Still on vacation! Will try to update again after we return home and when I start back on protocol after the 1st of April. Happy losing to everyone!

VLCD Day 16

Injection #16

Loss Today: <1.2>
Round 4 Loss: <14.4>
Loss Total: <72.4>


Oh, my poor sweet neglected blog. I don't know why I can't get into posting updates lately. I guess I'm really trying to limit my computer time and unfortunately that's where this falls.

Firstly, I have to say thank you for all your comments. I want you all to know I appreciate each one of you greatly, and I never meant to insinuate you didn't care. Only that I didn't know if it was worth checking my blog to only read numbers. I love and thank you all for your support.

OK, now let me try to give a bit more of a detailed update of how this round has gone. As you all know, I took an interruption of about 11 days. Company came to town, life was grand, and phase 3 was easy shmeasy. I ended up hovering right around 3 lbs+ LIW and I wasn't stressed over it. In fact, I find that that's where my body likes to sit while in P3. The 2 lb mark just doesn't work for me. That was going well until PMS started - the DAY BEFORE I was due to start P2 again. Lo & behold, this put me up another FIVE pounds. That's right, folks. So suddenly I was EIGHT pounds over LIW. In one day. And no, it had nothing to do with what I ate, it was all PMS, baby. Ugh. I was mortified, and felt like all was wasted, but in the end knew it would come off again. Let me also add here, that while on HCG, it's amazing how I continue to lose or stay the same while on menses. Because when off HCG, it's normal for me to gain 3-5 lbs. Another wonderful thing about our buddy, HCG.

Anyway, my losses this round have been slower than others. I figure PMS'ing with all that water bloat didn't help in the beginning when the big losses usually hit. Also, my menses started on about Day 6 or 7 so that slowed things down. And then, directly after my menses, I entered a period of about 3 days where I only lost .2 of a pound TOTAL. I didn't do an apple day or anything of the sort, I just let it run its course. I figure I'll be taking my last injection this coming Thursday and then be on P3 for at least the following 4 weeks. I probably won't start up again until around the 1st of April or so.

I've come to the conclusion, that for me anyway, it's really important to time my P2s to start at certain times of the month. I definitely think Dr S was on to something when he talks about this in the protocol:
In menstruating women, the best time to start treatment is immediately after a period. Treatment may also be started later, but it is advisable to have at least ten days in hand before the onset of the next period.

In order for us women (or, at least me) to maximize losses, I really do need to start at the appropriate time he designates. Now let's hope I can remember that when I start itching to start up P2 again. :)

I hope everyone is doing fantastically. Happy Friday!

VLCD Day 9

Injection #9

Loss Today: <1.4>
Round 4 Loss: <11.6>


Here's a quick update. To be honest, I haven't really felt like blogging as things have been incredibly busy and I just haven't been in a blogging mood. I do, however, try to stop by everyone else's blogs as often as I can. I wasn't sure if I should still update here with just my stats everyday, or if that's something nobody really cares about.

I'll try to give more details about this round in a later post. I am going ahead & calling this my round 4 since I took an 11 day break and it's just easier for me to track this way.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday and enjoys their weekend!

P3 Day 5

Well, so far so good. I'm hovering every day within the +/-2 LIW. I am, in fact, over my LIW today as I was really bad about my water yesterday. I find that while in P3, I have to force myself to remember to drink enough water. It's funny that while in P2, it's so natural to drink it, but then all of that goes out the window once I'm off VLCD. Bad, Renee, bad.

Some good news. While picking up the kiddos from a friend's birthday party, I went up to talk to the hosting mom as I hadn't seen her in a while and wanted to quickly catch up while the party was wrapping up. As I was walking up to her, she looked puzzled and then suddenly this look of shock traveled across her face. She then started screaming, "OMG! OMG! I didn't even know that was you. You look AMAZING!" I had to tell her she made my day as many people don't say a single word about weight loss. It really felt fantastic to have someone acknowledge my hard work. Combine that with the fact that this morning I tried on my super-comfy uber-fantastic 'ooooh, look at my rear in these!' most-favorite Patagonia size 12 cargo pants and they fit. Wow. We have another birthday party today and I'm going to wear them and yes- probably check myself out in the mirrors all day long.

I've been doing some thinking on when to start back on VLCD. I was going to start on Monday, but I just found out that the out-of-towners aren't leaving until Thursday. Now, I'm not going to wait until Thursday. But I would really like to partake in the luncheon on Monday as everyone is going out for sushi. That's something I don't want to miss. So it's looking like I'll start back on Tuesday and then continue for 21 injections, wrapping up on 2/25. I'm anxious to see how the losses go after this short break. Better? Same? We'll seeee.

