A little annoyed (but fine)

It's been over six weeks of stabilization now.  I've been able to stay in the zone, with but one steak day (not as fun as it sounds).  I have scarbs (simple carbs) a couple of times a week; I plan it for a special occasion.  As my dietarily conscious Sea Monster friend once said, and I paraphrase, I'm not going to waste my scarbs on Rice Krispies. 

Indeed.

So, when I have them, I plan ahead, and it's something special.  The other night, I went light all day.  For me it's more chemistry than calories, but I do watch them.  So, as I was saying, light all day.  Even with the scarbs I had with dinner (one cupcake and half a potato), I was well under my calorie "limit" for the day.

I. GAINED. TWO. POUNDS.  Seriously?  Seriously.  Isn't that annoying?  It really bothers me.  Yeah, so it does go away, but not quickly.  I have to drink a lot of water the next day and have no scarbs at all, or else it's all over.

What's with the water retention, people?  Thoughts?

Holding

Still maintaining.  Actually, nearly two pounds below my LIW today.  I've been SO HUNGRY the last few days.  It's not fun.  What's up with that?

The Day After

The steak day got me comfortably back into the zone.  But, today I've felt residually weak and hungry.  Lame!  So, I think I ate more to compensate for that...but it was all scarb (simple carb) free.

So tomorrow we see what Mr. Scale says.

Steak days suck

Sure, if one could eat steak all day, that'd be ok.  But waiting ALL DAY (especially when one's blood sugar isn't the greatest) to eat...not good.  It's like being sick.  You're weak and feel horrid all day (until the eating part).

So, Sunday, I had my first scarb.  It was a TINY piece of pita bread.  The next day, I was up 2#.  .2 from having to do a steak day.  So, yeah, Monday was Mark's birthday.  Do the math, and today's a steak day.  My system is clearly not as stable as one would like.  I *should* be able to have a little scarb (like a human) and not gain 3#.

Oy.

One day post grad

Yesterday, in the realm of scarbs (simple carbs), I had a little ketchup, one sausage pattie, and Brussels sprouts.  Yes, I know the latter isn't technically scarb, but they're a higher carb veggie and listed as one to not have during stabilization.

How'd it turn out?  GREAT!  My weight is unchanged this morning.  And man, it was awesome to have a little more variety.

I gotta go, but later I'll tell you this recipe I made up yesterday.  Good eats.

Graduation Day

Weight: stable.  So far, so good.  :)

Dusting off my cap and gown

Tomorrow is Graduation Day, the official end of Stabilization for round #6 of my HCG adventure.  Sadly, it's not like graduating from school, where you leave and have your diploma, no matter what.  This is only another step in my dietery evolution.

But, really, so far, so good.  I've stayed within the zone (two pounds above or below my LIW) the whole time.  Once, I was at the very top of the zone, bought a steak (to prepare for the Steak Day), but the next day it was totally back down to my LIW, so the steak went into the freezer.

Today I was half a pound below my LIW.  That always brings a smile to my face, though I'm *trying* not to live and die by the scale.  That's much easier to do when the scale cooperates.

What now?  Well, I've been giving that some thought.  Yes, most all of the weight I've gained back after an HCG cycle has been directly related to having a surgery, but not every time.  The BIG gain-back happened after doing four HCG cycles in a year and pushing my body way too far.  It simply freaked out.  Not doing that again.  Now I'm sneaking up on weight loss, trying to hotwire my system into thinking it's normal, or something like.  Yeah, it's taking longer, but it's totally worth it if it WORKS.

So anyway, sorry about that, got off on a side topic... What now?  I understand my body doesn't process sugar.  And I don't have those Cushingoid symptoms when I'm not on it.  Rather hard to argue with that bit of information.  In a way, it's almost easier just to avoid it entirely--or at least mostly!

I suppose I'll try what I did successfully before, only have scarb (simple carb) a couple of times a week, and then, carefully.  If that works and the weight stays stable and I feel ok, we can go with that.  If not, we'll have to reevaluate the possibility I may need to essentially be a sugar free girl.  I am heartily against artificial sweeteners (nerve toxins--hey, look it up!), so that leaves me with stevia, a plant sweetener that's great in tea and yogurt, and little else.  But would I trade sugar for someday being healthy?  You betcha.

I have suggested to my husband and daughter I might take a full year off of sugar and write a book.  My husband is not so keen on that idea.  But hey, it could happen.  With six cycles of HCG I've been without it a year, just in chunks!  I've missed dozens of party food opportunities, and yep, it sucks.  But we'll see.  One step at a time.  Would be quite elucidating, yeah?

But for now, I graduate.  Again.  And I'm not even planning on having sugar.  The next step for me is adding in trace sugars, like in cured meats and things like...ketchup!  Whoo!  Bring it!  As for sugar, I'm gonna wait 'til Easter and have a piece of my awesome carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  A little piece. 

Happy graduation to me!

Could have done without that

OW!  There's never a good time to have a back flare up; some times are worse than others, like this week.  So, I'm effectively on the DL right now as we try to prepare for Anna's birthday weekend.  I saw a great healthcare provider yesterday, but even she can't take the place of time needed for my back to heal.

Lame!

Very hard yesterday to not eat for comfort.  I'm still officially on stabilization (for one more week), and it does take willpower to still eat no starch/no carb when I'm in extra pain and worried to boot.  But, I'm doing it, 'cause that's how I roll. 

HCG: The progression

Below my LIW today.  Woot!  Love it!

Last night I organized my HCG notebook.  The last few cycles (I've done six for those of you keeping track at home), I've stuffed my papers in a 3-ring binder.  So, I finally got around to taking it all out, recycling the pages I didn't need, putting it all in order, having the paperwork ready for next time, and generally making it useful and organized.

I didn't study the outcomes too closely because what struck me was how many times I've been at this weight!  I'd lose a bunch, have a surgery, gain a lot back.  Rinse and repeat.  It's not a happy story!  But what is happy, I suppose, is I'm 60# lower than I was when I started.  Yeah, there's been a lot of ups and downs, but I'm not giving up.

I loved the idea of getting it over all at once, but that was an epic fail.  Losing 100# in one year was a bad, expensive, and stupid thing to do (I blame my doctors for that one!).  My body freaked out and gained 70# back in six months, and believe me, I wasn't eating like a horse.  My body just couldn't take it.  My endocrinologist has verified that theory.

So now, we sneak up on it.  Yeah, I'd like to get more done faster.  But, like the hare learned in the tortoise and the hare story, slow and steady wins the race.  I believe I'll get there.  It's just taking awhile longer than I thought it would.  And I'm still 60# down, right?

HCG Stabilization: Hangin' in

Going ok!  My weight drifted up a tiny bit (did not require a steak day), drifted back down.  So far, so good!  10 days 'til my official sanctions--I mean--restrictions are lifted.  Then one spends the rest of one's life trying to see how much carb/calories one can eat and still maintain.

A challenge, to be sure, but I'm up to the job.