Still a little frustrated. I lose 3 pounds, then gain one for no apparent reason. Then lose .8. I'm hoping after today I lose more than a pound, which will make the second number in my weight go down. Even though I've only lost about 6 pounds in the last two weeks, I have lost 5 inches! Before that I was down 4 inches, for a total of 9. So, I guess even though my weight isn't shedding the way I'd like to see, my actual body size is. And I'm happy to report that it's not all coming from my boobs! Honestly, it seems my butt is disappearing the most. I've lots of extra back there, so I'm cool with that. And my stomach is getting it's shape back. I always had a great stomach. I noticed after the first week that my body feels softer, less firm in the areas where most of the fat hangs out. Others have reported this, too. I'm theorizing it's from the fat making a quick get away. They say this protocol doesn't leave people with a bunch of lose skin, and that the maintenance period gives the skin the chance to catch up to the rapid weight loss.
In a couple of weeks we are meeting up with my mother-in-law and some of Jamie's family in Vegas. It will be fun to see how we all look since we are all significantly smaller.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Wishing I was a bigger loser
Down 12.8 lbs. from start of hcg; Down 21 lbs. from orig. start.
Haven’t written in a week. Mainly because there’s not much to report.
Cheated by splitting nachos from Cotixan with Jamie on Friday, the 15th. It was my idea. I blame it on pms-ing completely! Gained less than expected, 0.2 lbs. Over the next couple of days I gained another 0.8 lbs. Stopped taking the hcg the day my period started. Felt like shit the next three days. But, at least I lost a pound after the first day! Then a little more… then another pound today.
Ideally, I’d like to lose another 7 lbs by Tuesday when I will take my last shot for this round. That’s four more weigh-ins. Three days of the 500-cal diet, sans hcg, and then I go on to the 3-week maintenance phase, in which I can eat everything that doesn’t have sugars or starches (most fruit is okay). That means CHEESE!! Yay! The goal is maintaining the last hcg weight.
I’ve been playing around with how to schedule my next round. At my current weight, I have 43 more pounds to lose. We are in the process of planning a Mexican Rivera cruise as our belated honeymoon for the week of our 2nd anniversary on Aug. 30th. I’d like to be really near my goal by then, and NOT on the hcg, so I can enjoy all the good cruise food!
The way the protocol is written, you are supposed to do the no sugars/starches maintenance for 3 weeks, then another 3 weeks of slowly introducing sugars/starches while maintaining your weight. Seems a lot of people are anxious to start losing again and start the hcg after the first 3 weeks. Jana knows someone who has done this and in her two rounds has lost a total of 60 pounds.
How is it I have only lost 13 on this program? Jamie lost 22 and cheated most of the way through. Jana lost 20 regardless of her stall. I read a blog of a woman who cheated everyday in one way or another and she still made it to her goal. I feel I should have lost more. So frustrating!
Maybe I’ll continue this round for the 40 days. Now that my period is over, this may be the time to maximize on more loss. Then I’d be ready to head into the maintenance phase as I’m starting to pms again, and I could EAT! I’m thinking I need to plan around my cycle so that I have the least stalling and potential to cheat as possible. I would wait another week and a half, then start fat-loading again a couple of days before my period is due, and cater to the cravings. Then do a 23-day round that would land me into maintenance right as I’m pms-ing again. I’d end the 3-week no sugar/starch maintenance phase a few days before the cruise. Perfect! Think I’ll go with this plan.
Depending on how quickly I lose in this round and the next, assuming I can maintain in-between, I could be anywhere from 20 lbs above my goal weight or right at it.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my pants that fit me a week ago are now too loose! I even dug out another pair of smaller jeans today because the two I was wearing last week are too big. Or they fit when they come out of the dryer, but are too big after 10 minutes of wear. So maybe I'm losing inches even though my weight isn't dropping as drastically. Yay!
Haven’t written in a week. Mainly because there’s not much to report.
Cheated by splitting nachos from Cotixan with Jamie on Friday, the 15th. It was my idea. I blame it on pms-ing completely! Gained less than expected, 0.2 lbs. Over the next couple of days I gained another 0.8 lbs. Stopped taking the hcg the day my period started. Felt like shit the next three days. But, at least I lost a pound after the first day! Then a little more… then another pound today.
Ideally, I’d like to lose another 7 lbs by Tuesday when I will take my last shot for this round. That’s four more weigh-ins. Three days of the 500-cal diet, sans hcg, and then I go on to the 3-week maintenance phase, in which I can eat everything that doesn’t have sugars or starches (most fruit is okay). That means CHEESE!! Yay! The goal is maintaining the last hcg weight.
I’ve been playing around with how to schedule my next round. At my current weight, I have 43 more pounds to lose. We are in the process of planning a Mexican Rivera cruise as our belated honeymoon for the week of our 2nd anniversary on Aug. 30th. I’d like to be really near my goal by then, and NOT on the hcg, so I can enjoy all the good cruise food!
The way the protocol is written, you are supposed to do the no sugars/starches maintenance for 3 weeks, then another 3 weeks of slowly introducing sugars/starches while maintaining your weight. Seems a lot of people are anxious to start losing again and start the hcg after the first 3 weeks. Jana knows someone who has done this and in her two rounds has lost a total of 60 pounds.
