VLCD Day 31

Injection #29
Loss Today: +.4
Loss Total: <28.4>


Boo. Hiss. That's certainly no fun to see the scale go up instead of down. I could feel that things were a bit off with me this morning before I even stepped on the scale. I didn't get all my usual water in yesterday. I only drank 1-1.5 litres which is about a litre less than most days. I can also feel that my body is working overtime to get this period started. Not cramps, necessarily - just bloat and slight uncomfortable feelings. Hopefully it starts today.

Off to fix an early lunch as we have another busy day ahead.

VLCD Day 30

Injection #28
Loss Today: <.4>
Loss Total: <28.8>


Alright, so today's loss isn't anything to write home about. But it is a loss. And with my menses almost here, I'll take anything I can get. Besides that-
Today is, in fact, MEASUREMENTS day!

Since VLCD Day 2 I have lost <17.5> inches! As long as those inches keep dropping, I don't mind seeing those baby steps in weight loss. It all gets me to where I want to be in the end anyway.

Busy busy day planned. I need to get to figuring what I'm going to eat and when.

Happy Weekend!

Lunch: I fixed an omelet with the perfect homegrown tomato. Yum.

Dinner: I had kung pao chicken which was so good & so filling & absolutely nothing like diet food. MMm MMm. I'm stuffed.

VLCD Day 29

Injection #27
Loss Today: <.8>
Loss Total: <28.4>


Today I am so incredibly moody that I almost wish I could detach from myself for the day. And it's only 10am. At least it's only usually one day that I have to put up with myself being this way, now if only my period would hurry the heck up. Also, I have gotten none of this so-called euphoria that others have talked about while on hcg. I'm still just me. No more energy, no less energy. I've always been the energetic sort, however, so maybe that has something do with it. Who knows.

I'm off to the store. To replace two cups that came broken with my new set of dishes. Erg.

Lunch: I had an apple for my mid-morning snack. One of the best honeycrisp I've ever tasted. Perfect.

Later I fixed my version of a french dip with a side of onion rings. I'm still stuffed! Tonight I'm having soup. I'll try to remember to post that recipe later this evening.

Dinner: For once I actually stuck with my planned meals for the day and didn't switch it up last minute. I prepared some Cioppino with a grissini on the side. I couldn't even finish it all, but I made sure to eat all the protein in it.

Tomorrow is measurements day!

VLCD Day 28

Injection #26
Loss Today: <.2>
Loss Total: <27.6>


There's that pesky .2 again. ;) I'm not surprised, and actually expected it to be less. Yesterday, my face started breaking out which is usually my first clue that my menses is soon approaching. I expect it to be here within the next 5 days. I have to say, I will gladly take that .2 loss when pre-HCG I would gain 3-5 lbs during my bouts of PMS. Besides, by now I'm used to stepping down these weight-loss stairs, instead of sliding down the slide only to land on my rear and get mulch in my shorts. And that's just fine by me.

Lunch: I had a mini meatloaf with bbq sauce and a few slices of tomato.

Just had some applesauce for a mid-afternoon snack. Yum!

Dinner: I quickly fixed some lemon mustard chicken. So yummy & so moist. I also had some steamed cabbage.

Another day down. :)

VLCD Day 27

Injection #25
Loss Today: <1.2>
Loss Total: <27.4>


I have to say, it's still a bit of a shock when I lose more than a pound in one day. Here I am 27 days into this and I'm still averaging just over a pound a day. Shocking, I tell you! I also can't believe I'm already more than halfway through this round. At first it seems to go by really slowly and then suddenly you're on day 27! Crazy. I have a busy day ahead but two new recipes I worked out last night on the schedule for today. Hopefully I'll have time to get to them.

I'm also feeling so much better today than the past two days. It definitely feels wonderful to be back to "normal".

Happy Day!

Lunch: I had hot & sour soup with a grissini. So so good. And I just finished off my strawberry sorbet. Another yummy meal.

Dinner: I didn't really feel like fixing my kung pao chicken (as I had planned) for dinner since I was feeling just a bit under the weather. I knew I had to eat though so I prepared deviled eggs with a tomato on the side. It was alright. I much prefer to fix a big omelet when choosing eggs as my protein, though. I guess that's what I get for being lazy. ;)

Hopefully tomorrow is a good day for all of us.

