R2 P2 Day 31

So I'm a loser. Yesterday I had dried green mangoes, cookies, I had fish for lunch, and finished off my day with an egg and cheese omelette. So as you can see I didn't do the transition into Phase 3 so I guess I could just start that today but I've already had two cookies. I am dumb, I know. I only had the weekend left and then my three day transition but I didn't make it. I just haven't had my heart in it this time so I may have to do this again which sucks. I had no change in weight which is surprising. I really thought I would have gained a boat load but I'm sure it will catch up to me so from here on out, I think I will move onto Phase 3 and try to stay away from carbs and especially sugar. I pretty much stopped taking the drops last night. I really hope I can maintain from here on out. I am going to start doing some resistance training so that I can tone up and maybe like the figure I have.

R2 P2 Day 30

Yesterday I was good. I had chicken soup for lunch, an apple for a snack, and then beef with cabbage for dinner. I wonder if the cabbage doesn't agree with me because it seems that I always gain on the days that I have cabbage. Maybe I should learn. I guess that's why I rarely have it. I am so tempted to just end it today but I really only have 4 days left until I stop the drops which is good because I'm almost out. I weighed in this morning at +1 lb. It really sucks. Maybe today will be a better day.

R1 P2 day 29

So yesterday was an apple day. Nothing special there. My apples were smaller this time around since I was having trouble eating them in past times. I didn't do anything special. I did exercise yesterday but since it was just walking, I doubt it did anything. This morning I weighed in at -1 lb. I wonder if that will stick tomorrow or even go down. I only have a few more days left until I stop the drops on Sunday. I am hoping for a miracle but am doubting that it will come. Oh well. I made it this far even if it was a troubled journey. Keep pressing on.

R2 P2 Day 28

Yesterday was a total bust. I had jerky and an apple in the morning, and a little ham later. So I decided to skip lunch. Later I had a couple apples and then for dinner I had a chicken salad. To make matters worse, I had a moment of stupidity and had like 4 cookies even though they tasted really, really sweet to me. I just couldn't stop eating them. I didn't even like them. I normally do but for some reason my cookies didn't turn out. I was going to give them away but they look terrible so now my kids will just have to eat them. I don't think they'll have a problem doing that. I decided to do another detox bath. I'm not usually one for taking baths because I find myself counting down the time until I can get out. I think it's boring. I don't find it relaxing at all. I had a major headache afterward so I downed most of my 32+ oz bottle of water and then went to bed. Woke this morning at about 3 and had to use the bathroom then again in the morning at my usual time. Weighed in this morning with no change which is better than I could have hoped for so I am doing an apple day today. I don't know if I am going to make it the full week. How pathetic is that!

R2 P2 Day 27

Yesterday was Sunday which seems to throw me off more often than not. I had a late lunch of a chicken salad. When I got home I had an apple, took my drops half an hour later, then about an hour or an hour and a half later I had dinner of fish with a spinach salad. I tried to drink all my water but I'm sure once again that I didn't make it. This morning I weighed in with no change. I really am ready to give up and move on to phase 3. Here it is, day 27 and I've only gone down about 13.5 pounds from the starting weight of this round which was about ten pounds more than I ended last round. So I've really only netted about 3.5 pounds in almost a month. It is really sad. It's my own fault though. I know it is. I am just feeling like I should just move on and plan for a round three next March or something. I guess I could figure it out later. I really only have less than a week left but I'm just not feeling it this round. I need to go back and review the rules for phase 3.

R2 P2 Day 26

Yesterday I did well, at least I thought so. I started my day out with a lunch of chicken salad with my favorite sweet mustard dressing. Later I had an apple for a snack and dinner was teriyaki beef with tomatoes. I've never been a fan of teriyaki beef before but I make it a different way and it seems to make all the difference. It was good. I tried to drink a lot because I've been having dry mouth which I have read can be a problem. I didn't drink enough for the day but still more than I have been. I have been having motivational issues lately and it's all I can do to keep going. It's not that it's hard, it's just that I had just a bad cheat week that I have hardly lost any weight at all this round. I was really hoping it would all just fall off since about 10 pounds of it was regain. But it didn't. It felt a little easier at the beginning but then it just kind of stopped being easy and has become really hard. I only have one more week until I stop taking the drops and transition into phase 3 and I'm not going to make goal this round. I don't think I'll even come close. I have to lose 1-2 pounds every day from here on out just to make it down to the next 10's digit. See? Lacking motivation. I don't have the same enthusiasm as I did last round. This morning I weighed in a few times. The first time was when I got up and I didn't like the number. After a little while and expelling what needed to be, I weighed in at -1.5 lbs. Much better. I weighed in again after my shower and the lower weight held so that is the weight I am recording today. It may mean I have a gain for tomorrow but for today I can go another day.

R2 P2 Day 25

Yesterday was a complete and total bust! I gained yesterday morning so I had a "poor me" day and decided it wasn't worth it. I only have about 8 days left until I stop taking the drops and transition into phase three and I don't really feel like I'm going to make it. By this time around last round I had lost more weight and didn't have the desire to cheat. This round I think my heart isn't in it. I had an apple in the morning and a pastrami sandwich with pickles for lunch. After that I drank water and had half a big bag of sour patch kids. Which, really tasted too sweet but I still ate it. I only had an apple the rest of the night. Today I may have to pull out all the stops just shy of doing an apple day. I did weigh in at -0.5 lbs this morning but it's little consolation when I gained a pound and a half yesterday. Here's hoping I do better this weekend. I was invited to dinner on Sunday but I think I am just going to pass. I have got to get some more weight off. Even five pounds will do at this point. I am so frustrated!

R2 P2 Day 24

Yesterday I thought I did well. I went for a walk in the morning. For lunch I had fish and tomatoes with an apple. Half of the apple I cooked with stevia and cinnamon. For dinner I had beef and spinach soup. I made a lot of broth for some reason. Later that night I did day one of couch to 5k with my friend. It wasn't as fast as I would normally have liked but she just had a baby not too long ago so I wasn't going to push it. I came home and had a really nasty half of a grapefruit. I peeled it and I must have eaten too much of the pith because it left this metallic, nasty taste in my mouth that I just couldn't get rid of. I tried drinking water but it made the water taste gross. I tried eating a couple blackberries and then a couple raspberries but to no avail. I finally took a couple pinches of some cheddar I had just finely shred earlier in the day. I sucked on those. Whatever happened yesterday sucked royally because I weight in at +1.5 lbs. It really sucks! I am tempted to give up. I had a three pound loss yesterday and then I gain back half of it today trying to stay on plan? I didn't even let myself cheat! All I can think of is that it must have been what happened with the grapefruit. I just have ten more days that I have to hold on. I have only lost the weight back from last round. I haven't even lost anything else! ARGH!

R2 P2 Day 23

Yesterday I did my first apple day this round. I had my first apple around 11:45 and had another one before 2 pm. I am not doing well. I felt kind of sick after my second apple. I probably shouldn't have eaten it. I had another one for dinner and felt sick afterwards. So I called it a night. I tried to pull out all the stops last night and did another soak in the tub for about half an hour or so. This time I didn't make the water hot enough so it cooled off too soon. But at the end I weighed myself and it seemed to help. This morning, I weighed in at -3 lbs! Yay! Finally! It feels like I've been hovering around at the other weight for so long that it was depressing me. I wanted to stop and just do something else but I didn't want to quit. So hopefully I can do better from here on out. Yay! One thing I don't know is whether I should have an apple this morning because the apple day says to start and finish at lunch. I think I'll just skip it. I only got in three apples yesterday. That's all I could stomach.

R2 P2 Day 22

Yesterday was yet another experiment. I started my lunch off with raspberries and lunch meat again because I was in such a mood I really did not want to cook and I was close to stopping somewhere but I didn't. I was in such a mood that I had double my normal allowance of meat for lunch. I really didn't care because I was mad and doing some emotional eating. My day got busy and...who am I kidding. I spent most of the day on pinterest. It really sucks you in. After the kids got home we did our usual routine of homework and music, etc. dinner was late again. I made cheesy chicken and rice for the kids and it was all I could do not to eat it. It smelled so good. But I didn't. I had my chicken and spinach soup. I make my own clear broth instead of using store bought. I just need to get more water in for the day and then I am set. I ended up eating an apple, well, it was more like two thirds of an apple. It doesn't really matter. I tried to justify it in my head that maybe I didn't get enough calories but this morning when I weighed in I had no change in weight. Again. so today I am doing an apple day and a detox bath to see if I can get this going again. This sucks. I am very tempted right now to quit because I don't feel like I am going anywhere. But then I have to remind myself that I've already gotten back down to the weight I was at the end of last round. Well, I am almost there and if I quit then it's just a bigger uphill battle from here. Did I say "this sucks?" It really does.

R2 P2 Day 21

Yesterday was an experiment. I had a large apple and lunch meat for lunch, then for a snack I had some sliced tomatoes. For dinner I had chicken with shirataki noodles and onions. These noodles are made of tofu. I probably shouldn't have eaten them until phase 3. I hope it doesn't screw me. I don't plan on eating them often until I am done with this round because they were good but I don't know what kind of effect they will have on me. I can't process wheat well so it is an alternative to regular noodles. I cooked them with soy sauce and chicken. It was good. I finished off my day with an apple and then a little bit later it felt like things didn't agree with me. And they didn't. Since I was worried for the day I decided to do a detox bath again. I was only in for about half an hour but I couldn't take the heat anymore so I got out. I weighed myself afterwards and even though my ankles were swollen and I looked like I was retaining water, I weighed in the same as the morning. I drank water to ensure that I wasn't dehydrated and went to bed. This morning I weighed in with no change but after my walk I weighed in with a 1 lb loss. So I don't know what to think. I may do another soak again this week. Probably not today. I'm not much of a bath person. I prefer showers. I hope I can go down from here because I am almost down all the weight that I lost last round. I would like to get moving on things that have been around for a while. Fingers crossed!

