Day Seven - This Sucks!

Day 7 HCG
Day 5 VLCD
201.2 lbs.
-7.8 lbs.

Man! Only .2 lbs lost today. That really sucks because I really wanted to cheat yesterday and I didn't. I know it's supposed to loose stair step but come on! Well, I'm just going to redouble my efforts today and ONLY eat when I'm hungry, cravings or not.

We went as a family to the movies for Valentines. I knew the kids and Jon would get candy, so I was proactive. I made Apple Chips! They were soooooooooooo good! I'm going to make up a huge batch to snack on when I get sugar cravings. I'll post the recipe when I perfect it. I made it through the movies unphased.

I didn't get hungry until around 4. It is really odd to skip two meals and not feel even a little light headed. I had some Herb Encrusted Talapia and zucchini sauteed in apple cider vinegar and Natures seasoning. It was the perfect combination. I didn't have to put any lemon juice on the fish.

Our friend Anne came over and brought chocolates for Valentines. I made the kids eat them all immediately so I made it trough the evening with nothing but water and a grissini. I'm still not hungry and I think the cravings are getting better. I made one of my favorite meals for the family tonight. I wanted to eat it, but I didn't!

Day Five

Day 5 HCG
Day 3 VLCD
202.8 lbs
-6.2 lbs

WA................................?

Thank you Jesus!!! I'm so glad I didn't eat birthday cake!!! That's 3.4 lbs lost in a day. 6.2 lbs in 2 days. I know things will slow down a bit but this is AWESOME!!! I can totally do today. This is about the time I quite Atkins. I felt so sick and tired. I had a migraine that wouldn't go away and I finally ate a piece of bread and the whole world was fine again. I quite only having lost 2 lbs. This diet is different. I do get some carbs. Just enough to keep the migraines at bay. I also get two pieces of fruit a day if I need them. Yesterday I didn't. All in all I think this is a more well rounded approach to loosing weight AND keeping it off.


I had bruccetta chicken for lunch (see the recipe here). As I was cleaning in the kitchen during the afternoon I came across Caeden's valentine from Rena. It was a Hershey's Pot of Gold box of chocolates. For shame....I ate a truffle. But I vowed not to eat any fruit or another bread stick!

For dinner I had beef fajitas (see recipe here) with out tortillas of course! I managed to make it with out any fruit or the bread stick!!! Let's hope the truffle didn't ruin me.

I'm amazed though at how hungry I'm not. I still have cravings, though I think their lessening. Of course it could just be I ATE THE TRUFFLE!

Day Four

Day 4 HCG
Day 2 VLCD
206.2 lbs
-2.8 lbs

WOOOOOO! HOOOOO! Go me. Go me. It's your birthday. It's your birthday.

It really is my birthday today, and what a present. 2.8 lbs lost in ONE day. That's nice. Real nice. I know I can keep going another day.


I'm having my first real issues this morning though. I woke up to a migraine and had to take Advil. I hope that doesn't interrupt things. Also, when I took my shot I accidentally did it catiwampus and hit a nerve or something. It still hurts.

I made it to lunch with out eating anything or even feeling very hungry. I had Herb Encrusted Talapia again with zuccini sauteed in Worcestershire sauce and Italian herbs. I had a grissini stick in the afternoon, and chicken with onions marinated in balsamic vinegar for dinner. Again, I'm not hungry....I just want to EAT!!! But I made it through the evening without making myself a cake for my birthday. That was kind of depressing, but I'll survive. I kept reminding myself that in a year I won't remember not having cake, but I will look HOT at my goal weight!

Day Three

Day 3 HCG
Day 1 Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD)
209.0

Today's gain is not as bad as I thought it would be. I'm not feeling as miserably as I did last night. I'm definitely not hungry. I'm only supposed to eat when I am hungry, and only up to 500 calories a day. Why? How? The HCG! So what is HCG? Human Chorionic Gonadotropin. Oh, What's that? Well, HCG is only produced naturally when a woman is pregnant. Although only women produce it, it is not a reproductive hormone. It is a metabolic hormone. HCG Tells your metabolism that all your fat reserves need to be released. For a pregnant woman this is important because a growing baby needs nourishment continuously, not just when the mommy eats. For the dieter, all fat reserves are released and available for consumption by cells. More on this later. But if you can't wait, you can download the free book, "Pounds and Inches" by Dr. Simmons that explains the entire diet, here.

I got hungry about 10 an ate an apple. I started working on my first litre of water. For lunch I made Herb Encrusted Talapia (see the recipe here) and sauteed some zuccini with Natures Seasoning. I finished off my first litre of water too. I felt stuffed after that.