VLCD Day 26

No Injection
Loss Today: <.6>
Loss Total: <26.2>


I'm still feeling not so great. My throat doesn't feel as swollen but I do feel slightly feverish and just a big bag full of funk. We did have storms roll in last night so it could just be my allergies going wacky all of a sudden. Or that full moon that's due to hit on the 26th that's apparently causing anyone & everyone to lose their freaking minds. Don't even get me started on that rant.

I'll update more later.

Lunch: By mid-morning I was still feeling a bit down and not quite right so I fixed an award-winning comfort food. Apple Crisp. It was so warm and gooey and delicious. Alright alright, so it's not really award-winning, but my sons both claim it to be better than Grandma's.
They are such sweet, wonderful liars.

A couple hours later, I prepared the rest of my lunch and had Biz's Thai Cucumber Beef Salad. I'm telling you folks, that right there is an award-winner! So so good. I was a bit disappointed when I reached the bottom of my bowl.

I'm taking it a bit easy today and slowly feeling a bit better. I'm also still applying aloe like I own majority stock and it seems to not be hurting my losses at all. That's very good to know as I used to apply aloe to my face every day (before starting the protocol) to control breakouts and redness. Aloe is such my friend. :)

Dinner: This afternoon I tossed together some white chili in the crockpot and just ate that for dinner. I poured off most of the broth, added my tabasco and wowza! Nice spicy stuff. I'll have an apple in a while.

I'm feeling a bit better physically, but emotionally I'm a tad perturbed. Ah well, another hot bath and an early night to bed should help that some.

See everyone tomorrow!

VLCD Day 25

Injection #24
Loss Today: <.8>
Loss Total: <25.6>


Woohoo! There's that 25 pound mark! It seemed to take forever these last few days to get there but I did! So happy to see that one.


Lunch: I fixed baked cajun chicken with a side of celery and a grissini. The chicken was sooo moist and juicy - and spicy! Loved it. I also had an apple for my mid-morning snack.

Dinner: Feeling really under the weather this evening. I fixed french onion soup tossed in some chicken and called it a night. I can feel my throat swelling so I'm going to take a hot bath, pop some ibuprofen, and hit the hay. Hopefully that won't affect my loss too much in the morning.

VLCD Day 24

Injection #23
Loss Today: <.2>
Loss Total: <24.8>


Honestly, I am 100% surprised that I lost anything today. My fingers are so tight and swollen and I feel like a bloated whale. I'm assuming this is from getting too much sun yesterday. I've been hydrating well today so hopefully that will help. I've also been applying aloe like it's my new best friend. I'm not sure if that will affect me or not, but I'm not going to go without it.

Lunch: I ground up a steak and formed it into a burger. Then coated it with this and quickly grilled it. I served that with a side of mustard and a bowl of french onion soup. Mmm, the soup was even better after sitting in the refrigerator overnight. I also had an apple for my snack.

Dinner: I had a late night so I fixed curried broiled fish. I haven't eaten my fruit yet and might skip it since it's getting so late.

I'm not feeling so great for some reason and I'm not sure why. Perhaps because I'm still feeling bloated and 'tight'. Hopefully will be better tomorrow.

VLCD Day 23

Injection #22
Loss Today: <.4>
Loss Total: <24.6>


Another week has gone by so it's measurement time. I took them this morning and the new update is a total loss of 13.5 inches! My BMI has dropped about 4 points as well. I love those dropping numbers!

I'll be posting my weight, etc after a bit as it's not time yet this morning for my daily weigh-in. The boys' first football game is today so I'll need to make sure I eat lunch before that. They are already both out of bed and raring to go. And so the day begins. :)

Happy Saturday!

Lunch: Not much time so I grilled some chicken with a sliced tomato. I also chomped on an apple on the way to the game.

Dinner: Pre-dinner I fixed French Onion Soup with a grissini. Mmm mmm good. Even though it was a very hot day, that really hit the spot. Then later for dinner I prepared Wasabi Whitefish for everyone. I fix the husband's and mine a bit spicier than the boys', and everyone cleared it all out. Good stuff.

VLCD Day 22

Injection #21
Loss Today: <1.2>
Loss Total: <24.2>
Average: <1.1>/day


Wooo! I hit the next tens. I hit the next tens. I hit hit hit hit hit the next tens.