R2 P2 Day 20

Yesterday was interesting. I sort of missed lunch and didn't eat all my food I guess. I took my usual doses but I didn't eat until 4 pm. I had some lunch meat. Not the best choice but I didn't feel like cooking and eating two meals since it was Sunday. Later for dinner I had chicken and a cabbage slaw with sweet mustard dressing. I took my time eating it and afterwards I didn't feel so great. I don't know if I just ate too much cabbage or if it was the fact that it was raw, green cabbage. Who knows. My stomach ached a little after I ate it. But still, to get my fruits in, I peeled a grapefruit and ate most of it. The rest of it went to Thing 3 who cannot let me eat fruit alone so it's something I expect. I had stomach pains and couldn't sleep last night until I expelled some things. I am supposing now that it was gas pains from the cabbage. I've never had that before but I've never eaten that much raw cabbage before. I usually eat it in addition to a regular salad and it is only a minor part of the salad. I don't know if I'll try raw cabbage in that quantity again. This morning I weighed in at -1.5 lbs. Yay! I am hoping to keep things going from here on out until the end of my round and then actually do the transition in phase 3. We'll see how it goes though, I haven't been very faithful to the protocol this round. Here's hoping.

R2 P2 Day 19

Yesterday was another bust. Seriously? I suck. Lunch was late and it was fish with cucumbers. I had a late apple and then for dinner which was also late, I had two pieces of LC Italian Cheese Bread and some lunch meat. So I am screwed for weigh in. I also didn't drink anywhere near enough water. Since it's Sunday, I will take my day of rest and drink water to make up for yesterday. This morning came in just as I expected. I weighed in at +0.5 lbs. That's what I get for cheating. I have to do better from here on out or else this was all for nothing.

R2 P2 Day 18

Yesterday I was good save for tasting my family chicken. Just one bite was all I had of the in between process, not the finished product. I had grapefruit for my fruit instead of apples. For lunch I had fish with cucumbers and dinner was teryaki beef with tomatoes. I resisted the urge to snack or cheat. Finally. I can't believe I've pretty much done a week of cheating! That's terrible! This morning I weighed in at -1 lb. I just have to keep things up and all will be well. I know I'm not going to make my goal now because I cheated and lost so much time. It's day 18 and I only have about 24 days left if I max out my time. That means I only make goal if I lose a pound everyday without fail and I don't know if that is doable. Last round I didn't lose everyday. In fact I only lost about 2/3 of the time. I am hoping that I can at least lose 17 more pounds this round at the very least. I am crossing my fingers for that.

R2 P2 Day 17

Yesterday was another bust. Hopefully I can really get to it today. Yesterday I had beef with tomatoes for lunch but I had a little extra beef that probably had more fat than I needed. I also had some ham. I had only one apple yesterday and then for dinner is when I lost it. The Man made bacon and french fries. I know, that's a real winning combination but that is how we roll here. I had some fries with ketchup and some bacon. Afterwards I felt sick. I had a sick stomach and I was kind of ornery. I don't know if that last part was due to the food but that's how I felt. I didn't drink enough water again but I'll try to remedy that today. This morning I weighed in with no change. I have never felt so happy to have no change. If you look at my stats for this round it would appear that I have stalled for a week and should do an apple day but I haven't yet because I know why I haven't lost weight. It's because I've been cheating so I am just going to stick to the regimen until I have an actual stall. I really hope today goes well. I don't know why I keep cheating. I didn't cheat at all last round. I haven't given up because next week it will be a lot easier for me so I don't want to screw things up and have to wait to start again. I hope that I'm okay doing this.

R2 P2 Day 16

I was bad again yesterday. lunch meat and zucchini bread screwed me up. And I'm sure also insufficient water didn't help. Lunch was fish and cucumbers while dinner was a chicken salad with sweet mustard dressing. I only had one apple and maybe 7 raspberries for my fruits. I know I keep saying this but it is getting frustrating to know I'm already two weeks in and I haven't even gotten myself down the ten pounds that I gained back. This morning I weighed in with no change. I will have to try harder if I want this to work and I do.

R2 P2 Day 15

So yesterday was still kind of a bust. I didn't drink enough water and didn't exercise. I had a late lunch of teryaki beef with a salad and an apple. Then for the rest of the day I didn't eat anything until dinner time where I had a piece of zucchini bread, two apples and some lunch meat. I'm terrible I know. The name of the game this round is "dedication" which I am obviously lacking. I stayed up late last night and feel tired this morning because of it. I was retaining water yesterday and am slightly this morning too so I was surprised when I weighed in at -1.5 lbs. Now if I can just keep it up. I should be farther along by now but am not because I've been screwing around. I need to get serious and just do this so that I can get on with my life and focus on exercise rather than weight loss. I want to get down to a good weight and then hit the weights hard to tone up and strengthen rather than just try to fit in my pants well. Hopefully I can do it this round. I only have 26 days or so left in which to lose about 22 pounds. I might have to just come close and then work from there. If I can lose at least 17 more then I will be okay but I would definitely like to lose the full 22 because they say the last 5-10 pounds are the hardest to lose. I have to do it.

R2 P2 Day 14

I am such a loser! Yesterday I had every intention of being good but it being a holiday, my brother called me up and we got together for a BBQ. That is my downfall! I love the smells, the taste of the food. It is my comfort food. Alas, I did not make it. And since I was throwing all caution to the wind anyway, I pretty much ate what I wanted. I had chicken and cabbage for lunch, staying within protocol. I also had an apple. Then at dinner time, I was late at taking my drops so it probably was not done properly. I had bratwurst and beef with some rice and lots of broccoli. I also had a slice or so of my chocolate zucchini bread so that I could test it since it was a new recipe. I also finished off my candy so that won't be a temptation anymore. I was so bloated last night and my legs and ankles were so swollen. I felt awful. This morning I weighed in at +1.5 lbs. The worst I've ever done on this protocol. I've never cheated this bad before. It's really sad. I have to do better from now on. I will do better! I won't give up!

R2 P2 Day13

So yesterday was an experiment in itself. It was my first time fasting on the protocol. I did well all day until it was time for me to eat. I ended up having chicken with cabbage for dinner and also an apple. I could have left it at that but I was in a mood last night so I had more candy. Serious?! I am just sabotaging myself this round. I weighed in with no change again. Thus far I have only lost about 8.5 pounds in 13 days. By this time around last round I think I had stayed pretty close to a pound a day. I'm not sure but that is what I think. I have to get serious about this and I'm starting today! No more candy, no more cheating, no more gaining. I could technically do an apple day but apples are so expensive right now so I'm trying to avoid that. I'll give it another day or two to see if that helps since I'm planning on doing 40 days this round. If I don't start seeing a decline on the scale then I'm just going to have to do one. Wish me luck!

R2 P2 Day 12

Epic Fail!!!! Yesterday, I had some jerky, fish and tomatoes for lunch, and then a Wendy's BLT Cobb salad with vinaigarette dressing for dinner. Add in some candy and a late evening apple and you can bet that I am going to gain. I spent the day painting at my friend's house. I drank a lot but probably not enough to make up for the extra exertion and sweating. I was hoping that painting for 12 hrs would keep the weight off and I had planned on just making food when I got home but The Man told me he was just going to get me a salad. Of course there was cheese, bacon, and eggs in the salad so all my hard work went out the window. This morning I weighed in at +1 lb. I was hoping not to have to say that. Today is also fast Sunday so I haven't eaten anything but the sacrament today so far so we'll see how today will affect me. I am hoping that it didn't send my body into starvation mode. I am still taking the drops but not eating or drinking. I hope that it won't affect me poorly. Dinner is coming up shortly and I have to fix the family dinner. And then myself dinner also. I have been feeling irritable today but I don't know if that is because I haven't eaten or if that is just a reaction to my children. I hope tomorrow brings better news.

R2 P2 Day 11

Yesterday I was very good and only ate my appointed things. I had fish and cucumbers for lunch and beef and tomatoes for dinner. I also had my two apples. I tried to get in enough water but I'm sure I was short. This morning I weighed in at -1 lb. It was great. Today I am busy so hopefully that will keep me under control.

R2 P2 Day 10

So yesterday was a bust again. I had fish and tomatoes for lunch and then a salad for dinner. I had a large amount of jerky. Then to top that off, I had more candy. I am such a loser! Anyway, I also had my usual apples. Needless to say I was not looking forward to this morning. I weighed in with no change. I guess I should be happy considering how much junk I have consumed in the past three days but I am going to get back on the wagon and stay on target so as not to sabotage myself. I would like to get this over and done with instead of having to do a repeat.

I am still having issues with dizziness and I am not having as many BM's as I would prefer. I think I need to up my fiber or something. Now just to figure out how.

R2 P2 Day 9

Yesterday went ok for the most part. I started out the day pretty much missing breakfast. I had such a busy morning that I took my drops at about 6:30 in the morning but didn't eat until about noon after my second set of drops. I had fish for lunch and it was probably bigger than it should have been. Then somebody snuck me some jerky which I ate right along with about a handful of sour cherry gummies. I am so bad! Then about 2 or so hours after my third dose I had dinner of beef with cucumbers and skipped my second apple. Needless to say I did not think that my next weigh in would be stellar. So I weighed in this morning at -0.5! Yay! I am wondering what the deal is. Last round I had such a difficult time losing the weight. I felt like I stalled all the time. I realize it has only been a week but I feel like it is going better this time around. And it was cheaper to boot! I spent less on 2 oz than I did on 1 oz last time. Maybe it's because I'm losing back the weight that I lost last round. I haven't hit past that point yet. Maybe it will slow down by then but I hope not. It's almost kind of terrible that I still lost weight even though I cheated. It kind of tempts me to cheat again. That's awful!

R2 P2 Day8

So yesterday was my "planned cheat day." I did it because I have been having dizzy spells. I thought maybe I wasn't getting enough calories throughout my day. It didn't happen last round, at least not this severe but this round I was having some numbness associated with it. So for lunch I had "teryaki" beef with cucumbers. I am pretty low key when it comes to cooking my meals for this protocol. I don't do anything fancy and have a tendency to do the same thing every time. I usually just "dry fry" my meat with its spices and then salt my vegetables or add apple cider vinegar to a salad or something. Last night I had been reading a blog and by chance it was for the HCG protocol and some of the recipes inspired me to try something new and now I love it! The recipe wasn't on the blog but I just kind of winged it. I made a sweet mustard chicken salad. It was delish. I used the dressing both in cooking the chicken and for the dressing.

Sweet Mustard Dressing

2 TBS Dijon Mustard
2 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
1 packet stevia (approx 1/2 tsp)


I doubled mine so I could use half as a marinade for the chicken. I didn't even take much time to marinate the chicken so this doesn't have to be a "make in advance" meal. I just whipped up a batch of the dressing and then let the chicken cook in it. It was so awesome, I can't wait to eat it again but I think I am going to have to try to find new recipes to try to excite me. Before I had been eating food just to eat food but this time around I might enjoy it. I think I can keep this recipe even after the protocol. For my cheat foods I didn't want to go overboard and have french fries or cookies, I just ate some really processed meats. So much better, I know. All in all, it came out to under 300 calories more for my day. In trying to keep my weight from ballooning up I took a soak in a detox bath.

