Two sweatsocks to the 150s!

I know ... I've been bad ... just busy with traveling, company, worry, yada yada ... OK, just lazy to be honest! Sorry about that!

Today I have lost 36 pounds and have under 13 to go ... unless I change my goal which depends on how I look and feel. I am not going to be perfect .. have let myself go too many times and the skin is just never going to go back where it belongs no matter what I do ... well, not no matter what ... if I have a few thousand $$$ to spend on tummy tucks and such, that would work, but at my age? Who am I kidding? OMGosh, I totally forgot to mention a great NSV (non scale victory) ... Last week I glanced in a mirror one afternoon and there they were ... right in front of me ... MY JAW/CHIN BONES ... wooooohooooo!

Just getting all this abnormal fat off and feeling better is enough of a reward for me. I can actually button the new size 10 pants I bought when Julia and I went shopping -- breathing is a little bit of a problem though, so I won't be wearing them for awhile yet! hahaha I wore a size 10 in high school, which as near as I can figure is a size 8 in today's fashion world. I wore that for a few months 9 years ago, but not really thinking I'll worry about getting there this time. Really going for the healthy BMI which is below 125.0 ... don't want to get 'skinny' as the last time I did that half the folks I knew thought I was gonna die at any moment!

This is day 26 of the vlcd in Rd2 ... feeling good, no cheats .. over all doing well!

Julia and Jesse moved to Hawaii on Wednesday .. I'm a weenie and cried most of the day. Have to start saving for a trip over. Can't wait! For those who don't know they were 9 days late leaving WA due to Jesse breaking his foot ... surgery, four pins and a screw ... yeah, nothing simple there. There are some not for the squeamish photos in an album on my Facebook photo page if you can't resist and have a strong tummy!

FOOD ...

Well, I lost that nasty 1.4 gain and another .4 and am down 2 1/4 inches too, so am a happy camper today.

It occurred to me last night I haven't spoken all that much about the food I'm eating ... 500 calories sounds pretty boring and from what I am hearing on the forums, is for some folks .. but yesterday was a typical day for me ...

For breakfast, water, coffee and a half grapefruit cuz I was a little hungry.

For lunch I used 100g of 97/3 ground beef to make meatballs using spices only, no other fillers, and stuck them in the oven (350 .. 15 minutes ... did 6 so they were little) ... then I pureed a tomato and added all the spices I love in spaghetti, including a little dried onion, garlic and bell pepper(just a touch, it was a small amount of sauce) and let that simmer while the meatballs cooked. I drained and even patted the meatballs with paper toweling to make sure any fat was long gone then put it in the sauce to simmer for a bit. This was a yummy lunch!

For dinner, I simmered three chicken breasts in water with onion, garlic, celery and a bit of Celtic sea salt to make broth. Weighed the chicken raw and knew there was 5 servings there, so when cooked and rinsed, I weighed it again and divided it for five meals. After cooling the broth, I removed the fat and divided it into 1 cup containers with a little left over for apple desserts ... will explain that too ... I used one portion of the chicken shredded for a chicken salad with crispy romaine lettuce for dinner. AND I have four more meals partially prepared!

For my dessert/snack .. I sliced an apple in a bowl, covered with a goodly amount of cinnamon, then drizzled it with about 2 teaspoons *gasp* chicken broth with a dropper of cinnamon stevia (I sometimes use plain or vanilla stevia) ... about 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave .. and YUMMMM .. someone on the forums mentioned the broth for this so gave it a try. You do not taste the broth, but it really thickens the juices into a nice syrup.

So that was a typical day for me ... today I am fixing beef again, but simmering it in beef broth with cabbage for a nice soup ... not sure about tonight yet, will see where my taste buds lead me ... maybe Swai ... a very mild new fish we found at Wally World ... pretty good stuff!

We also drink lots of water ... half your body weight in ounces ... so 180 pounds means 90 ounces ... so that keeps ya running believe me! One of the gals on my favorite forum runs the drive through window at a bank .. said she was gonna lose her job running to the potty so much! I can believe it! Think I am wearing a hole in the carpet!!

Well ... Happy Scales to you all!

