Maintenance Week 1

I have decided I will do my update AT THE VERY LEAST, on a weekly basis.. So far, during WEEK 1 of the maintenance phase, I have done pretty good so far.. I dropped about 1/2 pound since I stopped the hcg part of the diet.. I am really enjoying eating nuts and salads and meat again!! Steve has put on a few pounds but I think it is because his body is a little more unstable than mine because he hasnt been taking his thyroid medicine.. He will get it stabilized.. Anyway, this update was really quick because nothing is new.. lol THANK GOODNESS =D

Maintenance Day 2

Yesterday was AWESOME.. haha I actually got to EAT FOOD!! I was a little worried because I was scared Id get on the scale this morning and would have gained some weight.. BUT, instead, I was DOWN almost another pound!!! YAY!! I ate 2 eggs, 3 pieces of bacon, 1.5 hamburger patties with cheese, a sausage weiner, a spoonful of peanut butter, a handful of mixed nuts and 1 chicken wing.. I also drank DIET COKE.. I was worried about the carbonated drink making me retain as well.. Steve was up about a 1/2 pound but all he has to do is go to the bathroom and it will be gone.. HAHA My favorite part so far has been my morning coffee!!! Instead of a tablespoon of MILK, I now add a tablespoon of heavy cream to it and it tastes like HEAVEN.. Doesnt take much to make me happy after eating like a rabbit, LITERALLY, since August 8.. lol

Maintenance Day 1

I have to say, this FELT like a long time coming.. I was so miserable on this diet.. I always am.. My mother says I NEVER have been able to suffer in silence.. Whats the point? haha.. So now, looking back, this diet really was SHORT.. I have been VERY pleased with the results so far.. That was my worry, because most people have said that you wont get the same results using the drops as the injections.. Back in June, I saw my doctor and told him I REALLY wished I could afford the injections again and was looking into the alternative, the drops.. He told me that research has shown that the results arent as good as the injections but that people DO lose weight.. My doctor is a wonderful doctor and he wasnt saying that to get me to pay for the injections.. Actually he was trying to discourage me.. LOL I didnt tell him about me doing this diet.. I will tell him when I visit him the next time.. Who knows, maybe he will get into this and start people on the drops..

Steve's total weight loss is close to 39 pounds in 37 days.. Thats amazing!! He LOOKS different.. He looks YOUNGER.. I had to do a double take yesterday, when he walked up to me at PUBLIX.. lol I have lost almost 23 pounds, myself.. I am down about 6 pounds from my last injection weight when I did the injections last summer.. More than likely, we will drop a few more pounds because we always do when we do the Atkin's diet.. Our opinion of the drops is the same as the injections.. They are both as effective.. Only difference is the drops are ALOT CHEAPER!!! We only spend $78 each on the drops.. Compare that to $600 each on the injections.. LOL Um.. NO COMPARISON.. haha

This morning, Steve and I woke up and got to actually eat breakfast!!! It has now been 72 hours since our last dose of HCG and so now, we get to eat Atkins's diet style!! We had bacon and eggs for breakfast and in our coffee we got to add some cream.. I just gotta say that after 37 days of a tablespoon of MILK in my coffee every am that a tablespoon full of CREAM tastes DECADENT.. It tasted like it came from freakin STARBUCKS.. haha Later today, we will be eating hamburgers without the buns and salad with REAL dressing!!! I feel like I am living in a dream!! haha

We still have to weigh daily, so we can keep up with our weight and are NOT supposed to go over 2 pounds from what we weigh right now.. If we do, we have to do a "steak day".. I am confident we will drop a few more pounds.. Its really hard to eat a ton after you have been sustaining on 500 calories the past 5 weeks.. JUST SAYIN!! =D

Day 35

Here I am at Day 35 and not believing it.. haha Steve and I both stopped taking the hcg drops yesterday morning but we have to still eat like we are on the diet for 72 hours after your last dose.. So I am not going to stop counting the days on the diet until Saturday.. Then I will start calling it Maintenance Day 1..

I found it VERY HARD to eat my lunch today.. I dont know why.. It took me FOREVER to eat my little chunks of cooked chicken.. And then I had to eat my strawberries and was actually worried I wouldnt because I was going to run out of time and I was already full.. I increased my portions JUST BARELY.. When I did this diet last time, it said the 72 hours you go off the drops, you still have to eat the same foods but you can add a little more like maybe another fruit and maybe eat 5 ounces of meat, instead of 4.. So thats what I did.. I increased my chicken by an ounce and instead of 10 strawberries, I ate 15.. GEEZ.. Its not much.. haha FELT LIKE IT..

Thats whats so amazing about this diet!!! 35 days ago, I wouldnt have felt that way.. It totally retrains your body and how you mentally view food.. Now, I have also done this diet before so I can tell you, with confidence, you WILL GAIN it back if you stray too far.. You have to be diligent about weighing yourself daily.. No matter HOW BADLY you ate the night before.. It helps you stop it before it gets out of hand.. If you notice weight creeping up, you take a day and eat nothing all day until you eat dinner and then you have a tomato and a HUGE steak.. I have done it before and it works.. I can tell you from experience that if I am not weighing myself every am, that means I am in denial and denial is what got me to where I was.. Its all behavioral and can be changed.. THANK GOODNESS!!

I havent lost anymore weight since Sunday.. Which kind of pisses me off.. I was hoping to finish the week with another 2-3 pound loss.. I think that part of the problem is I cleaned the cars Monday when we were off and I also did some yardwork and I have been VERY SORE and thats making me retain water in my legs.. That always messes me up.. I am hoping maybe I will have a weight loss tomorrow when I get up.. But I havent been eating anything and no weight loss?? Thats ridiculous!! Its probably my body trying to adjust to the 5 pound weight loss LAST WEEK too.. Heaven forbid I have a huge weight loss BOTH WEEKS.. haha Hopefully, Ill be able to drop 10 more pounds the next few weeks..

Day 31

I guess I will start off with our weekly numbers.. Me- lost 5 pounds this week!!!!! BANNER week for Michelle!!! I also have now lost 15 inches all over!! My total weight loss so far has been 21 pounds!!! Steve lost 5 pounds this week and that brings him down 33 pounds!! Not too bad!!

I think in my last post I mentioned this will be our last week on the diet.. YAY.. lol Atleast for now.. Steve may do another round in a few weeks so he can continue to lose and I may do a 21 day round just to get off the last 10 pounds.. Its a GREAT WAY to control your DECEMBER munchies.. THATS FOR SURE.. As long as you dont cheat!!! =D

Day 30

I cant believe that!! LOL DAY 30!! WOOOHOOOO!! And as I said in the beginning of this diet, those 30 days will go by fast but while I am on it, they will SEEM slow.. They really did seem slow.. LOL I am probably going to end the diet a few days early.. I will prob take my last drops on Wednesday morning.. That way, I will have my full 72 hours post hcg drops and then I can start my Atkins-style maintenance on Saturday, when South Carolina plays Georgia.. LOL A little shallow reason maybe? LOL I just know watching college football with skinny friends is VERY HARD when all you can eat is your pitiful portions and they are eating their wings and stuff..