Sorry for the delay in posting. Preparing for out-of-towners all the while my husband has been up in SD alllll week left things a little goofy around here. I apologize I haven't had the time to make the rounds on everyone's blogs. I hope to be able to do that soon. I miss you all!

Happy weekend, everyone.

VLCD Day 23

No Injection

Round 3 Loss: <22.6>
Loss Total: <66.2>


Things were insanely busy this weekend so I didn't have time to update this blog o' mine. I did want to say a big thank you to all of you who chimed in on my planned interruption. Your thoughts definitely helped me wrap my head around what I was going to do.

I did, in fact, stop injections on Saturday, Jan 26th. That was my 21st injection. I'll start VLCD + injections up again on Monday, Feb 4th. We'll see how this all works out.

I'm still tracking my weight, and I've stalled & been at the same weight since Friday. I think this might be due to the fact that I'm ovulating. I have to say, I'm glad I had already decided to take this break before the stall happened. My mind is definitely in a better spot and that 'stall' isn't fretting me one bit. Now, if I had been looking at another straight 20 days of VLCD, I might be more concerned.

One last quick bit of news. Yesterday, we all went out to see Cloverfield and as I was getting ready I saw the size 12 jeans I recently purchased calling my name and thought for a laugh I'd try them on and see how much farther I have to go to get into them. They totally fit and I wore those suckers right to the movies. I couldn't believe it. So much so that I caught myself checking out my rear end, legs, etc. at every window we passed, even the cars in the parking lot. I haven't tried on my favorite size 12 cargos yet, but I'll definitely have to pull those out of my 'skinny' storage over the next week or two.

I took my measurements for this short round and the most impressive numbers came from my waist and hips where I lost 3.5" and 3" respectively. In only 20 days. On my third round. Unbelievable.

I'll try to keep updating as I can during this break. Happy Monday to everyone.

VLCD Day 19

Injection #19
Loss Today: ?
Round 3 Loss: <21.2>
Loss Total: <64.8>


No update on my losses for today. I had an early meeting at school and had to leave a couple hours before my normal weigh-in time, so I really have no idea where I'm at today. It makes me a bit nervous only because I like to know where I'm at each day. I am very thirsty today which may have something to do with the fact that
apparently my menses is still hanging around. It mysteriously appeared out of the blue again today so I'm still having to put up with that. That silly thing just needs to go already. :)

I've been giving some thought to taking an interruption next week. We're going to have some people come in from out of state and we'll be celebrating three birthdays total (including mine from the beginning of Jan.) and the wine and martinis will be plenty. And the beer. And the gin & tonics. Ok, now Jennifer isn't the only one sounding like a lush. ;)

You all know me, so you know my decision on this will change 30 times before next week comes. However, this is one idea I've been tossing around. To stop this weekend after 22-23 injections, take the 72 hours, live life like a really, really short modified P3 over the rest of that week & the weekend. It would be about 4 days. Then that Monday start up injections/VLCD again which would give me 21 more injections before I'm wanting to stop around 2/24. However, I'm not sure what this would do. One concern I have is that I would gain 2-3 pounds (or more) and then my hard work over this entire past week (or longer) would be shot. I'm not really sure I'm willing to risk that. On the other hand, I'm thinking maybe taking a short break might kickstart losses again and it's a theory I've been wanting to test - especially since 225 is a set point for me and I just might need an extra boost to get past it. Since this was due to be a 50+ vlcd round for me, I'm wondering if this isn't the time to find out and maybe a short break isn't a bad thing when doing an extended round. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing since I am mentally/emotionally in a good place on this round and I don't really want to do anything to sabotage that, or my losses. Buuuuut, I'm curious. And obviously confused. Who knows, it might not affect anything and I'll continue to lose at the normal rate which would be just as wonderful. I probably won't make a decision until Sunday or Monday and see how my losses go up until then. So that's what has been bouncing around in this ol' head o' mine.

On to my menu for yesterday.
Again, my fruits were green apples. I have so many of those from the past fall and will probably be eating them for months. Luckily, I love them.
Lunch was Cinnamon Curry Chicken Soup.
Dinner was a veggie burger and sliced tomato.
Fluids included 2L water and 1L oolong.

I'll run around visiting everyone's blogs later tonight after I get home. I hope everyone's Thursday is a great one.

VLCD Day 18

Injection #18
Loss Today: <1.0>
Round 3 Loss: <21.2>
Loss Total: <64.8>


Whew. I am so glad yesterday is history. It was such a trying day emotionally. I love teaching, but there are times when the beaurocracy of it all could drive one completely bonkers.