How is it I have only lost 13 on this program? Jamie lost 22 and cheated most of the way through. Jana lost 20 regardless of her stall. I read a blog of a woman who cheated everyday in one way or another and she still made it to her goal. I feel I should have lost more. So frustrating!
Maybe I’ll continue this round for the 40 days. Now that my period is over, this may be the time to maximize on more loss. Then I’d be ready to head into the maintenance phase as I’m starting to pms again, and I could EAT! I’m thinking I need to plan around my cycle so that I have the least stalling and potential to cheat as possible. I would wait another week and a half, then start fat-loading again a couple of days before my period is due, and cater to the cravings. Then do a 23-day round that would land me into maintenance right as I’m pms-ing again. I’d end the 3-week no sugar/starch maintenance phase a few days before the cruise. Perfect! Think I’ll go with this plan.
Depending on how quickly I lose in this round and the next, assuming I can maintain in-between, I could be anywhere from 20 lbs above my goal weight or right at it.
Oh, I forgot to mention, my pants that fit me a week ago are now too loose! I even dug out another pair of smaller jeans today because the two I was wearing last week are too big. Or they fit when they come out of the dryer, but are too big after 10 minutes of wear. So maybe I'm losing inches even though my weight isn't dropping as drastically. Yay!
Friday, May 14, 2010
0.4
My weight still keeps going down, but at only about 0.4 lbs per day. After averaging a pound a day, it’s nerve-wracking to only see the small decreases. I began to wonder what else can I do to lose more. After the first couple of days of only 0.4, I increased my fluid intake to over 130 oz. (more than a gallon). That seemed to do the trick and the next day I was down 1.2 pounds. Then two or three more days of 0.4, regardless of taking in the same amount of fluids. Urgh!
I remember Jana having a stall and she felt the same way I’m feeling now. But she picked back up, and ended up losing a total of 20 lbs. She doesn’t have a menstrual cycle to contend with, though. Many others report a stall the second week, so I guess it’s to be expected.
Today was only a 0.2 lb decrease. :( My period should start in the next few days, so I’m guessing I’m starting to retain water. I’ve read a stall or even (gasp) a gain is typical. I’m having cravings, just like I did before my period with The Master Cleanse. Sugars, bread, chocolate…
I don’t know what to do. I guess there’s nothing to do, except keep on course. And whine. Whaaaaaaayyyyyyyy…
I remember Jana having a stall and she felt the same way I’m feeling now. But she picked back up, and ended up losing a total of 20 lbs. She doesn’t have a menstrual cycle to contend with, though. Many others report a stall the second week, so I guess it’s to be expected.
Today was only a 0.2 lb decrease. :( My period should start in the next few days, so I’m guessing I’m starting to retain water. I’ve read a stall or even (gasp) a gain is typical. I’m having cravings, just like I did before my period with The Master Cleanse. Sugars, bread, chocolate…
I don’t know what to do. I guess there’s nothing to do, except keep on course. And whine. Whaaaaaaayyyyyyyy…
Monday, May 10, 2010
Ketosis
Jamie had to go in for a physical the other day. It’s required once a year for his job. When they tested his urine sample for whatever, they were shocked to see his ketone levels WAY above any they’d seen before. They started asking if he was starving himself and told him he needed to eat. He told them he was eating, but not much. I’m not sure how much of the hcg thing he explained. They said even the firemen they see who come in and are fasting or on low-carb diets don’t have ketone levels as high as his. They were concerned. He called me, freaked out.
So I said for him to let me look this up before he goes running to McDonald’s for a Big Mac. I know I’d seen something about ketosis in one of the hcg forums, so I know it was connected.
Ketosis simply means the body is using fat for energy.
Ketone bodies are the product created from the process of the liver breaking down the fat cells.
In researching, I came across this blog by a doctor specializing this. He writes for us laymen to understand. http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/metabolism-and-ketosis/
I will paraphrase:
When we eat sugar or starches, our bodies turn that to glucose for nourishment. Any glucose consumed in excess of what the body needs for use at that time gets stored as fat. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is higher in glucose forming foods than the body needs. When the body is getting glucose from our foods, then it doesn’t need to release fat cells to create ketones.
When our bodies do NOT get sugars or starches, our bodies can get a little glucose from our fat reserves, but the majority has to come from protein (i.e. muscle). At first, the body doesn’t know if the starvation is going to be for a day or a week, or more, so it pillages the muscle for sugar. This results in about a third of a pound of muscle a day, which isn’t that much over the first day, but would be significant if allowed to continue for long. Fortunately, our body has a way of reducing our glucose dependency so that the protein can be spared as long as possible. Yay!
Ketones! As the body begins to breakdown fat, it produces ketones as a byproduct. Ketones are dissolved into the blood and are a source of energy for the muscles, brain, heart, and many other tissues. Ketones are actually the PREFERRED fuel of the heart, making it operate at about 28% greater efficiency. And excess ketones are discarded though the urine or the breath, so they don’t get re-stored as fat like glucose!
