What a difference a round makes

Monica - R4P2 Day 11
R4 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 162.1
Today: 161.7 -.4
R4 Total -9.1 5.3%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 17
R3 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 226.5
Today: 227 +.5
R3 Total 20.3 8.2%

Yesterday's menu (Monica):
B: Strawberries
L: catfish creole
S: melba toast with TJs strawberry spread
D: chili, melba toast, strawberry sorbet
Lots of tea, water, & 4C Totally Lite 2 Go

Yesterday's menu (Nakia)
B: TJs chunky applesauce
S: chicken & melba toast
L: steamed string beans
D: chili
water, & 4C Totally Lite 2 Go

I decided to start posting a separate menu for Nakia because since he's putting his own meals together now we rarely eat the same food. I love broccoli so I can eat it every day, but he loves string beans so that's his thing. He did have a rebound .5 gain today which was expected, but he still lost 2.3 lbs over 2 days total so he's right on track. He's only on day 17 and has already dropped over 20 lbs. That's amazing! This is the most he's lost on P2 since he started & he's only 12 lbs away from his goal of 215. He was going to do a 21 day round but now he's thinking about going further since he's so close to his goal.

This is also the most comfortable he's been on P2. He's still working out, but he's not complaining of hunger like he was on his last 2 rounds. The last one was the worst. He almost quit, but my friend biz suggested raising his calories to 700 and that worked to stave his hunger and keep him on P2 for his full 21 days. Now he's thinking of doing about 25 days & he's looking fantastic!

I'm on my snails pace as usual. There is a differnce this time for me as well. I'm not tempted to cheat so maybe I'll lose a few more pounds this time. I also started doing light workouts every other day so maybe that will bring on more losses as well. I'm still going over old weight right now so I'm really motivated to get back to my lowest weight, but the good news is I always seem to end my rounds a little lower than the last so I AM getting there. I'm just taking the scenic route.

A bonefish grille night

Monica - R4P2 Day 10
R4 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 162.3
Today: 162.1 -.2
R4 Total -8.6 5%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 16
R3 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 229.3
Today: 226.5 -2.8
R3 Total 20.8 8.4%

Yesterday's menu (Monica):
B: Strawberries & coffee w/ half & half
L: chicken & cucumbers, 1 grissini
D: lobster tail & steamed garlic spinach, 1 melba toast with TJs strawberry spread,
2 homemade strawberry ice pops
Lots of tea, water, & 4C Totally Lite 2 Go

All Nakia ate yesterday was some chunky applesauce for breakfast & 2 orders of seared tuna from bonefish grill. He also had 4 rum and diet cokes.... for him, that equals a 2.5 lb loss overnight. LOL... There he goes again. Tuna's not on P2, but he seems to have no problems with it. I used to let his big losses bother me, but now I see that most men lose like that so I just let him do his thing. He also seems to lose weight whenever he has alcohol, but there's always a slight rebound the next day so I wouldn't be surprised if he has a small gain tomorrow. We shall see.

I, on the other hand, had a pidily .2 lb loss... so I went to my trusty tape measure just to see... and voila! 2 inches GONE from my waist! I was just doing a quick compare this morning. I'll take the rest of my measurments tonight though.

I did end up doing 30 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym yesterday. Sometimes when I workout on P2, my body retains water so that could be the cuprit of my small loss today. I'm not worried about it. At least I lost something.

Amie - I actually decided to do a 40 day round just yesterday because some friends asked us to go to Punta Cana with them in June. I'm just going to go for it so I should get pretty close to my ultimate goal by then.

Mo - I make my own teriyaki marinade & use artificial sweetner. I'll just copy it from my post in HTA. It's listed under P3 recipes there, but I use it on P2 without issues. Your results may vary.

Teriyaki Marinade

• 1/2 cup bragg's aminos or kikkoman soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of artificial sweetener of choice (I use splenda)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar free maple syrup
  
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 chopped scallion
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest

So sick of me

Monica - R4P2 Day 9
R4 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 162.7
Today: 162.3 -.4
R4 Total -8.4 4.9%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 14
R3 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 230.9
Today: 229.3 -1.6
R3 Total 17.7 7.2%

Yesterday's menu:
B: TJs chunky apple sauce & coffee w/ half & half
L: chicken & broccoli, 1 grissini
D: catfish creole, 1 grissini, 1 strawberry ice pop (12 cal)
Lots of tea, water, & 4C Totally Lite 2 Go

Yesterday was good for both of us. This time change is kickin my tail this morning, but I'm ready to get this day started (an over with). I'm going to try to get in a light workout on the treadmill at the gym today since I was just too tired to do it yesterday.

