yesterday:

Mary - OMG... they sooo do! but I'm hanging in there. My body is acting like I ate a bag of chips though!

Lili - still waiting for that loss, but no biggie. This happened to me on my last round too, so I'm not surprised.

Biz - Yeah.... that look was good :) I printed out part of P&I so he could read about the fluctuations in weight loss.
Yeah... I can't even tell you what was in that granola bar except it was completely UN-NATURAL frankenfood! Don't know what I was thinking. It was full of sugar even though it was so small.

Two Doves - Well... that might just be whats going on, so I'll just have to wait it out.
I went to Blackwing.com to check out the bison. I think I will give that a try. The stores in my area don't carry it so I haven't been able to get it before. Thanks for the info.

Jan - Well... the rings are still tight and the scale is still up. I hope that's a good sign and I'll be seeing that WOOSH soon.

Becca - It really is harder for Nakia. He's got all those first P2 uncertainties, but he's staying the course & he's doing way better than I am with no deviations. I need to follow his lead... no more granola bars!

Burcu - Fingers still crossed. I bet that loss is comin tomorrow! :)

Love you guys! Thanks for stopping by!

Day 14 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.9 11%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 161.9
Today: 162.1 +.2
R2 10.3 Total 6%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 241.8
Today: 241.8 -0
R2 14.5 Total 5.7%

Yesterday's menu
Monica
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 and splenda
L: chili with salsa & a fried egg with 1 melba toast
S: quaker granola bar
D: spinach, strawberry, grilled chicken salad with strawberry viniagrette

Nakia
B: sliced apples
L: sauteed beef and boiled cabbage
S: an orange
D: steak and onions with 1 grissino
S: 1 hard boiled egg

Ok, now my body is just messing with me. Are you kidding! I was supposed to LOSE .2 today, not gain it! Well, it's just a little water retention, because I also did a short workout late last night to burn any extra calories. My rings fell off my finger yesterday, but today I have to force them off. I did have a quaker granola bar yesterday too, but that was 100 calories and I made my salad smaller to compensate for the calories. That could have done it too. Anyway.... I'm sure it will come off tomorrow. I've had excellent losses so far so I'm not complaining (anymore).

Nakia was a little upset over his 0 loss, but I explained to him that it's going to happen and it probably wasn't the egg he ate yesterday, but I think he's going to try to do without the extra protein.

Today will be high volume foods like raw baby spinach and romaine lettuce because we've both been feeling hungry and I think the high volume foods might help that. Oh yeah... and lots and lots of water!

Amie - Hi! Those percentages are the percentage of total weight lost. The first one is since my original starting weight and the 2nd one is my total percentage of weight lost on this round. They're just to see where Nakia and I stack up together. Men are supposed to lose weight faster on the protocol than women, so I wanted to see how much faster it would be, but it seems that by percentages, we're pretty close, but I think that's because I'm re-losing this weight. He's losing alot faster than I did on my first round. Here's the percentage formula
[total losses] * 100 / [starting weight]

Biz - He is feeling alot better. Now he wants to do another round in September. I can't believe it! He kept saying that he was only doing this so he could see what I was going through and he thought he should lose the rest of his weight with diet and excercise, but I think he's gotten addicted to his losses. You should have seen his face when he told me he had a zero today! Priceless!

Jan -Thanks a bunch. Your encouragement is so important to us :)

Mary - It's coming off, but this water retention is a real nusance & I'm getting cravings for salty food too. Damn TOM!

Victoria - Awww girl. Thanks. He actually does tell me how grateful he is that I'm making all of his meals for him. He sees how much work it is, but actually, I'm really happy that I don't have to cook "normal" food right now. I did that on my first round & then had to watch him eat while I had my small portion. This is much much better & I feel experienced so I don't have to experiment as much. I know which meals I like and I just stick with those.

Ed & Jenn - Yeah, he did great with the double protein & you're right, he wasn't as hungry, so I'll keep giving him the option, but I don't think he'll do it every day.

Becca - Well... I kept talking about Ed & Jennifer so he knew that men could be successful on this diet... plus he was at his highest weight limit so he was ready. Give him time and talk about it alot. Maybe he'll come around... or it'll be when you look smokin hot and he'll want to get in on that!

Shelly - Hey shelly shell! Hmmm.... good to know. I thought I would gain if I did that so I never have 2 beefs in the same day, but maybe I'll try it sometime.

A big thank you to everyone that stops by! Whether you comment or not, I really appreciate you. Have a great Wednesday folks!