“If, instead of starving, you’re following a low-carb diet, it gets even better. The protein you eat is converted to glucose instead of the protein in your muscles. If you keep the carbs low enough so that the liver still has to make some sugar, then you will be in fat-burning mode while maintaining your muscle mass, the best of all worlds. How low is low enough? Well, when the ketosis process is humming along nicely and the brain and other tissues have converted to ketones for fuel, the requirement for glucose drops to about 120-130 gm per day. If you keep your carbs below that at, say, 60 grams per day, you’re liver will have to produce at least 60-70 grams of glucose to make up the deficit, so you will generate ketones that entire time.”
All of this makes sense as to why Jamie’s ketone levels were so high. The hcg releases fat at such a rate that his levels were much higher than those of the fasting (starving) firemen. This also explains the reason for the two “fat-loading” days. It prevents the body from using the muscles as its source of glucose that first day or two after switching to the 500-calorie diet. Also explains why the specific combinations of foods and in what quantity, so the tissues that do need glucose have just enough, leaving the rest to ketones. And it makes sense that even a little cheating or more calories can result in a gain.
So, ketosis is the GOAL!
I was super-excited about his levels being so high. It means the hcg is working! Jamie, not so much. He was hoping this would mean he’d be forced to end the diet!
So I said for him to let me look this up before he goes running to McDonald’s for a Big Mac. I know I’d seen something about ketosis in one of the hcg forums, so I know it was connected.
Ketosis simply means the body is using fat for energy.
Ketone bodies are the product created from the process of the liver breaking down the fat cells.
In researching, I came across this blog by a doctor specializing this. He writes for us laymen to understand. http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/metabolism-and-ketosis/
I will paraphrase:
When we eat sugar or starches, our bodies turn that to glucose for nourishment. Any glucose consumed in excess of what the body needs for use at that time gets stored as fat. Unfortunately, the typical American diet is higher in glucose forming foods than the body needs. When the body is getting glucose from our foods, then it doesn’t need to release fat cells to create ketones.
When our bodies do NOT get sugars or starches, our bodies can get a little glucose from our fat reserves, but the majority has to come from protein (i.e. muscle). At first, the body doesn’t know if the starvation is going to be for a day or a week, or more, so it pillages the muscle for sugar. This results in about a third of a pound of muscle a day, which isn’t that much over the first day, but would be significant if allowed to continue for long. Fortunately, our body has a way of reducing our glucose dependency so that the protein can be spared as long as possible. Yay!
Ketones! As the body begins to breakdown fat, it produces ketones as a byproduct. Ketones are dissolved into the blood and are a source of energy for the muscles, brain, heart, and many other tissues. Ketones are actually the PREFERRED fuel of the heart, making it operate at about 28% greater efficiency. And excess ketones are discarded though the urine or the breath, so they don’t get re-stored as fat like glucose!
“If, instead of starving, you’re following a low-carb diet, it gets even better. The protein you eat is converted to glucose instead of the protein in your muscles. If you keep the carbs low enough so that the liver still has to make some sugar, then you will be in fat-burning mode while maintaining your muscle mass, the best of all worlds. How low is low enough? Well, when the ketosis process is humming along nicely and the brain and other tissues have converted to ketones for fuel, the requirement for glucose drops to about 120-130 gm per day. If you keep your carbs below that at, say, 60 grams per day, you’re liver will have to produce at least 60-70 grams of glucose to make up the deficit, so you will generate ketones that entire time.”
All of this makes sense as to why Jamie’s ketone levels were so high. The hcg releases fat at such a rate that his levels were much higher than those of the fasting (starving) firemen. This also explains the reason for the two “fat-loading” days. It prevents the body from using the muscles as its source of glucose that first day or two after switching to the 500-calorie diet. Also explains why the specific combinations of foods and in what quantity, so the tissues that do need glucose have just enough, leaving the rest to ketones. And it makes sense that even a little cheating or more calories can result in a gain.
So, ketosis is the GOAL!
I was super-excited about his levels being so high. It means the hcg is working! Jamie, not so much. He was hoping this would mean he’d be forced to end the diet!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
In Between
Last week I dug out two pairs of slacks and two pairs of jeans. The jeans are already getting loose. Awesome!
So today I dug out clothes from storage - a wardrobe box and three huge Rubbermaid bins. I realized I have a LOT of clothes! I had forgotten about many of them. It was fun to go through them… until I took out the couple of piles I thought I’d fit into at this point. None of them fit. They were all 8, 10, and 12s. I was hoping maybe I’d fit into a couple of the more generous 12s. Nope!
What I can’t figure out is what did I wear when I was this size as I was gaining?! Since I wasn’t working, it was probably gym pants. :/
So I guess I’ll make due this week with the few pieces I have. I am more than anxious to lose more and more so I can get into all those cute clothes in the bins. And even though I'm still losing, it just doesn't seem like I'll ever get there!
So today I dug out clothes from storage - a wardrobe box and three huge Rubbermaid bins. I realized I have a LOT of clothes! I had forgotten about many of them. It was fun to go through them… until I took out the couple of piles I thought I’d fit into at this point. None of them fit. They were all 8, 10, and 12s. I was hoping maybe I’d fit into a couple of the more generous 12s. Nope!