All I want to do is eat my salads and my meat.. LOOKING FORWARD to it!!! I had a MAJOR test yesterday at school.. Yesterday was a tailgate themed day at school.. All the staff wore jeans and their favorite team shirts ( I wore my South Carolina shirt proudly!!! :D )and then bring their favorite tailgating fare and it would be in the teacher's lounge all day.. UGH.. I didnt bring anything because I wasnt going to EAT anything.. So, when it was time for my lunch break, I walked in the teacher's lounge and I was SURROUNDED by Krispy Kreme doughnuts, TWO KINDS of brownies, spinach dips, other dips, crackers, chips, nachos, cookies, you name it!!! And I had to sit there and eat my chicken, strawberries and melba toast with that in front of me.. LOL I always eat in there because since it is my break time, I hide so I can recharge my batteries for the rest of the day.. lol Well, it was a little frustrating, but I survived.. I went on the DIYHCG.COM Facebook page on my phone and left a message about how good I was doing on the diet instead of staring at the food I couldnt have.. LOL

BTW- a little bit of bragging- I tried on a pair of jeans I bought last Christmas that were a Juniors Size 11.. I didnt have to go to ANY extraneous measures to get them on either!!! WOOOHOOOO!!!

With this happiness also comes some irritation though.. I have been REALLY tired.. Like so tired, I am hurting.. Like my body is hurting.. And it could be that it is because I am at the end of this diet, and I am also working full time AND expected to keep up with the kids busy "social" schedule.. Thursday night, I had to go to Todd's middle school football game and although it was fun, it was also equally as exhausting.. Last night, we went to the high school football game and I wanted to leave about an hour into it because my body was soooo sore and tired.. I woke up to a cramp in my right side calf this morning too.. Which tells me I was on my feet waaaaay too much last night.. The concrete was too uncomfortable to sit on to watch the game, so we stood the second half.. Yeah, Im tired..

I have also noticed that on this diet, my attention span , at the end of the day especially, is GONE..And when I say its gone, I mean I am almost a zombie.. I noticed it the other day at Todd's game.. I wasnt avoiding talking to people or anything but I was so overwhelmed by all the people and the sights at the game that I could barely keep up with the game.. Same thing happened last night at the high school game too.. Only add in the soreness I was feeling and I was NOT a fun person.. lol

I am hoping once we start the Atkins part, I will not be this ridiculous.. I am a social butterfly.. Right now, I am more like a social snail.. Which isnt like me AT ALL.. I will end this mini novel today now.. LOL I will update mine and Steve's numbers tomorrow..I want the numbers to look GOOD.. haha Happy College Gameday!!

Day 27

I am sooo happy to be seeing that number: 27.. LOL I have had a good week so far, diet wise so I am not wanting to jinx it.. LOL But as I said yesterday, I broke my last injection weight barrier and today, Im down ANOTHER two pounds almost.. I am sure I will hit a stall ASAP.. I am not allowed to be this happy for too long, Im sure.. haha But it does make you feel good!!

My clothes are getting looser for sure!! Steve's are too.. He is down like 31 pounds now.. He has hit another small stall, for body regrouping (LOL) and will be back to dropping tons Im sure.. Hump day today and I am soo glad we are on the downslide!!!

Day 26

WHEW!! LONG day!!! This has been a long week so far and its ONLY Tuesday.. haha Thank God its HUMP DAY tomorrow!! Thursday will be my baby's first home football game of his 8th grade season at Helena Middle School and Friday will be the first home game for the high school.. Thursday's game of Todd's happens to coincide with South Carolina's first game of the season.. Steve told Todd that he loved him and all but South Carolina is playing so he will be missing it..Todd TOTALLY understood.. LOL

The issue is how will I make it through all the TAILGATING fare? UGH.. It will be MUCH BETTER when I can eat Atkins, for sure!! Only a few more days!! This Friday, they are having a tailgating theme at HMS for the faculty and staff but I will be ignoring it.. lol

Today I reached my first milestone with this diet- I am NOW at the same weight I was after my last injection when I did the HCG injections last summer!!! I still want to drop about 10 more.. There is something about hitting that point where you feel almost energized.. Its almost like Im good now and everything else is just GRAVY.. lol We will see how I feel this weekend.. haha Im sure that will change.. =P

Steve was up two-tenths of a pound this morning.. I am sure he will drop it plus two tomorrow.. lol

Day 25

This morning I woke up and was down about a 1/2 pound.. I was pretty happy about that.. The loss was also maintained this afternoon when I got home from school..Steve was DOWN three pounds yesterday afternoon but he was only down 2 this morning, up one from yesterday afternoon..I am sure he will wake up tomorrow and be down 2 more.. LOL MEN!! His total was over 30 pounds yesterday.. Im still holding onto 16.. Only 15 more days to go!! (unless I run out of drops before then lol)

Day 24

Today I woke up FEELING slimmer.. I was a tiny bit.. My numbers arent the best this week.. I guess it was a TRANSITIONAL week for my body.. Weeks like this make this diet HORRIBLE.. LOL As for my hubby, his was pretty fantastic, although he doesnt see it that way.. On the BRIGHT SIDE of all of this, I am now within under 2 pounds of my last injection weight from my first round of HCG..So, I am VERY HAPPY about that!! Thats a small, mini milestone, once I cross it!! My next one will be to be 10 pounds less than that..

I am wondering if I will run out of drops before the end of my 40 days? I really dont want to buy any more than I have to.. I will have to re-evaluate this issue by the end of this week to see where we are with our drops.. I really wouldnt be too upset if I ran out early.. LOL

ONCE AGAIN, I had ANOTHER FREAKIN DREAM that I CHEATED on my diet last night.. Not once, BUT TWICE!! I remember in my dream, I was carelessly popping things in my mouth that I wasnt supposed to.. The most memorable was a piece of a peanutty, caramelly clustery thingie... I popped it in my mouth in my dream ( God knows where it came from.. lol) and I realized it and I started spitting it out like Tom Hanks spit out the Beluga in the movie " BIG".. LOL Then I washed my mouth out with water.. GOOD LORD it was SO REAL.. And I remember also thinking " What the heck, you KNOW better than that!! STOP" LOL I just love guilt laden dreams.. SO SPECIAL.. LOL

Im going to close this with my dismal numbers and Steve's GLORIOUS numbers.. lol Me- lost -16 pounds so far, - 13.5 inches.. Steve- lost 28 pounds.. Maybe this week, my body will jump back into weight loss and I will break the last injection weight barrier!! Pray for me!! LOL

Day 23

Well last night, I swear, I was absolutely FAMISHED it seemed.. Seriously.. Like Ethiopian feeling.. I know I wasnt.. I have been eating ONLY 500 calories but they are all GOOD calories and fufilling and sufficient in my needs.. They may lack a little, somewhat, but it is ONLY for a little under 6 weeks.. Seriously..As a matter of fact, I have seen some studies where it is BETTER to eat LESS than what is required daily.. Your health is better off in the long run.. Whoever did that study was PROBABLY SKINNY and one of those stress NON-eaters.. LOL You know those kind, the ones that eat NOTHING when they get stressed and lose like 30 pounds during stressful times of their lives.. UGH.. I am quite the opposite.. When I went through a divorce back in 1998, I felt like I was the ONLY person in the world that GAINED 30 pounds.. LOL I guess stress=chocolate in my mind..=D

Speaking of stress, I am not going to say I am under stressful conditions in the least..I LOVE my job this year COMPLETELY.. I LOVE what I am doing!! But, school starting has definitely put me in a different mind set than what I was in during the summer.. I wished I had found these HCG drops at the beginning of the summer.. haha I will say, I STAY BUSY during the day and really dont have time to THINK about how hungry I am until I get home..And BY THEN, I am eating my dinner and then I take a LONG BATH to soothe my body and my mind and then its time for bed.. So, maybe being busy all day is a plus.. But then I sometimes think that the business makes me HUNGRIER? haha

As for the HUNGER I was feeling last night, I truly think it was not physical hunger.. It was ALL MENTAL.. I just am sick and tired of eating 5 things.. lol Chicken, strawberries, melba toast, apples, and some kind of veggie: either cucumbers or tomatoes.. I cant stomach lettuce anymore.. Ill be ok when I can eat salads again- with REAL DRESSING!! As a matter of fact, this time, 3 weeks from now, I will be totally LOVING it!! =D And I am sooooo looking forward to eating some freakin peanut butter!! It sounds sooo decadent right now.. lol Pitiful, I know..