Detox Bath
1 C Epsom Salt
1 C Baking Soda
2 TBS Ginger Powder

I drew myself a fairly hot bath and soaked in this mixture for around 30-40 minutes. I'm not entirely sure because I was trying to relax and count songs or something. The point of the bath is to sweat. I didn't sweat as much as I would have liked but I did sweat a bit. Afterwards I rinsed off and went to bed where I continued to cook in my sleep. I had to resist the urge to turn on my fan. So this morning was scary. I weighed in at -0.5 lbs! Yay! That is awesome! I think I will continue with the detox baths especially when it seems like I might stall. I am also going to take the Potassium supplements to see if that helps offset the dizzy spells and other things. I have great hope for this round.

R2 P2 Day 7

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I had fish with tomatoes for lunch and a chicken salad for dinner. I made cookies yesterday and resisted the urge to taste one. I still had a few dizzy spells but nothing really bad. This morning, I weighed in without any change. It was weird though because I weighed myself with and without clothes and it made no difference at all. I don't know. This morning, however, I have been having a lot of dizzy spells and it is getting worrisome so I am taking my first cheat day. I am planning it though so hopefully it won't get out of control. So far I have had an apple, a piece of buttered toast, (courtesy of my littlest one who decided not to eat it) and a serving of lunch meat. I know that sounds terrible but I am trying to increase my caloric intake a little without sabotaging myself. I guess I can handle a gain as long as it is only temporary and that it means that I stop feeling like I'm going to pass out. I did go out for a walk yesterday but it was probably on half an hour and not that fast. I had gone to the Chiropractor earlier that morning and done a foot bath detox. I didn't really know what to think of it but hey, we'll see if it works. Afterwards, I felt a little sick. I had a slightly upset stomach which carried over into my walk so I had to cut it short. Now I just need to keep myself under check so that I don't go crazy thinking I can have whatever I want because I'm already feeling it. Who knows, this may be filled with an apple day which may defeat the purpose of adding a few calories to my day.

R2 P2 Day 6

Doing good so far. I resisted the urge to have the same dinner as my family last night. It was pasta. I'm not usually a pasta person but of course it sounded good. Also, my littlest one has been asking for toast and it was all I could do not to sneak a bite. I love the smell of freshly baked bread and the bread I just bought had that smell. But I resisted. Yesterday I had beef with cabbage for lunch and then a chicken salad for dinner. I still have issues with dizziness but I'm not sure if that is related because I was having spells before I started this round. Cravings are there for things that smell good but then when I eat them I know they aren't going to taste the way I think they should. That frame of mind has kept me from cheating even though I have considered it many times this round.

This morning I weighed in at -1 lb! Yay! This round is going so much better than last time. I have had consistent losses this week. I'm happy. I hope it continues. I haven't been keeping track of my calories. Just eating the recommended foods.

R2 P2 Day 5

Yesterday I made a mistake. I didn't even realize it until just now. Thus far I've been trying to change my protein for every meal so that I didn't have the same thing. As my choices are only chicken, tilapia, and beef because of the choices that is what I'll eat, I just rotate to make sure I don't repeat the same protein on the same day. Upon reflecting what I ate yesterday, I had chicken soup with tomatoes for lunch and then a chicken salad for dinner with my customary apples at snack times. I also had a melba toast at lunch and chamomile tea with stevia after dinner. To my knowledge that is the first time I tried stevia while on this diet. Frankly, I don't like sweet tea warm. I don't know that I'm much of a tea person as it is but I thought I'd try it since I was having a bread craving after making toast for my little one. Needless to say I was nervous this morning for weigh in. Last time around the toast didn't help so I just omitted it. This morning I weighed in at -1.5 lbs! This is the first time so far that I've been excited because I was pretty sure I was going to gain. I also weighed in this morning in my underwear so I don't know if that made a difference or not. I do have a slight amount of swelling in my fingers this morning and less than usual in my ankles and feet. This is awesome! Here's hoping it will continue.

R2 P2 Day 4

So yesterday was better as far as being hungry went. I don't think I was really at all but I did have a late dinner where I took my drops a few hours before I ate. I don't know if that makes any difference. I also went to bed really late and I still didn't feel hungry. I woke feeling fine. No hunger pangs either. As for lunch and dinner. I had tilapia with cherry tomatoes again. For dinner I had chicken and cabbage. I need to get some spinach so that I can have some soup. I remember from last time that the oranges didn't help me out and the grapefruit never felt like enough so I think I'm just sticking to apples for this round.

So here's the thing. This morning I got up too early thanks to a kid with a bad dream so I weighed myself and there was no change. I went downstairs and watched a little tv with The Man, took my drops, then went upstairs to weigh myself and get in the shower. I came out -1.5 lbs. I'm taking it. I need the motivation. This thing isn't so bad. It's a pretty easy adjustment for me. I think a big thing for me is realizing that I don't eat enough vegetables throughout the day. This almost forces me to eat more because since I don't get a lot of food, I have to eat the things that have the least amount of calories to fill myself. I think that I should be eating more veggies on a daily basis from here on out. Though I eat more veggies than the typical American diet, it still isn't enough. I hope to change that. Well, one more day down.

R2 P2 Day 3

Yesterday was an improvement. I didn't feel starving like I did the day before. I made the day with a chicken salad for lunch and beef with cucumbers for dinner. Because "it's what's for dinner." Had my usual apples at their appointed times. Drank more water than I did the day before. I'm doing better.

I weighed in today at -2 lbs. Oddly enough, I was a little disappointed. Last round I had lost 6 pounds in one day. That was motivation enough. This time around, it seems to be a little slower. I don't know if it is the new drops, my TOM or what it could be. I have noticed that my water retention has gone down a bit. That could be the loss so far. My weight from my start date is down 3.5 pounds but 5.5 pounds from my highest weight this round since I gained some on the load days. I guess all I can hope for is to continue this loss. If I can even lose one pound a day from here until my round is done I can lose all that I need to lose to get back down to where I want to be.

Looking back from last time I recall not having a BM for a couple of days at the beginning. I am going to do a salt water flush this morning to get things moving. Way too much TMI.

R2 P2 Day 2

So yesterday I had an apple mid morning, tilapia and cherry tomatoes for lunch, an apple mid afternoon, and chicken and cabbage for dinner. I felt hungry this go around. I don't recall feeling hungry last time. Maybe it's because I prepped on my load day differently. Who knows. It could even be the drops. So far this round is not going especially well. I feel hungry and tired. I'll have to go back and see if that happened last time too. I know I had headaches before and I'm still getting them. This morning I dropped back down the weight I gained on my second load day so I weighed in at -3 lbs which seems kind of moot to me. I hope things go better from here on out. I need to get more sleep and start exercising again.

I just started my TOM today so I don't know if I am retaining water due to that. I hope that is all that is wrong. I kind of expected more of a loss this morning.

And there it is....

Did my second load day yesterday and I tried to eat more calories and for the most part I just ate more food. Probably not the best idea. I ate mostly peaches because I'm the only one in the house who eats them and I had a big bag. Probably not the best idea. Anyway, I also ate rice crackers again and for the life of me I can't think of anything else I ate until I had a late dinner of Winger's wings. It's been a while since I last had them and so I was excited to eat them. It was anticlimactic. They were not as good as I remember. The sauce was different and I didn't like it as much. Other than that, my day was fairly uneventful so I figured I would just maintain. I didn't. I gained. I weighed in at +3 lbs. It was pretty sad. I hope this isn't indicative of what's to come. I don't like to yo-yo. It's very frustrating. So today I start phase 2 and I am ready. I keep thinking I am going to tell The Man what I am doing but pride wins me over every time I think of it. I may still do it later. I guess we'll see.

Round 2 Load 2

So yesterday was a pretty busy day for me. I ran a lot of errands and stayed busier than I've been all summer. I had peaches throughout the day, some cookies, a little jerky, an egg mcmuffin meal, a big bowl of chocolate ice cream (which made my face and mouth itch), and some rice crackers throughout the day. I didn't eat as much as I would have liked to as far as calories and fat but I'll try to get in more junk today. When do you ever say that when you're on a diet? I haven't prepped my meat yet and I really should. I still have some but not enough. I guess I'll be making a trip to the grocery store today to get what I need. I will be eating mostly fish and chicken with the occasional beef meal because last time around I felt like the beef made me stall and lots of people have said the same thing. I need to up my water intake because that is lacking. I also have a sore throat right now and my nose just started acting up. I am guessing it is allergies all of a sudden because I am hoping I'm not sick. I rarely am.

This morning brought a surprise for me. Normally I weigh myself in my underwear so that it is pretty consistent. Yesterday and today I weighed myself wearing what I wore to bed. I didn't mention a deduction on my weight even though there were added clothes but from now on I'll probably just weigh myself in my underwear for continuity. I came in -1.5 lbs from yesterday. Last time around I just stayed the same. I hope this is a good thing.

Here we go again

I am beginning round 2 of HCG this morning. Since April I have maintained about half of my weight loss but did not really exercise. I think if I weren't so bloated and retaining water I could count more but it is what it is. This time around I got the HCG 1234 drops because they were cheaper than the last ones and I couldn't get the other ones right away so I ordered them online. I haven't done much research on what the plan is for these drops but I would assume that it is pretty much the same as the other ones since I got that one online and it wasn't specific to the drops. From what I read in the accompanying brochure, however, these drops have the basic rules but nothing too specific. Maybe that was just the stuff that came with the box. I'll have to check out their site just to be sure. I am planning to go for longer this time. I also did not wait until after my cycle...again...I guess I am just too impatient to start when I want or need to start to get my timing right. Oh well, we'll see how this goes this time around. Fingers crossed!

Losing the battle

Last night was the 4th so we did the customary BBQ and fireworks. I was up late, didn't get much water in, and probably exceeded my calories. This morning I woke up swollen and heavy. I gained again another half pound. I am totally going in the wrong direction here. I need to get back on track and hopefully when I start exercising next week it will be better. I almost hate to put it off but I really want to give my feet some rest so I don't ruin them. I like being able to walk. As for right now, I am losing the battle.