What I can’t figure out is what did I wear when I was this size as I was gaining?! Since I wasn’t working, it was probably gym pants. :/
So I guess I’ll make due this week with the few pieces I have. I am more than anxious to lose more and more so I can get into all those cute clothes in the bins. And even though I'm still losing, it just doesn't seem like I'll ever get there!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
7-Day Update
In the two weeks following the Master Cleanse, I put on about 5 lbs. I didn’t eat all that well at dinner and on weekends. Plus, the week before starting the hcg I ate several foods I knew I wouldn’t eat for a few months – pizza, Mexican food, etc. I expected to gain a couple of pounds since the point of the cleanse was to detox, with weight loss being a side effect.
I gained 1.6 lbs with the two days of fat-loading. I figured I’d gain more.
After the first day of the 500 calorie diet, I lost 3 pounds.
The next day I lost 2 lbs.
Then 1 lb.
We got our “real” hcg in the mail, so started doing the injections instead of the homeopathic.
Today I was down 2 more.
That means since I weighed in Sunday morning, I’ve lost 8 lbs.
But net loss is 6.4 lbs since starting the program on Friday.
Overall, since starting my weight loss endeavor with The Brad Plan, I’ve lost 14.6 lbs.
Yay!
I gained 1.6 lbs with the two days of fat-loading. I figured I’d gain more.
After the first day of the 500 calorie diet, I lost 3 pounds.
The next day I lost 2 lbs.
Then 1 lb.
We got our “real” hcg in the mail, so started doing the injections instead of the homeopathic.
Today I was down 2 more.
That means since I weighed in Sunday morning, I’ve lost 8 lbs.
But net loss is 6.4 lbs since starting the program on Friday.
Overall, since starting my weight loss endeavor with The Brad Plan, I’ve lost 14.6 lbs.
Yay!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
First 2 Days of VLCD
VLCD = Very Low Calorie Diet (hCG lingo!)
1st Day: What a crappy day that was!
Started out okay. Went to play 9-holes of golf. Didn't shoot all that well. Though it was only my second time. By the end of the round I had a headache. Probably should have taken some Advil, but candy-coated pain killers aren't allowed and I don't particularly like Tylenol.
Went to the La Jolla Symphony to see a gym-friend who is a violinist. Headache was worse, but figured I'd make it through. It turned into a migraine in the first half. Took my migraine medicine during intermission, but it was too late. Sat through the second half, another hour, with my head in my hand with eyes closed, just trying to focus on not vomiting. Made it driving back to Anna's car, then lost it. Literally. Couldn't keep anything down the rest of the night.
So, ended up a VVVLCD, like zero.
2nd Day: Weighed in 3 lbs. less this morning!
Today was much better. No migraine this morning. Ate my apple for breakfast, and was able to keep it down. Had some black coffee with stevia. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad! Went to the gym at lunch. Did a light 20 mins on the bike. Didn't push it since it's not advised. Wasn't hungry afterwards but ate my lunch - beef, tomato, melba toast.
Wasn't hungry at 3:45, but had another tomato, which I saved over from lunch. Again, wasn't hungry for dinner, but ate the chicken and asparagus Jamie grilled. The asparagus was a yummy change. Jamie suggested we go out for some tea at a local restaurant. Saved my fruit until tonight and made a strawberry smoothie with half a packet of stevia.
Jamie not doing as well. He's been really hungry and is having some cravings, but is trying really hard to stick to it. My theory is that since he has been eating pretty poorly - fast food for lunch everyday, sweets whenever he wants - he's detoxing from sugars and starches, which is making him feel bad. Whereas I did the Brad Plan, which cut out sugars and starches, and the cleanse, which really made me detox. He's sticking with it, though, and I'm really proud of him.
Can't wait to weigh in tomorrow morning!
1st Day: What a crappy day that was!
Started out okay. Went to play 9-holes of golf. Didn't shoot all that well. Though it was only my second time. By the end of the round I had a headache. Probably should have taken some Advil, but candy-coated pain killers aren't allowed and I don't particularly like Tylenol.
Went to the La Jolla Symphony to see a gym-friend who is a violinist. Headache was worse, but figured I'd make it through. It turned into a migraine in the first half. Took my migraine medicine during intermission, but it was too late. Sat through the second half, another hour, with my head in my hand with eyes closed, just trying to focus on not vomiting. Made it driving back to Anna's car, then lost it. Literally. Couldn't keep anything down the rest of the night.
So, ended up a VVVLCD, like zero.
2nd Day: Weighed in 3 lbs. less this morning!
Today was much better. No migraine this morning. Ate my apple for breakfast, and was able to keep it down. Had some black coffee with stevia. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad! Went to the gym at lunch. Did a light 20 mins on the bike. Didn't push it since it's not advised. Wasn't hungry afterwards but ate my lunch - beef, tomato, melba toast.
Wasn't hungry at 3:45, but had another tomato, which I saved over from lunch. Again, wasn't hungry for dinner, but ate the chicken and asparagus Jamie grilled. The asparagus was a yummy change. Jamie suggested we go out for some tea at a local restaurant. Saved my fruit until tonight and made a strawberry smoothie with half a packet of stevia.