I guess I weighed myself about an hour earlier than usual because of daylight savings time... I wonder if that hurt my loss today.... oh well, it all evens itself out. I've had several days of over 1 lb losses so I think I was getting pretty spoiled, but I know that doesn't last... I was just hoping since I'm going over repeat weight. This is the time though. I AM NOT going to gain this weight back this time. I've been going over the same damn 10 - 15 lbs for about a year now and I'm pretty sick of it. It's not the protocol that did it... it's all me, but I'm really sick of ME now and I won't let her sabotage herself anymore... did that make sense?

On the road with my 500 cals

Monica - R4P2 Day 8
R3 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 164.4
Today: 162.7 -1.8
R3 Total -8 4.7%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 14
R2 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 232.9
Today: 230.9 -2.0
R2 Total 16.1 6.5%

Yesterday's menu:
B: apple slices & coffee w/ half & half
L: chicken & romaine lettuce w/ mustard dressing, 1 grissini
D: chicken & string beans, 1 grissini, TJ's organic applesauce with cinnamon

Yesterday I had to drive to NJ (I live in MD) because my mom had to have a procedure done to check if she had any blockages in her arteries that may need attention. She had some chest pains and they needed to check it out. If the doctor found a significant blockage, he was going to schedule her for surgery immediately. No one else in the family could make it to the hospital with her, so I went. I couldn't imagine her getting that done with no one there with her. So I packed a lunch bag with my 500 calories worth of food (I didn't need a very large bag... LOL) and headed out at 6 am.

When I got there she was already in Same Day Surgery getting prepped for the procedure so I waited in the waiting room. I was so relieved when the doctor came and told me that she has no major blockages and can go home. WHEW!!! She didn't get discharged for another 3 hours because they had to put her under anesthesia. I don't get to see my mom that often because we live 3 hours away so we had a long time to chat & eat lunch together before they let her go home... me with my salad and chicken & her with her hospital food. I think I made out better there :) We were both glad that she didn't have to do that alone.

I drove back last night and I'm pretty wiped out today, but I had a fantastic loss this morning so all is good. It seems that my string bean experiment went very well :) I was going to start walking on the treadmill at the gym today since my cold has finally left the building... except for the cough it left behind... but now I feel pretty drained from my long day yesterday so I think I'll skip that until tomorrow.

Angel - Hi... thanks for checking in on my blog. As far as spices go, the sky's the limit. I use alot of garlic powder, dry oregano, dry basil, onion powder, & minced onion, morton's lite salt, & pepper. I also use fresh herbs. With spice blends, make sure they don't contain any sugar or dextrose. MSG is also a problem for me. Therefore, I make my own versions. You can find a lot of seasoning mixes here: http://hcgrecipes.blogspot.com/search/label/seasoning. The store bought spice blends I use most often are Mrs Dash original & garlic herb and Grill Mates 25% Less Sodium Montreal Chicken Seasoning.

Amie - You are so right. Now my rounds are alot less stressful. I know this protocol works so I just do it and watch the scale move. If it doesn't one day, we know from experience that it will in time so we just keep it movin. So... there's a new Bo! :) So nice to here that. It's great to have someone supportive, especially when doing something like this protocol.

Just coasting

Monica - R4P2 Day 7
R4 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 165.9
Today: 164.4 -1.5
43 Total -6.2 3.63%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 13
R3 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 232.8
Today: 232.2 -.6
R3 Total 14.8 5.9%

Yesterday's menu:
B: strawberries, coffee w/ half & half
S: melba toast w/ Trader Joe's strawberry spread
L: chicken & brussel sprouts
D: chicken & broccoli w/ 1 grissini, 1 strawberry ice pop (12.5 cal)

Yesterday I made these strawberry ice pops because I had made my usual strawberry sorbet with my magic bullet in the morning, but then I didn't feel like eating it so I put it in my little tupperware ice pop molds. They turned out fantastic. 50 calories worth of strawberries made 4 pops. I could have eaten all of them if I wanted to but I only ended up wanting one so nakia and I each had one before bed. That's a new one for me.