Eh, another

So yesterday I had a Chipotle's burrito bowl, watermelon, and a couple of croissants throughout the day. It didn't feel like a ton but I know it was because I didn't lose anything. I also didn't exercise again. I am taking the week off to let my feet rest and they are getting better. They don't hurt the second I get out of bed and wearing shoes or standing for long periods of time is not as terrible as it was a few days ago. Next week, however, I will get started on my training for my race. I am going to have to go myself since there is no one I can train with around here anymore. I would have preferred a partner but, oh well. I hope that my weight will reduce more after I start running more. So, as for yesterday, it wasn't a total and complete bust but it felt like it.

Determining factors

This morning I woke up with a half pound gain. It sucks. I didn't get enough sleep last night nor did I drink enough during the day. I don't really know what my calorie counts were either. At least I didn't gain a ton. I was a little swollen this morning so that may have been the problem but I need to go the other way if I'm going to get where I want. I guess I can't expect to lose a pound per day. But I can hope.

I am getting there

Yesterday was my first Sunday on IF and it threw me off. I have church at 1-4 pm so it interrupts my planned time frame for eating and I didn't adjust it. So I went from 8 pm the previous night until 4 pm the next day and it wasn't too bad. I don't know if it's because I wasn't home or because I was busy but I felt fine. I did, however, have a grumbly stomach after 3 but no real "cravings" if you will until I got home. It could have just been the prospect of knowing that I could eat that did it. Who knows. We had a very greasy meal last night. Instead of making salmon, I decided I was too tired to cook so we made bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. I don't know how that is any less labor intensive than making salmon but that's how it turned out. The grease was not so kind to me last night. Along with that I had watermelon and cookies. I felt confident that I had reached my caloric needs for the day and I was stuffed so I only used 5 hours. It's kind of hard to pack all your calories into a small window like that unless you are eating junk food. I am doing well and don't have hunger pangs nor do I have to stay busy just to keep from eating. I have it in my head when I am allowed and I am doing fine to stay within that time frame. I do have an occasional mess up mainly because I forget what I am doing but that isn't very often. So this morning I lost 1 lb again! I'm pretty sure it is water weight but I'll take it. I have been so swollen lately. I don't know if it is due to my cycle or my diet but it has been noticeable. Legs, arms, stomach, hands, everything has been swollen and bloated. I am feeling like I can see my ankles again and that is great. I think this is something that I could continue with the rest of my life. I just need to make a conscious decision each day to keep going and so far that hasn't been hard. I'm sure I'll have days when it doesn't work out but this isn't difficult for me, I'm not starving myself, and I'm making better choices because I can eat more food if it's healthy than if it's junk and I think to myself that I don't want to waste calories on something that will cut out how much food I can eat later just for the momentary taste of whatever then. I eat what I want and it is still getting me down to where I want to be health wise. I may change that tune later but for now that is how I feel. I am not disillusioned enough to believe that I will lose a pound every day on this until I reach my desired weight but I know it's getting rid of my water weight that I am retaining and then I can get down to business with a pound or two a week. I am getting there.

Making progress

Yesterday I skipped my workout because of the fires in the neighborhood and spent my day lazying around the house. I woke early and also took a morning nap. It was almost great. Had it not been for the kids waking me up every few minutes for some simple reason, I would have felt refreshed. I almost gave in and ate early but I waited until my time frame. I wasn't necessarily hungry, I just felt like I should have eaten by then. I think that is another one of my problems. I tell myself "I have to eat, right?" And then I do. So I held out until 1 and ate some watermelon and tater tots. I know, breakfast of champions, right? I was very full. In thinking back I've decided that I may not have been getting enough calories in for the day and that is a mistake. I don't want to go into starvation mode and then plateau. That will do nothing. So I made an effort to try to "mix it up" a bit with my calories today and I may have gone a little overboard but it might have helped anyway. I didn't get enough water in, I know that. It was a hot day and we were outside in the late afternoon for a BBQ. I made cookies for the event so I had one before we left. I had some frozen lemonade again and then at the BBQ I had a beef patty and some strawberries. A neighbor asked if I was on a low carb diet because I didn't get a bun. I had to explain my allergy situation. Other than that, I mistakenly had an Otter pop one hour outside my window but I figured I'd be fine. This morning, much to my delight, I had decreased 1.5 lbs. Yay! I don't feel hungry and can go my full cycle without hunger pangs for the most part. I think most of my eating has been a mental thing. I am lucky that way. I am able to see what is wrong and be able to adjust without too much trouble. I am excited to change my ticker even though it may not change as much as I would hope. If I can keep this up, which I know it won't be like this always, I will be a good weight at the family reunion. I just hope that it looks that way. Sometimes my weight does not wear well on me. Here's hoping!

Another day....and then some

This morning started out a little different than most days, I was sore! In a good way. I woke up with the unfamiliar (as of late) feeling of aching muscles. You know, the ones you forgot were there. It seems something worked out yesterday. My bet is the kickboxing class. It almost makes me want to go out and buy a bag and some gloves. On the flip side, however, my joints are mad because I don't usually move them in that manner and I think it did not agree with them. So this morning I woke up not wanting to get out of bed but with a better reason than most days and I crawled out anyway. I had every intention of doing intervals again this morning but just didn't have it in me. So we walked. at the end of everything I stretched for a while because my hamstrings are really tight. I need to do better at stretching them out but I haven't been. I did, however, lose a pound. I'm not sure if that is water weight...who am I kidding, of course it was water weight. I just thought it would be more but I am retaining water terribly and I look so bloated it's ridiculous! My legs and feet, arms and hands are all swollen and I have been drinking water to try to compensate but I'm not so sure. I'm pretty sure it's not dehydration but I guess you never know. But to top it all off, we are having tons of fires all over the state and it is severely affecting air quality. I don't know what I'm going to do about running. I guess I'll have to put it off again. Oh, darn. I'm so heartbroken. Maybe tomorrow can be a stretch day. I like the sound of that. On the bright side, I was wondering what would happen with my IF trial and I seem to be adjusting very well. I had been eating crazy because I am a bored eater and I often eat when I should just drink water. So now that I have a small window in which to eat, I find myself drinking more and paying attention to what I am eating. I do find that I am not as hungry as I thought I would be and sometimes I have to think about what I am eating to ensure that I am getting enough calories for the day. I almost went today off some watermelon, a frozen lemonade, ice cream and water. I had to consciously remind myself that I need to get in a healthy amount of calories to lose properly so I had to make an effort to eat something with substance. I ate some leftover dinner from the previous night and I wasn't really all that into it. I was surprised because I thought I would really feel hunger pangs with how I had been eating but I really don't. I don't know if I should ease into a 19/5 cycle instead. I'll give this one a go for a while I think. I just have to learn to be patient and not expect miracles even though secretly I do.

Seriously???

So I finished off my night with a kickboxing class so that makes HIIT this morning followed by weights and then kickboxing to round out my trifecta. If I don't lose from this I'm gonna scream! Seriously!

Starting over again.

I am starting over again. I have been running but after my trip I haven't been so motivated. I had a friend who wanted to go with me but she is still at a snails pace and I need to be running so that I can train for this half marathon in September. I am really lacking motivation though. I don't really want to run the race and I don't really have anyone with whom to train so I am suffering. I need to lose weight but I am gaining and I don't know if it is bloating or actual weight gain. it sucks either way but a little less if it is water weight. I have been researching quick, fad diets just to get me down quickly and then I would change things up to maintain properly but I just can't bring myself to do them. Common sense wins out. There really is no reason to waste my time doing something temporary. I think it would do more harm than good and overall I am pretty healthy and I don't want to screw that up. So, I did a HIIT run today. It wasn't very long or far and in the end it ended up not being very fast either but it got done. After that, I came home and watered my plants then went to my neighbor's house and lifted weights. My wrists are not liking me and frankly neither are my knees but once again, it got done. Now my friend wants me to do a kickboxing class with her tonight and I am considering it but I've already showered for the day. There's my excuse. I am tired and oddly enough, not hungry. I have been trying to drink a lot of water today because I have been getting headaches and feeling lightheaded. So on to hydrate. Hopefully it will cut down on how much I eat. I know I eat when I am thirsty and I even think that when I am looking for something to eat but I eat anyway. I need to get out of that habit now! I started something today and we'll see how it goes. I am trying out IF. I am going to do a cycle of 18/6 so we'll see what difference that makes. I also need to watch my calorie consumption because I have a tendency to over eat when I feel deprived. So here's hoping that all will work out.

Not feeling it

I woke up this morning and didn't want to get out of bed. I got dressed, put some sunscreen on and went out the door. I had too much on my mind this morning and my run suffered because of it. I didn't have the get lost in thought, whoa how did I get here so quickly type of thinking, I had the I can't think and move at the same time type of thinking so I walked quite a lot. My pace was less than stellar. I didn't do so hot on the weigh in though, so today I have to be extra good. I think maybe all the sugar did it, but I was pretty swollen yesterday night for some reason. I am retaining water. Maybe being on my feet all day contributed or perhaps not drinking enough water, who knows. My fingers are swollen this morning and all I want to do is go back to bed. I hope it gets better as the day progresses.

Another day down

I went out this morning with my Little Man and he ran the first mile with me. He did great! So I dropped him off and went off for a walk because it is my rest day today. But good music and great weather prevailed and I started to run. It was a really great run. I had some pain in my chest but I think I'm just getting used to running again. It went away after awhile and I kept going. Total miles were 4.85 and I felt good. Didn't have the best food day though. Hoping tomorrow is looking up.

I ran!

Today I got my butt out of bed at 6 am and went for a run. Yay, me! I have been having trouble getting myself out of bed since the birth of my second child many moons ago and now that the kids are out on summer break then I decide to start running early in  the morning? I am so demented. Went for 4.13 miles today and averaged about a 12 min pace. That is spectacular considering the fact that I have barely run since my half marathon at the end of October last year. Totally ridiculous! I am determined, however, to get in shape and be smokin' hot. That last part will probably never happen regardless of how fit I am but I'll take being in shape. I need to try to eat clean because I'm gaining back all the weight that I lost. I am up about 6 lbs now and I hate it! I want to lose weight not gain it and my current habits are not permitting that. So, I will try to exercise more. I still have much to do before I get into the habit.

I didn't exercise yesterday so I ended up with 3 days off instead of just 2 like the BR plan calls for so this week I am going full force and I'll have to work it out somehow. I might not get in all 5 days of workouts but I'm going to try my best. I think I can at least do something. I also did a few sets of body weight resistance but I'm sure it's not nearly enough. I really should start doing a set from BR each day on top of my run. I'll start that tomorrow. I know that sounds like a cop out but I will do it. Tomorrow is another day. Here's hoping I keep going!

