R2P2D16 196.9 Sunday

It's Sunday morning and the scale says 196.9 pounds, down 0.5 pounds. Yesterday I had a strawberry smoothie, 2 grissini, coffee with moo and stevia, went to Perkins and had the french dip sandwich (ate the meat only) which was maybe about 4 or 5 ounces of very lean sliced roast beef was au jus prepared with no fats, and a side salad (ate the lettuce only), a tsp of ranch dressing, iced tea, then for dinner I had a Jay Robb vanilla shake, no 2nd veggie or 2nd fruit. 418 calories.

R2P2D15 197.4 Saturday

It's Saturday morning and the scale says 197.4, a drop of 0.3 pounds. Yesterday was a bit challenging since I missed my chance to eat lunch at lunch time and didn't have my first protein until 5:30 p.m. I was getting weak by then, having had the day off and went to see a double feature movie with a friend from noon to 4 p.m. Let's say I won't be missing lunch time again and I don't advise it. I ate an orange at noon, then at 5:30 p.m. I had a grilled chicken breast with spinach salad, and around 9 p.m. I ate a lean bunless burger with roasted onion strings. 463 calories.

R2P2D14 Friday 197.7

It's Friday morning and the scale says 197.7 pounds, that's a 1.2 pound loss for the day. I ate strawberries with stevia, coffee with moo and stevia twice, hot cocoa chai tea with moo and stevia, 8 almonds (off protocol), 2 melbas with cinnamon, a Jay Robb vanilla protein shake. 469 calories.

Thursday morning, R2P2D13,  I weighed 198.9 pounds, a 0.7 pound drop. On Wednesday I ate strawberries, coffee with moo and stevia, grilled chicken breast, spinach salad, 2 grissini, 4 ounces tenderloin steak, salad. 425 calories.

R2P2D12 199.6 Wednesday - ONE-derland!!!!!

Woo hoo!!! The scale says 199.6 pounds today!!!! Finally made it to ONE-derland! It's been a while since I have seen that. So I am down 7.2 pounds (11.5 since loading day) and I am feeling really great. Yesterday, Tuesday was my birthday, and I ate an orange for breakfast, coffee with moo and stevia twice during the day, chicken with spinach salad, and 2 grissini, 4 jumbo shrimp cocktail. Skipped my 2nd fruit and veggie, just wasn't hungry. 391 calories.

I want to also go on the record that during Phase 2, my thinking is clear and I have as much if not more energy than I have normally, so I feel no ill effects of eating only 500 calories. I only feel like it's Christmas every morning when I step on the scale!

Tuesday morning, R2P2D11, I weighed 200.1 pounds. On Monday I ate strawberries, coffee with moo and stevia twice, chicken with salad, 3 grissini, and for dinner I ate the leftover asparagus and I was really thinking about birthday cake since the next day was my birthday, so I decided to have a vanilla Jay Robb protein shake for dinner and it really did the trick to fulfill that craving, so creamy and vanilla, tasted just like cake, well close enough. 364 calories.

Monday morning, R2P2D10, I weighed 201.5 pounds. On Sunday I ate strawberries, grilled chicken and spinach, 2 mugs (4 cups) of coffee with moo and stevia, 4 grissini, 1 melba and 1 Atkins bar (140 calories.) 460 calories.

R1P2D9 Sunday 202.0

It's Sunday morning and the scale says 202.0 pounds, down 0.8 from Saturday and 9.1 pounds from load days, 6 pounds from R1 LDW of 208,  and 4.8 pounds from my start weight of 206.8. I love it and I feel great! I also measured and have lost 2.25 inches so far in Round 2. I've had to get some smaller clothes. I'm now wearing size 16 or XL but yesterday I tried on a size 14W suit with a stretch waistband and it just fits snug. From 24W to 14W is amazing! Now I'll try to catch up my posts. (My internet was down for a few days.)

