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.