I've decided to add string beans into the mix as well. Nakia loves them. I added broccoli on my 2nd round and I added brussel sprouts on my 3rd round, so this round we'll try string beans. I haven't had them yet, but Nakia had them yesterday and the day before (he doesn't like brussel sprouts) and has had good losses, so I'm going to throw them into my diet today.

I am a strong believer that everyone should do the protocol by the book the first time so that you have a benchmark before experimenting with other veggies or fruits, so that's what I did. I added things in slowly. I say that because I wouldn't want anyone just starting with hcg to think they should go ahead and add different veggies right off the break because I'm eating them. Everyone's body reacts differently. Ok... disclaimer over :)

This round feels so different than every other round. I'm not battling with temptations like I have in the past. I just make my food and I eat it. I'm not as tempted by work food or even snack food in my house like I was every other time I've done this. I have my favorite P2 meals and I just stick with those. I did alot of flavor experimenting in my first round. I had alot of time because it was a full 40 days. LOL. Now I have a bunch of go to meals that I can prepare quickly and easily. I did try lobster tails for the first time on P2 last week. That felt like a cheat! They were so good steamed in a zip loc steamer bag. mmm mmm. Wow... I'm getting hungry... going to make dinner now. chicken and string beans tonight.

Mo - Hi... thanks for stopping by :) I'm not using a doctor. I've done all my rounds on my own. I found hcg by reading Kevin Trudeau's book and then I did my own research and just got started with it.... well, to make a long story short :)

The cold is almost gone

Monica - R4P2 Day 6
R4 Starting weight: 170.6
Yesterday: 165.5
Today: 165.9 +.4
R4 Total -4.7 2.75%

Nakia - R3P2 Day 12
R3 Starting weight: 247.3
Yesterday: 233.8
Today: 232.8 -1.0
R3 Total 14.5 5.8%

Yesterday's menu:
B: apple w/ splenda & cinnamon
L: steak & sauteed onions & 1 grissini
D: Tilapia & romaine salad with mustard dressing & 1 grissini

Nakia started a week before I did. He was excited to start and jumped right in this time. He's taken to this round a lot easier than his last 2 rounds. I had to do a lot to keep him from quitting last time, but I can clearly see his determination to stick to P2 this time. It's just different & I like not having to pull him along or make him eat his apple without coring and peeling it for him.... He's eating the peel and coring it himself!!! WHAT?! Who is this person?! I was worried about being sick the first week because I didn't pack his lunches for him like I did the last round, but he gets everything together himself now. All I need to do is portion out the meats & he's good to go.

I'm doing a little better with my cold today. The cough is nearly gone and I didn't cough as much during the night. I didn't even need my inhaler today either. TOM did start though so I'm sure that's where the gain came from since I didn't even eat my 2nd fruit yesterday.

Reaquainting myself with my blog

Here I am again. I've been offline for a long time, but I've decided to start another round. I want to document this here because this is where I started & where I feel most comfortable expressing myself. For some reason journaling over at the HTA forum didn't give me the same feeling as blogging here. I like the continuity of thought that I see on my blog & I like being able to go back and read my own thoughts. It's just easier and more comfortable for me... so this is where I'll be. I still love the forum, but for other reasons.

For some reason I keep making poor choices and ending up gaining weight back. I saw myself headed back towards 170 lbs after I had reached 154 and I didn't like what I was seeing on the scale. I certainly didn't feel like I was 168 but that's what the scale said. My clothes still fit though so I'm glad I was getting on the scale to notice at least... so I decided that I'd better do another round of P2 to reach my goal once and for all.

This time there will be no vacationing or big events for a long while after I'm done with this round. I may even do another round when I'm done to finally get to the goal I've been chasing for so long. My husband Nakia & a friend of mine is doing this round with me so I've got good company, plus helping them keeps me on track.

I started this round at an embarrassing 169.7 Today is day 5 of VLCD and I've lost 5.1 lbs from my last load day which is right on track. Unfortunately I picked up a head cold on the first day I started injections and I've been battling that all week. I've had to take NyQuil and use my asthma inhaler just about every night this week because I wake up in the middle of the night coughing. Sometimes my asthma symptoms show up when I have a cold... probably because of all the phlem. Last night was a little better and I was able to forgo the NyQuil so hopefully the cold is on its way out. I'm pretty sure I got it from my friend that's started P2 with me because we went out to dinner and she was blowing her nose for most of the evening. Oh well... at least I know that NyQuil & albuterol don't hurt my loses :)