Nearing The End of My 1st Week of Maintenance

I have almost completed one week of maintenance and it has been a complete success. There were a couple of days that I was up 2.2 lbs...which is .2 lbs over the allowable but I didn't stress and it was back down the next day.

I have enjoyed eating again. With the healthy snacks and meals...I've been eating what seems like all day and still no weight gain.

Roger and I went to eat last night after the football game while Tyler went to the local "5th Quarter" sponsored by a local church...fun and games after the football game. We ate chicken and salmon at 11 PM and didn't gain one ounce. We were both exactly what we were yesterday when we weighed in this morning.

He has one more week of no sugars and starches and I have two. Hoping and praying this will continue throughout and get ready for Round 2 in 5 more weeks.

Phase 3 or P3

Sunday was my first day of P3 (Phase 3) of the HCG weight loss program.

Eating out after church on Sunday never sounded so good as it this past Sunday. We went to Colton's and I was trying to be very good, follow all the rules (there aren't many) and keep my nerves in check.

With each new phase, there comes nervousness, confusion and a sense of being overwhelmed...just at first, though. You are so afraid that you will begin to regain all that you lost when you start back to eating regular foods with unlimited quantities.

I ordered the mesquite grilled chicken, steamed vegetables and a salad with ranch...hold the croutons, please. I chose to take home half of the chicken for my lunch yesterday but, I was will very full and completely satisfied. I cooked large hamburger steaks with green beans for dinner and I don't remember if I had any snack or not on Sunday.

I was up only 1 lb. of the 2 lbs. that are allowed. I was pleasantly surprised!

Yesterday, I went a lot further with my eating to see if I would gain weight or not. They have said that I shouldn't but if I do, don't stress because you can have a steak day or a tuna and steak day to shed the extra pounds....I really don't want to have to do that but I will if I need to.

I had 2 regular, scrambled eggs and 3 slices of bacon for breakfast, salad with a little cheddar cheese, onions, bell pepper, left over grilled chicken and ranch dressing for lunch. My snacks for the afternoon and evening consisted of...2 servings of almonds, 1 sugar free chocolate jello pudding snack, pork rinds and a small handful of walnuts. Dinner was a grilled pork chop on the go, in the car while I was running to pick Tyler up at a Spanish Club meeting and then off to Wal-Mart. I'm not sure that I even tasted the pork chop...lol.

I had my 2nd Diet Dr. Pepper and I was up only .2 lbs. I am using the website that they recommended to track my eating and it is great whether you are on this program or not.

Check it out: www.livestrong.com It will tell you under the tab...My Plate how many calories you need per day to lose weight or maintain weight. You can also document everything you eat and it will keep a running file for you.

Each day is a new adventure now that we are able to eat regular food but I will be glad when we get to add our starches back...I need a bigger variety of veggies.

My goal this week is to search for low carb, low sugar recipes to try.

And finally, I took my measurements and was totally shocked at the results because I had only lost 3.6 lbs. I lost another 12 inches off my body for a grand total of 38 inches in Round 1. That is totally amazing to me!!!

Here is the breakdown of what I've lost and where since my first measurements on 8/12 and my final on 9/19.

Neck: -1"
Right Arm: -4"
Left Arm: -3"
Upper Chest: -3 1/2"
Chest: -3 1/4"
Midriff: -3 1/4"
Waist: -4"
Belly Button: -4 1/2"
Hips: -3"
Right Thigh: -2 1/4"
Left Thigh: -2 1/4"
Right Knee: -1 1/2"
Left Knee: -1"
Right Calf: -3/4"
Left Calf: -3/4"

All I can say is WOW! I am a believer now!

Round 1 ~ Complete!!!

I am happy to announce that Round 1 is complete and a success!!! I quit the HCG drops on Thursday and began my 3 days of 500 calories without the HCG drops to complete Round 1.

Today, is my final day of 500 calories and I am soooo happy to be finished. It was a long 39 days but yet, it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be either.

I quit 1 day early because my weight had been up and down over the past 10 days...up 2 days and down 1 that no matter what I lost or gained wasn't going to change the fact that I would have to go Round 2 to meet my goal of 135 lbs.

Tomorrow, after church...we are going to Colton's for lunch and I am meeting my sweet friend, Dorinda on Wednesday morning for breakfast! Awwww....that sounds so good to be able to say that.

My final weight that I must maintain is 158.6. I can't gain more than 2 lbs. or lose more than 2 lbs. to stablize my weight, reset my body's set weight and maintain this for 6 weeks.

I might not have lost a lot of weight the last half but I lost inches. I don't always see the results of my efforts until I see pictures or take measurements.

I measured today after 38 full (500 calorie diet days) since I started and I have lost a total of...get ready for this....

36 3/4 inches and 25 pounds!!!

Here are the pictures that I made this week. I wore this shirt on July 27th and I had to stretch it before putting it on. I knew when I was there that I was going to begin this program in two weeks and I knew that I was big but when I saw the pictures...oh, my goodness...even, I was shocked at how bad I looked.

I put the same shirt on the other day and made pictures again in it. Check them out and see the difference that 25 lbs. and 36 3/4 inches makes in a person's body.

