Thursday, October 23

So as of Monday, I have lost 5 pounds according to the place where I weigh in. My scales show me as losing about 3. My first weigh in the week before was not accurate, as it was night time and after dinner! It is not coming off as fast as I've heard, most people lose 1 pound per day and I am not anywhere near that!!! Oh well, I'll take my 3 pounds and try to add 3 more by next Monday.

Friday, October 17th

Here I am eating about 500 calories per day and I'm actually doing really well! I weigh in on Monday morning to see how much I've lost in 1 week.

Surprisingly, I am beginning to feel pretty good. I've kept up on my exercise and I rarely feel hunger pains. Although, I did attempt to hike the "Y" on Wednesday and felt dizzy and nauseated. We didn't quite make it all the way:( ! I guess my body was still releasing the sugars and other toxins, but each day gets a little easier. The hardest part of this diet is cooking meals for my family. I struggle keeping myself from tasting what they are eating!

I am going to try and do this for the full 6 week plan, rather than 3 weeks. Now that I am used to eating this way, I think it would just be easier to keep going.

Here are some yummy variations my mom and I (mostly my mom) have come up with:

SOUP
Take your raw 3 oz. meat portion and cut it up in small bite size pieces. Add onions, spinach, tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings. Add water and boil for an hour to create a yummy soup!

SMOOTHIE
Take 3-4 frozen strawberries and put into a blender. Blend with 1 Tbs. milk (that is our max), 1 1/2 cup water, and 1 crystal light tea packet.

SALAD DRESSING
Take 1 packet of Stevia or 1 tsp. of Xagave sweetener. Mix with apple cider vinegar or fresh squeezed lemon.

Monday, October 13th

What a weekend!!! I talked to my neighbor about HCG and decided to give it a try. Basically, you take the hormone HCG and limit your food intake to 500 calories a day for 3 or 6 weeks. The hormone supposedly "unlocks" fat storage and releases it rapidly. The weight that is lost is in your trouble areas, not your bust, hands, feet, neck, etc. (you know, the not trouble areas you usually lose first). I decided that I've got nothing to lose but my weight and I would really like to see quicker results than 1 lb. per week.

My 500 calorie diet

Breakfast -1 grapefruit & 5 low fat saltine crackers
Snack - 1 apple
Lunch - 3 oz. steak, chicken, or white fish grilled
1 handful of lettuce w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, & apple cider vinegar
Snack - 1 apple
Dinner - 3 oz. steak, chicken, or white fish grilled
1 handful of lettuce w/ cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, & apple cider vinegar

You have to drink lots of water and herbal teas (no caffeine).

I am so lame!!!

I feel really stupid about not blogging my progress for about a week. Maybe blogging my progress every day is a bit much, but I certainly hope I can do it at least every couple of days.

I weighed in today and as of 2 weeks ago, I have lost another 2 lbs. My track record indicates that I'm a 1 lb. per week kind of gal, but that is not good enough when you want to lose 25 lbs.

I have been doing a lot of research on HCG, recommended by my friend Carlie. She was skeptical, yet lost 14 lbs. Luckily for me, one of my neighbors does this and several of the neighborhood women have lost a lot of weight on it. My mom is starting tomorrow and I have an appointment to learn more about it.

I am not a crazy dieter that jumps on the bandwagon of every new diet. Over the years, I have tried to just eat right, exercise, and burn more calories per day to lose weight. Of course I read books like "The South Beach Diet", "Body For Life", and others. I would take certain ideas and apply them to the traditional lower fat, lower calorie, well balanced eating and exercising. That worked for me up until my last baby 8 years ago! It is very discouraging to weigh more than when you delivered at full term pregnancy! I blame this mostly on stresses over the last 8 years, but getting older (metabolism slowing down), crazy hormone imbalances, and a very busy schedule doesn't help the situation. That's all I have to say about this, so wish me luck as I learn more about HCG.

Tuesday, 9/30 & Wednesday 10/1

I am not going to weigh in due to hormonal imbalances, but will this Saturday instead.

Tuesday
Cream of wheat with splenda & skim milk
protein bar
spinach salad w/ tomato and poppy seed dressing
protein bar
1 ser. corn chips w/ salsa
chicken and tomato salad w/ Ranch on the side

Exercise for today included swimming 20 minutes and biking 1 hour.

Wednesday
EAS with skim milk
protein bar
spinach salad w/ poppy seed dressing
protein bar
4 wheat thins
210 calorie microwavable meal
soybeans

My exercise was treadmill for 1 hour.