I usually have to just muddle through the mental side of this diet.. Most people want to have INSTANT GRATIFICATION.. This diet usually delivers it daily.. Until you hit a plateau.. THEN you have INSTANT IRRITATION.. lol Then you hit through the plateau and AHHHHHH!! You have MORE INSTANT GRATIFICATION.. THEN, you hit ANOTHER plateau and so on and so on.. Unless you are a MAN.. lol Although, my husband has been dealing with a few stalls.. But, he also has some thyroid problems.. MOST MEN just lose continuously..

I have to remind myself that every time I stall, it is because my body is adjusting to the weight loss.. But, the stalls are more often this time.. Probably because my starting weight was about 15 pounds less than it was the last time.. I am a lot closer to my last injection weight from the last time I did this diet.. I am about 2.5 pounds from it right now and I am only on Day 23.. I am soo wanting to get that extra 10-15 pounds off past that last injection weight from last time.. I know the closer you get to your goal weight, its always harder to lose..

Im going to close todays entry with our latest numbers.. I am actually up a half pound from yesterday.. UGH.. And Steve is DOWN 2 pounds.. His weight loss is almost at 28 pounds now!! I am praying mine will be down 16 TOMORROW when I do my "Official Weekly Weigh In and Inches Lost" post.. Until then, I am trying to STAY POSITIVE!!

Day 22

I woke up this morning and I FELT thinner.. I weighed myself and I was DOWN a pound!!! YAY!!! I had to blog about that even before I go to work this morning!! I am down a little over 15 pounds now.. And thats a good thing, considering I am carrying around this cloud of guilt because I keep DREAMING that I am eating something I am not supposed to be eating.. That is just the weirdest thing on this diet!! I dont get why I keep dreaming I am cheating on it except that maybe it is my worst fear and so I dream about it.. Who knows.. All I know is last night in my sleep, I had the yummiest layered mexican dip with cheese, refried beans, guacamole and sour cream.. LMAO And you wonder why I am feeling GUILTY.. =P

Other than my guilt twinges, I am NOT going to let it get me down!! Its Friday and my youngest son, Todd's team won their football game last night!! Helena Middle School BEAT Oxford!!WOOHOOOO!! Sadly, Steve and I didnt go because we are so wiped out at night from this diet.. The smells alone would KILL us.. lol Todd was just released from his doctor to go back to full on playing since his concussion 3 weeks ago so he wasnt going to play last night anyway.. I am so glad those boys did their job and won!! He was very excited when he came home, even though he didnt get to play any.. GO HMS PANTHERS!!!

Day 21

Oh THANK THE LORD!! I have LESS days left than the number of days that I have been on this diet!! YAY!! lol Sorry, I had to just let that out!! I got up this morning and was still holding steadfast to that 14 pound weight loss.. Not bad for 3 weeks but I havent lost a pound since Sunday, basically.. I was fluctuating between 13 and 14 pound loss all week.. My body does that when it is trying to renegotiate itself after a loss.. This afternoon , when I got home from school, I was almost a pound lighter!! I hope in the am it will be 2 pounds.. LOL =P

Steve got up this morning and was 2 pounds lighter, bringing his total to 25 pounds so far.. He is getting so sick of this diet too.. And football season is right around the corner.. He is sooo ready to be able to atleast eat the Atkins low carb fare.. You can eat wings on low carb and I am guaranteeing that will be his food of choice.. HAHA

I hope tomorrow I can share some good weight loss news with you all!! If not, Im sure Ill be whining about it =D

Day 20

Ok.. I have had my days numbered wrong.. I am really at Day 20.. THANK GOD.. I am technically half way there!! WOOHOOOO!! I had some shrimp tonight for dinner and that was a nice change.. I am saving the steak for Saturday.. I am sooo ready for low carb.. I cant wait to eat my salads!! =D

I was back at my lowest point so far at 14 pounds lost this morning.. And Steve is now down 25 pounds!! Not bad for being halfway there.. I am hoping to lose about 11 more pounds the rest of the time.. Ill be happy with a 25 pound loss!! I am 3 pounds away from where I was at my last injection weight and I am totally pumped about that!!

I am praying for strength to get me through the next 20 days..

Day 18

UGHHHHHHHHHHH is all I can say.. I was UP a pound this morning when I got up and so was Steve.. Talk about freakin annoying!! What is MOST annoying is we are STARVING right now.. lol Not really starving as in hungry.. I am just pissy because I want to eat low carb now.. When I am up a pound and Im miserable like this, it really makes me angry.. As it does to my husband too.. We figure it is the "apple pie" thingie we have been eating thats contributed to this stupid stall.. I guess we cant even eat THAT.. Geez.. taking away ALL the joys I guess.. lol

This afternoon when I got home from school, I was back down to the weight I was the day before.. I didnt ask Steve because he was napping.. But the last time I did this diet, I would have a semi stall like this, and actually GAIN a pound or so and then drop like 3 pounds in a day or so.. I just want to average 4 pound loss every week.. Im NOT asking for much!!!!

I read where a girl on the HCG diet cheated on her diet on this Facebook support page I frequent.. I dont get it.. I dont understand why someone would cheat while they are on this diet.. And dont tell me its called FOOD ADDICTION.. I think its called no self control? I would LOVE to dig into some mac and cheese or pizza.. Thing is, I will undo all the good I have done on top of messing up my resolve.. SO, I choose NOT to cheat.. Anyway, I cheat in my dreams, apparently, I have enough guilt from that.. I dont need MORE.. haha I guess my days of cutting my nose off to spite my face have dwindled.. I only do that OCCASIONALLY now.. =P

I am going to try to be strong and I am going to stick with this but I am SICK OF IT.. Only 21 more days to go!!! HURRY HURRY HURRY HURRY lol

Day 17

Yesterday our stupid refrigerator decided to die on us so I was pretty pissed.. We bought it back in 2003 and it broke the first time in 2006.. We didnt get a warranty on it I guess, or it had run out.. Anyway, it cost $300 to fix.. So, when it basically was doing the same thing this time, I said NO MORE.. We lucked out and got a side by side in stainless steel.. I am pretty happy about that..I dont know why though..Its not like Ill be keeping any awesomely yummy food in it for atleast 23 more days.. lol

Today I was so busy I couldnt think about being hungry so thats a good thing!! I didnt lose any weight, as expected.. And Steve got up the same weight as the day before.. The first time since he started where he had ZERO weight loss overnight.. Minor stalls suck.. But, today, I was told at work my face was starting to look slimmer.. I also felt like it too... I am about 3 pounds away from my last injection weight last year when I stopped the HCG diet.. I wanted to be about 10-15 pounds lighter than that so I will HOPEFULLY get close to that this time..

We found out that steak makes Steve stall so he wont be getting anymore of that until he is on the Atkins part of the diet.. Then he can have it all the time.. LOL That will be in about 3 weeks!! CANT WAIT!!

Day 16

Today started out pretty cool.. I woke up and was down another pound!! Steve however, wasnt.. He was the same weight he was the morning before.. THAT didnt go over well.. lol But he had been working in the yard alot yesterday in 95 degree temps so I am thinking he was retaining some fluid..I will probably be like that tomorrow..I worked today in the yard... yuck..