Jamie not doing as well. He's been really hungry and is having some cravings, but is trying really hard to stick to it. My theory is that since he has been eating pretty poorly - fast food for lunch everyday, sweets whenever he wants - he's detoxing from sugars and starches, which is making him feel bad. Whereas I did the Brad Plan, which cut out sugars and starches, and the cleanse, which really made me detox. He's sticking with it, though, and I'm really proud of him.
Can't wait to weigh in tomorrow morning!
Fat Load - Day 2
Got up this morning. Weight in. Gained 1.2 lbs. Urgh. Guess it's to be expected after as much as I ate!
Didn't eat as much as I did yesterday, but still ate lots more fatty food than I would have normally. Even ordered my latte with 2% milk. I just can't do whole milk! Had a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin (gross!). Crab dip and clam chowder for lunch. Some corn. Piece of pizza later and a couple cookies. Then a bean and cheese burrito for dinner.
I'm looking forward to barely eating!
Didn't eat as much as I did yesterday, but still ate lots more fatty food than I would have normally. Even ordered my latte with 2% milk. I just can't do whole milk! Had a McDonald's Sausage McMuffin (gross!). Crab dip and clam chowder for lunch. Some corn. Piece of pizza later and a couple cookies. Then a bean and cheese burrito for dinner.
I'm looking forward to barely eating!
Fat Load - Day 1
Fat Load - Day 1
First day of hcg program. Ate kielbasa and eggs for breakfast. Took drops at 7:35. Supposed to take drops at least 15 mins after and 15 mins before eating or drinking anything. The drops didn't taste bad. You put them under your tongue and hold there for 2 mins.
8:05 a.m.: This donut is delish! Boston crème.
8:44 a.m.: Just inhaled another donut - jelly filled. Think it probably tasted good, but I inhaled it so fast I barely could tell! I'm already starting to feel a little gross. Even the anticipation of feeling gross is making me feel gross.
Just read another thread about hhcg. Two people who started it thinking it's a scam. I was hesitant to start on it, but want to start so badly! Others have had success on hhcg, but logically it seems like the real thing would be more effective. So we ordered the shots, and plan on switching as soon as they arrive. Hope it works!
10:20 a.m.: Chips dipped in cheese dip.
11:10 a.m.: Two mini-Twix. Feeling super-guilty for eating all this crap! My poor body… please forgive me and don't develop diabetes with all the sugar I'm eating today! I sure hope this homeopathic stuff works and all this eating doesn't stay on.
12:15 p.m.: Tortellini with Alfredo sauce. It's disgusting. Then my husband brought me a jerky stick when he stopped by my office. I am so full!
2:00 p.m.: Took second drops of hcg. Held it for about a minute, and then got a phone call. Tried to keep in under my tongue while doing at little speaking as possible. Hope it had a chance to soak in.
3:15 p.m.: Half piece of carrot cake.
3:40 p.m.: Two-thirds scoops of Cold Stone ice cream I had left over from yesterday's company lunch. Flavor: "That's How I Roll" haha!
Ate meatball sandwich for dinner. And, at this point I can't even remember what else, but it was enough for three days of eating. I felt so gross by the end of the day.
First day of hcg program. Ate kielbasa and eggs for breakfast. Took drops at 7:35. Supposed to take drops at least 15 mins after and 15 mins before eating or drinking anything. The drops didn't taste bad. You put them under your tongue and hold there for 2 mins.
8:05 a.m.: This donut is delish! Boston crème.
8:44 a.m.: Just inhaled another donut - jelly filled. Think it probably tasted good, but I inhaled it so fast I barely could tell! I'm already starting to feel a little gross. Even the anticipation of feeling gross is making me feel gross.
Just read another thread about hhcg. Two people who started it thinking it's a scam. I was hesitant to start on it, but want to start so badly! Others have had success on hhcg, but logically it seems like the real thing would be more effective. So we ordered the shots, and plan on switching as soon as they arrive. Hope it works!
10:20 a.m.: Chips dipped in cheese dip.
11:10 a.m.: Two mini-Twix. Feeling super-guilty for eating all this crap! My poor body… please forgive me and don't develop diabetes with all the sugar I'm eating today! I sure hope this homeopathic stuff works and all this eating doesn't stay on.
12:15 p.m.: Tortellini with Alfredo sauce. It's disgusting. Then my husband brought me a jerky stick when he stopped by my office. I am so full!
2:00 p.m.: Took second drops of hcg. Held it for about a minute, and then got a phone call. Tried to keep in under my tongue while doing at little speaking as possible. Hope it had a chance to soak in.
3:15 p.m.: Half piece of carrot cake.
3:40 p.m.: Two-thirds scoops of Cold Stone ice cream I had left over from yesterday's company lunch. Flavor: "That's How I Roll" haha!
Ate meatball sandwich for dinner. And, at this point I can't even remember what else, but it was enough for three days of eating. I felt so gross by the end of the day.
Preparing to "Fat Load"
Preparing to Fat Load
I just went to the grocery store to get us food for our two days of fat loading. It was so weird to grocery shop for the fattest foods you can find! Usually I'm shopping for healthy stuff. I didn't even go into the produce department! Its true how they say to shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the aisles. I shopped the inside aisles exclusively, except for sausage and the bakery.
