Round 2, P2 VLCD 17

I have been just awful about blogging during this round. Sorry about that!

I started Round 2 at 244 lbs. on May 8th. During the load days, I got back up to 251 (yikes!) and then immediately lost it during the first 3 days of the VLCD. This morning I weighed in at 226.4. This is a total of 45 lbs lost! So close to that 50 lb mark.

This round has been a little discouraging for me. I am not sure what it is, but I am having a harder time. This round is a short round for me. After a few of the things that went on during the last round (passing out, the rash, etc), I have decided it will just be better for me this time to do a short round. I started getting the rash again last week. It has progressed and is quite itchy. I have also been losing my hair this time. I started using Nioxin and it seems to help. From everything I have read, this a pretty common side effect and should go away once I up my calories during the next phase. I plan on starting P3 on June 1st.

Maybe next time I will do a longer round again. Because of the waiting period between rounds, it works out best for me to start the next round mid-September. Hopefully I will be better about blogging then!

Phase 3, Day 7

I had to do a steak day on Monday. A steak day is when you don't eat anything all day (but drink lots of water) and then at dinner-time, eat a very large steak and either a raw tomato or an apple.

I ate something that had sugar in it without realizing it over the weekend. Oops! There are too many sneaky names that sugar can go by! Here are some of them.

barley malt
beet sugar
brown sugar
buttered syrup
cane-juice crystals
cane sugar
caramel
carob syrup
corn syrup
corn syrup solids
date sugar
dextran
dextrose
diatase
diastatic malt
ethyl maltol
fructose
fruit juice
fruit juice concentrate
glucose
glucose solids
golden sugar
golden syrup
grape sugar
high-fructose corn syrup
honey
invert sugar
lactose
malt syrup
maltodextrin
maltose
mannitol
molasses
raw sugar
refiner's syrup
sorbitol
sorghum syrup
sucrose
sugar
turbinado sugar
yellow sugar

So I was at 3.4 lbs above LDW. I dropped 1.2 lbs from doing the steak day and then I did a high protein day yesterday and that brought me down the rest of the way. A high protein day is where you eat high protein foods every 2-3 hours throughout the day. Nothing else.

Today I am .2 lbs above LDW.

Phase 3, Day 3

So far, so good! I added cheese/dairy back on day 1 with no weight side effects! I have now had cheese, milk, Greek yogurt and cream. Today, I added nuts. I know that technically, I was supposed to wait until tomorrow to add the nuts. We'll see how things go.

Let me talk for a minute about sweeteners. I hate them. I have had severe migraines caused by aspartame for as long as I can remember. I also think that they all have a nasty after taste. I was advised to try xylitol. I have been pleasantly surprised! It does not have that bitter after taste that I always run into. So, I recommend xylitol as a sweetener. I get mine at the local health food store.

Current weight: +0.4 from LDW.

LDW, Phase 2, Day 34

Today is going to be my last day on the drops. That means that this morning's weight is my LDW. 239.6. I decided to end the drops early because my body is just telling me that I need a break. I had a rash show up on my hairline on the back of my neck. It has really been itching like crazy for the past few days. I have also just been feeling off for the past few days. The maximum weight you are supposed to lose in one round is 34 lbs, anyway. I am at -31.8 lbs. As much as I want to lose the extra weight that would hopefully come off with a few extra days, my body is telling me I'm done.

What happens now?

Now that I am stopping my drops, I will continue the VLCD for two days (since it is homeopathic drops - if it were Rx drops, it would be 3 days). On the 3rd day, I can start Phase 3. This is where I will up my calories and add more foods into my diet. Basically everything except sugar and starches. I am planning on starting easy; adding eggs for breakfast. Possibly making it into an omelet? Yum! I have had eggs a few times while on P2. While it is a little rogue to have eggs, it didn't effect my weight. Since I have had eggs, I am not worried about adding them in P3. I will be adding cheese on P3 Day 1. I am excited for that one. I also have found a recipe for lasagna that uses either eggplant or zucchini in place of the noodles. I can't wait to try that! Mmmm, food. I am hoping I will lose more inches in P3.

I plan on doing another few rounds of hcg. I will be starting round 2 in June. I will be doing a short round then. (23 days) After having done a 34 day round, I have no problems imagining myself being able to do a shorter round.

Sunday was my measurement day. Here are the results:

waist: stayed the same (total -5")

hips: -1" (total -5.5")

chest: -1" (total -4")

thigh: -1" (total -3")

arm: stayed the same (total -2")

Phase 2, Day 32

I had a minor set back this week. Actually, I don't really think I would call it a set back. On Thursday, I forgot to eat lunch. This was the first time during this round that I have skipped a meal. I do NOT recommend doing this. Even on accident. I woke up the next morning at 6:30 with my kids and got up and immediately passed out. I felt shaky most of the day. I normally skip the allowed melba toast/grissini breadstick, and fruit to get better losses. Yesterday I made sure I ate those to get the extra calories. I feel better today, but I will definitely not be skipping any more meals.

I plan on taking my last drops on March 9th and starting phase 3 on April 12th. Can't wait!

Today's loss: -1.2 lbs.

Total loss: -31.8 lbs.

Phase 2, Day 27

I have been thrilled with how much weight I have been losing. Today I am down 2 lbs! I have been averaging around .8 lbs a day, so to have more than double that in one day is exciting. I also have been able to fit into clothes I haven't worn since shortly after my first child was born five years ago.

Still no cheats, which is why I am continuing to lose so well, I'm sure. It has been hard to not cheat on same days more than others, but I really don't want to risk not losing anything for a few seconds of food that really won't satisfy me anyway. Why bother? I start phase 3 soon enough. At that point, I will be adding in dairy, fats, and nuts.