Ok.. my grand totals for week 2:-10.5 inches and -14 pounds..Steve has lost a total of 23 pounds.. Not too bad.. I havent been hungry lately.. Its probably because of us working in the heat.. I am hoping I will keep losing about 4-5 pounds a week now.. That will bring me to where I want to be!!

Day 16

Its sad when on a Friday night, you are in bed at 9:30.. And thats EXACTLY what Steve and I did last night!! I assure you it was because we were in bed because we were hungry.. haha.. We just went ahead and went to sleep because we were afraid we'd eat something.. No. Really..

This morning, we had both lost a pound or so.. Tomorrow I will have my totals for the week for both of us.. I am pretty happy with the weight loss so far.. Its been steady enough that I dont want to quit..

Today, Steve and I were so busy with the yard that we didnt eat lunch.. The heat makes me not hungry.. So around 3, I decided to go get some filet mignon for us and we "splurged" and had that.. It is included in our diet so I wasnt cheating.. Although it was so scrumptious I felt like I was.. KINDA.. lol

We are almost at the halfway point.. YAY!!

Day 15

Wow today sucked royally.. Good thing it is Friday and I am loving my job.. lol I have been SOOOOO HUNGRYYYY today.. I dont understand why except that maybe I am losing weight? I dont know.. But anyway, the scale maybe moved a 1/2 pound today.. Steve lost about 1/2 a pound too.. But, I am sure over the weekend we will have a decent loss.. I have 2 mornings until I record my official weight and inches for the week..

I FINALLY have gotten to drink my grape Kool Aid!! YAYAY!!! I bought some of the Stevia in a bag and made it like Id make regular Kool Aid.. Its pretty good and it made me happy.. lol Sad.. =P Also, Steve and I tried something last night and it was REALLY good.. We cut up an apple and baked it in some cinnamon and some Stevia and it was REALLY good.. I saved it for today at lunch and it was chilled and it was ALMOST as good as it was when it was hot.. I am seeing these small things that we can do once we are off the diet, only I will add SPLENDA instead of Stevia and maybe some spray butter stuff to give it a buttery taste.. Its the small things that are appreciated on this diet.. LOL

Day 14

Today was not really exciting although I actually started feeling thinner.. Its a weird feeling.. But I was FEELING it.. I LIKED it!! My Husband was wearing a smaller tshirt that we bought him a few months ago but was too small.. So THATS a good little milestone for him.. I am on my second day of pretty much REFUSING to eat the vegetable portion of my meals because I cannot stomach the thought of putting another piece of lettuce in my mouth unless it has REAL DRESSING on it!! I am extremely picky anyway when it comes to veggies and the limited portions dont help.. I get sick very easily of pretty much all of them, except for broccoli.. And of course, THATS not on this diet.. lol

This morning I was definitely holding steady with my 2 pound weight loss and this afternoon I may have dropped another 1/2 pound or so.. Steve has dropped close to 21 pounds now too!! Only 26 more days to go!! UGH!! Sounds like an eternity!! =D I wont be saying that when it is over.. I will be happy because I have lost my weight!! But until then, I will shut up.. haha

Day 13

Its a MIRACLE!!!!!! I dropped TWO pounds today!!! My loss is now at 12 pounds..I was so excited!!! It made my morning when I saw the one pound loss and when I got home I saw another pound off. And it all happened at the right time too.. I got home and my oldest son started working last week at a local pizza place and he brought home for lunch leftover pizza and cinnamon bread sticks.. He is EVIL...I walked in and saw it and announced, "I am going to go weigh myself before I eat that!!" LOL

I have come to one conclusion today.. I..HATE..LETTUCE when I cant put a REAL dressing on it!! It is just plain NASTY.. I might as well be eating PAPER but Im sure thats not ALLOWED on this diet.. I HATE this restriction and LOVE it at the same time.. Some kid was trying to sell me a Boston Butt for a fundraiser and I said "Sorry, I cant eat that" LOL Now I see where my son gets his EVILness from =P

I look forward to the atkins low carb part of this diet because thats the BEST.. I LOVE all the salads with the yummy dressings and the eggs and the cheese.. LOL Until then, Ill eat my rabbit food.. Atleast the great plateau disintegrated for now!! Im sure it will be back NEXT WEEK.. Atleast I know what to expect!! =D

My husband has lost about 19 pounds.. He is at a small stall for now.. He will pick back up soon too.. I told him its nothing to sneeze at losing almost 18 pounds in a WEEK.. Your body has GOT to adjust.. Annoying as it seems!!

Day 12

Day 12? Really? Wow, that's ALMOST 2 weeks on this diet!! I am sooo praying time will fly..It is almost a 6 week diet, shy of 2 days and if it was any longer, Id have to just be FAT because it is complete torture!!! I can handle it in small increments.. Now that I know about the DIYHCG.com website, I wont let it get so out of hand that Id have to to a 40 day round ever again.. I will be much happier having to do a 20 day round instead of the 40 day.. The only reason it got so out of hand was I was trying to afford $600 for the shots and I couldnt.. My husband needed this too and it is just highway robbery to expect people to be able to pay for it like that.. I mean,come on, just put us on a payment plan that lasts a few months.. LOL

I was doing some research today at lunch about the seasonings on this diet and ill be darned if I was using the WRONG kind of seasoning!! What I read was you cannot use anything that contains MSG, corn starch or sugar...I found that the type of garlic salt I was using contained GARLIC OIL!!! What the heck?? Um.. I wont be using that stuff until Im off this diet.. Also, another one I used HEAVILY had MSG as the NUMBER ONE ingredient.. And yet ANOTHER, had SUGAR.. GEEZ.. They are SNEAKY.. So, I bought some new ones that had NONE of those things in them.. Im sure my pitiful amounts of food that I get to eat will taste like crap but hey, atleast I wont be using those things..

Im still in a stall, which after a 10 pound loss in ONE WEEK, I should be.. lol Ill be lucky to drop 3 pounds this week, TOTAL.. Especially thanks to GARLIC OIL in my garlic salt.. Thats enough to make me want to punch someone.. lol Thats SABOTAGEEEEE haha

Steve has lost about a pound or so since Sunday.. Atleast HE is still losing.. I am, however, stuck on top of the great plateau from hades.. lol Hopefully it will start moving again..

Day 11

And it starts!!! The GREAT PLATEAU!! UGH.. I am sure I will be in a holding pattern MOST this week.. I did this last time I did this diet too.. Heck, I do it pretty much EVERYTIME I do a diet.. So this is nothing new.. It doesnt mean I have to LIKE it..lol

This I DO KNOW: I am so sick of water!! I started drinking something yesterday that I NEVER drink.. TEA.. You can have it in unlimited amounts sweetened only with Stevia.. So thats it.. I am drinking that.. I am just sick of blah blah blah water.. If I could make some Crystal Light, that would be another story.. But it isnt made with STEVIA( Said using my extremely annoying sounding little sister voice that likes to irritate the older brother).. SO, I have learned to like TEA.. It tastes pretty decent..

