Day Eleven

Day Eleven:
        I did pretty good today but it still feels very difficult to get back on track.  I remembering why I'v failed this diet in the past.  It's not because it doesn't work, it's just not very realistic in the real world.  I read back in the 50's this was a medical diet that rich people did at a medical spa on a month's vacation with swimming, yoga, counseling, laying in the sun and a personal chef.  In a very controlled environment I can see someone being very successful but without those nice, clean boundaries it's very difficult to not be influenced by social events or stressful days at work.  This diet is all or nothing, very black and white.  You either succeed or fail and there is no room for any flexibility.  I'm sure their are people out there with the discipline to do it perfectly, but those people probably don't have weight problems in the first place!  I'm not giving up yet but I am remembering why I never make it through at this point.  I want to say forgot it, I'll do 500 calories but it's going to be of whatever food I want, but that would make the diet less effective.  If I hadn't invested $171 I would quit now and just start counting calories and exercising again but I feel too guilty for spending the money so I'll keep trying.  My three day slip up caused me to gain 6 pounds, ughhhh.  I can tell a lot of it is water cause my hands are swollen but it's frustrating to bounce that drastically and makes me wonder if I've actually burned any fat at all.  However, many people are starting to comment that I'm thinning out so maybe I should focus more on how I look and feel versus what the sale says.

Breakfast: Black coffee
Lunch: Aidell's spicy chicken sausage, brocoli with lemon
Dinner: 5 oz of 93% lean Meatloaf, italian green beans, 1 cracker
             Minute Maid 15 calorie fruit punch

Calories: 718
Today's weight: 169 pounds

Day Ten

Day Ten:
        Whew!  I finally got back on the 500 calorie diet today.  I woke up feeling sick with a migraine, body aches and upset stomach so I stayed home to rest.  It was HARD to get back on track though because my mom came to town and wanted to go out for Mexican food and margaritas.  I cannot express how much discipline it took not cave as those are some of my favorite things.  However, I knew I needed to let my body chill out and use this day to get ahead on chores and pre-prep my HCG food for the rest of the week.  I didn't finish all of my prep, but I do have my meals planned for tomorrow, so that is something.  Hopefully things will start to feel easier soon now that I'm back on track for a full day.

Breakfast: Black coffee and over easy egg
Lunch/Dinner: Pork chop w/ A1 & spicy mustard, sauteed mushrooms in coconut oil
                        green beans and carrots

Calories: 399
Today's weight:  Didn't weight today.

Day Nine

Day Nine:
        Uggggggg.  Day three of being off track.  I stayed on track for breakfast and lunch but by the afternoon I was stressed out and having a mini-crisis.  I decided to have a normal dinner again.  Still within normal range of healthy daily calories but NOT even close to HCG protocol.  I am super struggling to get back on track and I'm losing days!!!!  Tomorrow I must do right!

Today's weight:  Didn't weigh today.

Day Eight

Day Eight:
        Today was rough since I was quite hungover from yesterday.  I tried to get back on track immediately and lasted until dinner at which time I decided I needed a good meal; oven baked chicken fingers and french fries, in order to feel better. I did not count calories but I'm assuming my daily total it was within a normal range but definitely not within the 500 calorie protocol.  Oh well, back on track tomorrow.

Today's weight: 165 pounds, up two from yesterday morning.

Day Seven

Day Seven:
        Well I decided to have fun on my date and I DID!  A little too much possibly but it was worth it.  I stayed the course on my diet; 3 meatballs and an apple, until the afternoon when I got to the game.  Then I had four drinks; two Barcardi & pinapples, and two Shock Tops.  This led to eating a breakfast sandwich, pringles, a gluten free corndog, and a spoonful of Nutella & white chocoalte peanut butter.  I probably stayed under 1800 calories-ish??  I dunno, the damage is done.  But it was FUN, I had a great time with my baby just relaxing and cutting loose like we used to do.  And the BRONCOS WON!

*Today's weight: 163 pounds

Day Six

Day Six:
        I feel great today.  My energy feels strong, no headaches, no weakness.  I feel...normal.  I went and got my hair done today as a part of my "mommy makeover" but missed lunch again in the process, grrr.  I basically had one large meal that combined the calories of both lunch and dinner.  I'd forgotten to thaw out any meat, so I pulled out a few things for this upcoming week.  Hopefully, I'll be better prepared now.  I think one of the biggest pitfalls on this diet might simply be lack of preparation.  Simple things like not having fresh produce in the house or thawed meat means no approved options ready to go, which could easily mean a slip up.  We have a ton of apples and frozen green beans around, so I am covered in the fruit & veggie department.  However, I would like a little more variety, so I think I should venture out and look for some recipes because I have 3 more weeks to go and I'm getting a little bored.  Tomorrow we are going on our first post baby date in 9.5 months!  I am very excited but am contemplating whether I will splurge and have some wine.  A splurge like that is a 3 day setback, so since this diet is time limited when the injections run out, I'd hate to waste that time.   But our date is pretty darn important as well, we'll see I guess.  Can I count wine as my fruit?? ;)

Breakfast: Espresso
Lunch/Dinner: 4 chicken meatballs, 1.5 cups of tomato soup, broccoli stems w/ lemon, 1/2 cracker

Total calories: 456
Today's weight: 163 pounds, down two more pounds, woop woop!!