I bought kielbasa, eggs, Snickers (for Jamie), Twix (me), ice cream, chocolate chip cookies from the bakery, tortilla chips, that "cheese" sauce you heat in the microwave (yum!), parmesan pesto dip, alfredo sauce to put on the tortellini we have, brie, individual piece of carrot cake (my fav).
I was a little self-conscious, thinking, "Are people going to see what I'm buying and think it's no wonder I'm so fat?!" But, honestly, it was just the same stuff people buy on a regular basis anyway. I've bought it all before, just not all at once. So guess that is a clue as to how I got as big as I have.
I just went to the grocery store to get us food for our two days of fat loading. It was so weird to grocery shop for the fattest foods you can find! Usually I'm shopping for healthy stuff. I didn't even go into the produce department! Its true how they say to shop the perimeter of the store and avoid the aisles. I shopped the inside aisles exclusively, except for sausage and the bakery.
I bought kielbasa, eggs, Snickers (for Jamie), Twix (me), ice cream, chocolate chip cookies from the bakery, tortilla chips, that "cheese" sauce you heat in the microwave (yum!), parmesan pesto dip, alfredo sauce to put on the tortellini we have, brie, individual piece of carrot cake (my fav).
I was a little self-conscious, thinking, "Are people going to see what I'm buying and think it's no wonder I'm so fat?!" But, honestly, it was just the same stuff people buy on a regular basis anyway. I've bought it all before, just not all at once. So guess that is a clue as to how I got as big as I have.
hCG Diet
After The Master Cleanse, I figured I’d give my body a couple of weeks to eat again, and then would try the hCG Diet Jamie’s mom had started. Plus, I wanted to wait to see how she did on it.
I started reading all about it, starting with Pounds & Inches by ATW Simeons, the endocrinologist who researched and spent his life studying obesity and developed this protocol. If you are thinking of starting this program, it’s imperative you read this manuscript, then read it again, and keep it on hand. You can find it online, but here’s one link http://www.darleenmb.com/POUNDS&INCHES.pdf . It’s kind of long, 36 pages or so, but important to read in its entirety.
In summary, there are three types of body fat. Two normal types, 1) structural fat that surrounds the organs and, 2) normal reserves that fuel the body when in demand. Even if the body stocks these to capacity, it will never be considered obesity. The third type is abnormal, and sometimes referred to as “brown fat”. It is from this type of fat only that overweight people suffer. Dr. Simeons compares it to money stored away in a lock box, as opposed to normal fat that is like a checking account in which money flows in and out.
When we go on calorie reduced diets or severe exercise programs, it’s the normal fat we lose first, then our bodies start in on the structural fat, and lastly pull from the abnormal fat. This is why obese patients feel famished and look haggard, but still can’t seem to get rid of the fat in all the unwanted places – belly, hips, thighs, arms.
Dr. Simeons research, and other known facts, has lead him to the theory that it is in the Diencephalon, or Hypothalamus, deep in the brain, that controls the storing and issuing of our fuel. Basically, when we eat more than our body needs, the extra is stored as normal fat. But when the intake goes beyond the diencephalon’s capacity, it sends it to be stored elsewhere, so it doesn’t have to try to do any extra work.
Simeaons hypothesized, “If obesity is always due to one very specific diencephalic deficiency, it follows that the only way to cure it is to correct this deficiency.” But how?! He recalled his observance of a study in India on “fat-boys”, in which they used hCG, a hormone found in very high quantity in pregnant women, to cure their condition of sexual immaturity. An effect of this treatment was the shape of the “fat-boys” bodies changed to that of a normal man’s shape. This meant fat was on the move!!
And if fat was on the move, this was an opportunity to get rid of it! From this, Simeons finally came to his protocol of using smaller, daily doses of hCG combined with a reduced calorie diet of only 500 calories made up of a very specific food combination. So while, yes, anyone who only eats 500 calories a day will indeed lose weight, it will be the normal fat first. And that will send our bodies into starvation mode, which only makes us gain more weight when a normal calorie diet is consumed – as is the case with most diets out there, causing a yo-yo effect. With hCG, the abnormal fat is metabolized, and burned. If we ate more than 500 calories with the hCG, we will gain weight, as do pregnant women to ensure the health of their baby. The hCG allows thousands of calories daily to be released for use by our body.
The result is fat-loss in all the right places! Yay! The protocol calls for a treatment of at least 26 days and no more than 40 days. Then you must take a six week break, with no sugars or starches the first three, in order to reset the hypothalamus to that weight. Then, if you have more weight to lose, you start another round. Weight loss averages one pound per day!! And if you lose 34 lbs. anywhere between the 26 and 40 days, you are to stop the hCG and move into the next phase of the protocol until you are ready to do the next round.
Here is the diet, to be combined with 125 iu of hCG daily.
The Diet
The 500 Calorie diet is explained on the day of the second injection to those patients who will be preparing their own food, and it is most important that the person who will actually cook is present - the wife, the mother or the cook, as the case may be. Here in Italy patients are given the following diet sheet.