Yes, that was me just now dancing around the kitchen singing my new favorite tune. Now I'm so close to hitting 25 pounds - and I'm only about halfway done. I was thinking yesterday that I might see if I can continue on for 3 more weeks past when I was scheduled. Then I will start up my next round around my birthday at the beginning of the year. I'm not setting anything in stone as I will mostly go by how I feel along the way and I really don't want to push my luck. I'll update more on that later.

I said I wasn't going to do this until the end of this round but I don't know if I can hold out much longer. This may be simply from the euphoria of my 'being in the next tens' moment but here are my stats. I'm just over 5'10" and I started at, oh man here goes, 293.6 pounds. Man, that hurts to type. My goal weight is between 170-175 depending on how I feel when I get there. I may go for lower than that, who knows. I've been at 140-150 and I felt it was too small for me. At 160-170 I was a size 6 and I felt really good at that weight. So - we'll see. Well, there ya go. All my 'secrets' are out.

Today is a half day at school so I'm not doing much work today. I'll update when I can. I have lots more recipes to post this coming weekend as well!

Lunch: I ate an apple for my mid-morning snack and then fixed chili with a grissini. Good stuff.

Dinner: I tried out Biz's catfish recipe and it was yummy. I then had an apple for dessert and that wrapped up my day.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

VLCD Day 21

Injection #20
Loss Today: <.6>
Loss Total: <23.0>


Well, I thought the loss would be bigger since I didn't even weigh myself yesterday. Can you hear the disappointment in my type? I know I know - I can't let it get to me. Perhaps I didn't get in all my water yesterday since I was running around like a chicken missing its head all day. And I woke up SO thirsty this morning. Ah well. I must remember to look at the big picture. 23 pounds in 21 days is an average of 1.10 pounds per day. That's huge and I could never accomplish that on any other program. I'll simply keep repeating that to myself over & over & over again. :)

I went to the in-laws to pick up some of our fish that we had caught & frozen. I'll be adding more of that into my diet and see if that makes any difference. So I'll definitely be posting up quite a few more fish recipes soon. I hope to have a minimum of 500 recipes posted on HCG Recipes one of these days. I'm also going to be switching both this blog and HCG Recipes over to their own website so it's all in one easy location - eventually. That way I won't have to be hopping back & forth - and neither will you. :)

Here's to another great day for all of us!

Lunch: I fixed Teriyaki Fish with a side of Roasted Asparagus, and a grissini. So filling and very yummy. I previously had an apple for my mid-morning snack.

Dinner: Well, I wasn't such a good girl this evening. I didn't cheat, no way. In fact, I didn't even eat my dinner. Last night was a really busy night and we left early and then we didn't get home until late. While we were out, I did eat an orange but that's it. No protein and no veggies. I fell asleep on the way home and didn't feel like eating something when we got back so I didn't force myself. We'll see how it reflects on Friday.

VLCD Day 20

Injection #19

I didn't weigh myself today as I was up before the sun kissed the sky and didn't get home until just now. I was afraid of weighing myself not at my normal time and didn't want to 'cheat' on what my actual weight was. It feels a bit weird not knowing if I lost anything or not, but it is what it is. I'll find out tomorrow.

Lunch: I had previously cooked some chicken with onions so I warmed that up. I also had a mini-thermos of applesauce with me. I love that stuff. I've been feeling kind of down all day so that warm applesauce was the perfect comfort food.

I'll check back in later. Back to the grind!

Dinner: I grilled chicken with asparagus spears. I also had a grissini as a side and an apple for dessert.

VLCD Day 19

No Injection
Loss Today: <.8>
Loss Total: <22.4>

Well at least that silly scale moved today. Whew.

I just returned from picking up some meat from my local grocery. And it was FREE! I traded some emails with the Store Director about their meat selection and my specific needs. He told me he would order whatever I needed and get them in for me to try for free. Today I left there with 12 steaks and a roast. Did I mention they were FREE?! Yeah, free meat apparently makes me the teeniest bit excited. This will save me from 1) having to travel 25 mins to the Whole Foods store and 2) having to wait on my farm buddy to butcher some more meat. I'll still be ordering from him, but it's nice every once in a while to be able to simply pick up a few steaks rather than to always order a half a cow. :)

Lunch: I started off and had my dessert first, simply because I can! Last night I had made a few batches of the strawberry sorbet so I had some of that. Then I made meatballs with marinara sauce. Wow. Those totally hit the spot! So so good.

Dinner: We had a busy night so for dinner I shredded some boiled chicken and made quick chicken salad wraps. It was quick & easy, but I had something else altogether planned so it left me a bit unsatisfied. Ah well, there's always tomorrow!

