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!!!