I had another melba toast for snack and then broccoli beef stir fry for dinner. Everyone wanted ice cream later so I put my 6 strawberries in a blender with ice, a tablespoon of milk, and a packet of stevia and had sort of a strawberry milk shake.

It's not that I feel really hungry, but I just want to eat more. I wanted the chicken and rice I made the family for dinner. I wanted the PB&J I made the kids for lunch. I wanted the ice cream and m&ms they snacked on. I wanted chocolate milk. But I was never hungry. The biggest thing keeping me from cheating at this point is the fact that I spent so much money on the HCG and that I'm poking myself every morning. I don't want that to be in vane. I really hope I see a significant loss tomorrow to keep me going. I've peed enough to loose at least a pound!

Day Two

Day 2 HCG
Loading Day 2
208.6 lbs

Yes...that's right. I gained over two pounds yesterday. Lordy, Lordy! This better Freakin' work!

The injection went without a hitch. Just a little itchy-er than yesterday. I just need to figure out how to not get squirt in the eye when I pull the needle out of the vial!

I had a bowl of coco pebbles for breakfast and then a bowl of lucky charms for good measure. I NEVER buy this stuff. The kids are in hog heaven! It really just did not taste good to me. I'm trying to keep it down. It feels like it's just sitting right at the back of my throat. Again I'm wondering if it's the HCG or my imagination. If my meatloaf doesn't taste good tonight, I'll be certain it's the HCG. I love, LOVE my meatloaf. (see the recipe here. Good for maintenance!)I would marry my meatloaf except that it's an inanimate object and I'm pretty sure God does not smile on that sort of thing. Not to mention I'm already married to the most wonderful man in the world! But I digress.

I had a bowl of Blue Bell homemade vanilla ice cream with Hershey's chocolate syrup for snack. I love Blue Bell vanilla ice cream with Hershey's chocolate syrup. It didn't taste good to me. I had a bowl of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. I love Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. It didn't taste good either. As a matter of fact I had to force myself to eat as much of it as I normally do. I polished off the rest of the chocolate covered cherries for dessert. Not good. I'm practically convinced at this point it has to be the HCG. I'm getting kind of nervous about dinner. I want my meatloaf to taste good.


Later I had a box of Samoas. Yes....a box. I had meatloaf,mashed potatoes, and peas with chocolate milk for dinner. It was good, but not as appetizing as I would have hoped. I literally sat with my hand over my mouth trying to keep it down though. I succeeded but I feel stuffed, nauseated, and crummy. I"m actually looking forward to NOT eating tomorrow!

This is what It feels like to be on loading days. (caution: a little language, gratuitous vomit, and kookiness)

Monty Python's Mr. Creosote

Day One

Day 1 HCG
Loading Day 1
206.4

I got up, peed, weighed, showered, let the dogs out, drew my .25 cc HCG solution and put it on the counter, took my potassium pill (apparently it will help with possible nausea), fed the dogs, and prepared the needle and my tummy for injection with the alcohol pad. The actual injection had been causing me the most anxiety of this whole process. But after having found the video last night of the lady showing how to inject I was a little more confident. I touched the needle to my skin and it hurt, so I chose a second spot in the general area, it hurt too and my confidence was diminishing. I touched the needle to a third spot close by and low and behold I couldn't feel it! So quickly, before I changed my mind, I stuck it in and injected the solution. I didn't feel a thing. I kept feeling around to make sure I really just didn't inject the stuff ON my stomach instead of INTO the skin. But there wasn't any dripping. I really didn't hurt at all!

So I'm in a bit of a predicament. Today I'm supposed to be eating A LOT and high fat. But, I haven't been able to go grocery shopping because my van is out of commission. So I'm stuck with loading using what I have in the house. This is the problem. We eat what I call "healthy". My version of healthy is only eating real food. So my pantry consists of things like flour, sugar, butter, meat, whole grains, rice, beans, yeast, spices, herbs, milk, eggs, and cheese. You get the picture. Only things you can pronounce all the ingredients or identify as coming from nature. What I really would have liked was Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast, but what I had was eggs with butter and cheese, oatmeal with butter and sugar, and whole milk. I ate until I was on the verge of being sick. I hope it will be enough. Oh, and a chocolate covered cherry. Rena (Mother in law) gave them to me for Valentine's.

For Lunch I made two loaves of homemade bread and ate a piece hot out of the oven slathered in butter. Then I ate two more pieces. (see the easy and oh, so yummy recipe here, after your three weeks maintenance of course!) I was going to make a pbj sandwich with my homemade peanut butter and jelly, but I just loaded up with the butter instead. I followed lunch up with a couple more chocolate covered cherries. Then I thought I might be sick. I'm just not used to eating this much. I've eaten twice as much as I normally eat by this time in the day and there is still dinner to go.

