Stable Mable

Greetings my fellow HCG losers! How's the new year treating you?

Long time, no post but I've been busy. I've done okay this p3 but once again I've stabilized a few pounds higher than I would like. My busy work schedule has made strict protocol a little hard and I haven't been able to exercise as much as I would like. Hopefully that will change in the next few weeks.

I still can't believe that I am just one round away from reaching Onederland! Already I'm much happier with my size. It's nice being able to buy clothes in a size that doesn't require me to shop in a specialty store or pay a couple of extra bucks for the plus sizes. I still have a ways to go, especially with my tummy, but it's been a great journey so far!

I'm turning 34 in May, and by then I will be under 200 pounds. I honestly don't know how long it's been since I've been under 200 pounds. I briefly flirted with size 16 when I was about 23 or 24 but I'm not sure what my weight was at that age. Right now I'm wearing 18 pants, although I can fit into at least one size 16 jean and the new pajama bottoms that I bought are simply large, no extra needed. :)

I have no doubt this next round will be a bit hard for me, I was a size 18 for years and years, so I'm going to be busting through many an old weight point. And that's fine, I'm ready to do what it takes to see that scale go down and down. I have so much support, from my Hubs, from my friends, and from all of you here and on facebook that I'm not worried about getting off track.

Thanks for helping me be honest, and for keeping me honest. Weight loss is a personal journey, but its nice to know that I have people cheering me on, standing on the sidelines with bottles of water and home made signs. It keeps me going when I'm feeling worn out, and following your journeys helps to motivate me every single day.

Valentines will be here in a few days, so have a wonderful holiday and buy yourself something special... and it doesn't have to chocolate! :)

R4 VLCD4

So far 2011 is off to a great start! Despite the weight gain of this last round, the unwanted fat is dropping right off and I expect to be back in my 230's in just a day or two. I plan on continuing this round for 30 days, or however long it takes me to get in my low 220's so that I can reach Onderland by May. I feel really good this round, although I have a little fatigue. That could be my crazy work schedule though!

Well, it will be when I get there!

My focus this round will be on rocking p3. I've let the last two rounds get a little lax on the whole no starch, no sugar rule. I plan on looking into some Atkins style recipes, and really paying attention to my calorie intake. Plus, no more skipping the daily weigh in! It makes it too hard to keep on track if I'm not staying on top of my weight gain. And I promise to do a steak day at the first sign of going over... no matter my work schedule. I'll find a way to make it work. No excuses in 2011!

And that's it for now. Off to get ready for the grocery store- need some grissini for a few recipes and I might even try scallops this round... although I might wait until I'm comfortably in my 230's before I start messing about!

HCG in 2011!

Happy New Years, Hcgers!

Today is my first loading day of round 4 and it could not have come at a better time. I allowed the scale to creep upwards recently, but I take full responsibility for making bad food choices. I've been working a lot and I didn't watch what I was eating, and then the past few weeks I've just been eating and eating.

It appears that I am a cold weather snacker.

Ugh.

Perhaps it would not be so bad if I opted to eat mostly veggies, but alas that is not the case.

I haven't quite undone all the efforts of round 3, but just about. I'm determined to do a longer round this time (at least 30 days) and to have a strict and successful p3 this time around! I think I had such an easy time in round 1 that I just assumed that I'd be fine in round 2 and 3, and yet each time I've gotten worse. Sometimes it takes a screw up to get you back on track... or several screw ups. Let's not think about it too much.

It's tempting to not load properly, for fear of the scale gods judgment, but I know that I'd only be setting myself up for a horrible first week of p2. With that in mind, I have stuffed myself full of food today and tomorrow calls for more of the same.

It's nice to finally make a New Years Resolution that I know I can keep: to lose weight. 2011 will be the year I reach Onderland, and stay there the rest of my adult life! I cannot wait!

My other resolutions:

~To be kinder, in thought and actions, towards strangers and even more importantly my friends and family.

~To be a better blogger (this is in regards to my book blog)

~To vlog more for HCG... I bet I would have made more of an effort to maintain if I'd been keeping video track of it. Grr.