Today's loss: -2 lbs. Total loss: -28.2 lbs

I took measurements on Sunday. This week's measurements results:

waist: -1" (total -5")

hips: -1" (total -4.5")

chest: stayed the same (total -3")

thigh: -1 (total -2")

arm: stayed the same (total -2")

Phase 2, Day 22

I had a stall last week. It was my first stall, and it only lasted a day. I am okay with that. I didn't do anything wrong. I followed protocol exactly. Stalls happen. I was lucky to not have my first stall until near the end of my third week.

My losses have slowed down a lot more than I was hoping, but also something that just happens. On average, women lose .5 lb a day. There have been two days in the past week when I have only lost .2 lbs. It was a little discouraging, but I have to be grateful. A loss is a loss. Even if I am not losing lbs, I am surely losing inches.

I have a little less than a month to go. I am hoping I can lose another 20 lbs in that time frame. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Today's loss: -.4 lbs. Total loss: -22.2 lbs

I took measurements on Sunday. This week's measurements results:

waist: -1" (total -4")

hips: -1" (total -3.5")

chest: stayed the same (total -3")

thigh: stayed the same (total -1")

arm: -.5" (total -2")

Phase 2, Day 14

Today has been 2 weeks since I started P2. I am feeling very impressed with myself for getting this far. It has definitely been a challenge. There have been days when all I wanted was to eat everything in sight. Emotional eating has always been a weakness of mine. While my husband is gone, I am always more emotional, especially with 3 small children crying "mommy, mommy" all day long. I have held strong, though and not eaten anything off protocol.

I bought smart water. It is bottled water with electrolytes. I am hoping that this will help with how tired I have been the past few days. I am not quite sure what else to do about it.

Yesterday was my measurements day. I take measurements only once a week. Here are this week's results:

waist: -1.5" (total -3")

hips: -1" (total -2.5")

chest: -.5" (total -3")

thigh: stayed the same (total -1")

arm: -.5" total (1.5")

today's loss: -.6 lbs total loss: -17.8 lbs

Phase 2, Day 9

I need to drink more water. I have always struggled with drinking enough water. Before I started hCG, I struggled to drink just 16 oz of water in a day, and now I have to drink 66 oz of water?! Needless to say I have a hard time with this. I fill up my 27 oz water bottle first thing and try to drink it throughout the day. Then I try to drink a 16 oz glass of water at lunch and a 16 oz glass of water at dinner. I try to also drink another glass of water at night. That puts me up there, but let's be honest. I never really completely get through my water bottle...That's my goal of the week. Keep up my water intake.

Loss today: -1.2 lbs. Total loss: 14.2 lbs.

Phase 2, Day 7

Today, when I stepped on the scale, I was very pleased to see my weight continue to go down. I had only gone down .3 lbs between days 5 and 6. I know why there was the small loss, and no, I did not cheat. I am down another 1.6 lbs between yesterday and today, which brings me down a total of 11 lbs from day 1 of phase 1.

I took measurements on Sunday. Since I am doing them myself, they aren't completely accurate, I'm sure. I am down a total of 9.5 inches. I have gone down an inch in each thigh, an inch in each arm, 2.5 inches in my chest (which really is always the first to go when I lose weight), 1.5 inches in my waist, and 1.5 inches in my hips.

As far as the protocol goes, I am pleased to say I have not strayed. This surprises me, because I really have never had self control when it comes to food. I am finding myself not hungry after a meal. I don't crave the same things I used to. I still have the mentality of "I want" sometimes, but I am learning that it really is just psychological. I just have to remind myself that no, I really don't want it, and I'm fine.

I was on a support forum, and someone had a saying in their signature that I really liked:

Dieting is hard. Being fat is hard. Pick your hard.

Phase 2, Day 5

I am down another 1.1 lbs today. That brings the total to 9.1 lbs lost. Tomorrow I will take measurements and see how big of a difference it is. I have had to take my belt in a notch, which was exciting.

It has been slowly getting easier. I think one thing that makes it easy is that I have 3 young children who love eating the fastest foods to prepare (tacos, burritos, chicken, etc). I don't have to worry about feeding my husband right now because he is out of town for a few months. That is part of the reason I chose to do this diet now. I thought it would be easiest for me to prepare my own meal separate from my kids and not having to worry about making something nice for my husband. I am THAT wife. When my husband comes home from work, there is a homemade dinner ready on the table for him. I like to do that for him, and I love to cook, so it's really a win-win. Once I am done with phase 3, our meal choices will just be more healthy.

Phase 2, Day 3

Last night was difficult for me. I had to make cookies for my husband's work. I was very proud of myself, though. I didn't eat any. It did take a lot of willpower, though. I am addicted to cookies.

Today was not difficult. I had a lot of running around to do, so it helped that I wasn't just sitting at home with my kids.

I am down an additional 2.6 lbs today. Total loss: 6 lbs.

Phase 2, Day 2

Yesterday was fairly easy. I was surprised at how much energy I had. I took all of the recommended vitamins (a whole food vitamin, a multi-vitamin liquid solution, and the sub-lingual B12), which probably helped with that. I also haven't gotten hungry at all.

One concern I have had regarding this diet is headaches. I have had migraines for years. I have been to neurologists and I am just one of those people who gets migraines with no reason. I have several triggers that I am aware of - one of the main ones being not eating. I was very concerned that being on the VLCD would cause me to have migraines. So far, that is not the case. I had a slight headache last night, but I was expecting a bigger headache.

I am down a total of 3.4 lbs. I am hoping that once I get more into phase 2, I will lose a little more quickly.

Phase 1 day 2

Today was day two of phase one. Everything I read said that during the load phase (yesterday and today) I could gain a few pounds. I am already down 1 lb since yesterday.

I am worried that tomorrow will be more difficult than I am prepared for...Stay tuned.