I did make something yesterday that was really good.. It was basically 10 strawberries with Stevia, water and ice.. I made a smoothie..It was good.. Probably because ANYTHING will taste good right now.. haha But I almost felt guilty because I was SO FULL from all the water and ice in it.. HAHA Thank God for SMALL MIRACLES!! =D

Daily totals: Steve and I are both at a stand still.. Will get back to you tomorrow, hoping it will break.. =D Now, Im off to watch these stupid singles on Bachelor Pad stuff themselves with pie.. YUM.. lol

DAY 10

Well, here we are.. On what is supposed to be THE WORST day of the diet.. This is the day MOST people hit a wall.. And question "why am I torturing myself like this?" LOL.. I can speak from experience this happens.. Maybe not Day 10.. But for most it is Day 10.. It may be Day 11 or Day 12 for some.. But that day DOES happen.. What you need to do is make sure you have SUPPORT.. If you dont, you will LOSE YOUR MIND..

The "Honeymoon Phase" is over.. You STILL have about 30 days left on this diet and it is soooooooooooo B-O-R-I-N-G!! This is when you have to become CREATIVE.. I know, just how creative can you become with chicken, especially since you cant use any fat or sugar or any kind of "sauce" that MAKES it yummy.. You CAN add some steak, but you have to be VERY CAREFUL to get VERY LEAN steak, or your weight loss WILL stall.. You can also add some shrimp or crab.. Just be sparing with it because if eaten too often, it will also cause a stall.. Chicken is your friend.. YUCK.. lol

I am pretty impressed with this thought though: I can have STRAWBERRIES!!! We can have 6-10 strawberries, 2 times a day, if wanted.. SO, I have been cutting them up and putting some Stevia on then.. I feel very indulgent when I eat them so thats a good thing.. Just wish it was MORE.. haha.. Also: I can have CUCUMBERS!!! I forgot how good these little things can be, especially when I put some white vinegar on them and some garlic salt and let them SIT for a while.. Cucumbers are almost all water anyway.. They fill you up!!! Last night for dinner, I had 2 small cucumbers with vinegar and a pc of chicken and I actually felt full for a whole 5 minutes.. LOL

Here is the GRAND TOTAL for Week ONE..
Me- 10 pounds lost, 6.5 inches gone
Steve- 18 pounds lost.. He isnt doing inches because he is a MAN.. lol

Hopefully, I will get over this hump and become acclimated to this way of eating because it sure as heck will make it easier to live with!! Steve is already saying he isnt sure he will be able to make it 40 days.. I am hoping we both will!!

Day 9

UGH.. I am not a happy camper most the time on this diet.. I am NOW remembering that all too well.. ha.. My husband is the same way.. We both were saying last night we were SOOOO HUNGRYYYYYYYY.. But, it was Friday night.. We were at home..Its a weekend night.. Those nights are supposed to be FUN nights, which means Mexican food, or some kind of outing that includes a restaurant or concession stand food.. Um, we cant even SMELL that kind of food right now.. We didnt go to watch our sons perform at a local pizza place on Thursday because it would have been, pretty much, the WORST form of torture.. It would be evil to expect us to sit at a pizza place and all we can do is SMELL the haunting aroma of all that luscious cheese on that yummy crust.. lol ugh..

My attitude is definitely affecting my subconscious attitude as well..I had ANOTHER dream I was cheating on my diet.. I was eating CHIPS this time.. Weird.. If I am gonna cheat, I am not going to waste my cheat on something stupid like chips or popcorn.. Id waste it on CHOCOLATE.. lol I am sure I will dream that tonight.. lol But whats weird is I wake up and feel GUILTY.. Steve never has dreams like that.. lol Maybe this is how I keep myself in check.. I dont know.. But the whole guilt thing sucks..

As of this morning, I was down 8 pounds since I started the VLCD part of the diet.. Steve was down almost 16 pounds.. Those are NOT bad numbers for 6 days!! I just wish it was 3 weeks LATER.. LOL I am not loving this at all.. I need to embrace it more, like its a journey.. But I am having a hard time.. I am about to be at Day 10, which is supposed to be THE WORST day on this diet.. Once you get past this hump, you are usually ok.. I remember the last time I was on this diet, I was ready to kill someone on Day 10 and even called the nurse.. lol She told me she was the same way.. Its about the time where you start to NOTICE physically the changes this diet is making to your body.. Small changes.. But you start to look better and people are noticing it.. And thats what gives you new life.. So, I am waiting for someone to tell me that next week at school.. HAHA

I also read on the diyhcg.com website that if you are experiencing hunger that you should up your dosage you take a little.. We were taking .5 ml drops and it said to go to .6 ml.. So I upped our dosage a little to see if that helps our hunger.. I really feel that our hunger is more behavioral, not actual starvation hunger.. THATS why we gain weight.. The behavioral type of hunger is what gets ya!! Thats the beauty of this diet.. You learn to conquer your behavior over food..

Day 8

Looks like I have HIT MY WALL.. I loathe this.. I really do.. THIS is what makes me nuts.. Steve hit his wall yesterday but is now, once again, losing.. He lost 2 pounds last night and is now down almost 15 pounds.. Yesterday, after school, I was down 2 pounds from that morning, which brought me to 9 pounds lost.. This am, I was up those 2 pounds again.. UGH.. So I am stuck at 7.. But to be honest, in basically 5 days of dieting, a loss of 7 pounds is nothing to turn your nose up at.. So, I need to stop being so negative.. :P

I started my full time back to work day schedule yesterday so maybe my body was reacting to that stress? My body reacts crazy anyway to stress.. ONE REASON I gained some of the weight back that I had gained.. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION sucks.. lol Anyway, I did have one of those "stress diet dreams" last night.. I usually do that when I am VERY SERIOUS about a diet, but become frustrated.. I dreamt that I CHEATED on my diet and ate POPCORN.. Not just ANY popcorn but the kind of popcorn you get at the THEATER.. LOADED with "golden flavored topping" LOL.. That whole "golden flavored topping" thing kind of bothers me.. What the heck does GOLDEN taste like? I dont know but it tastes like HEAVEN on popcorn when you go to the movies.. LOL

I felt VERY GUILTY in my dream AND when I woke up.. Maybe THATS why I didnt lose any weight? LOL You know the whole " I just LOOK at cake and gain 10 pounds" saying..haha Seriously though, I do recall the last time I was on this diet, I hit near the 10 day mark and thats when my body started adjusting to the weight loss and it would regroup.. I would even GAIN a few pounds and then Id lose them plus another 2 pounds.. It just sucks when you want that INSTANT GRATIFICATION.. I only need to drop 9 more pounds to be where I was when I lost all my weight last time I did the HCG diet.. BUT, I want to drop 10 more atleast.. Might as well.. lol Since I am already suffering.. haha

I dont know why I am wanting this to hurry up.. Its not like the days will go by any faster.. I am just so IMPATIENT!!! This diet teachers you alot more than just not eating crap.. It teaches me to be patient.. It WILL happen.. I am just not that patient.. =P

DAY 7

Well.. I think I hit a stall and so did Steve.. Interestingly enough- I was reading a blog that a girl has been posting on diyhcg.com and around day 6-7, she ALSO had a stall.. So I believe that this is around the time your body is starting to adjust to your weight loss NATURALLY and that is what causes the stalls.. It isnt because of what we are eating because I have been almost like a NAZI about all this.. I want this to be a success and I will not give in just because I am a little hungry.. MIND OVER MATTER!!! LOL

Steve and I both hadnt lost but maybe a few ounces from yesterday.. But, when I would weight on my scale, my weight would fluctuate almost 2 pounds so I take that as a sign that tomorrow, I will have a 1-2 pound weight loss.. I havent been going to the bathroom like I should, and I DID today so I am expecting that to help as well.. =P

Hope everyone has an awesome day today.. This is the first day back to school with kids.. I am looking forward to a new schedule and new kids!!