VLCD Day 18

Injection #18
Loss Today: 0
Loss Total: <21.6>

There's that silly little zero rearing its ugly head again. Shoo shoo! Well - it happens. What can ya do? I'm sure it's just my body's way of balancing things out and I'm not going to stress about it. Too much. ;) It's funny though that it was almost exactly a week ago that the same thing happened. Perhaps my body just feels like it needs a weekly catch up? Who knows. Let it do what it wants to do as long as most days it gives me those losses.

Lunch: I ate an apple for my mid-morning snack. Then around lunchtime I was a bit rushed so I threw some chicken on the George Foreman with some ground pepper. When that finished just a few minutes later, I sliced up a tomato, tossed a tiny bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos onto my chicken and I was good to go. Plus my trusty grissini!

Dinner: Tonight I fixed my version of shrimp fried rice. Not exactly rice but it was really filling & yummy. And it certainly didn't give me that bloated feeling that rice always does. I also had strawberry sorbet for dessert. That one never fails!

Here's hoping the scale moves tomorrow. I know it will, but it always sits in the back of my mind that perhaps it won't after these 'zero' days mess with the little sense I have left.

VLCD Day 17

Injection #17
Loss Today: <.6>
Loss Total: <21.6>

Lunch: Today we're heading over to the in-laws so I fixed me a somewhat early lunch. I sliced a tomato and ate those with breaded chicken cutlets. So good! Then I ate my apple in the car on the way over. My mother-in-law always has so much yummy stuff that I thought it might be difficult for me. Not to mention she's one of the best bakers around. She had cupcakes and fresh baked coconut cream pie and strawberry cheesecake. Everything looked delicious but I didn't touch a single thing. I simply sat and sipped my water while everyone else chowed down. Woe is me. ;)

Dinner: For dinner I had my husband shell me some crab. He's much better at that than I am. Then I fixed Krabby Patties for everyone. They ate theirs with thai noodles and I ate mine with celery. And then we all had an orange julius for dessert. Those little buggers stealing my oranges! ;) It was a really light yet very filling dinner. Yum.

VLCD Day 16

Injection #16
Loss Today: <1.0>
Loss Total: <21.0>

Another one bites the dust! Yes, I was actually hopping around my kitchen singing that after seeing another one of those pounds drop off my bod. It was also measuring time so I took my measurements. After two weeks, I'm already down 11.5 inches! That's nothing short of phenomenal to me. I'm so excited!

I had to run out to Target the other day to buy a new food processor and I was wearing my ol' stretchy yoga pants. They were literally falling off of me while I was walking through the store. I had to have one hand on my pants and the other on the cart. I couldn't believe it! It will be nice to finally be down to a size again where there is not one bit of elastic in the waistband. I have lots of size 12s cargo pants, etc sitting around that are just waiting for me to get there. And then, I'll be working towards those size 6/8s that are hidden in the back of my closet. Someday! It will still be a while, but I'm finally in a mindset where I know I will be there eventually. And that feels wonderful.

Lunch: I just might have had the best lunch I've had so far on this protocol. Mmmmm. I fixed fried chicken tenders with some homemade buffalo wing sauce (I'll add that recipe later this weekend), tomato soup, and a baked apple. I'm finding there's really no reason for anyone to think this protocol is anything close to a diet. The food can be just as (or even moreso) wonderful than so-called 'normal' food. Love it! I'm not sure what's happening for dinner yet, that all depends on how my evening goes. More to come...

Dinner: We ended up getting free tickets to see the Wizards tonight so I had to toss together a meal I could take with me. I ended up making boneless hot wings with hot sauce and a side of celery. Perfect! I certainly got in my water after eating those. :)

It ended up being a wonderful night and I wasn't even tempted with all the nachos and hot dogs and (mmmm) beers rolling by. They let you carry in sealed bottles of water so I loaded up the kids & hubby and I was all set with filling up on water while we were there. And we won! In the end, so did I with absolutely no cheating here. Another day down!

VLCD Day 15

Injection #15
Loss Today: <.6>
Loss Total: <20.0>

Lookie there! I hit the 20 pound mark! Yaaaaay! 15 days. 20 pounds. Never hungry. Unbelievable. I'm still blown away by it all. What a way to start the weekend! I hope everyone has a fantastic Friday! I'll update more later today.
WOOHOO!