On another note, I lost a pound! Woo! It's wonderful to see a big number once again. TOM is officially gone (see ya!) and now hopefully this extra bloating will go as well.

Not much time to post as I want to spend this short bit of time checking up on everyone else's blogs instead of posting on mine. ;)

Menu for yesterday:

Lunch was grilled steak & onion.
Dinner was tomato soup with shredded chicken.
Fruits were green apples.
Fluids included 2.5L water and 2 c coffee (with zsweet).

VLCD Day 17

Injection #17
Loss Today: <.2>
Round 3 Loss: <20.2>
Loss Total: <63.8>


Short post today. I'm having one of those very trying, stressful days. Nothing to do with the protocol, just everything else hitting all at once. I thought I should go ahead & get my stats up though. Even if it is a piddly .2/lb, it's still that much closer to my goal. And I did actually hit the next 'tens'. Hopefully this silly menses will go away soon enough as well.

Big thanks to all of you who commented yesterday. To answer your question, Jenn, my goal for this round was to get to the 100s. Now, that's a big goal and might not be attainable since it's still 29.8 lbs away. I am, however, shooting to do a longer round this round, so I might get close. The closer the better, of course. I do want to be done with this round sometime around the 25th of February so I can be on phase 4 in time for our trip to Paris in March. Wish me luck! ;)

Menu yesterday included 2 green apples, grilled steak & onion, and grilled chicken with lettuce & homemade dressing.

More tomorrow. Happy losses to everyone.

VLCD Day 16

Injection #16
Loss Today: <.8>
Round 3 Loss: <20.0>
Loss Total: <63.6>


Darn! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm happy with .8 of a loss. But I was SO looking forward to possibly hitting the 220s today, and here I am at 230.0. I just know that next decade is around the corner, and the last time I was at 220, I was into those size 12s and I'm so anxious to be there again. Even though it's not my goal weight, it's a size that I feel really comfortable with, and I still have my favorite cargos waiting for me to get back there. It's one of those goals I'm itching to get to.

My menu for yesterday was:
Lunch - green apple, grilled steak & onion.
Dinner - orange, baked bbq chicken, and sliced tomato.
Fluids included 2.5L water, 3 c coffee, and 1L oolong.

Back on the subject of people noticing when you've lost weight. It's funny how people will tell me now that I look like I'm already done dieting. Trust me, I am by no means thin (especially at 230.0!), but I am over 5'10" and so my height sort of spreads everything out. I told a close friend how much I weighed and she wouldn't believe it. She said there was no way I was over 200. The main reason I'm putting this out there is that this is something I have to watch for myself. Because once I get to that size 12, I will get somewhat comfortable, especially with everyone making those sort of comments. So I'll have to push myself a bit to keep going. The good news is that I know now, with hCG, that I will be able to continue on to get back to my goal weight where I am MOST comfortable and, more importantly, MOST healthy. And it's so amazing to have that confidence in something (and yourself) to KNOW that all of that is attainable.

Yay for all of us.

VLCD Day 15

Injection #15
Loss Today: <.8>
Round 3 Loss: <19.2>
Loss Total: <62.8>


Well, I finally started my menses so hopefully all this bloating will go away soon. At least my moods have settled and I can start acting more like a "normal" person.

My menu for yesterday included green apples, grilled steak & onion for lunch, and a veggie burger with sliced tomato for dinner. 2L water, 2 c coffee with zsweet, 1 c raspberry leaf tea.

On another quick note, I think it was on Ed & Jennifer's blog that Maryg911 made a comment about some people sometimes not noticing (or more aptly, saything anything about) weight loss. I think this is something we all experience. Most of our family/friends probably aren't comfortable with knowing whether we want our weight brought up (again). I recently hit the 60# mark and my in-laws just started to comment and say how great I am looking. And to be honest, I'm just starting to see the difference myself. I can look at the numbers and paper, and know that I'm losing and getting smaller, but it wasn't until this past week or so that I could look at myself in the mirror with almost a shocked look on my face and see such a big difference. I think in part this translates to how I carry myself, exudes confidence, and therefore allows others to see the changes in my body as well. I'm also wearing clothes that actually fit instead of trying to hide my body in such baggy clothes all the time.

I also went on a bit of a small shopping spree yesterday to pick up some new pieces. The good news is that the size large tops will fit me even at my goal weight since my boobs aren't going anywhere and even at my smallest a medium is just too tight in the chest. I also picked up another pair of size 14 pants and a couple size 12s - because I'm an optimist and know I'll be in those 12s again soon enough. I hate shopping, so it was wonderful to be able to walk in, grab my size, and not worry about it not fitting or how it will look. Fantastic.