*SIGH*

One of 'those' weeks ... up, down, up down, UP ... yep, mostly up ... even my inches ... that just isn't right, but those 'in the know' tell me that is common in week two with water weight filling up the empty fat pockets and that it will disappear quickly.

My biggest UP this week? It was a happy UP .. my baby girl bought me tickets to fly to Seattle and join her for a trip to CA to see the rest of the family ... or most of them, we'll only have a couple days .... in May. I was hoping to see her before she heads for Hawaii, but just couldn't see it in the cards. She has been such a blessing to me .. I'm a lucky mom!

Downs, just come and go ... nothing important to share.

I am sticking strickly to protocol, drinking tons of water, cutting out the caffeine early in the day .. not eating late. Have learned if I am eating beef, it should be for lunch and that I HAVE to keep those calories as close to 500 as possible or I'll stop losing for sure.

Was shocked to see a big gain this morning of 1.4 lbs ... am sad but as I said, folks assured me it would be gone shortly and was only water ... I will feel better when I see that reflected in the scale! I so want to get through this in a positive mode with a significant start .. knowing that will make the next round easier! Am hoping that two rounds will be enough.

For those of you who don't know .. this round will include 3 weeks of adding more calories without sugars and starch and another three weeks of adding those to get to 'normal' calorie intake for whatever weight you are at. This is a stabilization period which also allows your body to reshape and adjust to the new weight. Once you do those 6 weeks, you may start the next round. If you must do more rounds to lose more, your stabilization period is increased about two weeks for each round.

Onward and downward ... Happy Scales to those of you working this journey also .. however you are doing it!

Oppsie

I didn't get to the scale in a timely manner today due to 1) FedEx lady pounding on the door waaaaay before my wake up time and 2) someone (no names shall be mentioned) got in the room where the scale was and stayed until I just forgot!

However .. this is still me being true to myself and coming here to type.

Got the Wii Fit set up and ready to go since it would seem I am too lazy to head to the Y each day, this will keep me moving in between ... motivation is not high on my list! You would think just knowing I will be in Hawaii twice in the next three years would be enough to get (one piece) bathing suit ready.

Speaking of which ... oh my, I put on the biggest bathing suit I have ever worn and took photo's today. I haven't taken them off the camera yet, and I will bet they won't get here until I can get into the next size down to take a progress photo, but I will do it eventually ... ought to scare me into never eating F A T again!!

Getting the new HD-DVR tomorrow *FREE* ... very excited to catch up with the world .. we've had the TV for eons! And tomorrow night ... woooohoooo going to Omaha for The Jeff-f-f-f-f-f Dunham show ... I bought the tickets months ago and am sooooo excited!!

Finished dinner tonight with a total calorie count of 485 ... Yesterday was 596 .. not hungry, no headaches, not feeling run down. Really, overall very happy with how it is going. Read a number of other blogs, watched some vlogs and spent time in the hcg forums ... so much support and good ideas .. really makes it so much easier!

Funny ...

Isn't it funny that the more water I drink the more fluids I lose? Being a lifetime dieter, I know that most of the weight loss in the first week is water weight but that doesn't make it any less satisfying to have lost over 6 pounds in four days ... I love it and already went down half an inch in what use to be my waist.

I did change my goal weight today, so have more to lose. Did this because my BMI (body mass index) was still going to be above the 'normal' range when I got to my goal, but we'll see how things look then. Usually when I get below 150 I start looking drawn and sick and really don't want to do that. Besides, last time I was 153, I wore a size 8 for the first time in my life and really don't need to be that small. Will be happy in a ten at my age -- certainly not looking for any bikini time! ROFLOL ... And, to be honest, I gave away all my size 8 pants a couple of years ago and think I will do just fine with the closet full of 10s I have!