Day 13 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -20.1 11%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 162.6
Today: 161.9 -.7
R2 10.5 Total 6.1%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 243.3
Today: 241.8 -1.5
R2 14.5 Total 5.7%

Yesterday's menu:
B: (Monica) coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 and splenda, 1 melba toast with strawberry spread
L: chili with salsa, strawberries, (Nakia) a garlic grissino
S: (Nakia) an orange
D: (Monica) marinated grilled mustard chicken, boiled cabbage, an orange, 1 garlic breadstick
(Nakia) chili, fried egg, a garlic grissino

Nakia had some extra protein yesterday and it looks like that is going to be good for him. He's going to start eating almost all beef now.

My weight loss is slowing down a bit, but my percentage looks really good. Hopefully I'll be past my LIW tomorrow.

Mary, Jan, Becca, Biz, Ed & Jenn, thanks for commenting yesterday. And thanks to anyone stopping by. Love you guys :) Have a great day!

Day 12 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -19.4 10.7%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 163.6
Today: 162.6 -1
R2 9.8 Total 5.7%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 245.4
Today: 243.3 -2.1
R2 13 Total 5.1%

Yesterdays menu
B: (Monica) melba toast with strawberry spread, coffee with 1/2 & 1/2 & splenda
(Nakia) an orange & grissino
S: (Monica) sampled a chile lime chicken burger with guacamole & small piece of wheat bread at trader joe's
L: sauteed spinach & Cajun shrimp. Strawberry sorbet.
(Monica) grissino
D: seasoned pan seared steak with onions sauteed with water and bragg's aminos

WOO HOO! We both had great losses today! Most of Nakia's gain is gone already.

I skipped my 2nd fruit because I sampled a chile lime chicken burger at trader joes. I ended up buying them because the only ingredient that is not on the P2 diet is bell peppers, and each patty is 4 oz. I figured that wasn't too bad. I need food in the house that Nakia can make easily if I'm not around. He does know how to cook, but since he hasn't read the manuscript yet, I want him to have something quick AND legal. I've also been keeping steamer bags full of broccoli with mrs dash in the fridge that he can just pop in the microwave. The broccoli has really worked out for us. I'm glad it has because neither of us like asparagus so we were missing a veg anyway.

Mary - Yes... the numbers are going in the right direction. That's a great thing. I also reached my 10% mark yesterday (again), so I'm happy about that. Clothes are starting to get looser too. Nakia's face has slimmed down quite a bit and he's starting to get compliments at work. That's keeping him motivated.

triplejtb - Yup... good losses this week. I'm very happy :) I did make some more strawberry viniagrette too. I thought it was hilarious... he didn't though... ROFL. I showed him how to make one himself :)

Becca - Guys are too much! If they're not chefs, they all seem to miss the little details in the kitchen. Hey...viniagrette tastes like VINEGAR! hint hint. I'm sure tuna flavored cat food kinda resembles tuna, but there's got to be a difference! ROFLSAO!

Yup... good thing he gained a little, but I'm also glad it came off quickly. I don't want him getting too discouraged.

Shelly - Hey girl... I was updating and I almost missed ya...
I'm doing at least 30 days because I want to give myself a little more time to lose more weight since I have to get back to my LIW. I'll stop whenever our last batch is finished.

Day 11 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -18.4 10.1% Yaay! reached 10%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 164.2
Today: 163.6 -.6
R2 8.8 Total 5.1%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 243.1 -1.0 I had no words!
Today: 245.4 +2.3
R2 10.9 Total 4.3%

Yesterdays menu
Monica:
B: melba toast with trader joe's strawberry spread, coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: spinach, strawberry salad with chicken and Tammy's strawberry vinaigrette
D: chicken and broccoli, an apple & 1 garlic grissino with lemonade sweetened with splenda

Nakia:
L: catfish creole
D: chicken & broccoli then drank the strawberry vinaigrette dressing by accident... ROFL!

Yeah... so I actually have to make some more dressing. I left frozen strawberries in the freezer so he could made a sorbet, but I guess he thought that I left a drink for him in the fridge and he drank that instead. He said it was really vinegarry... well, it was still a serving of fruit. LOL

He actually had a loss yesterday, but the gain showed up today. He did say that all the grease in the fried chicken made him sick to his stomach and it didn't stay down. He probably would have gained more if that hadn't happened. He still felt sick yesterday from it, to which I responded "I could have told you that dummy!" Well... he won't be doing that again.