Day 6

Another quick post- I am on my way to school again!! lol This morning, I was down another pound, making me now down 7 pounds!! Steve was down 12.6 pounds!!! This kind of positive reinforcement keeps us trudging forward and definitely makes the agony of eating 500 calories worth it!! I am dreading my plateau.. LOL I WILL have a bad attitude.. Just warning you! haha But for now, I am jovial!! haha Have a great day friends!!

Whit and Tyler playing at Cabana Grill last Friday!!

Day 5...

I went to bed last night with an attitude.. LOL Last time I did this diet, I drank Diet Mountain Dew and drank Sugar Free Kool Aid and Crystal Light.. I found out later that those were ALL no-no's.. All you can drink on this diet is water, BLACK coffee and unsweetened tea.. And the ONLY sweeteners that are allowed are either Stevia or Sweet N Low.. YUCK.. lol So anyway, last night I was D-Y-I-N-G for some grape sugar free Kool-Aid.. And I didnt get it either.. I am NOT going to do anything that I am not supposed to this time!!!

This morning when I got up, I was down another pound.. Which made my misery worth it, I guess.. ugh.. I had a school wide meeting I had to attend and THEN everyone wanted to go to lunch at a local BBQ place.. I was NOT a happy camper and wanted them to drop me off at my car but it would have been out of the way so I went along.. And sat there and SIPPED my water with lemon and NASTY Sweet N Low.. lol But it wasnt too bad.. I really didnt want anything my co workers were eating anyway.. I find on this diet, I dont crave foods.. I crave TASTES.. Like I want my coffee to have that creamy, semi sweet taste, I also want my drinks to be sweet and flavored.. They can be sweet via sweetners, I dont care.. But they have to taste sweet.. Like Sugar Free Kool Aid.. THAT is my main gripe while on this diet..

I decided to take a 1/2 day today and came home right after my torture at the BBQ place.. I weighed myself when I got home and I was down ANOTHER POUND!! WOOHOOOOO!! Weighing myself is how I deal with not being allowed to have what everyone else is having, I guess.. So now, Day 5, I am down 6 pounds!!! I know eventually, this will taper off a bit but I dont expect it to stall like it did the last time because I am not drinking carbonated drinks or drinking anything with artificial sweeteners, unless its stupid Stevia or yucky Sweet N Low.. lol BLECHY!!!

A side added note today: my husband has also been doing this diet and he has now lost almost 10 pounds in 5 days, himself..He is miserable on this diet too.. He HATES the "boringness" of this diet.. But, it is probably the fastest way to drop pounds and to reshape your body, especially at our age.. I am hoping to drop a total of 25 pounds or so and I am hoping Steve can drop 50.. In 40 days of this diet, as long as we dont fudge any, I think thats attainable.. =D

Day 4

Im leaving a quick post because school starts today and I am about to leave.. I weighed this morning and I am now down 4 pounds!!! I know its water.. And thats a good thing!!! I have been retaining waaay too much the past few months!! I am a little hungry but not famished, like I should be because I only ate 500 calories yesterday.. lol

Well Im on my way out.. Excited and scared at the same time.. Not sure what the school year will bring!! I am praying it is NOT like last year.. LOL HAPPY NEW SCHOOL YEAR to you!! =D

Day 3 on HCG Diet.- Day One of VLCD

Hi everyone!! This is going to be my very first post since I started my diet phase.. The first two days were a breeze because I ate whatever I wanted.. I ate SO MUCH that by yesterday afternoon, I was so blase about eating I didnt really want to eat anymore.. But, in order for this diet to work, you HAVE to gorge the first 2 days.. I have done the diet before, so I understand the importance.. I am embarrassed to even say how much I ate.. Im talking ALOT.. lol I made sure to get in everything Id miss while doing this diet..

Since I have done this diet, I am well aware that I will eventually get to eat "normal" again and there is light at the end of the tunnel.. The first time I did it, I have to say, I was a little nervous and felt like it would NEVER end.. But seriously.. How long is 40 days? Not that long.. I can sacrifice 40 days to lose the weight I gained..

Along with this blog, I decided to track my weight loss and my inches by writing them down in the booklet sent to me when I ordered the HCG drops..I will NOT be posting my weight on here.. SORRY!!! LOL I will post inches and pounds lost!!

I weighed this morning and I started out roughly 17 pounds heavier than I was at my last injection weight back in June of 2009, after my two day gorge..So I am sure I was more like 13 or 14 pounds more a few days ago but the gorge always puts on water weight.. This afternoon I weighed myself and was already DOWN 2 pounds from my morning weight, if that says anything..

I really havent been hungry today too badly.. Its the whole "eating when you get bored" or constantly wanting to grab something as you walk by the pantry.. Thats the beauty of this diet.. You dont eat anything but what is on the list.. Therefore, you eliminate all the triggers that make you cheat.. I have kids in the house so I still have some trigger food available but I never ate it when I was on the diet last time.. If I got a craving, I would go weigh myself.. LOL

Hopefully I will continue with this cheery attitude about the diet but dont count on it.. HAHA School starts tomorrow for teachers and staff so I will be getting to school in the am and be welcomed by the WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL breakfast Im sure.. I will NOT have one bite!!! I PROMISE!!

HCG Part Three!!

So last time I blogged, I was talking about the reason why I am having to do this diet again.. We ALL fall off the wagon from time to time.. Thats normal.. I fell off the wagon a little , for instance, at Thanksgiving.. EVERYONE does.. Well, I lost back the weight I had gained in like a week with me watching what I was eating.. After I was put on Celexa, I couldnt lose that weight I gained AT ALL.. It wouldnt budge.. I read into it while I was on the medicine and I found that Celexa was KNOWN for weight gain.. WONDERFUL!!!

So, after 5 weeks, I got off of it and decided to try to lose the 10 pounds I gained.. It didnt work.. I think you start self sabotaging once you get to a certain point.. Its that bad attitude of " Well, Im dieting and nothing is working so what the hell.. Im gonna eat.." I went out of town 2 times in July and I have gained about 7 pounds since summer started.. YAY..

I stumbled upon this new oral HCG diet by accident.. I actually said something to my doctor about it when I went to see him the last time.. He said that he didnt think the oral HCG had as good of a result as the injections.. I was a little anti about the oral HCG until I saw a friend of mine from high school's pictures and testimony on Facebook the other day..He has lost 45 pounds in 44 days doing the oral HCG drops.. Followed the same diet and says he feels AWESOME.. He looks like his old self from high school almost!!! LOL

So, here I go.. I took my first dose of HCG at 6 am today.. I will take 2 more doses, making that 3 doses a day for the next 40 days.. I HAVE to GORGE today and tomorrow.. Wow.. Thats gonna suck.. NOT lol Im gonna go have some Krispy Kreme doughnuts!!! Later!!! =D

HCG Part dos.. =D

When I last left you, I was discussing the GORGE phase in the HCG diet.. Indeed, this was the fun part.. LOL But as they say, all fun things must come to an end and we have to GET SERIOUS.. lol Whoever said that needs to be put in timeout!! But anyway, I felt I needed to change more than just what I was eating.. This diet really helped me put things into perspective!!

My main problem was trying to change my HABITS.. You know OLD HABITS DIE HARD right? Well my biggest issue was I was a social eater.. I was also a BOREDOM eater.. I was an emotional eater and add all of that up and multiply that with an autoimmune thyroid condition and you have a recipe for FRUSTRATION and constant failure.. I cant tell you HOW MANY TIMES I have gained and lost the same 40 pounds!!!! It gets really old..This is how I was forced to put things into perspective by the HCG diet..