Breakfast: Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours. Saccharin or other sweeteners may be used.
Lunch: 1. 100 grams of veal, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab or shrimp. All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat. Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. The chicken breast must be removed raw from the bird.
2. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
4. An apple or an orange or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit.
Dinner : The same four choices as lunch.
The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes. Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, majoram, etc., may be used for seasoning, but no oil, butter or dressing.
Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times.
In fact, the patient should drink about 2 liters of these fluids per day. Many patients are afraid to drink so much because they fear that this may make them retain more water. This is a wrong notion as the body is more inclined to store water when the intake falls below its normal requirements.
The fruit or the breadstick may be eaten between meals instead of with lunch or dinner, but not more than four items listed for lunch and dinner may be eaten at one meal.
No medicines or cosmetics other than lipstick, eyebrow pencil and powder may be used without special permission
Every item in the list is gone over carefully, continually stressing the point that no variations other than those listed may be introduced. All things not listed are forbidden, and the patient is assured that nothing permissible has been left out. The 100 grams of meat must be scrupulously weighed raw after all visible fat has been removed. To do this accurately the patient must have a letter-scale, as kitchen scales are not sufficiently accurate and the butcher should certainly not be relied upon. Those not uncommon patients who feel that even so little food is too much for them, can omit anything they wish.
There is no objection to breaking up the two meals. For instance, having a breadstick and an apple for breakfast, or an orange before going to bed, is acceptable provided they are deducted from the regular meals. The whole daily ration of two breadsticks or two fruits may not be eaten at the same time, nor can any item saved from the previous day be added on the following day. It is also worth pointing out that any attempt to observe this diet without HCG will lead to trouble in two to three days. It should also be mentioned that two small apples weighing as much as one large one nevertheless have a higher caloric value and are therefore not allowed, though there is no restriction on the size of one apple.
So…
I read Pounds & Inches, and went on to read site after site online. I knew I needed to start sometime after my period, so I needed to stop reading and just order some already. That led me to a new challenge. Who should I buy from? Should I do the injections and just order from the same place as my mother-in-law? But after looking around, their prices seem a little steep. Maybe my grandma will try it, too, if I get the sublingual. I think she considered it for a moment, and decided against it. Why do injections if there’s a sublingual option?! Jana’s contact doesn’t sell sublingual. So I started looking around for someone else to buy from. At this point, I just need to buy some already because my period was over and I needed to get started so I’d have at least 10 days on the stuff before my next period began.
On Friday, April 23rd, I ended up buying some that was premixed. It was homeopathic. Then Jamie said he wanted to do it, too, so I ordered another bottle on Monday. Later that day I read an article that called homeopathic hCG (hhcg) a scam. Great! I guess I didn’t understand what homeopathic meant; never had any experience with it. So I panicked. I posted the question in a group forum Jana had suggested I check out. Some people came back saying they did well on the hhcg. But before I gave it enough time to get some solid responses, I ordered a 40-day injections kit from Jana’s source. At this point, I figure we can start on the homeopathic and switch to the injections once it arrives.
We received the homeopathic and planned to start Friday, April 30th.
I started reading all about it, starting with Pounds & Inches by ATW Simeons, the endocrinologist who researched and spent his life studying obesity and developed this protocol. If you are thinking of starting this program, it’s imperative you read this manuscript, then read it again, and keep it on hand. You can find it online, but here’s one link http://www.darleenmb.com/POUNDS&INCHES.pdf . It’s kind of long, 36 pages or so, but important to read in its entirety.
In summary, there are three types of body fat. Two normal types, 1) structural fat that surrounds the organs and, 2) normal reserves that fuel the body when in demand. Even if the body stocks these to capacity, it will never be considered obesity. The third type is abnormal, and sometimes referred to as “brown fat”. It is from this type of fat only that overweight people suffer. Dr. Simeons compares it to money stored away in a lock box, as opposed to normal fat that is like a checking account in which money flows in and out.
When we go on calorie reduced diets or severe exercise programs, it’s the normal fat we lose first, then our bodies start in on the structural fat, and lastly pull from the abnormal fat. This is why obese patients feel famished and look haggard, but still can’t seem to get rid of the fat in all the unwanted places – belly, hips, thighs, arms.
Dr. Simeons research, and other known facts, has lead him to the theory that it is in the Diencephalon, or Hypothalamus, deep in the brain, that controls the storing and issuing of our fuel. Basically, when we eat more than our body needs, the extra is stored as normal fat. But when the intake goes beyond the diencephalon’s capacity, it sends it to be stored elsewhere, so it doesn’t have to try to do any extra work.
Simeaons hypothesized, “If obesity is always due to one very specific diencephalic deficiency, it follows that the only way to cure it is to correct this deficiency.” But how?! He recalled his observance of a study in India on “fat-boys”, in which they used hCG, a hormone found in very high quantity in pregnant women, to cure their condition of sexual immaturity. An effect of this treatment was the shape of the “fat-boys” bodies changed to that of a normal man’s shape. This meant fat was on the move!!