And dinner....oh my. We went to Ted's Cafe Escondido. This is our favorite place in the entire world. It is the best Tex Mex restaurant EVER! And we've been to a lot of Tex Mex places. I loaded up on complimentary queso, salsa, chips, and tortillas before my LITE portion sour cream chicken enchiladas came out with rice and beans. I forced myself to eat the entire thing and top it off with a complimentary cinnamon sugar sopapilla. By the time I went to bed I was still miserable. I told Jon I was never going to eat again as long as I live. Is this the HCG working already or just overindulgence. I had a little night cap of Tums and dreamed of HCG injections.

Let's Begin

Pre HCG
Not Dieting
206.4 lbs.

I finally got home from a sad, emotionally and physically draining weekend from Dallas. Jon and I sent the kids to bed and relaxed in front of the TV. After we watched the news and found out we would be snowed in...again...tomorrow we headed off to bed. I had just started to change when I remembered my big day tomorrow. I needed to mix my HCG!!! I put my clothes back on and wearily headed down stairs. It should be easy...I've been told. I got all my supplies together and flipped open my handy dandy Blackberry and opened the email with the instructions. About half way through the first directions something seemed really wrong. It wasn't going to work! The water wasn't going to fit into the vial, much less the HCG. So at the risk of destroying a precious friendship I called Karen at 11:45pm to ask questions and try not to cry. My brain was so fried I couldn't even understand what she was trying to say. I just needed it to work and work easily. So like any 32 year old I turned to the one that I knew would always give me the answers I needed....The Internet. Actually, I just went to the website Karen ordered the supplies from and they had a perfectly understandable video (click hear to see the video) on how to do the mixing...AND the injecting (which was what I was most nervous about). I finally got it all mixed...it may not be exactly correct, but it will work. It really is easy...when your awake....and not in mourning...and not frustrated from everything that can go wrong going wrong...and your three year old is still awake at midnight.......

Dilemma

Pre HCG
Not Dieting
207.6

Well I was planning on starting Saturday. I have everything I need, but I lost something important. I got a call today and my Aunt Tootsy died. She was one of the most important people in my life. As a middle child I never felt special (although I really was treated so). But SHE made me feel special. She listened to me and talked to me and told me the truth and I actually listened when she said it. She prayed for me and believed in the supernatural. The rest of my family thought she was probably a little crazy....now they think I'm a little crazy. Go figure. The funeral will be this weekend in east Texas. I would have to take the HCG with me and keep it refridgerated. And since I"m trying to keep this a secret so I don't have to deal with nay sayers, I'm probably going to have to wait until Monday. What's two more days. I have the flu right now too. It's been a real sucky day.

For Real?

Pre HCG
No Dieting
207.6

I've been waiting....and waiting for my HCG to come in the mail. It's been over a month I think. There was some hold up in customs because the package was coming from India. My biggest concern over this is that the lack of regulations that allow me to get this stuff also pose the questions of purity and source. Oh well. You do what you have too. I got the package today.








It was covered in a muslin type cloth and had no identifying marks. Kind of creepy don't you think? I bet I'm some kind of list now. Sheesh!

This is me!

Pre HCG
Not Dieting
210 lbs.

Hello!

My name is Emily. I am 5'2'' and weigh 210 lbs. I've been overweight my entire life...as far as I'm concerned. I can remember the first time I realized I wasn't like everyone else. I was in the fourth grade and I got "kidnapped" for a birthday party. I squeezed into the back seat with all the other girls (this was before seat belt laws). As I looked down I could see the difference in their legs and mine. I don't remember anything else from the party, just that I realized I was fat. Of course in the fourth grade I was not fat. I just wasn't skinny. Looking back throughout Jr. high and high school, thought I considered myself fat, I wasn't. I just wasn't skinny. How I would kill to look like that again....normal. Some people have tried everything to loose weight. I haven't. I've tried enough to know I don't loose weight normally. I've exercised like a mad woman: nothing. I did slim fast religiously for two weeks: gained 5 lbs. I did weight watchers for two weeks: possibly, just maybe, if I scrunched my eyes right a 2 lb loss. Look. I'm a stay at home, home schooling mom of three kids, and one of them is like the Tasmanian devil on crack. I don't have the time or the energy to count calories, study meal plans, work out religiously. I need to loose the weight and I need to loose it fast because I also don't have the will power or the attention span to stay on track with out serious results. So after watching Karen go through the HCG program twice, I decided to give it a whirl. Yes, it's going to be hard to juggle it with the kids and lifestyle we lead. But let me tell you. If I see drops in weight like she and her daughter did in the first couple of days, I'll be hooked!

I'm so ready to go! I've got my supplies and food portioned out. I'm just waiting on the drugs man.