Lunch: Another quick meal so I grilled a steak on the George Foreman, steamed some cabbage and ate an apple.

Dinner: After I got the family settled I finally had a very short chunk of time to prepare my meal. I fixed boiled shrimp which only took a few minutes and ate that with celery sticks. I hadn't had celery in a while so that was nice & refreshing. For dessert I had an orange julius. Mmm mmm good! After the kids tasted it, I ended up having to make two more for them. That one was a winner all around!

That's it for today. Happy weekend!

VLCD Day 14

Injection #14
Loss Today: <.4>
Loss Total: <19.4>

Lunch: For lunch today I grilled a marinated steak and paired it with some onion rings. It was sooooo good. I'm getting ready to fix me strawberry sorbet for dessert. I'll probably have to wait until I return home later to enjoy it, however, since I'm so stuffed!

Dinner: Go figure, we were out late again tonight. When we got back I wasn't really in the mood for meat so I scrambled eggs with tomato. Mmm mmm good. I again fixed apple slaw for me and the rest of the family. They had theirs drizzled with some melted caramel, however. Oh man, just the smell of that caramel almost made me sick! Waaaayy too sweet. It's funny how now an apple satisfies any ache of my sweet tooth. I love it!

VLCD Day 13

Injection #13
Loss Today: <1.4>
Loss Total: <19.0>

For as long as I can remember, 13 has been a lucky number for me. And once again it comes through. It's very reassuring to know I can continue to skip one injection a week without any side effects (hunger, no loss, etc). That Simeons sure did know his stuff. Man, I'm so close to that 20 lbs I can just almost see it over the horizon. So exciting!

Hopefully today will be a bit more calm & laid-back. I have lots to do but at least I'm not scheduled to the max. I do have 2-3 new recipes on the agenda for today so here's hoping they turn out in an edible manner. :) More later!

Lunch: Soooo my veggie recipe didn't turn out so well. Come to find out I doubled one thing and halved another and it resulted in one pile of mush even the dog wouldn't eat. I blame the FedEx woman for interrupting me right in the middle so I completely lost my train of thought. Ah well, I'll try that one again another day!

What I did have was my usual apple. I also had some boiled chicken that I had used for broth and topped that with my recipe for gravy. Yes, gravy. It really spiced up the chicken and was a nice change of pace. I also had a side of cabbage that I steamed up with some salt/pepper. And I'm stuffed! I have two new recipes planned for tonight so we'll see how those go. Happy afternoon!

Dinner: I sometimes wonder why I even plan things sometimes when it always seems it all goes straight out the window. Hubby ended up coming back home last night so I took the time to visit with him instead of working on my new recipes. And then we had a gazillion places to run around to last night and there went my evening. I ended up quick grilling up some shrimp & onions. It was good, but not what I had been thinking about all day so it tasted a bit 'blah'. I wasn't hungry afterwards, however, and that's the important thing. Onward & upward! Or downward in our case! :)

VLCD Day 12

No Injection
Loss Today: <.4>
Loss Total: <17.6>


And the scale moves again. :) It seems so far I'm averaging about 1.46 lbs/day and that still blows me away. I'm so excited and thankful to be finally doing something that WORKS!

Lunch: I didn't have much time for lunch so I grilled up chicken and sided that with some cabbage and a grissini. And then I had my sweet apple for snack later.

Dinner: Again, no time to really prepare much so I warmed up some previously grilled chicken in a pan with some onions, tossed on some spices and I was good to go. I finished everything off with a strawberry smoothie. Good stuff.

After 2+ hours of football practice tonight, I'm complete wiped out. Hubby ended up having to stay in MN for an extra day so I'm missing him a bit as well. At least I get the bed to myself for another night. Even if I do miss him, I must admit that being able to sprawl out and hog all the covers and pillows every once in a while is pretty darn nice. Not to mention the absence of snoring.
Here's to being one day closer to the endzone!

VLCD Day 11

Injection #12
Loss Today: <.6>
Loss Total: <17.2>

Whew. Even though I tried not to stress over it, it was certainly good to see that scale move again this morning. What surprised me more than anything is my resolve. Any other diet I've ever been on, that simple stopping of the scale would have sent my emotions into extreme turmoil and I most likely would have headed straight for food. That option didn't even cross my mind this time. It was discouraging, yes, but any sort of cheating just isn't on my radar. That's almost a complete miracle to me.