R2P2D8 202.8 Yesterday, Saturday I ate a P2 strawberry smoothie (frozen strawberries, water, stevia and ice), hot coffee with stevia and 1 tsp half and half, a rare lean beef patty and sliced tomato with basil, oregano, garlic and salt, 2 grissini, iced coffee with stevia and 1 tsp half an half, shrimp seasoned with Old Bay, roasted asparagus with garlic and salt, orange slices dipped in chocolate (2 tsp Ghiradelli cocoa mixed with stevia and water.) Very satisfying day. 468 calories.

The hunger I feel the first week is going away now. I struggled with it this time, so even though it is off protocol (and I don't advise this) I had the Atkins bars and the bits of chocolate to get me through. Half way into Round 1 I didn't even want to eat my second meal and some days I skipped the second fruit entirely so I know this is just temporary.

R2P2D7 203.8 Friday I ate fresh strawberries, coffee with moo and stevia, grilled chicken breast with spinach salad with 1 tsp ranch dressing, 4 grissini, a rare lean beef patty and roasted onion strings (thin onion slices baked at 400 for 20-30 mins), 1 square of 70% dark chocolate. 534 calories.

R2P2D6 204.7 Thursday I ate an orange with chocolate, coffee with moo and stevia, grilled chicken breast with spinach salad with 1 tsp ranch dressing, 4 grissini, shrimp with diced tomato. 477 calories.

R2P2D5 206.5 Wednesday I ate an orange with chocolate, coffee with moo and stevia, grilled chicken breast with spinach salad with 1 tsp ranch dressing, 2 melbas, 1 Atkins bar (150 cal), Old Bay seasoned tilapia, radish hash browns. 559 calories.

R2P2D4 Wednesday 206.5

It's Wednesday morning and the scale says 206.5 pounds, so I lost 1.5 pounds yesterday. I ate strawberries, coffee with a moo, chicken and spinach salad, 4 grissinis, 1 Atkins bar (help for week 1-off protocol), another coffee with a moo, fish with onions and orange segments dipped in cocoa with stevia. 573 calories total.

R2P2D4 Tuesday 208.0

It's Tuesday morning and the scale says 208.0 pounds so I lost 3.0 pounds on Day 3. I has the day off and was running around a lot doing some lifting of stuff and putting away all the holiday decorations and I was somewhat hungry but not terribly. Yesterday, on Monday, I ate shrimp and asparagus for lunch, a strawberry slushy for snack, an Atkins bar (off protocol I know) and tilapia and asparagus for dinner. 505 calories total.

Loading was not as fun as it was on Round 1 because I didn't have the same food attachments so I didn't really crave certain foods. On Sunday, Load Day 2, I did settle on an Angus cheeseburger, large fries and hot fudge sundae from McDonalds for one meal and it was satisfying. Other than that and the buffet dinner at Golden Corral, I mostly ate up what I had in the house. Total weight gained for both load days was 3.0 pounds. I did however, gain 2 pounds the couple days before so I was up from 206 to 208 pounds when I started loaded, so I suppose I really gained 5 pounds from loading.

R2P2D2 Sunday - Load Day 2

It's Sunday morning, Load Day 2, and the scale says 211.0, up three pounds from my LDW. Yesterday was Load Day 1 and I ate a lot! I don't think I can recall everything but here goes. I didn't make it out to breakfast but I had a large full fat latte, and for lunch I made a 6 ounce fatty steak pan fried in butter with blue cheese dressing, 1/2 frozen package of baked sweet potato fries also dipped in blue cheese dressing, 1/2 cup of baked beans, 1 cup of brocolli with melted cheddar cheese and butter, about 4 coconut balls made with condensed milk, then I went to dinner at Golden Corral (keeping on my budget) and pigged out on chicken piccata, orange chicken, fajita chicken, meatloaf, steak, taco ground beef, fish, fried shrimp, lasagna, mac cheese, a cheese muffin and all that filled two dinner plates, then from the dessert bar I filled another dinner plate with red velvet cake, carrot cake, chocolate cake, strawberry jello cake, and a bit of soft serve ice cream but I skipped most of the frostings because they were too sweet. Smallish portions but a lot in total. I felt some acid all day so I kept sipping on water and apple cider vinegar and felt good enough. But I was stuffed and my stomach still hurts this morning. Today my plan is just to try to get in more fats.