He responded well to the higher dosage of hcg. He said he wasn't nearly as hungry as normal. It was difficult to change the dose because I fill all the syringes right after I mix and keep them in a coffee mug in the fridge, so I had to take a few of them and empty them into a glass vial and add another cc to each of his syringes. Now we have 2 coffee mugs with syringes sitting in my fridge.

Alright.... enough about him. I'm doing ok. I'm a little bummed out over the slow losses this week, but I knew it was coming. I was just hoping to be below my LIW by now. I worked on the Kentucky Derby yesterday taking bets which was pretty fun when it wasn't boring. It was pretty dead here in baltimore. Next week is the preakness which is hosted here. That is supposed to be very busy, so I'm glad I got the practice in on the derby. I even placed 2 bets and actually won both. I won $12 whole dollars. WOO HOO! :)

triplejtb - Thanks... We are just so proud of our giants!
I thought he caught a break yesterday, but he's really pouty about his gain today & vowing to be good. (guy pouty of course). The mustard dressing is biz's recipe & the strawberry sorbet is adapted from my magic bullet menu book. I slice and freeze fresh strawberries, then put them in the magic bullet with water, the juice of half a lemon & artificial sweetener to taste. It feels like a cheat so I love it.

Mary - Well, that magical number was a 1 lb loss... hmph, but he got the real number this morning. He says that he'll be fine from here on out. He's only got 10 days left.

Ed & Jenn - Hey my Jennay! Oh yeah... this is so reminiscent of Ed. He is really just reading the manuscript?! Oh yeah... of course! You're not doing P2 with him this time, LOL. I'm tricking Nakia into reading it. I print him out something relevant everytime he experiences something protocol related. Before long, he will have read most of it without even knowing!

becca - I'm sure that's what it was too, but he'll still think twice about it next time. I really thought that he was going to get away with it for a minute, but I'm glad he didn't. You're right, he would have been impossible!

Day 10 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -17 9.3%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 165
Today: 164.2 -.8
R2 8.2 Total 4.8%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 244.1
Today: ? ?
R2 12.2 Total 4.7%

Yesterday's Menu:
B: coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: cucumbers & chicken dipped in mustard dressing & an apple. 1 garlic grissino
D: Monica: catfish creole, strawberry sorbet & strawberry lemonade with splenda, 1 garlic grissino
Nakia: grilled chicken and string beans at Dave & Busters, drinks and 4 pieces of fried chicken from royal farms.

Well... I'm going back in the right direction. Right now I'm just focusing on getting to my LIW. I've got 2.5 lbs to go & I WILL get there by wednesday of this week. I think that's realistic since my weight loss has slowed down this week.

Nakia hasn't weighed in yet. He's still sleeping after coming in late last night from hanging out with a friend drinking. I don't know how many drinks he had, but I think he was pretty roasted when his friend dropped him off last night. I didn't know about the fried chicken until I saw the evidence this morning. At first I was just mortified, but then I realized... ok, yeah I told him that he would gain if he deviated, but maybe he had to see it for himself. He hasn't read P&I so he only knows what I've told him. I'm going to make him read it today though. We'll just chalk this up as a learning experience. I did wake him up briefly so I could YELL at him though.... I just couldn't resist. I also asked him if he wanted to stay on the protocol and he said yes without even thinking about it so that's a good thing. So... today I'm raising his dosage to 175 by the advice of a friend on the myhcgjourney forum. Hopefully he'll lose some of his cravings after that.

Biz - When I went back over our menu's for thursday, I realized that we probably both had too many calories. I haven't been measuring everything like I did on the last round, just the protein. I think I may have over shot his vegetable servings for the day. I've started meticulously measuring again though. I don't want a repeat of that.

Mary - hey miss mary! luvya back girlie. I'm feeling better today after my weigh in, but I'm really dreading Nakia's weigh in. I'll update if and when he gets on the scale. Whatever happens... I know the hcg will fix it so it's really not all that bad.

Burcu - Yeah... that was a rough one for me. Brownies are one of my all time favorites. Your comment really made me feel better. Thank you my friend.

Day 9 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -17 9.3%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 163.9
Today: 165 +1.1
R2 7.4 Total 4.3%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 243.4
Today: 244.1 -.7
R2 12.2 Total 4.7%

Had some snags yesterday, but nothing major, but salty. I'll try to update later, but I'm running late right now. Just wanted to get the numbers up there, even though we both aren't to happy with them today.