Lunch: Sometime around 10am I munched on an apple. Then at lunchtime I fixed Chicken Pizzaiola with a grissini.

Dinner: Mid-afternoon I had some Green Apple Slaw which was so refreshing and crisp. Tonight for dinner I tried out my new recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup. I know I'm biased but I really liked it. It was perfect on this slightly chilled evening. It tastes a lot like Tortilla Soup but without the tortillas. :) I couldn't even finish it all. I did make sure to eat all the chicken out of it so I got all of my protein, however. Here's to another day!

VLCD Day 10

Injection #11
Loss Today: 0
Loss Total: <16.6>

Well, I talk a big talk, now I must walk the walk. And it's a bit difficult. I knew a full-stop of some sort would pop up eventually, and I thought I was fully prepared for it, but I have to admit it's the tiniest bit discouraging when the scale shows no movement at all. I assume this is either just a regularly scheduled catch-up that my body felt it needed, or it could be due to the fact that yesterday I didn't get in all the fluids I usually do. I'll just chalk it up to both. I know I have still lost an average of 1.66 lbs/day, so I won't let this get me down. But it is a bit of a mindgame.

I have another full busy day/evening ahead, but this time I'll plan ahead to ensure I have all of my water, etc with me. Well technically yesterday I did as well, but at football practice I let some of the kids raid my water stash since they forgot theirs so I came up a bit short. Oh, those pesky kids making me stall! I'm kidding, of course. Hopefully my body will just work this out. I probably won't be able to update again today so I'll check in tomorrow when I can.

VLCD Day 9

Injection #10
Loss Today: <1.0>
Loss Total: <16.6>


Another pound is history! I also took my measurements this morning. It's been one week since I took the first set. As of today, I've lost 5" as well! Very happy about that, of course. I lost everywhere except the bust which surprised me since that's almost always the first to go. Not that I'm complaining. I'll take whatever I can get!

We're off to enjoy this beautiful Saturday and most likely spend some time at the Spinach Festival in Lenexa, KS. I'll try to come back with lots of new ideas for spinach recipes. :)

Lunch: I grilled up some chicken tenders with sliced tomato. Served it up with an apple and grissini & I was good to go.

Dinner: I prepared some Shrimp & Asparagus Stir Fry. I love that one because it's very simple and takes no time at all to prepare. Sometimes a quick fix meal is a must! I also had an apple & grissini. Broken record yet? :)

We never made it to the Spinach Festival today. At the last minute we found out the boys' first football practice was today so we had to reorganize our day a bit. Pretty pack-filled day and luckily I was able to be home at the appropriate times to eat. Whew. Anxious to start another day!

VLCD Day 8

Injection #9
Loss Today: <1.0>
Loss Total: <15.6>

The day has just started but so far I'm feeling much better. We'll see if that carries throughout the day. I did hit the 15 pound mark! Woohoo! If that doesn't shake a sad state, I don't know what will. :)

Lunch: We're being overrun by tomatoes from the garden so I really must use them more often. So for lunch I decided to break out of my funk and try to whip up something new. What followed was Steak Pizzaiola. The steak was so tender and so juicy and so flavorful. And the tomato - yum! My husband came home early from work and walked in & immediately wanted to know where his was. The house smells so great!

Dinner: We're heading out soon to visit with my mother so I had to cook up something quick for me to eat. I didn't want to be tempted by anything she might have lying around. I grilled some chicken and then wrapped that up with romaine and drizzled it with a bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos. I had to fight the kids off with a stick - they love that stuff.

Oh, I forgot to add that I had an apple and an orange for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks.

I'm also happy to report that I am feeling so much better today. Thank goodness. We're now off to enjoy the evening! Happy weekend!

VLCD Day 7

Injection #8
Loss Today <1.2>
Loss Total <14.6>

Crazy busy day today. I'm glad to see the scale continue to move down and that apparently at least this time around my menses didn't cause a stall of any sort. No bad cramps or anything that others have reported is happening here either. So far so good!

Lunch: I grilled up a steak & onion and had an apple a bit earlier for a snack.

I'm feeling a bit depressed this afternoon. I don't know why. Nothing has happened. All of a sudden this afternoon I was sad, almost like I could start crying at any minute. A bit strange. I don't know if its the hcg or the pms or just my crazy self. I noticed that it immediately made me start thinking of food. Nothing like cravings really, just wanting to snack. It's funny (or not) how tied into our emotions our eating can be. It makes me wonder how many times I've been sad or down before and immediately ate something without even realizing it. I imagine quite often.