And if fat was on the move, this was an opportunity to get rid of it! From this, Simeons finally came to his protocol of using smaller, daily doses of hCG combined with a reduced calorie diet of only 500 calories made up of a very specific food combination. So while, yes, anyone who only eats 500 calories a day will indeed lose weight, it will be the normal fat first. And that will send our bodies into starvation mode, which only makes us gain more weight when a normal calorie diet is consumed – as is the case with most diets out there, causing a yo-yo effect. With hCG, the abnormal fat is metabolized, and burned. If we ate more than 500 calories with the hCG, we will gain weight, as do pregnant women to ensure the health of their baby. The hCG allows thousands of calories daily to be released for use by our body.
The result is fat-loss in all the right places! Yay! The protocol calls for a treatment of at least 26 days and no more than 40 days. Then you must take a six week break, with no sugars or starches the first three, in order to reset the hypothalamus to that weight. Then, if you have more weight to lose, you start another round. Weight loss averages one pound per day!! And if you lose 34 lbs. anywhere between the 26 and 40 days, you are to stop the hCG and move into the next phase of the protocol until you are ready to do the next round.
Here is the diet, to be combined with 125 iu of hCG daily.
The Diet
The 500 Calorie diet is explained on the day of the second injection to those patients who will be preparing their own food, and it is most important that the person who will actually cook is present - the wife, the mother or the cook, as the case may be. Here in Italy patients are given the following diet sheet.
Breakfast: Tea or coffee in any quantity without sugar. Only one tablespoonful of milk allowed in 24 hours. Saccharin or other sweeteners may be used.
Lunch: 1. 100 grams of veal, chicken breast, fresh white fish, lobster, crab or shrimp. All visible fat must be carefully removed before cooking, and the meat must be weighed raw. It must be boiled or grilled without additional fat. Salmon, eel, tuna, herring, dried or pickled fish are not allowed. The chicken breast must be removed raw from the bird.
2. One type of vegetable only to be chosen from the following: spinach, chard, chicory, beet-greens, green salad, tomatoes, celery, fennel, onions, red radishes, cucumbers, asparagus, cabbage.
3. One breadstick (grissino) or one Melba toast.
4. An apple or an orange or a handful of strawberries or one-half grapefruit.
Dinner : The same four choices as lunch.
The juice of one lemon daily is allowed for all purposes. Salt, pepper, vinegar, mustard powder, garlic, sweet basil, parsley, thyme, majoram, etc., may be used for seasoning, but no oil, butter or dressing.
Tea, coffee, plain water, or mineral water are the only drinks allowed, but they may be taken in any quantity and at all times.
In fact, the patient should drink about 2 liters of these fluids per day. Many patients are afraid to drink so much because they fear that this may make them retain more water. This is a wrong notion as the body is more inclined to store water when the intake falls below its normal requirements.
The fruit or the breadstick may be eaten between meals instead of with lunch or dinner, but not more than four items listed for lunch and dinner may be eaten at one meal.
No medicines or cosmetics other than lipstick, eyebrow pencil and powder may be used without special permission
Every item in the list is gone over carefully, continually stressing the point that no variations other than those listed may be introduced. All things not listed are forbidden, and the patient is assured that nothing permissible has been left out. The 100 grams of meat must be scrupulously weighed raw after all visible fat has been removed. To do this accurately the patient must have a letter-scale, as kitchen scales are not sufficiently accurate and the butcher should certainly not be relied upon. Those not uncommon patients who feel that even so little food is too much for them, can omit anything they wish.
There is no objection to breaking up the two meals. For instance, having a breadstick and an apple for breakfast, or an orange before going to bed, is acceptable provided they are deducted from the regular meals. The whole daily ration of two breadsticks or two fruits may not be eaten at the same time, nor can any item saved from the previous day be added on the following day. It is also worth pointing out that any attempt to observe this diet without HCG will lead to trouble in two to three days. It should also be mentioned that two small apples weighing as much as one large one nevertheless have a higher caloric value and are therefore not allowed, though there is no restriction on the size of one apple.
So…
I read Pounds & Inches, and went on to read site after site online. I knew I needed to start sometime after my period, so I needed to stop reading and just order some already. That led me to a new challenge. Who should I buy from? Should I do the injections and just order from the same place as my mother-in-law? But after looking around, their prices seem a little steep. Maybe my grandma will try it, too, if I get the sublingual. I think she considered it for a moment, and decided against it. Why do injections if there’s a sublingual option?! Jana’s contact doesn’t sell sublingual. So I started looking around for someone else to buy from. At this point, I just need to buy some already because my period was over and I needed to get started so I’d have at least 10 days on the stuff before my next period began.
On Friday, April 23rd, I ended up buying some that was premixed. It was homeopathic. Then Jamie said he wanted to do it, too, so I ordered another bottle on Monday. Later that day I read an article that called homeopathic hCG (hhcg) a scam. Great! I guess I didn’t understand what homeopathic meant; never had any experience with it. So I panicked. I posted the question in a group forum Jana had suggested I check out. Some people came back saying they did well on the hhcg. But before I gave it enough time to get some solid responses, I ordered a 40-day injections kit from Jana’s source. At this point, I figure we can start on the homeopathic and switch to the injections once it arrives.
We received the homeopathic and planned to start Friday, April 30th.
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