R2P2D1 Round 2! 208.0

It's Saturday morning and the scale says 208.0 pounds, up 2 pounds. I managed to gain back to my LDW which really is just my OCD wanting to be at that weight, not a protocol requirement. Yesterday, I ate a large spinach omelet, 4 cups of coffee with whipping cream, a large home made chicken flat bread pizza  and snacked on coconut butter, almonds and chocolate, a cheesecake slice and a full-size raspberry protein shake.

I am very excited to do Phase 2 again. I have to get into planning out my load days so I am sure to eat enough. Today I am going out to a big breakfast out, then a burger and fries for lunch, and out to a buffet dinner with my girl friend.

R1P4D21 206.9 Last Day of Round 1!

It's Friday morning and the scale says 206.9 pounds. I have been careful in P4 not to eat foods with a lot of sugar or starch. Yesterday I decided to try some new things and see what happened. I had a strawberry protein shake for breakfast, italian sausage in tomato meat sauce for lunch with raw baby carrots and sugar snap peas and ranch dressing. For dinner I had a 5 ounce steak topped with blue cheese dressing with macaroni and cheese from the Publix deli and a small slice of plain cheesecake that I topped with some warmed up frozen blackberries with stevia and some sliced almonds. It all tasted yummy. I did feel kind of bloated last night I guess from the sugar in the cheesecake and the starch in the elbow macaroni but it was okay. Total price for indulging: a pound. Not bad.

Okay so I am getting really excited to start Round 2 today! I am going to start loading with dinner tonight. I'm on a tighter budget this time around, so I won't be splurging at fancy restaurants. I'm eating up the fatty foods in my fridge, like the salmon, cheeses, and peanut butter and coconut butter. I also don't want to have any leftovers from the load meals so I will be buying small quantities or single servings and eating out at "value" restaurants.

Starting Phase 2, I am so looking forward to dropping another 20 pounds and going down a few sizes and most of all being in Onederland again. I really love Phase 2 for other reasons too. I like the simple list of foods that makes it easy to shop. I like to prepare in bulk on Sundays and freeze so I just have to warm up a meal. I like the balance of foods (protein, veggie and fruit) in a daily meal plan.  I love how good and healthy I feel on Phase 2 and the cleanse it provides to my whole body. I always have enough energy. I like to log my foods for the day and see how much I can eat for under 500 calories. I like getting in touch with my hunger again instead of just eating because its time to eat. I really find it easier to eat 500 calories a day than to eat the 1700 I eat to maintain. I challenge myself to see how creative and "gourmet" I can get with my meals. I love getting to know and use all the spices in my spice cabinet and even get some new ones. And I've got a dozen different teas and coffee flavors so I don't get bored.

R1P4D20 205.9 Thursday

It's Thursday morning and the scale reads 205.9 pounds. Tomorrow is the last day of P4 and I have maintained the 23 pounds I lost in P2 with only one correction steak day. I am really looking forward to doing it again. This time I am excited to see my weight drop into the 100's again! It's been a while.

R1P4D18 Tuesday 204.7

It's Tuesday morning and the scale says 204.7 pounds, down 0.8 from Monday's 205.5 and 1.5 down from Sunday's 206.2. Normally I would start to eat more to get back up to 206 but I am starting Round 2 and will be loading on Saturday and Sunday, so I'm not worried.

R1P4D16 Sunday 206.2 Favorite Foods

It is Sunday morning and the scale says 206.2. Weighing daily is the control method for maintenance on the protocol. I am stable and really looking forward to starting Round 2 next weekend, January 14th.

Since the steak day I have been eating whatever I want and I am no longer logging my foods. My eating style has definately changed from before HCG. I avoid sugar and starch whenever possible and absolutely do not eat foods with additives. I try to get in 400 gm of protein daily, about twice what I had during Phase 1 but I am allowing fattier cuts of beef, Gwaltey Hardwood Smoked bacon (one of few that has no added sugar), salmon, and I eat the skin on the chicken and lots of eggs and Jay Robb protein shakes. One to two cups of vegetables round out each meal and I love the ones from Phase 2 which are staples now but I have added some new ones to keep it interesting - brussel sprouts, eggplant, zuchini, avocados.