Dinner: Not in the mood and no time at all to really experiment with recipe ideas tonight. I'll have to save that for another day. An apple was my very quick-fix mid-afternoon snack. Then for dinner some chicken and cabbage made for a quick and easy meal. I wasn't even all that hungry but knew I had to put some kind of fuel into the bod. I think I'll be wrapping it all up with an early night to bed. And hopefully wake up to a brighter day. :)

VLCD Day 6

Injection #7
Loss Today: <1.2>
Loss Total: <13.4>

I'm back riding the injection train. And I was down again this morning.
I need to stop worrying myself at night as to what the scale will read in the morning. It's definitely a hard habit to break. I suppose it will simply take some time of these consistent numbers to get it through my thick skull that yes, this is working for me, too. I keep waiting for it to drop less than a pound - and I'm ready for that. It's the anticipation and nervousness that it might actually go up instead of down even though I've been following everything to the letter. I'll get it through my noggin eventually. Hopefully sooner than later.

Update: Beware - this could be defined as TMI.
Well, I was just thrown for a loop. I apparently just started my menses one week early. More than likely I had miscalculated and this could very well be the time when it was supposed to start anyway. However, I had planned on this happening in a week or so & me not injecting during that time. I'm thinking now though since I just skipped an injection yesterday (could that have caused my menses to start early?) and already injected today, that I'll see what happens if I keep on injecting. I'll have to see how it all affects me today as some have said that if they injected while on their menses their flow was greater and cramps stronger. If I have any problems, I'll just start skipping injections tomorrow while finishing the rest of my menses which usually only lasts a couple days. I certainly didn't expect this! More later...

Lunch: I already had lunch prepared so it was a grab & go situation for me today. I had chicken, cabbage, an apple, and grissini. I'm feeling a bit tired but I'm going to chalk that up to being pretty busy today and the cup of hot tea I drank not long ago.

Dinner: Well, hubby was gone, kids were fed, so I had some time to fix up something new for dinner. Before tossing my shrimp on the GF, I started whipping up & tweaking my recipe for on-protocol tomato soup. Yum yum yum. I ended up chopping up my grilled shrimp and tossing it in, along with part of my grissini. It was so warm and so filling and so delicious. It totally hit the spot of a yummy warm in my tummy soup. In a bit I'll be chomping up my apple & I'll be done for the day. Another one down!

VLCD Day 5

No Injection
Loss Today: <1.4>
Loss Total: <12.2>

Well, today is the first day I'm skipping an injection. It seemed a bit strange to skip over that this morning as it's become part of my daily routine. We'll see how this goes for me. I'm sure it will be fine (as Dr. Simeons recommends it), I just wonder if it will make me hungry in any way. Only time will tell!

This may end up being the only day I skip an injection, along with the days I'll skip while on my menses. That will put me wrapping up 40 injections right around mid-October which is exactly where I'm wanting to be, so that I will be completing another full round of phase 2 right around the first of the year. AND it will put my next round of loading days on Thanksgiving. That certainly can't be a bad thing. :)

Off to start my day! Happy Tuesday!

Lunch: For lunch I broiled up a steak and boiled some cabbage. It was perfect. I also fixed up 'dessert' which was Green Apple Slaw and it really hit the spot. I can't believe how full I am!

Dinner: I fixed steaks up for the family but since I had already had mine earlier in the day, I grilled me up some chicken. Team that up with a side of cabbage, a grissini, and some strawberry sorbet and I was all set. And once again stuffed.

It seems skipping the shot today had no effect on my hunger at all. That's definitely good to know. I am a bit worried as to what the scale is going to say in the morning. I know I said I wouldn't do that anymore, but I sort of am and I'm not sure why. I'm guessing it's due to me skipping a shot so I must feel as if my routine is a bit disrupted. However, I'm going to try to continue thinking happy, positive thoughts. 12.2 pounds so far! 12.2 pounds so far! 12.2 pounds so far! That oughta do it. :)

VLCD Day 4

Injection #6
Loss Today: <2.6>
Loss Total: <10.8>

Well that was certainly a pleasant surprise this morning. I didn't expect anything more than a pound this morning and I got a whole 2.6! I thought it would be more difficult this weekend with the entire family at home for the holiday, but surprisingly it's pretty easy to stay on task. I've fixed their foods with no taste-testing and haven't been hungry at all except when it's time for my regular meals. That's so fantastic that I can barely put it into words.