Day Five

Day Five:
        I still don't really feel all that hungry, it's so weird cause it really seems like I should be by now.  I feel a little low in energy, but I'd say nothing less than 85% of my normal energy, so it's not too terrible and to be expected on such a low cal diet.  I guess that's why the protocol advises no exercise, doesn't seem like a very good idea at this point.  I feel good enough to do yoga or go for a nice leisure walk, but no cardio or weight lifting, that's for sure.  I got busy at work and didn't eat lunch until 3:30pm.  I have got to stop doing that.  I noticed the donuts in the break room at work, but I walked right past without a second thought, go me!!  I'm sure the meatballs I ate for dinner were a stretch since they were marinated in teriyaki & pineapple and have bread crumbs in them, but they are Aidell's and made from chicken so they are still quite healthy and delish.  I was really naughty and had some red pepper tomato soup, which I'm counting as my veggie & fruit.
        I had a mild headache in the early morning but it went away after a couple of hours.  I took some Aspirin, which is the only over-the-counter medication approved on the protocol.   The protocol also suggests not using lotion or oils because the fat actually seeps through the skin and can stall results.  This sounds a little far fetched to me, but since I'm trying my best to stick to the rules I will compromise.  I'll only using lotion on my face, hands and feet.  What's the point in being a hot skinny-minny if my face looks all dried out and wrinkled?

Breakfast:  Espresso
Lunch:  4oz tuna, tomato, apple
Dinner:  4 chicken meatballs, 1.5 cups of tomato soup, 1.5 cracker

Total calories: 654
Today's weight: Didn't weigh today

Day Four

Day Four:

       My morning started really great.  I was a little fatigued, but that may have been because I stayed up late to write in my blog!  My arms felt weak when I was washing my hair in the shower but once I woke up a bit I was in a very cheerful, energetic mood.  I was not hungry throughout the date but became a little hungry by the evening and substituted a couple things which may or may not be okay on the HCG diet.  My afternoon turned out to be not so good after having some family and work challenges, and it really lowered my spirits.  I definitely wanted to just go home and eat a good meal, nothing crazy or unhealthy but just something really satisfying which actually helped me to realize that since I was not really hungry, my desire to eat was strictly emotional.  This was a bit of an emotional battle but I overcame it quickly and reminded myself that this diet is not forever, I've invested our family's money into this and I need to stay committed.

Breakfast: Espresso

Lunch: 4oz of tuna, tomato, apple

Dinner: 2 oz of chicken (cause my husband ate the other half, thank babe!)

             broccoli florets with lemon, 1 1/2 glutino crackers, 1 1/2 cups of tomato soup

Total calories: 587

Today's Weight:  Didn't weigh today

Day Three

Day Three:

      I waited a little late, 2:30pm, to eat lunch today because I was busy at work.  I think this messed me up a little.  My stomach did start growling, I felt a little dizzy at times and my muscles felt a little weak when I was holding my child.  I decided to eat dinner early at 4:30pm in hopes that two close meals could help rebuild my energy.  Thoughts of eating cheese and peanut butter passed through my mind but I was able to dismiss them with relative ease today.

Breakfast: Black espresso

Lunch: 4oz. of plain tuna with a sliced tomatoes, apple

Dinner: 4 oz. of lemon chicken breast, green beans, strawberries, 1 1/2 Glutino cracker

Total calories: 517

Today's weight: 167 pounds, back down the four again, hmmm....

Day Two

Day Two:

       I'm still not feeling too terribly hungry.  The meals are sufficient enough, although quite simple and boring.  I decided to make a batch of lemon chicken so that I don't have to think about food more than I have too, or spend time deciding what to cook once I'm already hungry.  I have not had any urges to cheat yet.

Breakfast: Black espresso

Lunch: 4oz. of plain tuna with a sliced tomatoes, apple

Dinner: 4 oz. of lemon chicken breast, green beans, orange, one Glutino cracker

Total cals: 524

Today's weight:  Didn't weigh today.