Being lazy

So my husband was off and for that reason I had a hard time working out. I need to get past that or else I am going to be fat for the rest of my life. I hadn't worked out since my last post except last night I did some planks and squat holders, some leg lifts and presses while I was playing my ipod so that I didn't feel entirely lazy. I thought with how much the planks hurt that I would be feeling it today but I haven't yet. I guess we'll have to see how it goes. I just saw an ad of Facebook for a race that I am considering. There is one that I had already considered but I may change it up because this new one is all downhill. I may even consider doing a marathon because of that. I really think I could do it. If I do, it is a couple of weeks after the other half marathon I had been considering but being all down hill I think if I just trained right I would be able to do it. I am definitely going running tomorrow morning as it is Sunday today. I have a vacation coming up soon but I'll just have to work around that. I really need the motivation. Maybe I will do the marathon. I am oddly excited about it.

Bodyrock Week 1 day 2

Wow! As I sat watching the video for day 2 I was overwhelmed. It looks so complicated. Once you learn all the lingo I'm sure it's not such but as this is my first go at it, it was extremely complicated. I had to go back mid session and watch the video again to figure out what the list meant. This was seriously hard core. I know that I'm not fit enough to do it all very well but I'm giving it a go. I wish I was working harder at it and I think that I can, it's just while I am doing it it feels like I could keel over at any moment. In fact even now as I sit here typing I feel a bit faint. I don't feel I worked out that hard but tomorrow is a new day and hopefully I'll get up in the morning and work out instead of late at night when I am tired.

As for my diet today, I did okay on the snacking, however I ate a lot of sugar. It is summer time here and I have a tendency to eat popsicles to cool off. I had too many of those today and I had some candy. Other than that, I did okay. I made my own dinner tonight and I increased my water consumption from yesterday. I'm still not back up to what I should be but I'm getting there.

I have been thinking of ways to increase my exercising throughout the day instead of doing just 12 minutes of exercise. I think that in order to make up for any lounging about I am going to try to exercise while I lounge. For instance, while I watch tv I could do plank or crunches or something of the sort either during commercial break or a predetermined amount of sets throughout the show. I hope that will motivate me to keep moving instead of just watching tv. Maybe I'll get more done...housework, exercising, projects, etc.

Here is the link for the workout I did today. It was called "good feeling" workout or something like that. I am doing the January 2012 challenge.

My stats for the exercise were this:

10 x High Knees & 10 x Mountain Climbers  4 sets
2 x Squat Jumps & 2 x Push-ups & 1 x Tuck Jumps  2 sets
Centre to Elbow Jump (L&R) & 2 x leg jumps  6 sets
Clean & Press & Squat & Press & Push Up  5 sets
Tuck Jumps x 5 & ½ Burpee & squat hold x 5  3sets
Spider Knee Push up & Straight Leg Push Up (L&R)  13 Pushups girl style
Switch Lunge & Press  9 sets
Side Lunge x 2 & L & R Side Punch  & 2 Tuck Jumps  7 sets
10 x Squat & 10 x Squat Jumps  1 1/3 sets
Elbow to Knee jumps 10 x each side  4 sets
Wide leg jumps & Push up 15 sets
Speed run

BodyRock Fit Test Week 1 Day 1

So I've kept most of the weight off. I have been fluctuating between 4-6 lbs over but I haven't been eating well. I have been eating junk so it's a miracle that I'm not worse off. I haven't been keeping up with my water intake or been exercising much. I am changing that now. I have a family reunion coming up at the end of July and I want to be smokin' hot when I go. I hope I have the motivation to do this because I just now finished my workout for the day and it kicked my butt! I don't know if I'm just that out of shape or if it is also because I am tired. My little one woke me up at 4 this morning and I couldn't go back to sleep after that even if I didn't go to bed until midnight. So here it is, after much searching on Bodyrock.tv to find the 30 day challenge. That site is great but it is not easily searched for content. You either have to start where they are at or do a lot of searching. It took me over an hour tonight to find what I was looking for and then I'll have to bookmark it just so I can find it again. Maybe I'm just not that familiar with their site yet. Who knows? Anyway, here are my stats for tonight's fit test. I am sweating and exhausted. I couldn't do very much because I tried not to take a break in between. Maybe I was supposed to. I don't know. The instructions weren't exactly clear on that point. It gave 7 exercises 50 seconds each with a 10 second rest in between but it said that the exercises were 12 minutes long. Maybe I'll get the hang of this as I go. Needless to say, I only did 7 minutes worth and I am off to shower and go to bed.

Squat Jumps 15??
Pushups 19 (4-reg 15 girl style)
Burpees 10??
High Knees 48 bilateral
Switch Lunges 10??
Tuck Jumps 7
Straight Abs 20 (easy arms out in front)

R1 P3 Day 17

So I've pretty much skipped phase three in my book. I guess you could say that I've pretty much moved on to eating whatever I want. I haven't really dived in yet but I may as well have. I weighed in at 1.5 lbs over my LDW this morning. I'm not surprised that I gained. I was thoroughly expecting a steak day. Maybe tomorrow. Not that I'm trying to have one, but I'm not exactly trying not to have one. I had an apple this morning and then the other half of my Kneader's sandwich this afternoon for lunch. I also had a frozen juice. Later, I had pretty much a whole chocolate bar minus what little I shared with my little one. I had another frozen juice and about a handful of almonds today. I had an Izze also. For dinner, which was late, I had an omelet with red bell peppers and salsa. I am tired and I just realized that I did something to my hip so my relay race is going to suck. I really should get going on running but I haven't done anything as of yet and the race is in about a month. Good thing I got the short leg or we'd be really screwed. I hope tomorrow will be a better day all the way around.

R1 P3 Day 16

So, today I weighed in at 0.5 lbs over my LDW. That is awesome considering what I ate yesterday. I have been giving myself too much liberty when it comes to food because I think I just figured that I ate junky yesterday and I was okay.  I really need to stop that frame of mind. I had a large bowl of strawberries this morning. I had a few cups of frozen juice, ham and provolone probably two or three times, 4 squares of chocolate, an Izze, half an apple, and half of a turkey, bacon avocado sandwich from Kneaders. I also had a few sips of a Kneaders smoothie. Junk. All day. I just snacked. I didn't really eat any veggies at all today except what was on my sandwich. It's sad, really. All this work and then I go back to eating junk. I did talk myself out of french fries though. I just couldn't bring myself to eat that. It really just seemed gross to me. No burgers either. I don't actually know why I even bothered to eat out. I think I'm going to have to make more of an effort to put out food or eat more vegetables. I will definitely have to find another vegetable to eat other than cauliflower mostly because I have been piling on the cheese. I am replacing one kind of junk with another. I clogged up my intestines with all the cheese and it made itself known today. I felt awful. Hopefully I won't have shot myself in the foot tomorrow. I don't have much hope though.

ETA: I forgot that I ate a lot of roasted almonds today. That's always iffy for me.

R1 P3 Day 15

I don't remember what all happened this day but I know I weighed in at 1 lb over my LDW. I walked again this day but only a short one. It was probably only two and a half miles. I know I ate junk. More pizza, apples, chocolate, and cheese. Nothing good. I think if I can just curb how much I am eating, I'll maintain or even lose weight. I guess we'll see.

R1 P3 Day 14

I gained another 0.5 lbs to put me 1.5 pounds over my LDW. I played with fire today. I had an apple late this afternoon and then an omelet with salsa. Then I had mad sugar cravings so I had 3 squares of chocolate. I drank a grapefruit Izze today, had another apple, a little bit of sandwich ham and then to make my day worse, I had 2 slices of hawaiian pizza for dinner. It's the first time since I started this diet that I've have any kind of bread. I also had one slice of Italian cheese bread. These came from Little Caesar's. I think I'm going to be hating life tomorrow. The only saving grace that I have is that I went for a one and a half hour walk this morning. It wasn't terribly brisk but I pushed a stroller. Not a jogging stroller, it was a baby stroller which was rather heavy. I am still thinking that tomorrow is not going to be great. Blech!

R1 P3 Day 13

Today wasn't terrible but I did have a gain. I guess it's more of a fluctuation. I weighed in at +1 lb above my LDW. Considering how I ate yesterday I guess I can't complain and tomorrow will be even worse for me. I see a steak day coming soon. I think for me it is more of watching my caloric intake and actually even paying attention to it. This morning I had 2 apples, later I had an omelet with salsa. I had a small amount of pistachios and cauliflower with cheese and hot sauce. I had some greek yogurt. for dinner I had a bratwurst with tomatoes. I think sheer volume will do me in tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot, I had a mad sugar craving so I had one square of chocolate. I know that's bad right now but I just did it. I guess it'll be a steak day tomorrow.

R1 P3 Day 12

It's been almost two weeks! Weird! Because I was really getting antsy to begin phase four and now I see that I'm almost there. I may still keep bread out of the picture but I would really like some rice and maybe some oatmeal. This morning was better even though I ate some questionable things yesterday. I think it's because I didn't eat as much yesterday as I have been on other days. I really haven't been keeping track of my calorie counts or carb counts because I haven't eaten out and I typically make my own food. So I just assumed that I was okay. I weighed in at my LDW again for a loss of -1.5 lbs since yesterday. I had two apples for breakfast. It seems like apples have become a staple for me. Well, an apple a day... For lunch I had cauliflower and cheese with hot sauce. And then again for an afternoon snack. I had salmon and a salad for dinner with an apple. I hope things stay at my LDW tomorrow. I would like to see some continuity regarding my weight but I haven't yet. I guess I've really only been within two pounds but still, I'd like to see my LDW for a week straight. That would be awesome. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow.

R1 P3 Day 11

This morning was pretty much what I expected. A gain, and not in a good way. I went up +1.5 lbs above my LDW. I blame the pistachios and the chocolate. Well, among other things. I guess I need to figure out a way to curb the munchies without resorting to snacking all day long. That is probably why I have gained so much weight in the past few years. I am still wondering what the guy meant in "pounds and inches" when he said "violent fluctuations" regarding weight changes after phase three. Today was interesting. We went on a day trip so there was not much sitting down to eat. We didn't eat out so that was good. I packed my own snacks but some of it was iffy. I had an apple and a half on the way, drank some water, and when we got to our destination, I had some beef jerky. I still have the munchies so I had two pieces of string cheese and then we had a late lunch of grilled chicken, salad with a sweet vinegrette dressing, and some dutch oven potatoes with carrots. I only had a little bit of the potatoes. I had another third of a piece of jerky on the way home, two more apples and a grapefruit Izze. That had 29 g of sugar in it but "no added sugar" so it claims it all came from fruit juice. We'll see what tomorrow brings. It was late when we got home but I was still hungry. I resisted the urge to eat.