I'm eating a little less fruit now just personal preference. Still love strawberries almost every day plus blackberries and an occasional apple baked with apple pie spice. I've added dairy too, any kind of cheese, cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, mozzarella, parmesan, bleu, feta. I only buy in block form and grate it myself to avoid the starch added to pre-grated packaged cheese (except the feta and blue.) I also have only whipping cream with my coffee. I don't drink any milk because of the sugar (skim, whole or any in between.) I am experimenting with coconut milk and almond milk but the jury is still out. I do have sour cream, butter, plain greek yogurt, Dukes mayonnaise (which has no sugar). Other fats I use are coconut oil and olive oil and raw almonds which I keep on hand to nibble at home and at work. I also have an organic chocolate bar in the fridge for when I must have chocolate.

I have had a few cravings, and did indulge in the leftover sugar cookies from Christmas, but I have satisfied them for the most part with healthier substitutes. For the Coldstone craving, I found a frozen treat at Publix called Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream. The Vanilla Bean over microwaved blackberries is amazing! For the bread craving which I have only had 3 times in 3 weeks, I toasted a slice of Ezekial bread and slathered it with real butter. Ezekial bread is flourless, organic, a complete protein and made from sprouted whole grain. For a quick nibble I dip a teaspoon in a jar of Artisana coconut butter which is pure heaven and full of healthy MCFA. Last but not least I have bought several kinds of liquid stevia to sweeten and flavor my coffee and desserts. I love the Sweetleaf  brand liquid stevia flavors of Vanilla Cream and English Toffee the best and I bought a cheaper brand of plain in a larger bottle. The 2 ounce bottle contains 300 servings so even at $14.99 its still a bargain. A tips for stevia: it is very concentrated so if you want to sprinkle it on fruit first dilute it with about 4-7 drops to about an ounce or two of water (to your desired sweetness, too much can be bitter) and then sprinkle the water over the fruit. I buy the bread, coconut butter, mayonnaise and stevia at the Whole Foods market.

All of these new healthy products I discovered by reading the posts in the HCGDieters yahoo group which is one of the best sources of information on the HCG diet on the web.

R1P4D11 Tuesday 206.3

So yesterday, Monday, the scale said 210.1 pounds, the result of eating cookie dough while making a batch of chocolate chip cookies on Sunday for my daughter to take back to college with her. I decided to do a steak day. Just a coffee with 1 moo and stevia until lunch, a bunless hamburger with slices of tomato for lunch, and a 5 or 6 ounce sirloin steak pan fried with bacon fat and butter with a whole medium tomato for dinner.

Today, Tuesday morning, the scale says 206.3. Wow! Lost 3.8 pounds!!! I am amazed that it works just like the protocol says. More convinced than ever that I will NEVER be fat again. A million thanks to Dr. Simeons!

R1P4D8 New Years Day 208.1

It's Saturday morning and the scale says 208.1. I have not kept track of my foods for the past week, eating mostly P3, but with more snacking on almonds, some grissini and deli natural peanut butter and coconut butter. I've made a veggie dip from greek yogurt served with sliced zuchini, radishes or celery. I have even had some cookies during the last week. I tried a slice of Ezekial whole grain bread and I didn't like the heavy texture. Maybe I will try it as french toast. Or on top of onion soup.

Breakfast is either eggs and bacon or a protein shake. Lunch and dinner are a protein and veggies, no starch. I try to add in the extra protein shake and eat 5 or 6 ounces of protein per meal and I cook everything with fat. I have not incorporated milk yet, the only dairy I use is cheese (most varieties), heavy cream, sour cream, cream cheese and greek yogurt.

Keeping starch and sugar to a minimum seems to be working. My weight has varied from 205.7 to 208.2 and my last dose weight was 208.0 so I have stabilized and maintained well on Round 1 with no correction days yet. I am ready to start Round 2 on January 14th and lose the next 20 pounds!