Day One

Phase Two - Day One

        Okay, this is it.  The challenge that separates the woman from the little girls.  I will admit the thought of 28 days at 500 calories is daunting and I have done this three times before and have never made it all the way. 
        I can tell I'm mostly losing water right now since I've peed about 8 times today already, but this is just the beginning.  I was surprised I did not feel very hungry today.  The meager meals were actually satisfying enough.  So far so good.  The cracker is optional.  It's supposed to be a melba toast but since I'm gluten intolerant I am substituting it for a Glutino table cracker,  My initial plan was to opt-out but decided I needed a little more sustenance.  My only mild slip-up was that the the steak had been marinated in barbecue sauce but it was nominal so I decided to go ahead because it was already prepared.

Breakfast: Black espresso

Lunch: 4oz. of plain tuna with a sliced tomatoes, apple

Dinner: 4 oz. of trimmed steak, green beans, strawberries, one cracker

Total cals: 558

Today's weight: 171 pounds.  Up four pounds??  Now how is that possible?  I felt discouraged after seeing that, maybe I won't weigh until the end and let it be a grand surprise.

Loading Days

Phase One - Loading Days

        For the first three days of the HCG injections, the protocol recommends eating high fat foods. They have some fancy schmancy explanation for it that basically states you will not lose as much fat if you do not adequately "load".  They claim loading will allow better clarity, strength and less hunger over the first week and not loading is setting yourself up for failure.  Since this is not my first HCG attempt I can attest that this seems to be true.  Last time, I did not want to load because I didn't want to gain weight, and I did feel ravenous quite quickly and found it difficult to follow the 500 calorie protocol once it began.  This time around I decided I am going to do my absolute best to follow the rules with no fudging.  I decided not to overdo the loading in quantity because that doesn't make me feel good or healthy, and I know if I am to be successful that I need to feel good physically and mentally from the start point.  But I did enjoy myself with a wide variety of healthy and not so healthy fats.  

        I ate avocados, cheddar cheese and smoked sausage, deviled eggs, gluten free waffles with real butter and syrup, gluten free table crackers with real butter, Hawaiian rolls with real butter, tortilla chips and salsa, a big juicy steak, a BLT sandwich with mayo, white chocolate peanut butter and Nutella by the spoonful, french fries, chicken strips, and last but not least raw cookie dough!  

       Obviously, this was spread out over 3 meals and 2 snacks a day for 3 days, so don't freak out.  I did not gorge, I just enjoyed the freedom of actually being instructed to eat fat.  It was harder than I expected because we really didn't have much fat in the house, but by the end I successfully completed the first 3 days of the HCG diet.  Now I feel a little sick of food and feel emotionally and physically ready to begin phase 2 and reduce my calories in the morning.  Exercising on the HCG diet is controversial but I've read it is possible to do moderate exercise if you increase your caloric intake by 100c.  I chose to work out on my elliptical for 30 minutes on the 3rd day of phase 1.  We'll see if I feel like it once I'm in phase 2.

*Weight: 167 pounds.  

* I lost two pounds from eating fat?!?  How is that even possible?

My Mission

        So here's the scoop, this new bojo-mama needs to get her groove back.  I haven't focused much on losing the baby weight because I was having way too much fun playing with my new bundle of love.  But somehow nine months have passed and I still don't recognize the woman in the mirror.  It's time to take my life back, my body back and get my sexy, vivacious, confidence back!

        I've decided to not focus too far ahead and just take it day by day.  I've decided not to tell anyone I'm on a diet because I don't want the pressure of constant conversations, questions, debates about the best ways to lose weight, and especially the judgements about the extremity of the HCG diet.  All of which would cause me to think about food more than I need to and use up mental and emotional energy that I would like to save for more important things.  Humans often judge and fear what they do not understand, the HCG diet is on that list.  

        HCG is the pregnancy hormone that turns the pee stick to a plus sign when your pregnant.  When injecting the hormone, HCG tricks the body into believing it's pregnant.  In an effort to feed the fetus before all else, the body skips pulling from the muscles and pulls straight from fat stores.  HCG is also known for ridding disproportionately stored fat.  I would love to lose the fat on my knees and my post prego pooch.  

        I tried the homeopathic version of HCG which is sublingual (drops under the tongue) instead of injections.  I did lose weight but not as much and felt much hungrier on the homeopathic version.  The injections do work in assisting with rapid fat loss.  They take away your hunger because you are utilizing your stored fat, therefore your body believes you are getting the normal amount of calories that you usually do.  So for me I say, why take the long road when the short cut is so easy?

        I've started this journal in order to record my thoughts, feelings, successes and shortcomings, not for anyone else, but for myself, so that I don't look back at this diet with rose colored glasses.  I want to remember the difficulties, where I struggled, and where I succeeded, so I will be able to step back at the end and reassess the entire experience.

*My start weight (9 months post baby) is 173 pounds

*My goal is to get back to my pre-baby weight of 145 pounds.