The daily intake consisted of this:
1. 3.5 ounces of chicken or crab, LEAN beef, veal,shrimp, lobster and wild forms of flounder, sole and halibut, but ONLY one of those selections..Weighed RAW, TWICE daily..(so basically 7 oz of meat daily)
2. a medium sized apple, or orange,1/2 grapefruit or 6-10 medium strawberries.. ONLY one of them , twice daily..(so basically two servings of FRUIT daily)
3. ONE serving per meal of one of these veggies: Lettuce(2 cups),Spinach(2 cups), Chard(2 cups), Celery(2 cups), Red Radishes ( 1 cup), Cabbage(2 cups), Cucumbers (2 cups), Tomatoes (1 cup), Onions (1 cup).. You do this twice daily as well..
4. 2 pieces of Melba Toast or 2 Grissini Breadsticks per day.. One per meal..
You are also allowed unlimited amounts of WATER and you can have unsweetened tea and black coffee.. You are also allowed the juice of ONE lemon per day.. Sounds swanky, I know =P..

Thats NOT alot of food huh? LOL Believe it or not, there were some days where I STRUGGLED to get all of that in!! Not many of those days, mind you, but a few.. LOL It was during this time that I learned to not eat socially.. I couldnt eat out with anyone because NO ONE eats like that in a restaurant.. LOL I saved alot of money though.. ha I made a few mistakes on this diet because I wasnt aware of the fact that I shouldnt be drinking Diet Mountain Dew.. UGH.. it was my only salvation at that time it seems.. LOL I had a few stalls in weight loss that probably could have been contributed to drinking Diet Mountain Dew and also using Splenda.. Splenda is not allowed as well.. You can use Stevia.. But thats about it..

BORING is what you are probably thinking.. And it WAS.. For REAL!!! BUT, it helped me realize that food is sustenance, NOT FUN.. Food shouldnt be a trip or a ride.. It makes your body work.. Food should NOT be what makes you happy.. Although ANYTHING with chocolate on the outside usually makes me VERY HAPPY!! haha This is where BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION came into play.. I had to retrain my way of thinking..

I was REALLY TESTED right at the end of my round on HCG.. We had a PLANNED family vacation to the BEACH the last week of my HCG diet.. I VOWED I wouldnt go off it.. I even brought my scale to the beach.. I knew I would probably develop an attitude eventually because everyone was eating and drinking and being merry and *I* was sitting in the corner eating my stupid 3.5 ounces of chicken, my medium apple, my LETTUCE salad with yucky balsamic vinegar ( NO OIL), and my pitiful melba toast.. My sister was eating dang chocolate cake from Publix( the one with the cherry in the middle- SO WRONG!!!)and drinking Margarita's at night.. I had my dumb lemon juice from one lemon daily, in ice.. LOL Yeah, at one point, I had to close myself up in my parents bathroom and take a LONG bath and HIDE from the food..

But, something wonderful happened while I was there.. I LOST 5 pounds that week!! I have NEVER lost weight on vacation!! I usually GAIN it.. haha I weighed myself everytime I got an attitude about not getting to eat.. It was positive reinforcement at its best, IMO!!!At the end of my round on HCG, I lost 30 pounds total!! I came away with a great feeling of accomplishment and I felt wonderful.. I also didnt turn into an apple or an orange and my body didnt go into intense starvation mode on 500 calories either.. I found myself, after the maintenance phase being able to maintain my weight effortlessly and I even lost another 4-5 pounds after I stopped the injections.. I was a new person!! I maintained it all until I was put on Celexa, an antidepressant in February this year, due to stress.. I have gained about 18 pounds back.. 10 of those pounds were put on in the month that I was taking the Celexa.. I stopped it after 5 weeks and have not been able to lose any of that weight gained and have actually put MORE weight on..

I, as well as my thyroid doc, feel that the Celexa sent my body back into hypothyroid mode.. It is known to do that.. I am so pissed I took it.. LOL My thyroid doc didnt put me on it.. My general practictioner put me on it.. Thats the LAST TIME Ill let that happen!! haha So this will bring me to Part Three..To Be Continued!! =D

ok.. This is the gyst of the HCG diet...PART ONE

For those who are truly interested in this phenomenon, I will enlighten you.. =P The theory behind the HCG diet is that if you take HCG in small doses, it will stimulate your hypothalamus to help burn abnormal fat stores.. One might ask what are abnormal fat stores? An abnormal fat store is fat thats located in areas that NEVER move, no matter how much you diet or exercise.. It is that STUBBORN kind that only drastic starvation methods can remove.. And when I say DRASTIC STARVATION, I mean like in a time of famine.. Like Ethiopia.. You know, that area you look at and say " If only.. blah blah blah.. "

According to the doctor that found this phenomenon, Dr. Simeon, you can get rid of these abnormal fat stores if you follow the strict diet of 500 calories a day AND take the HCG doses as directed..It sounds fishy right? Well, I am here to say that it DOES work.. I was introduced to it last year by my thyroid doctor.. He suggested it, after all these years that he has been watching me fail at losing weight.. Especially with a thyroid condition.. He informed me that the HCG diet can help "reset" your hypothalamus to where it was before your body gets so out of whack from all the years of dieting and thyroid problems..

At first, I scoffed at the notion of living on 500 calories a day, only to be rewarded by taking a daily INJECTION in my butt.. I thought there is NO WAY I am going to put myself through that kind of torture for 40 days.. He is NUTS!!! lol I went on with my daily life for a few more months until I finally had just had ENOUGH and felt like I NEEDED a change.. I revisited my doc again and THIS TIME, I spoke with his nurse.. She told me that she had secretly done the diet a year ago!! I had noticed lately that she looked like one of the HOT MOMS( her son plays baseball on my son's team, so I know her OUTSIDE of the doc's office).. She had this really great glow about her.. She was already thin, in my opinion.. She was probably a size 8 or 10 at the MOST a year ago.. She told me she was wearing like size 3 and 5 now.. I thought she looked like a teenager.. LOL

THAT was enough to make me decide to try it..I decided to "take one for the team (or family)" so two weeks later, I was in full swing on the diet.. AND the injections.. UGH.. THAT was the ONE THING I HATED.. I dont like giving or receiving the injections.. PERIOD..My husband would give me the shot.. He did a really great job, it RARELY hurt.. So I became very aware of what was going into my mouth and how great I actually felt sustaining life on 500 calories a day for 40 days..

This is how you do the diet: For the first 2 days, you GORGE.. And when I say GORGE, I mean eat A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G and E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G thats high in fat, carbs and sugar.. For us people that ALREADY have a thyroid problem, all we have to do is LOOK at bread and it IMMEDIATELY turns to FAT.. This was the fun part of the "diet".. I almost thought it was a joke when I first read it.. UNBELIEVABLE was what I was thinking, actually.. I have NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER been on a diet that TELLS you to eat like a horse.. Eat all the fat you want!! Go ahead!! You like donuts?? Eat em.. Eat a whole dozen.. We dont care.. Just eat eat eat.. Here, have some M&Ms.. Bread and butter, the more the better.. EAT YOUR CHIPS!!! PLEASE pass the PIZZAAAA!!! Oh, and DONT FORGET to wash it all down with an ICE COLD Coca-Cola!! lol

I think you get the point.. You gorge for the first two days.. lol To be honest, by the end of the second day, I felt so NASTY and FULL that I actually welcomed hunger.. And THAT petrified me a little.. All my life, I had been told do NOT ever eat below 1000 calories or your body will go into STARVATION mode and your metabolism will slow down and you will NOT lose weight.. So I was a little nervous about this part.. But, I had already eaten EVERYTHING in Helena, and part of Hoover and Pelham as well so I was kind of STUCK.. haha According to the Simeons protocol, the HCG is the ONLY REASON your body doesnt go into starvation mode.. The HCG stimulates the hypothalamus to burn fat, instead of sugar and muscle.. This way, you burn off those pesky abnormal fat stores that drive you nuts and you pretty much keep your muscle tone and you feel like you have energy because you still have the glucose stores that provide the energy..I will continue this diet in Part Two..