Enjoy your Sunday!

VLCD Day 14

No Injection
Loss Today: <.4>
Round 3 Loss: <18.4>
Loss Total: <62.0>


I'm posting this late today and I'm on my way to bed soon, so I'll update more properly on Sunday.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

Menu for yesterday was green apples, grilled steak and onion for lunch, and grilled chicken and steamed bok choy for dinner. 2L water, 1L oolong, and 2 c coffee.

VLCD Day 13

Injection #14
Loss Today: <.2>
Round 3 Loss: <18.0>
Loss Total: <61.6>


At lunch, so I'll perhaps update more later. Still grumpy, still pms'ing, still bloated enough to float my way to China. Here's hoping that subsides soon.

Yesterday's menu included green apples for my fruit, 2L water, 2 c coffee (with zsweet) and 1 L oolong.

Lunch was grilled steak and onion. Dinner was grilled chicken & sliced tomato.

VLCD Day 12

Injection #13
Loss Today: <1.2>
Round 3 Loss: <17.8>
Loss Total: <61.4>


Today is a snow day, so again, not much time to properly blog.

I did want to make a quick note that I went back to my journal notes sometime this morning and saw that I'm pretty close on this round to where I was on my first round. In R1, I had lost 17.6 pounds at this point, which was about 6% of my weight so far. In this round, I'm at 7%. I'm a bit surprised that this round is seeming to go so smoothly and that I'm losing so well. Not that I want to jinx it, of course. I haven't started my menses yet, and I'm still holding water and having some mood swings. I hope that it all starts soon - for many reasons.

My menu for yesterday included green apples for my fruit. At lunch, I had grilled steak & onion. Dinner was a veggie burger and sliced tomato.

My fluids included 2.5L water, 2 c coffee (with zsweet), 1L oolong, and 2 cans of diet pepsi. I know, the soda was bad. I blame the PMS. Because I can. :)

VLCD Day 11

Injection #12
Loss Today: <.8>
Round 3 Loss: <16.6>
Loss Total: <60.2>


No time today as I'm on lunch break, but I wanted to post a quick update. I'll try to get to comments & my menu, etc. later tonight after kids are in bed and I (hopefully) have a few minutes for myself. Thanks everyone for your wonderful support.

Menu for yesterday was:
Lunch- grilled steak & onion.
Dinner- scrambled eggs & diced tomato.
Green apples for both of my fruits.

Fluids included 2L water, 2 c coffee (with zsweet), 1 can diet pepsi, and 1L oolong.

I'll also include yesterday's stats in this posting since I didn't have time to post yesterday.

VLCD Day 10
Injection #11
Loss Today: <.6>
Round 3 Loss: <15.8>
Loss Total: <59.4>


Yesterday's menu for lunch was grilled chicken, sliced tomato, and a green apple. Dinner was a green apple, veggie chik'n strips, and grilled onion.

Fluids included 2L water, and 2 c coffee (with zsweet), and 1 can diet pepsi.

VLCD Day 9

Injection #10
Loss Today: 0
Round 3 Loss: <15.2>
Loss Total: <58.8>


Well, it was due to happen sooner or later. That, and it was totally expected. When I woke up this morning and went to weigh, I looked in the mirror and let out an audible 'whoa' at the sight of my apparent bloat. I'm due to start my menses within the next few days and I can see my body preparing for it. Not to mention my mood swings which seem to increase while on hcg and have been crazy today. Oh joy. At least I can still button my size 14 jeans. :)

Yesterday menu:
Lunch- grilled chicken and onion.
Dinner- veggie burger & sliced tomato. I also had a dill pickle slice.

Fluids included 2L water, 1L oolong, and 2 c coffee (with zsweet).

VLCD Day 8

Injection #9
Loss Today: <1.0>
Round 3 Loss: <15.2>
Loss Total: <58.8>


I have to admit that I wondered if I'd still get a great loss today. Yesterday I ran into a bit of a quandry. At dinnertime, I found I had nothing thawed. Well, nothing I wanted. I (thought I) had taken out a chicken serving, and upon readying it for preparation, discovered it was indeed fish. Oops. I wasn't in the mood for fish. I thought about fixing eggs, but I have to be in a certain mood for eggs. And yep, the egg-mood wasn't there. So I decided to take a jump and try having a veggie burger. I've had them sitting up in my freezer waiting to use on the protocol to see if they would have any adverse affects. I served it up with some grilled onion with Braggs (surprise, surprise) and it was so yummy. I'll have to have them again as I always have these on the ready for the kids (and myself off-protocol), and I've always leaned more towards being vegetarian than carnivore. But, I still like my meat on occasion.