R1 P3 Day 10

I guess the steak day really does work. I went back down -2 lbs back to my LDW. I had no lunch since I got up late. I had cauliflower and cheese with hot sauce for lunch with a slice of pastrami. I had a snack of greek yogurt with 2 packets of stevia. The stevia added just a little sweetness which I would have been fine with one packet normally but I was having a craving for something sweet. I had the munchies all day long it seemed. I had an apple and for dinner I made sausage with peppers. I did break down and have a little bit of pistachios earlier in the day and then to add insult to injury I had a little bit of 50% chocolate. I really should think about these things. It will not bode well for me for tomorrow.

R1 P3 Day 9

So this morning I was back up +1.5 lbs so I tried another steak day. I did eat something bad, really bad this morning at 5 am and then I didn't have anything until around 4:30 or 5:00 which was an apple. I failed to drink enough water again. I had a steak around 7:30 with broccoli and zucchini. I also had an apple and some pistachios. I really need to stop eating nuts because I think that is what is putting me over the top. They have so many carbs and I think that is making me go haywire. I will try not to eat anymore but once I start it is hard to stop. My littlest one likes them too so it's hard when I'm feeding the little one. I hope tomorrow works out better.

R1 P3 Day 8

So today I came in at +1 lb which puts me 1.5 pounds over my LDW so I almost made it to a steak day today. Thank goodness I didn't. Today did not help though. I had breakfast at Ikea with the fam today so I had eggs and bacon with just a couple pieces of potatoes. Maybe 3 or 4 at the most. Then, for lunch I had cauliflower with cheese and hot sauce. I went dress shopping today and came back and had the munchies so I had my frozen orange juice to cool off and try to reduce some of my water retention since I didn't have anything to drink while shopping. I had no fruit today, strangely, and I had a slice of pastrami. For dinner this evening I had chicken and cabbage. I might have over eaten because I was pretty stuffed afterward. I also had some pistachios. I hope my carb load doesn't put me over the top again or The Man and I are going out tomorrow and I'm doing a steak day. I really don't want to do that. Maybe I should just start drinking water and stop eating junk. I hope tomorrow is better.

R1 P3 Day 7

Today was better. I have been stressing about maintaining just because I don't want to have to start over. I came in at -1.5 lbs so I am back to half a pound over my LDW. Today I was still tired. I don't quite understand what is going on. I have been eating junk today. I had a 3 egg omelet with cheese and peppers. For lunch I had cauliflower with cheese and hot sauce. Do you see a pattern here? I even had cottage cheese today. I opted for some pistachios which I'll have to check the list to make sure that they are okay. I should probably get into the habit of doing that first. Duh! I had some orange juice today because I was having a craving for sweets. For dinner I had bacon and an apple. See...junk. I don't think I had a very redeeming day and I think it is going to show again tomorrow because I was already retaining water earlier today. Even my fingers are showing it. Earlier, I could tell my ankles were somewhat swollen and my legs too. I hope I am drinking enough water to counteract that, but probably not. I have not been in the mood to do much lately as far as household chores go. I've done laundry and cleaned off my fridge but I have so much to do and no motivation whatsoever. I don't know if I'm depressed or what. Who knows. Maybe I just need some sun. Whatever the case may be, The Man has some time off and I'm going to make the most of it. I hope.

R1 P3 Day 6

Epic FAIL!!! Today I earned the right to do my first steak day and I didn't even do that right. I was so good all through phase 2 and then I think I just got lazy on phase 3. I found out that my almonds were mega carb loaded and I'm sure my juice didn't help. So this morning I weighed in at +1.5 lbs and since I was already up half a pound that put me at my 2 lbs over. So I had every intention of doing a steak day today and I made it all the way to 4 o'clock this afternoon then I don't know what came over me. I wasn't even hungry. I was making The Man lunch for work and then I just started snacking. I had cheese and pastrami then later I had a bowl of cottage cheese. I had my dinner of steak (beef...I don't know if you can really consider it steak) and tomatoes. I had two romas. I think I even had two apples today. I don't know what is wrong with me. I hope tomorrow is better or I am really going to have to do a steak day. I took some herbs and fiber to get things going because they really aren't. I don't know what is up with that. I upped it to the highest dosage so that hopefully things start moving. I've had a headache all day and I've been having dizzy spells even after I ate. That being the case, I have been trying to drink enough water to make up for things. I'm pretty sure I was unsuccessful. So, tomorrow will be a crap shoot again and I'll probably have to do another steak day. I really hope that I don't, but it's not looking good. I really need to start exercising again. Nothing has been going on because of the weather and frankly, I've been so tired lately that I have a hard time staying up during the day. All I want to do is go back to sleep after I get the kids off to school. I'm exhausted!

R1 P3 Day 5

Today was non eventful in that I came in with no loss, no gain. I still have about 20 pounds that I would like to lose. I find it ridiculous that I have to get down to "high school skinny" in order to be at a good BMI for my height. I have been totally lazy on the exercise front. My relay race is going to suck if I don't get on it soon. At least I am doing the short run. But still, I don't want to take forever to do it so I'm going to have to step it up if I want to even be able to run the whole way.

This morning I made myself a pig by eating a 4 egg omelet with cheese and peppers again. I don't know why it seems that I am pushing the envelope every chance I get but it really seems like I am. I have been snacking on almonds all day and frankly, I finished the package. I don't know how much it was, but through the course of the day it was probably around a cup of almonds. I had a heaping spoonful of cottage cheese but mostly I had three large cups of frozen orange juice. I think that is my favorite way to have it because it's like a popsicle but it has less sugar. I know I'm not supposed to do oranges, but I really wanted some juice. I could probably make myself some lemonade as I bought some stevia but I haven't even opened up the package yet. I suppose I didn't eat lunch other than all my snacking but for dinner I had leftover beef again and tomatoes. That did it for my day so we'll see what tomorrow looks like.

I am almost done with my cycle so I hope that will help my drop any water weight I might have picked up.

R1 P3 Day 4

So today turned out okay. Well, it turned out better than I thought it would. I weighed in at -0.5 lbs this morning. Considering the fact that I had a smoothie and whatever else, I think that is great. It puts me at only half a pound over my LDW. Today I don't remember all that I ate because instead of eating meals, I kind of just snacked all day long. I did have dinner, but I found there was nothing that I wanted to cook so I had to go shopping today.

This morning I had an apple as usual. I hate to admit it, but I ate some cheese this afternoon. Instead of just slicing it and eating it, I melted it in the microwave and ate it that way. I had the hardest time staying awake all day today even though I got a good amount of sleep last night. I finished off my cauliflower which only amounted to about 3 pieces. I had a piece of leftover roast with a little salsa for lunch, and for dinner tonight, I had a steak with raw tomatoes. I did forget myself again and had 3 glasses of orange juice. It wasn't until after the first glass that I remembered that oranges are not a phase 3 food. But frankly, I didn't care. It really hit the spot and got rid of some cravings I was having. I hope it doesn't affect me negatively tomorrow. I am still exhausted and I was hoping to go to bed early tonight but that isn't going to happen. I had some laundry to fold and I put another load in the washer and now it's 9:30. I still have things I want to do but I think I may have to for go them until another day. I am so tired. I need to drink some water to hydrate myself so I may just stay up long enough to do that. I am getting used to no bread but I would really like to have some rice. If I could have rice, eating would seem normal to me. I think I can do without the bread but rice has been a struggle for me. Oh, I almost forgot, I bought some nuts to snack on and I had a small handful of salted roasted almonds. I am going to have to go back over the list but I hope they are okay to eat during phase 3. I've noticed a lot of phase three recipes have almond flour and other non-glutinous flours on them. I wonder about them though.

R1 P3 Day 3

Today has sucked so far. I came in at +1.5 lbs this morning. i don't know if I ate too much or if it's what I ate or if it's because I just started my monthly. I hope it is due to the last. Technically, I'm only one pound above my LDW but it still feels like a lot. I had an apple this morning, a 3 egg omelet with cheese and peppers topped with salsa, and for lunch I had cauliflower covered with cheese and hot sauce. That was good. Maybe I'm eating too much cheese. That is one of my downfalls. At the rate I'm going, I feel a steak day coming on. I haven't been drinking enough water and I'm sure that doesn't help. I hope this all works out that I can at least maintain if not lose more. I need to keep the water weight off at the very least. Hopefully I can do that.

Later...
Totally messed up today. I had roast with a lettuce salad and a little bit of balsamic on top. Then, tonight I went on a date with The Man and we had Jamba juice. I wasn't thinking and ended up ordering something that had sherbet in it and I got a major sugar load! Tonight I am retaining water in my ankles and I feel bloated. Not a good sign for tomorrow. Commence the praying. I feel a steak day coming on.

R1 P3 Day 2

This morning, I came in at -0.5 lbs. I was back down to my lowest weight. It was awesome considering the fact that I went out to dinner and had carrots on accident. Who knows what tomorrow will bring. This morning I had an apple with a cheese and red bell pepper 3 egg omelet. I went about my day and for lunch I tried the cauliflower crust pizza. It was just eh. I probably didn't make it right but oh well. I put chicken and red bell peppers on it. I ate it all and there was a ton of it. I didn't eat it all at one sitting but it felt like it. I had a late dinner of cottage cheese and one two slices of pastrami wrapped in a bunch of lettuce. I am stuffed! I am so tired and ornery these days. I don't know if I'm just tired or still having reactions to the HCG. I really just need a vacation from life. But that is never going to happen. I probably don't want it to either. Here's hoping for a good tomorrow.

