End of Phase 3

And so, I quietly graduated to the end of formal food restrictions for this round of HCG.  I'm say this cycle has ended with more a whimper than a roar of triumph.  I'm four pounds above my LIW, though I didn't cheat a bite.  I have not yet tried any scarb (simple carb), but I will, when the time is right.


I suppose the key here is maintenance.  With people like me, or at least people with erratic, confused metabolisms, it's very difficult to keep a steady weight.  That is the goal now.

Woot!

This past week has been discouraging, disappointing, and frustrating, so I could use something encouraging--and I got it!  The mysterious "above the zone" weight is gone!  Well, almost.  Within a couple of ounces.  So, no steak day today (phew; I hate those)!


Feeling happy! 

Stabilization Day 6: Bummer

Well! I decided to weigh, figuring as I've followed the program to the letter, we'd have no problems. I was wrong. I'm a few pounds over where I should be. Man, what a bone crushing dissappointment. :( My hands are swollen, so hopefully it's that. But still...not good.

I have no opportunity to do a corrective day until Monday, so let us hope and pray this resolves on its own.

Sigh. In the words of Po the Panda: "Why are things hard?!"

Still stabilizing...

...but improving. I felt pretty bad Sunday morning, but have been steadily improving. This has been the roughest one for me yet. Lame. I suppose it's good to wait until next January.

I have a hard time wrapping my mind around how many people cheat on the HCG diet. WHY? It's SO HARD! Why blow it and waste the time and money, plus mess with your body?

I don't get it.

Haven't weighed yet. Better do it.

Stabilization is interesting

I keep being reminded that my body needs a little time to recover from the near-starvation and rapid weight loss. I find it out by suddenly breaking out in sweat or the room spinning when I'm doing things overlong. Thankfully, all it takes is a few mintues, a beverage, and a small snack and I'm back at it, if a wee bit slower.

I'm loving food, but not all the dishes it makes to cook everything by scratch. Pretty much anything you buy, including things like mayo and salad dressing has sugar in it. So, I make everything. I must say, despite the pain in the neck factor, homemade mayo and salad dressing is really good.

I haven't weighed yet. I will. Like, Monday.

Onward!

I did it!

I lasted the final hcg diet day. The additional protein and fruit (however meager) helped get the job done. This morning most of the weird water weight was gone. It was sheer bliss slathering lotion on my poor dry skin and putting cream in my tea. Making and eating a proper breakfast...words fail.

Let the recovery begin!

21#. Works for me.

Crawling towards home plate

Just when I think I own this diet, that I know what to expect and what to do about it, something new happens.

Yesterday was weird. My last medication injection was Tuesday. So yesterday, I forgot myself and climbed four flights of stairs. I had a chiropractor appt. scheduled later anyway, so I went up to pick up my daughter at her writing group instead of texting her when I get there to pick her up. Near the top, I thought I might just die. I had no energy at all. Duh.

A short while later, I was at an appt. with my daughter at the doctor (routine), and suddenly, my rubber legs quit being my main problem. I got dizzy and weak and had to lay down. How dignified is that? I felt marginally better after a little rest, fruit portion, and water. But, I felt bad the rest of the evening. Weird night's sleep.

This morning I woke up, didn't feel quite right. Got on the scale, up nearly 2#. What was a "WTF" moment, for sure! And no, I hadn't cheated a whit. So, panic time. Then I remembered reading something about this in the diet manual.

I looked it up and what's happening is my body is finished with the hcg (little or no more left in my system), and my body is freaking out. I tried on my ring, and it wouldn't fit. So my body is retaining water, engaging in protein deprivation. Not good! So the book said to have a little extra (diet) food. So, I got to have an apple and 3 ounces or protein for breakfast! I still feel yucky, but a little better. I do have odd aches and pains, and feel a bit woozy.

All I can say is the darned weight better be gone tomorrow before I start stabilization! Sigh. Surely, there's a better way to lose weight.

So excited

This afternoon I get to buy food that I get to eat on Friday! Meat, berries, cream. Woot! EGGS! Cheese!

It's all good. :)

And so it was...

...that yesterday was my last injection! Huh? I know, wait for it. Today was scheduled to be my last one (a few beyond the standard short cycle, 'cause I had a little left in my bottle). But, I lost nada from yesterday. Not an ounce. My body's done with this cycle. I get that. I respect that. So, I did the quick calculation and realized yesterday could be--and was--my last shot! What does that mean?