I was a good girl on our shopping trip yesterday. Went out to lunch with DH and had an ice tea w/Stevia, ate from my handy dandy sandwich bag 100g of chicken tenders (overcooked darn it)with basil and a touch of cayenne and 160g of raw cauliflower .. about 200 calories added to 65 calories for the half grapefruit in the morning. I only indulged in one sample throughout the day of shopping in Costco, Sam's Club and Whole Foods ... Whole Foods had organic blueberries out and I had ONE of them ... surprised even me! Home at last ... Had the lean ground beef again for 191 cal ... what I thought was a huge wedge of cabbage, but only 85g approx 20 calories, and 75 grams of strawberries ... 24 cal ... for a total yesterday of exactly 500 calories, if you don't count my one blueberry ... I was walking when I ate it, so maybe it doesn't count? HAHA

I seem to have a need for that half a grapefruit in the a.m. so will just continue buying smaller and smaller ones and see if I can't ween myself off them. I don't think the little ones I am purchasing amount to the full 65 calories the chart says, but difficult to weigh them since I devour each spoonful as I go!

I did manage to purchase the organic strawberries at Whole Foods .. a little more expensive than the ones I saw at Costco, but so much fresher and healthier looking that I deemed it worthwhile. Also picked up some fresh liquid Stevia (I noticed mine was not sweetening things = then looked at the date 2008!!! YIPES) and some vanilla Stevia also. The grapefruits were HUGE so I passed on those. Picked up stuff DH wanted to but tried not to look at the pure maple syrup, and such as that.

I belong to a "Mystery Box" group which is similar to secret pals but different ... and I found some peppermint tea and some green tea in one today so took two of each out and put in a couple I shouldn't be drinking right now ... easy way to see if I like them before buying a box!

Haven't picked up any followers here for my diet and no comments as I had hoped to .. wanting the accountability, but that's OK too ... I can do this with or without people support ... prayer helps!

First Day of the Rest of my LIFE??

So, I remember in my younger days when it was popular to go braless (foolish, but popular), someone told me that if you could hold a pencil under your breast, you should be wearing a bra ... does that mean if you can hold a pencil under your belly you darn well better start losing weight?? TMI I know, but even at 63 I don't find this acceptable and it certainly isn't healthy.

OK ... did two loading days and didn't actually gain weight, don't know why but this is the first day of the VLCD with the HCG. I did this a few months ago on my own, but this time I am involved in forums online and have support and encouragement rather than folks telling me I am on an anorexic diet.

This diet is not for the average person. If you thought Atkins, Weight Watchers, Jenny etc were tough, don't even think about doing this. You CANNOT cheat and get results, you MUST follow the protocol from beginning to end. There is tons of information at this website and many downloadable FREE books, recipes, success stories and more. This is where I found out that this is the actual plan/diet that Kevin Trudeau talks about in his book The Weight Loss Cure (no one wants you to know about)... and was started way before that. I do not do the injections which is mainly because I am a woosie girl, but can attest the drops under the tongue work also.

True ... it is only 500 calories a day, but when you look at 4 to 8 cups of veggies plus 8 ounces (or 200 grams) of chicken, beef, lobster, white fish AND two servings of fruit .. that is a lot of food!
On the right my cute little train will keep track of what is happening with my weight during this process. The VLC part only lasts 23 to 40 days, then you go on to different phases, coming back to this after around 6 weeks of stabilizing IF you need to lose more weight. I did lose 18 pounds on the last go round, but then vacationed, forgot about it and didn't pay attention ... gaining back about 8 pounds, so this time I will try my best to seek support from the other travelers on this journey and continue to post here even if I am the only one reading it, just to keep myself honest. Am also praying hard and long for myself for a change, as I know without His help, this is not going to work yet again and for my health and well-being, it must!

Off to the grocery store ...

No more promises ...

But I really would like to show up here more often ... I am starting, yet again, a diet this week and am thinking of embarrassing myself and becoming accountable by posting the day by days here ... lots of folks on the forum for this diet are doing that ... we'll see how brave I am. Have almost 50 pounds to lose .. lost some, gained some ... on and on ... really need to do something about it this time though! Will start on the weekend as there are a couple of challenges I don't need this week!




Very busy these days .... started playing Bells with a local group ... I'm just a newbie but the group is playing at nursing homes, assisted living places .. such as that. And I don't have to commit to be there every time as there are plenty of folks involved, so my travels won't hurt anyone. Also involved these days in Worship and Praise Dance so doing some rehearsing for that every week ... and another good reason to lose weight!

In a really great Bible study too with some wonderful ladies who love the Lord. We are studying about David with the help of Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore and Kay Arthur ... three amazing women of faith.