R1 P3 Day 1

So the first day of my phase 3 I gained back the 0.5 lbs but I'm okay with that. I would prefer to go down if anything but half a pound is okay. I finished my 72 hrs around 11:45 this morning and even though I had my first "cheat" this morning, (a slice of pepperoni covered with cheese--not pizza, just one pepperoni) I was feeling okay. But today may not have turned out how I hoped. I had an apple this morning and then cottage cheese and eggs with hot sauce for lunch. I had another apple later and a spoonful of cottage cheese. I snacked on some cauliflower with ranch dip (ranch seasoning with Fage plain greek yogurt). For dinner I went out to eat for the first time in over a month with my friend. I had a 9 oz steak with vegetables. I subbed the potato for vegetables. The one thing I forgot was that I couldn't eat carrots and I did. First mistake. Really? Anyway, I really felt it because I finished all my steak and about 75% of my vegetables. My stomach started to feel upset after that. I don't know if my steak wasn't cooked well enough because I ordered it Med rare or what but my stomach has been giving me trouble since. It feels gassy and bloated. I am not sure if I just ate too much or bad foods or who knows what. Ugh! I guess I'll find out in the morning. I weighed myself before I got into the shower tonight and I hadn't gained any weight but I don't think that is going to hold up. I hope all is well in the morning.

R1 Day 33

Redemption! I am back down the 0.5 lbs that I gained yesterday. I even ate more yesterday and I did okay. I guess if I think about it, I really just had an extra apple yesterday. Today may be the same story though. This morning I had a large apple and later I had strawberries because I was pretty hungry. Lunch was fish and tomatoes, and later, another apple. I had serious munchies today so I had a melba toast and then decided that I should just make dinner. I had Chicken and cabbage ( my fave) again and then felt better. But, I had another apple this evening. So, all in all, I doubled my fruit allowance for the day and I had a melba toast. Today was probably not the day to eat the toast but I seriously have the munchies. I also have a headache and I think my cycle will start any day now. I hope that tomorrow brings better news because right now I'm not feeling it. On the bright side, I can eat more food tomorrow. I already have things planned to eat. I don't know how to work this because if I have to stay on the 500 calorie thing until 11:00 or 12:00, it will change how many calories I have for the day. I guess I should have thought that out better rather than flying by the seat of my pants. I'll try to do the best that I can from here on out. I hope this sticks!

R1 Day 32

So this morning sucked. I gained back 0.5 lbs. It's probably because I didn't drink and I'm retaining. I'm almost sure of it. Today may have been a bust also. I don't know but at the rate I'm going, I'll have to do a steak day the first day in phase 3! Not that I mind steak, I could just do without the extra poundage. I hope tomorrow is better but considering the fact that I ate an apple this morning, fish and onions for lunch, another apple, dinner was chicken and cabbage (one of my favorites), and then because I was probably thirsty, I ate another apple. I almost had a melba toast but I didn't. I had some green tea this evening which, I don't actually like. I was looking for another tea but I think I threw it away. I have been feeling like I need to have a BM but nothing seems to come but gas. It doesn't smell, it's just air.

Well, I guess it hasn't all been for naught. The Man did say the nicest thing to me today before he left for work. He said, "Have you lost weight? Because you look like you have." At least somebody noticed. Finally! And it was him! That's the best!

R1 Day 31

So this morning I came in with no change in weight. Because of that, I have decided to switch over to phase 3 of the protocol instead of doing another apple day. Though I would like to lose a few more pounds this round, I think it will be at the expense of doing 3 more apple days in order to get me there. I don't think it should be that way. So I decided that I'll just move on to phase 3. I took my last dose of HCG at approximately 11:00 am this morning but I'm not entirely sure so I thought I would begin phase 3 at noon on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll be successful at stabilizing so that I can either do another round and get to my goal weight or exercise my butt off. Literally. I didn't have anything this morning as it was a lazy morning. For lunch I had fish, onions, and an orange. I felt so hungry that I had a melba toast for a snack. Dinner came early with a teriyaki beef salad. I'll have an apple later if I get hungry. And that will be it for my day. I don't know if the HCG really made that much of a difference as far as curbing my hunger but I'm sure I'll find out. So at the end of my doses, I lost a total of 19.5 lbs during this round. I don't really feel like I lost any measurable inches. I am hoping that I just don't notice it yet but maybe later.

R1 Day 30

To continue or not to continue...That is the question. This morning was not terrible. I weighed in at -0.5 lbs even considering the fact that I had little sleep. I guess I didn't really have little sleep, it just felt like it. I have reached the point where I don't know what to do. I have been successful in part because The Man has been out of town on business so there were no "fast food" fixes that I had to turn down, no eating out, and frankly, not much cooking. I don't mind cooking, I just have a hard time cooking when I can't taste the food to see if it is done or spiced right or if the flavors work. Not being able to mix foods, not being able to eat certain foods, and not being able to eat oil really hinders that aspect of cooking. I don't think my family would like it especially if I told them they were going to eat some of the food I have been eating. Not that my food was bad, it just wasn't what they are used to. So now, what do I do? I think I can continue on for a few more days without causing a problem but after that, I don't know. I want to keep going for the rest of my forty days just to see if I can lose more. I am just shy of 20 pounds right now and would love it if I could actually lose something more like 30. But I am a realist and know that with my current record, that is not happening. But even five more pounds would be great. To be down 25 pounds right now, I could handle that. I've decided that after I move on to phase 3 I am going to start muscle building to tone up my stomach and, well, body. I would like to like my body someday and I hope this is going to get me the jump start that I need.

Today I had an apple, a really late lunch of fish and cucumbers, and I was hungry so I had another apple which half I ate raw and the other half I nuked with cinnamon. As for dinner, I had chicken and tomatoes. I am trying to get my water in today but every time I drink water, I freeze. I don't quite understand it. I took some herbs this evening to try to help things "move along" because nothing has been happening with that respect for the past couple of days. I am wondering if my bowels being sluggish has affected any loss that I might have had. Who knows. I have read about people taking vitamin B12 shots or some sort of vitamin B shot while doing this diet and with all my research, I've never looked into why they do that. I will remedy that situation tonight.

R1 Day 29

Wow! It's already day 29! Hard to believe really. Well, I think my dinner last night really did me in. The meat was rather fatty and so the scale did not change. I also did not get enough sleep as my oldest went to see the midnight showing of a movie and I had two sickies at home. One of which kept waking up. Combine that with the fact that I was "waiting up" for my oldest to get home and you have pretty much no sleep. Today may be no different either. But, I am going to try to go to bed early because I am exhausted. If I am lucky enough to get in a nap that will be wonderful but I have a lot of house cleaning to do today and no motivation to do it. We'll see what happens. I still have no change in inches again. At least nothing that I've been able to find. Clothes are still as tight and such.

Food for the day consisted of an orange, camomile tea, fish with tomatoes, another apple, and a chicken salad. I am very tempted to eat a melba toast. I don't know if I will or not. I have been super hungry lately. I don't know what the deal is. It's really only at the times when I would be eating that I am hungry. Even though I finished dinner tonight at about 5:30, I don't anticipate being hungry for the rest of the night. If I am, I will take some more drops. Tonight will be another late night for me. I really need to catch up on sleep. I'll be playing it by ear as to how long I keep going. If I don't lose tomorrow, I may do an apple day just for good measure and then possibly finish out this round. I hope is works out, though. I want to at least lose 20 pounds. I'm so close. If I could lose more, that would be great. I'm almost down to the weight on my driver's license. How's that for lying. He, he, he.

R1 Day 28

Surprise, surprise! I weighed in at -1 lb this morning! It seems like forever since I had a loss twice in a row. I am only about 21 pounds away from my goal weight. My BMI is now 23.7 and I still look the same. No real change to speak of as far as inches go. I am hoping that I can do this for the forty days but my situation has changed so I don't know if I'll be able to keep it up. I don't want to sabotage myself with bad behaviors right out of the gate. I am trying to plan my life around all this but things will be different from here on out. My situation has been thus that it has been easy for me to keep up with the protocol but now it will get harder even if it is just for another 10 days or so. I want this to work out!

For breakfast I had an apple, lunch was tilapia and cucumbers, another apple for a snack, and beef with onions for dinner. I think the beef might come back to haunt me as it was kind of fatty. The meat was so marbled that I couldn't do anything about it. Normally I look for that but when I don't want it, that is all I can find of course. I am probably going to try to cut back on the beef anyway. It doesn't really like me. It makes me lethargic. I haven't really found all the energy that people say occurs with this diet. If anything, I am tired all the time. I don't know if I'm a little depressed, if it's hormones or if it's the diet. Who knows? I really hope that it doesn't affect me but with my luck, it will. I guess I'll keep my expectations low again for tomorrow. I actually feel kind of sick. I don't know if I'm hungry or if I ate something bad. I think I'm hungry.

R1 Day 27

So far my apple day is about the same as last time. This morning I weighed in at -1.5 lbs which is good. I went down to the next weight range of ten so maybe if I can actually lose weight for the next couple of days then I'll consider doing a full forty days or 34 pounds. I doubt that I'll get to 34 pounds but I know I can do 40 days. If I could lose 30 pounds on this round I think I would try and do the rest through diet and exercise alone. Now that I have less fat, or so I'm supposed to, I can start working on seeing my ab muscles and such. I still have a lot to lose though and frankly, I haven't changed clothing sizes at all so I still doubt that I have lost that much. I hope that the loss that I have from my apple day continues on from here. I don't want to gain any of it back. I still have one or two more apples to eat this morning so we'll see how it goes for tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

So for today, I finished off my apple day with a large apple this morning, and then for lunch I had tilapia with tomatoes. I had another apple today between lunch and dinner and then had a chicken salad for dinner. I drank probably 88 oz of water I guess and finished off my day with one melba toast because for some reason I was really hungry tonight. I really should just start taking another dose of HCG rather than eat something...hmmm...next time. I am hoping that tomorrow won't be a gain. That will really make me mad. I don't want to have to do another apple day again. This time around it didn't affect me as much as it did last time. I really only had one BM whereas last time I had three. I'm sure you didn't want to hear that. Anyway, I am looking forward to phase 3 and have been checking out what foods I can eat on it plus recipes. Probably not the best idea since it kind of makes me hungry. I am still having bread cravings and it is all I can do not to eat some bread. I can smell it. It is calling to me and I have to remind myself that bread will not be happening for a while. Another day down I guess. It's hard to believe that I've been on this diet almost a month. It's also hard to deal with the fact that I feel like I look the same. My ankles and feet are thinner. Yay. I really wish now, that I'd had the guts to take before and after pics so I could hopefully see a change because my clothes don't fit any different where it counts. Well, as far as I can see.