It means I didn't reach my goal (which frankly, wasn't that realistic). I missed it by 1.8#. But I did get below X! I am .8 below X. :D And it also means I get to eat on FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, the final tally: I lost 21#. I lost 29" (hello, waist, where were you?).

I realized I can't do the diet again in Sept. as I planned. I'm a bit irked, as the next cycle (should I hold the line this time)is significant. That next batch of weight takes me from fat to chubby. But, it is what it is. I can't do it during the holidays (I'm not stupid), so January it is! Oh, yeah I told you this. I also teased you about my new goals.

They are: MAINTAIN! To maintain, I need to not eat scarb (simple carb) often at all. Only a couple of times per week (sigh). My problem is, when I eat them, I eat like I was just released from prison, or like I'll never get to eat them again. And the last cycle, I got so I didn't just hold it to a couple of times per week. So, that's my goal: get used to eating the way I need to eat to maintain my weight loss. If I get that handled, the next time will go, and stay, better.

I also plan to try and find more exercise that doesn't hurt me (I have a very, very bad back and chronic fatigue). Exercise tends to hurt me and make it so I can't do what I NEED to do. So beyond a daily routine of stretching and light strengthening, I don't do it, really. I want to.

I also want to learn to grill this summer and finish a few non-fiction books. There. You. Are.

Cheers!

Rounding third...

...and heading for home. Food on Saturday! I'm to the point now where I'm feeling pretty yucky. Ok, I've been feeling yucky the whole time, but at the end of a cycle is a different kind of yucky.

I'm sure ready to eat now! Four more days...I can do it! Tomorrow is the last official weigh in; I'll be taking and comparing measurements, too. The last shot. Hooray! I'm good at it now, but still, feh! The last three days suck because the medication is leaving your system and whatever weight you lose those few days doesn't count and doesn't stay.

The day I get to eat is always like a minor holiday around here. Too bad no sugar or starch, but I'll try not to be greedy. Not starving and being able to eat more, and a much wider variety is awesome!! Cream in my tea and lotion on my hands--bliss!

21#

Two more shots, including today. So, tomorrow is my big LIW day! Woot! I won't make it to the (some may say arbitrary) number I'd hoped. But, I'm close. And, I'm in the Decade Below X. It'll be rough to hold it. But I will try.

Early finish?

.2 today. No bueno. If tomorrow we're still stalled, I may be done a couple of shots early. This has happened before. At some point, the body says, "I'm done!" I'm .2 above X, which infuriates me. I'm determined to get to the "decade below X" (again) this time.

Ok, real quick, X is the best (reasonably-) sustainable weight I've been able to achieve since, oh, since my 13-year-old daughter was born. Yeah, I was below, for one torrid period of time, but not for long (groan).

So since I can't do another cycle until next January, I want to get my body BELOW X so it can learn that it's ok to live there. And then never be above that again. Ever.

So, if my body says, "Uh uh, this is where we're staying..." I will be very put out.

One week to go!

I can do it! 3 more pounds to reach my goal. That has to happen by Thursday, four days from now, for the official Last Injection Weight. It's up for grabs. I can only do what I can do, but I'm sure hoping! I have lost 20#, which is awesome, so I really have nothing to gripe about with the diet this time.

Headed for 3rd base

...and soon I'll round third and be headed for home. What an ordeal! It is NOT fun. HCG in many ways, sucks rocks. But, one can't argue with the results. I have lost 19#. For snicks I measured my waist this morning, 3 inches off. In one week, I'll be trying on my clothes for the spring and summer and getting ready to cook and eat on Mother's Day! So excited about that.

One thing I discovered is my plan of doing this again in September won't work. At this stage, one needs six full months without the drug for it to work. Doh! That would make it smack in the middle of the holidays, again #fail. So, it looks like it will be January. January has its charms for the sucky diet. Waiting that long to reach my next weight goal isn't one of them.

However, I do have other goals. I'll tell you about them later. Gotta go.

Day 18: 10 days 'til food!

Can't wait!!! Lost a little for today's weigh in. Clearly, not two days' worth. But at least it's going again. I tend to forget how much things slow down after the first couple of weeks. I think the body says, "Huh. I guess we just don't eat that much. Better make sure we hold onto this fat, just in case it's serious."