Monday & Tuesday

I got a shock on Monday when I spoke with Stacey, my support. My 40th day will be Friday of this week instead of next Monday.

They begin counting the days on the first day of the gorge when you take the drops for the first time. Wow...I need to lose as much as possible before then because whatever I weigh in on Friday will be my weight that I have to maintain for 6 weeks in order to reset brain's set weight.

I have been counting my days from the first full day of my 500 calorie diet and drops. So, needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised and scared at the same time. I am ready to get off of this very limited food list but still haven't lost the weight that I had hoped to. The maintenance is a little nerve wracking because you don't want to mess up and gain it back. You have to stay within 2 lbs....up or down of the last day of the HCG drops...which is Friday.

You have to continue to eat 500 calories without drops for 3 days and then you get to increase your calories.

Monday...I knew that I had consumed too much sodium because I could tell that night before getting on the scales that I was way up. I was up 6 lbs. from my morning weight. Yes, most of it was fluid retention but I was still up more than I have been in nearly 40 days.

Tuesday morning...I was very frustrated and disappointed with I was up nearly 2 lbs. over my lowest weight. Roger tried to console me in his "manly" way but I wasn't having any part of it and told him it was in his best interest to just go to work. lol

When I only have a few days to lose as much as I can...I was disappointed because the more you are up...the less you are going to weigh on the final day.

However, I refused to let it ruin my day with Laurie and going to the spa for a pedicure. We had a great time with lots of girl talk and it was refreshing to just get away from it all...even, if for only a couple of hours.

I had to eat lunch out and that was very difficult this time. They didn't have any salad dressing that I could eat but they did grill me some onions to go with my grilled chicken. I know that put stuff on it to grill because it tasted greasy but I didn't have a choice and it was after 1:30 PM and I hadn't eaten all day.

After getting back home, I wasn't hungry and I just skipped dinner all together. I have weighed several times throughout the evening and night...the pounds are steady dropping.

I am hoping for a good weight in the morning. Fingers and freshly manicured toes are crossed.

Monday & Tuesday

Monday & Tuesday

Day 29, 30 & 31 - Friday, Saturday & Sunday

Things have continued in the right direction...down, down, down.

Friday was a busy day for me and I worked in my attic all day, had Tyler's football game that night and was too busy to get too hungry. :-)

Saturday, Roger and I had to go to Memphis to look at carpet for our house so we took our tea and apples in a small cooler. That works perfectly to keep us from getting so hungry and wanting to cheat. We came home in the early afternoon to fix our lunch which was "fried" chicken and I had grilled onions and Roger had cucumbers.

Because we had such a late lunch, we were ready for dinner before we had to leave for our grandson, Mason's birthday party.

Oh, that was nearly a big mistake! His party wasn't until 6:30 PM and by the time that the kids and rest of the family got ready to eat pizza, pasta salad, chips and dip...we were so hungry. I had to walk outside because the temptation was almost too much.

We ended up leaving before the cake and ice cream. We had gotten so empty and it was a 45 minute drive home. We were trying to decide where we were going to go eat and try our first time at a restaurant since starting this weight loss program.

We had just about decided to eat at Texas Roadhouse and split a steak and a plain salad but we knew that it would be crowded at 7:30 PM.

We opted to Backyard Burger. Roger and I ordered a plain hamburger and a side salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing. We had our own tea.

When our order was ready...we took off all the other items from the salad and used only 1/2 the dressing. We also removed the meat from the bun before eating.

It was enough to curb the appetite but I can't say that I was full by any means. I decided to come home and go to bed rather than eat any fruit because I wanted to be down the next morning instead of up.

Here is my weight losses/gains over these 3 days:

Friday - up +.4 lbs.
Saturday - down -1.2 lbs.
Sunday - down -1.6 lbs.

I woke up at 5 AM Sunday morning with stomach virus like symptoms. I awoke to extreme nausea and severe stomach cramps. It was a battle until about 8 AM with many trips to the bathroom. By 8:30 AM...I was wore out and went back to bed. I slept until Roger and Tyler got home from church. Well, ok...I slept way later than that...til 12:00 PM.

Roger cooked chicken with tomatoes for my lunch. By that time, I was hungry. I was afraid it would make me sick at my stomach but it didn't. I am going to take it easy the rest of the day.

I have broken through the 180's, 170', 160's and now have entered the 150's. I weighed 158.6 this morning. That will get you excited.

Total weight loss....25 lbs.

Day 29 - Thursday

I hit a milestone for me...I lost another 1.6 lbs. since yesterday giving me a total of 21 lbs. lost in 29 days!!! Roger has lost 30.4 lbs. in 22 days. He only has 3.6 lbs. left and he is finished for this round. Wow! Go Roger!!!!

I am so excited this morning. I have had some ups and downs with my weight from day to day but have learned to accept it as part of my body's make-up. Now, does that make it any easier on those mornings? No, but it is what it is.

Other than this...it's all been pretty uneventful.

Days 27 & 28 - Tuesday and Wednesday

Things were much better these two days. I lost 3.2 lbs. from Monday till Tuesday morning. By that time, I was finally down .2 lbs. from my lowest previous weight. I was back to gaining ground instead of losing it.