Lunch: I ate an apple about 11am and then ran out to do errands. We didn't get back until 1:30 or so and by that time I was pretty hungry & ready for lunch! I whipped up some quick shrimp on the George Foreman with fresh basil & lemon and wrapped them up in romaine, with a side of grissini. Really quick & satisfying. I think tomorrow I might pre-cook up some of my meats so I have them ready on hand if I need to take them with me.

Dinner: Again, I had something entirely different planned and then switched it up at the last minute due to things happening here at the house. I ate a baked apple as a snack between lunch and dinner. For dinner, I baked up some chicken and then had cucumber salad. And a grissini! I love that crunch. I'm stuffed and not currently nervous for waking up to the scale. I am fully expecting these losses to slow down & I'm now (I think) fully prepared for it. Here's to another great day!

VLCD Day 3

Injection #5
Loss Today: <2.4>
Loss Total: <8.2>

I really hope there comes a time when I can go to bed without that frantic feeling in the pit of my stomach that I'm going to wake up to a huge gain. I know that feeling originates from failing on diet after diet after diet many times before. I know I simply have to trust this protocol since I have seen proof that it does in fact work. I know I also have to in trust myself as I truly am following everything exactly as ordered and there will be slight fluctuations in my weight each day and that is okay.

This protocol has surprised me so far as I was really afraid I would be hungry all the time. Which I'm not. I thought I would have mad cravings that would send me teetering at the edge. Which I'm not. I can't believe I don't even miss ice cream yet. That's almost criminal. :)

It's time for me to sit down & plan out my daily menu. I really enjoy this time of day as I get to relax, drink some coffee and come up with a new way to fix some grub - all the while focusing on me. Us moms don't have a chance to do that very often so it feels really great. Yeah, I'm pretty easily to please.

AND even though I already posted it up there, I just have to mention again that I was in fact down 2.4 lbs today. It looks like the grissini still likes me after all. So far.

Lunch: For lunch I took it pretty easy & simply stuck an eye of round steak on the George Foreman and sprinkled it with black pepper. It was sooo juicy. I almost couldn't eat it all. I served that up with some asparagus and an apple. Great lunch.

Dinner: Tonight I fixed the family up some homemade chicken enchiladas. They smelled so yummy that I altered the meal I had planned for tonight. While I was fixing their dinner I chomped up an apple so that I wasn't tempted to taste any of that enchilada goodness. After getting them all set I dry-fried up my chicken, then shredded it in a bowl. Chopped up my onions put those & the chicken back in the pan and topped it with taco seasoning and a bit of water and made up my own sort of mexican dinner. It was really filling.

And in other news, I'm also busily preparing up some on-protocol pickles! We'll see sometime later this week if those end up being any good. If so, I'll definitely share the recipe over on HCG Recipes. I'm anxious to see how they turn out. That would certainly be another great way to eat those yummy cucumbers!

VLCD Day 2

Injection #4

Totally scared. Yep, that's exactly what I was before I stepped on that little monster of a scale. I have to admit last night I stepped on it before going to bed and saw I was down a pound. I was so hoping there would be more this morning and there was! I am officially down 5.8 lbs!!!

I'll definitely take that number! I know it won't be as much over the rest of these days so I'm going to hold onto that one & give it a big ol' hug.

So far this morning I'm not even hungry but that could always change. I'm headed off to the farmers market for veggies and it just smells entirely too good there! Eep!

Lunch: I marinated some cucumbers with my Cucumber Mint recipe along with a dash of dill. While that was marinating I shook on my Blackened Chicken seasonings and let that sit in the fridge for 20 mins or so. Then I popped it on the George Foreman for a few minutes and served it up next to my cucumber salad. Yum! Soooo moist & juicy! Oh - I also had 1 grissini. I already had my apple as a mid-morning snack so I'm good to go. So far so good. :)

Dinner: This was pretty easy tonight. I wasn't that hungry and thought I'd go the shrimp and spinach route which ended up being a lot more to eat than what I thought it would be. I'm completely stuffed!

I ate my apple first. Then cooked up some Lemon Shrimp & Spinach. I also had a grissini since I seemed to be a little short on calories. I hope those don't throw me off. Weird - it feels like I'm eating so much which puts the fear into me that the scale won't be moving in the morning. We shall see.