Somewhat on this same subject, I also had the option to use a protein shake for my evening meal as I know some of our veggies (and others) have used those successfully. I, however, have not. I noted whenever I've used it, I don't lose. Which, honestly, is fine by me. I really prefer to chew my meals anyway.

Just to add in, for lunch I grilled a steak and served it atop lettuce with sugar free dressing. Also to note, I've used those dressings throughout all of my phases with no problem. I sometimes make my own, but those dressings come in little packets and it makes it really convenient for when I'm on the go.

Busy day planned for today. At least the sun is out. That always helps keep me a bit more sane. Happy day, everyone.

VLCD Day 7

No Injection
Loss Today: <1.0>
Round 3 Loss: <14.2>
Loss Total: <57.8>


I'm happy to see the gauntlet has not yet dropped and I'm still getting those big numbers. Love those!

Yesterday for lunch, I made a hungarian rub for my steak and grilled that with some onions. I'm so addicted to grilled onions drizzled in Bragg's it's not even funny. For dinner, I had Wasabi Fish and sliced tomato. I had a green apple for both of my fruits.

I'm slowly getting back into the internet game. I really needed that sabbatical I took, however. I've been on the internet since 1995(?) and it felt good to unplug for a while. I actually received some handwritten letters from friends. That was so nice. People just don't do that enough anymore.

Thankfully, I have a pretty relaxing day planned. My week was entirely too hectic and I'm hoping to get some me time today.

Happy Weekending!

VLCD Day 6

Injection #8
Loss Today: <1.0>
Round 3 Loss: <13.2>
Loss Total: <56.8>


Not much time, but I wanted to post an update so I can possibly maybe perhaps start to form this habit again. We'll see.

Happy Friday!

Update

She has returned. Well, at least for today. I'm certainly not going to promise to return to my daily postings, but I thought I should update this sad, neglected blog o' mine. And play catch up with my buddies.

Things have been very busy here. I'm back teaching full-time and I'm also volunteering some nights as a child advocate. Combine that with the holidays and all sorts of family drama and me wanting to get more painting/sculpting time, and the old habit of updating the blog never registered on my radar.

Phase 2 Round 2
I did have a chance to complete a shortened phase 2 from 11/24-12/19. I think my final total for that round was around 21 pounds. That round was a mess for me. For starters, on my first VLCD day, my menses came two weeks early. So I didn't see the big losses in the beginning that this program usually brings. That put my mind in a not-so-great place. Also, I didn't really load for that round and I think that hurt me because I was really hungry for almost the entire round. I had cravings like crazy and even cheated towards the end. It was like I just couldn't control myself. The thing is, I was totally at ease with my cheating. I even planned which day of the week I was going to cheat, and I did it. I loved it, enjoyed it, then went straight back to being vigilant. And then, I started my menses again at the end of the round. I also noted that I didn't lose hardly any inches that round. I think my hormones must have been wacky and I was retaining water a lot. Who knows but I'm glad that round is over.

I started at 260.8 and finished at 239.4.

For the next couple of weeks after completing the round, I ate whatever I wanted. My weight would fluctuate between 3-6 pounds above LIW. It didn't really phase me much. I blame that on the fact that I KNOW this protocol works and I KNEW at the time that the weight would come off whenever I started up again.

Phase 2 Round 3
I decided to only take a 2 week break between rounds and started loading (in my own healthy, natural way) on 1/4, and just like my first round, I've yet to experience hunger. It's fabulous.

Some stats so far:

VLCD Day 1 250.0
VLCD Day 2 246.4 <3.6>
VLCD Day 3 242.6 <3.8>
VLCD Day 4 239.6 <3.0>
And today, I was at 237.8 <1.8>

So in 4 VLCD days I've lost 12.2 pounds. Not bad. Every single day so far I've eaten the exact same thing. In a rut? Perhaps. But I've been too busy to really want to play with my food much. Pretty unusual for me.

Mid-morning I have a green apple for snack. Lunch is a steak & grilled onion. Mid-afternoon - another green apple. Dinner is grilled chicken & sliced tomato. Easy stuff.

I feel pretty good this round and am sort of just going through the motions. The plan is to stay on phase 2 until the end of February. I'm not sure if I'll go until then or change my mind 308 times before then. I'd really like to see the 100's before I stop this round, however. And we're going back to Paris in March, so I'd like to time it so I can really enjoy some nice wine & bread around that time. We'll see how it all goes from here.

Missed you all! Happy losing to everyone.