Happy losing in protocol land folks :)
===================================
.... Continuing from this morning:
Nakia didn't deviate at all from the menu I gave him, but he didn't drink all his water yesterday. That may be why he gained. He didn't even eat the extra boiled egg so he was totally good.
Nakia's menu:
L: natural applesauce, chicken, romaine lettuce with Biz's mustard dressing (He loved this biz)
D: an orange, chicken, cucumber slices

I, on the other hand ....not so much. I said it was nothing major when I posted this morning, but it kinda was. I had a meltdown!

I was unusually hungry yesterday & my boss took us all out for lunch. I ate a small apple before going over there so I wasn't too hungry, and I ordered my planned order of a 5 oz crab cake & an order of steamed broccoli with an iced tea sweetened with splenda. All was well until the dessert menu came. My skinny co-worker, sitting across from me that can eat ANYTHING, ordered a hot fudge brownie with ice cream. Boy that looked good. I thought I was fine, but all day I had this deprived feeling. I found myself taking little nibbles of things all day, like a piece my friend's cinnamon role & a hershey's kiss. To make a long story short... it came to a bad end with a box of cheezits when I finally got home at around 9:30 at night, tired and still unusually hungry. There were probably about 150-200 cals worth of cheezits. That was a salty dissaster!

I've been feeling alot of hunger since I did a workout earlier in the week & I just caved. I had decided that I'd do 2 workouts a week to keep my muscle tone in tact because Nakia said my body had gotten softer during my first P2 because I didn't workout. He's one of those extremely honest people & I love that about him. I'm going to continue that, but I will be adding some more protein on those days from now on.

Anyway... that's what happened... not pretty, but true

Mary - He's feeling much better now & his hunger has subsided now that he's stopped his workouts. He didn't even eat the extra egg I gave him yesterday, so his body may have already adjusted to the changes.

amie - He has decided that he's going to stick it out. Especially after I told him that he's probably gain all his weight back if he stopped in the middle. Thanks for all the encouragement. I really need it.

becca - Thanks... I think all is well now. He only had the lightheadedness and nausea that one day as well & I went back to P&I and sure enough, that's what it says in there. He never even had to use the sugar solution.

B - Thanks for letting me know about your friend's blog. It's always nice to have an addition to our community. I think we're fine now as far as our injections go so I don't want to rock the boat with changing his injections, but I'll be following her blog.

Ed & Jenn - Thanks! I will definitely tell him that. Believe me... I've told him all about you guys. We can't wait to meet you too!

Day 8 of VLCD DONE!

Monica - R2P2
Total overall: -18.1 9.9%
R1 LIW 161.7
R2 Starting weight: 172.4
Yesterday: 164.8
Today: 163.9 -.9
R2 8.5 Total 4.9%

Nakia - R1P2
R2 Starting weight: 256.3
Yesterday: 245.1
Today: 243.4 -1.7
R2 12.9 Total 5%

Yesterday's menu:
B: (Monica) coffee with 1/2 & 1/2
L: Cabbage boiled with chicken broth & seasoned chicken w/ fresh strawberries
D: Steak & carmelized onions w/ an orange

This is a great rebound from yesterday. We are both back on track. I'm still trying to stabalize Nakia though. Yesterday he felt nauseous and lightheaded & I've been trying to figure out what to do. Arcticshark over at this forum, http://www.myhcgjourney.com/forums/, reminded me of the low blood sugar section of P&I. These are the symptoms he was explaining to me, so today I sent him to work with a mix of lemon juice and 2 heaping teaspoons of sugar. I also printed out that section of P&I so he knows when to use it. I'm also adding a hard boiled egg to his diet today. We'll see how everything works out. He's pretty much decided that if he doesn't feel better by the weekend that he's going to stop. I really want this to work out for him so I'm trying to get this all figured out. I'm so impressed that he hasn't deviated even once from the food I've prepared for him everyday even though he has felt so crappy all week, so I'll accept it if he decides to stop this weekend. If he does, I'll still have him continue the VLCD for the 72 hr period after his last injection, but hopefully it doesn't come to that.

Mary - Back on track... thanks for checking in on us everyday :)

Amie - Yeah, I would have thought that too, but we both had the stall and gain on the same day, so that made me think it must have been our menu, so no more mixed greens. I'll just do one at a time. We both try to get all of our water in everyday. I didn't yesterday, but I usually get 1.5-2.2 liters.

Shelly - Thanks hon.... will do. Drinking some right now.

B - Thank you. We're struggling by right now, but staying the course. The show didn't produce the winfall of visitors like I was thinking it might, but I have noticed a little more traffic around the forums and blogs that I visit, so that's a good think.