I lost another .6 lbs. from Tuesday until Wednesday.

My attitude and mood was much better. I was a little hungry on Wednesday but we moved forward.

I am counting down the days until I hit 40 days. I wish I could say that I will hit 34 lbs. lost before I hit the 40 day mark, but I don't think that will happen.

Roger has lost 29 lbs. in 22 days and I have lost 19.4 lbs. in 28 days as of Wednesday morning.

It is coming off and I am so excited. I am beginning to feel like a new person.

Days 25-27 Saturday - Monday

Normally, the weekends are my best days because I am more active than during the week sitting behind a desk...however, that was not the case this weekend. I gained weight 2 out of 3 days this weekend and by Monday...I was just down right MAD!

Saturday - gained +.6 lb.

Sunday - lost -2.4 lb.

Monday - gained +1.4 lb.

Roger had some of the same problems but yet we weren't eating. What is up with that???

Monday were had planned to get up and go to Memphis to pickup some materials for home improvement projects, look at carpet and new bedroom furniture for Tyler. When I got up and weighed, I was so upset, angry and frustrated that Roger almost refused to go shopping with me. It was that bad.

I pushed on through and only ate one meal on Monday because we were gone and refused to try eating out.

I survived the weekend and tried to stay focused.

Day 23-24 - Thursday and Friday

I am so excited! I have lost 18.6 lbs. in 24 full days on the program. I am feeling great, full of energy and loving the changes in my body.

I still have the desire to eat unhealthy foods and think that I will love to eat them again when this is all over but, I've decided that I would rather do without those foods and feel good about myself.

I have been told my numerous people that they couldn't do this program. I wasn't sure that I could either. However, when you get to the point that I was then you thinking changes.

I hated what I looked like, had become and how I felt more than I love the foods that I was eating that got me to where I was...183.6 lbs on a 5'4" frame.

My official weight this morning was 165.

We are trying new recipes from the cookbook that came with my package. We had "fried" chicken twice, Chicken Fajitas and might try the Italian Chicken Kabobs tonight. I also made their fat free cole slaw yesterday. Now, it's not what I was used to but it was good and a change in the veggie category.

I am pushing forward and plan to celebrate my 20 lbs weight loss but treating myself to a manicure and pedicure...hopefully, this coming week. I can't celebrate with food and I don't want to buy new clothes because I pray they will be too big soon.

Day 22 - Wednesday

I woke up to a weight loss this morning after going to the bathroom several time. I lost 1.4 lbs and was thrilled with this.

Lately, it has been a roller coaster ride on the scales. I am on Day 22 and 21 full days on the 500 calorie diet. To date, I've lost 16.4 lbs.

However, I woke up hungry this morning! That's not good and I hope that I can hold off eating until lunch time but if I can't then I will have to have a piece of fruit or my Melba toast. I really like keeping these until the afternoon and evening so I don't feel deprived later when watching TV.

We are trying different recipes when we have the time and I think, this weekend we will try several. The same old, same old is getting OLD!

This has been a more difficult week for me as I have been hungry more, thought of all my yummy foods, drinks and emotions. I was getting very irritable today but I think I was just frustrated and hungry. I had to apologize to my hubby for being so snappy.

All in all...I survived the day and will keep pushing forward.

I decided tonight that when I hit the 20 lb. weight loss mark...I'm celebrating with a manicure and pedicure. Can't celebrate with food and don't want to buy new clothes because hopefully, they will be getting too big soon too.

Days 20 & 21 - Monday & Tuesday

Monday and Tuesday weren't good days for me. I had a lot on my mind, very emotional and add the fact that on Monday, I was up .2 lbs and on Tuesday, I was up .6 lbs....I was really emotional.

My support, Stacey called me on Monday to get my morning weight and I told her that I was up .2 lbs. We started trying to figure out why.

The only thing we can figure is (1) my body is resisting or trying to plateau (2) lack of sleep plays a big role, (3) when you stay up later, you tend to drink more liquids which the body doesn't have time to process and get rid of by the time you get up the next morning, (4) having the same protein for both meals and eating the same fruits in the same day....you need to vary them. I have varied them up until this week. I only had about 5 hours sleep Sunday night to Monday morning, had beef for both meals on Monday and Tuesday, increased my salt intake and had apples for both snack on those days as well.

With other things on my mind, I wasn't able to go to sleep once I got in the bed...which was very late to begin with.

Monday night, I was in bed and asleep by 11 PM and up at 6:30 AM. This is good for me but might not be good enough on my weight loss.

Over the weekend, we stayed up late but also slept in...so I got 8 hours sleep and lost 1.6 lbs in 2 days. Plus, we were outside, walking and riding bikes.

My current weight is 168.6. I gained .8 lbs over my lowest weight during this process. I am trying to not stress out about it but it is frustrating when you are trying to follow the program, not eat all the yummy foods that you miss and still gain. Ughhh!

I am counting down the days to being able to add other foods back into my lifestyle and having more variety.

At this point...as of Tuesday morning...I've lost 15 lbs.