Its Christmastime!!! LOL

Well no, not really.. But it felt like it to me today.. No, it wasnt cool.. THATS FOR SURE!! The high today was roughly 100 degrees!! I wish I was melting.. LOL What made me so excited was my HCG arrived!! I opened the box and there was my little bottle and its little dropper.. lol It was so cute.. Ok.. Im getting carried away.. I guess I am just a little excited AND scared.. I hope this works for us!! We are going to start DAY ONE on Friday.. Until then... =D

Changes are a coming!!!! =D

So much for the SOM.. haha It is almost over and I didnt lose a single freakin pound!!!! As a matter of fact, I have gained about 7 pounds.. It has been so frustrating dealing with this hypothyroid.. I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and he agreed that something else was going on with my thyroid and so he put me back on synthroid and Lasix.. I took the Lasix, thinking it would help flush some water out and Id lose some of this water weight but NOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. I was UP 2 pounds the next day.. It has almost become laughable, if I wasnt CRYING when I see the scale going up even though I am not eating like it should..

SO I am soooo ready for a drastic change.. A change like I did last year.. It cost $600 to do the HCG diet injections last year and I cannot afford that now!! I was so depressed about this whole situation until I saw a friend of mine had tried the homeopathic HCG drops.. Drops.. Wait.. That means I would NOT have to stick a needle in my hiney daily!! NO PAIN!!! Not to mention, the 30 day supply of drops is $75!!! WOOOHOOOOO!!! NOT $600!!! My friend lost 44.4 pounds in a month on the drops.. He has now become a walking billboard for the company.. LOL That's ok, last year, I was the walking billboard for the HCG injections.. I would STILL be it, if I hadnt taken that dang antidepressant that threw my body back into hypothyroid.. UGHHHHHHH

So, I decided to bring my husband on board as well.. He did the injections in December and lost about 40 pounds.. He has pretty bad thyroid problems too.. He saw the doctor yesterday actually and he said for sure he has some issues that will be taken care of once we see his thyroid levels are at.. Steve has gained about 20 pounds back because he didnt do the maintenance properly.. He is ready to lose the weight as I am too..

I ordered the HCG drops and they should be here by Wednesday or Thursday.. We will start our Day 1 on Saturday.. So by September 15, I am hoping to be about 20-25 pounds lighter and I am hoping my husband will be about 40-45 pounds lighter.. I felt SO GOOD after I finished that diet.. I will more than likely post daily just to keep a diary of sorts online so just in case someone is going to want to read it for some support and advice.. It really helps.. This diet is no picnic.. But it gets the job done and in the process, you cleanse your body, soul and mind!!

SOM- SUMMER of MICHELLE!!!

A wonderful friend of mine recently said on her Facebook status that it was the "Summer of Beth" and I thought "WOW, what an awesome idea?" So, I have declared this, SUMMER OF MICHELLE.. But, what does it mean?

I decided that after the rough school year that I had just had, that it was time for me to be more selfish about ME.. I pretty much had given about all I could give by the month of September, and have been running on empty for a few months already..Usually, by Wednesday, I was SPENT and still had 2 more days to go before the weekend.. It has taken its toll on my health and sanity, for sure!! Last summer, I lost about 35 pounds and felt GREAT!! I kept most of it off until this past March.. All of a sudden, I had gained about 10 pounds back.. And I am not joking.. I weighed almost daily and all of a sudden, the scale was registering 5 pounds more, then 5 more.. Almost overnight!!!

I blame part of it on stress.. My body doesnt react to stress very well.. And watching all of this unfold REALLY has helped me see where my triggers are.. It isnt that I was eating like a pig.. I wasnt eating super healthy but I wasnt eating like there was no tomorrow.. I also wasnt exercising.. Kinda hard to exercise when you come home from work PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY drained and exhausted and THEN you have to go to a baseball game.. LOL Guess whats for dinner?? BALLPARK FOOD!!! haha

My mother's diagnosis of Stage 3C Uterine Cancer didnt help either.. I was so worried about her and then after she had her surgery, I was worried about her going through chemo.. She has done wonderfully but she's my MOM.. I will always worry about her when she's sick.. Much like I will worry about my kids when something is going on with them.. Worry will do you IN!!!

I have decided that I need to stop worrying as much and enjoy life MORE.. Considering my husband calls me DEBBIE DOWNER, I think this will be a good thing.. haha Diet wise, I am going to try to eat more protein and less carbohydrates.. The carbs tend to make me crave MORE carbs.. ESPECIALLY chocolate.. And I am trying to exercise more.. Wait, let me change that.. Exercise PERIOD.. lol

I hope that I can get ME back ASAP.. I miss the ME of last summer.. When I find her, Ill let you know!! ha

Are YOU on The Biggest Loser? BE MY FRIEND.. lol

Ok.. I have a confession to make.. I am a stalker.. Not just ANY stalker.. I am a stalker of anyone that has ever been on the show The Biggest Loser.. LOL Seriously, I have "friended" just about anyone I can that has been on that show thats on Facebook that I recognize.. Weird? Probably.. lol

But there is some method to my madness.. I have suffered with weight issues most of my life and will continue to suffer from them til the day I die, Im sure.. This is what draws people to them and if *I* was a contestant on the show, I would probably pull alot of my strength from the posts on my wall and my inbox messages.. I am not saying that what I have to say to any of the contestants or past contestants will make their day, but what I am saying is the multitude of positive responses HELPS NO MATTER WHAT!!!

When I did the HCG diet and I would post on my Facebook Status and people would comment , Id have to say it really helped me.. And all I had to lose was about 40 pounds.. I cant imagine having to lose over 100 pounds, as most of the people on the show have to lose.. It is amazing to me to see how gracious alot of the past contestants still are and continue to be on Facebook..

I have yet to form a "Facebook Friendly Rapport" with any TBL contestants even though I think it would be REALLY cool if I had a friend.. LOL The closest Steve and I have come is he actually went to college with Phillip and Amy Parham from Greenville, SC.. They have talked a few times and remembered each other.. I left a post on Michael Vantrella's wall today and I got a " Michael Vantrella LIKES your post" message.. LOL

Im such a NERD

In Desperate Need of THERAPY!!

What kind of therapy?? I dont know.. ANY KIND of therapy would be nice..Psychotherapy? DEFINITELY..I have 3 sons, 2 that are teenagers and one thats now 20.. I work in special education.. That makes me certifiable alone.. lol

Physical Therapy? More than likely.. I am 40 now.. lol I have aches and pains only a forty years plus person can have.. Back pains, a weird pain in my arm that seems alot like TENNIS ELBOW but funny thing is I DONT PLAY TENNIS.. I dont even work out right now..

Radiation Therapy? A definite consideration if my freakin thyroid doesnt stop hypering and hypo-ing so much.. ugh..

Aroma therapy? YES, as long as it rids my house from the oh-so-wonderful eau de parfum smell called "Teenageboysfreshfromtheballpark" scent.. YUMMY

My life is on hold right now until May 27.. That is the last day of school.. This has been a rough year for me mentally, emotionally and physically.. I am looking forward to the summer.. And you thought only kids loved summer.. LOL