R1 Day 26

I don't know what I am thinking. I had no loss again today so I am doing an apple day and I hate them! I don't know why I do this to myself. I haven't been on HCG long enough to become immune to it I would think but it doesn't seem to be working for me. I had planned on doing at least a 30 day run but I'm at the point now where I just want to move on to phase 3. It seems like a waste of drops though. I know this stuff wasn't extremely expensive but I hate to waste. I had even convinced myself that I would do a 40 day run and that seems unlikely now too. I keep making things that I really want to eat right now and it's killing me! It isn't chocolate or sweets that I want, I want bread! And I keep thinking about how I can't even attempt it for at least another 3 weeks! I can't let this beat me, though. I am going to hold out for the 30 days of drops and then do my 72 hrs of VLCD and then move on to phase 3 in about 10 days. I think I can hold out for that long. Then it will just be a test of whether or not I can figure out the proper thing to eat from then on. I don't think I'll have a problem doing a steak day but this apple thing is killing me. I find it really weird because I really like apples. I hope to at least get down to the next range of 10 weight-wise because I'm right there on the cusp. It would be nice to be just that much closer to my goal weight. Then, When I wait my allotted time I will only have another 20 or so pounds to lose and if I only lose 17 pounds then, I won't be so butt hurt. I will have to work on building muscle from here on out because I didn't really lose any inches at all. If I did, they aren't in any place that I measured. I think I lost some on my ankles. Maybe my fingers. Really? Those weren't really the places I was so inclined to lose. Not that I mind, but I was really hoping to lose a muffin top or some inches off my hips or arms. That would be nice. Perhaps next time. Or maybe when I start doing ab exercises.

R1 Day 25

I think I got my hopes up this morning and I gained 0.5 lbs. I don't know why I do this to myself. I am even considering doing a 40 day round instead of 30 because I think my schedule will permit it. Really, though? This is seriously frustrating!

Today has been another interesting day for me. I had a faux apple pie this morning. It would have been much better had Thing 1 not used up all my cinnamon. It was followed by tilapia with asparagus for lunch, another apple, and chicken with broth and most of a cucumber. I just couldn't eat another bite. I was so stuffed. I know I said that I couldn't/wouldn't do fish but I was hoping that this might make a change for me.

One thing about this diet that I am glad of, I am noticing when I am full and trying to stop if not stopping. It's a good thing. I think that is how I got into this mess. I have no hopes for tomorrow either, I just really hope that I don't gain. That would mean that I'm doing another apple day. I didn't get in nearly enough water again. Thing 3 has been throwing up this weekend so it was a day of chasing kids around with a bowl. Yuck! I really need to make drinking water a priority. I think it would make such a difference for me. I tried to get extra sleep last night but I woke up at 2:00 am freezing in my bed and I just couldn't get warm. I finally had to pull on another blanket before I could sleep. That didn't help as I was shivering for a good half hour. So much for a good night's rest. Maybe tonight?

R1 Day 24

This protocol is exasperating! I had all but given up and had decided to just finish out my time to try to make what I've done stick and this morning I had totally expected to gain or stay the same and I lost. I lost 1 lb this morning! Not that I'm complaining, it's just hard to try to pinpoint what is not working in my diet. Am I not taking in enough calories? Am I taking in more fat than I realize? What is the deal? If I eat the same things it doesn't matter. If I eat different things it doesn't matter. ARGH! I guess I'll keep going with this and just take it as it comes. I am going to try one thing though, I am going to try to get more sleep. I have been overly tired lately and needing a nap about 2 hrs after the kids leave for school.

Later...

So today was uneventful. No real stressors to speak of. I had an apple this morning and chicken with cabbage for lunch. For dinner I had beef with tomatoes and an apple. I was going to try the "fake apple pie" thing where you just bake an apple and put cinnamon on it but the apple I chose was just too crisp of an apple to bake and make soggy so I ate it raw. I noticed that I could tell I was full sooner but my mind won out and not wasting food prevailed. I finished my apple. That was about 8 this evening and I've not been hungry at all since. I think I am going to try to get my sleep in so that I can feel rested in the morning and hopefully it will help on the weight loss. Now if I could just get my body to look like I've lost weight, that would be great. I know I've said this before but losing pounds but not changing clothing sizes sucks! I still fit into clothes the same, or so it feels. I haven't noticed any change in what I wear and no-one, not even people I haven't seen in awhile have said anything to me. Here's hoping for a brighter tomorrow.

R1 Day 23

So, just as I expected, there was no change in my weight today. I guess I should be grateful that it didn't go up. Well, today was a difficult day because we had a family function 3 hrs away and I didn't know how I was going to schedule in my eating. Strange that I have to consider that. Anyway, I had considered doing an apple day because of my no loss and because of how difficult today's events were seeming to be but I just decided to do a regular day. I had a big apple on the way there, had a chicken salad for lunch and an apple on the way home. For dinner I had beef and tomatoes and also a melba toast. I have been cooking on the GF to see if that makes a difference in the meat. Who knows. If tomorrow is a no loss or a gain I will do an apple day then.I might just be doing apple days every third day for the rest of this cycle at the rate I'm going. Apparently from what I've read, I'm not the only one who has to do that.

R 1 Day 22

This is really exasperating! I gained 0.5 lbs this morning. I am wondering if I should just hang on for the required 26 days and then go into maintenance phase, wait my time and do another round. Really? A mere 16 pounds? That's all? I guess by body is too stubborn to let go of anything. ARGH!

Later tonight...
I have given up hope. I think I am sabotaging myself but I can't seem to figure out how. There are no losses of inches and lately, no pounds either. So much for pounds and inches. I'll keep going just to finish what I started but I am not going to get my hopes up. So much for losing 30 pounds in 30 days. That would have been awesome but alas, I'll be lucky to even lose 20.

Breakfast was a giant apple. I didn't have problems getting it down this morning. No gagging to speak of. For lunch I had a chicken salad, no second fruit today. I got busy and then I figured my morning apple was big enough for 2 meals. Dinner was beef and a cucumber salad. I had trouble choking that down tonight. I don't know if it was too much ACV or if it was too much food. Regardless, it was difficult. Both lunch and dinner were cooked on the GF grill in the hopes that any fat left would be drained away. Not surprisingly, the beef produced a good amount of fluid. I don't know what kind yet. I'm going to bed even later than usual so I'm sure that won't help my numbers and I only got in about 70 oz of water today. So...sounds like today sucked! I'll be sure about tomorrow. 

R1 Day 21

My apple day came to an end today and thank goodness for that. I have never had a problem eating fruit before but I had one last apple this morning and I just about threw it up! I literally had to choke it down. It did help I guess. I am wondering if things are just sluggish on the way out because I have had almost as many BM's doing the apple day as I have the rest of the protocol. I have been having BM's about every third day and it hasn't been constipation or anything. I did lose -1.5 lbs this morning which brings me up to 16.5 lbs total in 21 days. I was really hoping to lose a pound a day or more but don't we all. This will, however, secure the fact that I will have to do a second round or just work harder to get my weight and body back down to an appropriate size. I am still at the upper end of my BMI and I would like to get it down to a manageable place that I can feel comfortable with. I don't want to go out to dinner one night and blow it all on one meal.

Fast Forward to tonight...

I have not been feeling well today. I feel a little sick to my stomach. I am hoping that it will go away and it is not a symptom of dehydration or illness. I had to babysit today so that really threw off my eating schedule. I had a late lunch of chicken and spinach soup. It was very bland today because I am trying to cut back on salt to see if that helps any. My orange mid-afternoon was a welcome change to the apple regimen that I have been on and dinner of beef with raw grape tomatoes was also very bland. I think most of my seasoning stayed in the pan. As I was eating, I wondered if my beef had too much fat in it. I got this last batch at a different store and there really isn't any visible fat but I think I did taste a piece that was fatty. Perhaps that is the reason I haven't been losing. Who knows. I just hope that tomorrow will bring a repeat of a loss. A big loss. That would be great!

R1 Day 20

So this morning I was really hopeful and then...nothing. No change in weight today. I am wondering again if I should do an apple day. I wonder if it would even make a difference today. I did eat melba toast twice yesterday because I was so hungry. Maybe I should have just drank water or tea instead. Maybe I should have taken another dose of HCG. Who knows. Today I'll skip the toast and if there is no change I'm doing an apple day tomorrow. This is getting depressing! I have essentially stayed at the same weight for the last 5 days. Screw it! I think I am doing an apple day today. I don't see where I could be retaining water unless it is in my stomach because all the usual places seem fine. I even got in all my water last night, albeit late but I got it in. I guess today we'll see how it goes. I'll skip my morning fruit and do my 6 apples. This sucks rocks!

Fast Forward to tonight...

So today was an apple day for me and as far as it went, well...eh. First of all, I have been hungry lately. Really hungry and I had run out of HCG on a weekend and could not get more until Monday. I had enough drops to last me that long but let's just say I dumped the last of the bottle out for my Monday morning dose. So it has me wondering if the HCG was a little...thin. So in preparation of my apple day, I went to the grocery store and bought the biggest apples I could find. I don't know if you've ever seen a Jonagold apple but they are huge! I'm talking mondo! I think this thing was like 4 inches in diameter. So I'm thinking, yeah...I'll have no trouble doing this apple day because it doesn't tell you how big the apples have to be in fact it encourages you to have large ones. Well, it was all I could do just to choke 2 down today and one regular size Granny Smith apple. I'm counting the Jonagolds as 2 each because there is just no other way I am going to be able to choke down another three apples by lunch tomorrow. I barely made it through the Granny Smith apple this evening four or five hours after I had finished the last apple. So I will do one in the morning and call it my six. I guess we'll see how it goes from there. Needless to say, I feel sick! My stomach feels upset and I haven't peed much today but I did have a BM. Sorry, TMI, I know. Some of the websites I went to said that there are other ways to break a plateau. One was to substitute tomatoes instead of apples. I don't know which is worse. Don't get me wrong. I like them both but I don't know if I could do this again so here's hoping that I won't have to. One site said you could do a steak day in lieu of an apple day but I think that is just for phase 3. I'm not sure. There are just so many conflicting ideas that it is hard to weed out the unnecessaries. If I don't lose a good amount tomorrow I don't know what I'll do. I did do some kettlebell exercises today for ab work and I went for a 2.5 mile walk this morning. I hope that isn't affecting my weight loss. That would be really sad. Exercise is another item that is sketchy according to my research. Some say good others not so much. I seriously need to drop 5 lbs tomorrow just to catch up. If some inches would come off that would be nice too. It makes me wonder exactly what I am losing...bone mass? Because it doesn't feel like I'm losing fat stores. It doesn't look like it either.