~To spend more time with my crazy family. And hope to serve as a positive role model for my wayward niece.

~To learn to say no to work if it interferes with my diet. It was nice having the extra money this Christmas, but I didn't have time to properly take care of me. I will practice saying "No, I can't work that shift" in the mirror daily until I can say it to my bosses too. And to not feel guilty about that. I love my job, I love my clients, but I need to lose weight in order to be a better worker.

~To not treat vegetables like the enemy in p3. I'm just not a veggie girl, but if I can make friends with the green ones during p2 then there's no reason we can't remain friendly in p3.

~To be more grateful. I am truly blessed. I have a wonderful, loving and supportive husband. I have an amazing, though crazy, family. My friends are the best people I know, the family I choose. My online friends, both the hcgers and book blogging community, have supported me and entertained me. I have a roof over my head, I have clothes, though they are going to be looser and looser on me, I have transportation, I have food. And I have a God who loves me. Sometimes I just need to stop and take time to appreciate all the wonderful blessings that fill my life.

~To drink more tea!

I'm sure I have lots more, but these are the biggest ones. I need to head to bed early tonight, I need to sleep and digest all the crap I just forced myself to eat. I swear, next time I load, I am only buying a few items at a time. I always buy more than I could possibly eat even back in my snack down heydays. Still, I manage to eat plenty on loading days. I was planning on doing a Olive Garden run tomorrow, because I have a gift card, but it might have to wait until next time.

So what are some of your resolutions?

Round 3 Comes to an End!

This morning was my last injection. I did really well this round, lost 22.6 pounds in just 21 days. But I'm more that ready for p3! Short rounds are good enough for me, but I might shoot for longer in Round 4 in the hopes of getting to Onderland by the Hubs birthday (March 7). My next round will start on New Years, and I'm excited to keep going down!

I can't believe the differences from the beginning of this journey til now! Will I even recognize myself when I reach goal weight? I've never seen myself at a healthy weight before. But now I have less than 100 pounds to go, which is fantastic! And I've lost almost 60 pounds since June. I'm so thrilled with the results! I am so thankful for the changes HCG has brought to my life, and while I may not mention it at the Thanksgiving table with my family, I will give thanks to my friends, especially Ame who made my HCG journey possible, and my husband, who's been unbelievably supportive during my weight loss. I'm also so thankful for my online HCG family, on facebook, on youtube and here on blogspot. Thanks for cheering me on, it's been hugely helpful!

What are you thankful for this year?

HCG Bathroom Mishaps

Last night I went to see Harry Potter 7.1. I'm on the last few days of p2 so that means I couldn't eat anything during the 8pm movie, and because it's 2 1/2 hours long, I didn't want to drink anything during the movie. So I ate my dinner on the way to the theater, and I made sure I'd already drank my water for the day.

The Hubs and I were the first in line (I have a thing about this, I hate being late and ending up in the back of the line because then I spend the whole time worrying we'll end up sitting in the front row). I was wearing my I See Thestrals shirt that Ame of Starting Life 25 Years Late made me for a midnight book release party. We were waiting for my brother and his daughter and youngest son, and two women from my book club. I decided it would be a good idea to visit the bathroom before the line got crazy.

And that's when it happened.

There I was in the stall, trying to pull down my pants, only they wouldn't come off! I was confused, I was irritated, and my light urge to pee was morphing into critical stages. And I couldn't get my pants off!

But then I realized what the problem was. I had recently bought a few pairs of jeans that actually fit me. I'm so used to being able to just pull down my pants right down without having to unbutton or unzip them. I can't wear jeans at work, so this was the first time I was wearing my new jeans.

I'm sure I freaked out some fellow bathroom companions with my giggles of delight. It's been so long since I've worn pants that fit! Back when I was a tight size 24, I wore loose size 26 because I can't stand wearing tight jeans. And as the weight has gone down I've continued to do that, wearing a size too big.

Recently I shipped off some of my larger sizes to friends, and now I just have a few size 22's to wear to work, but I'm constantly having to hike them up. With the holidays coming up I didn't want to have to do that, so I bought pants in size 20 and size 18 (although the size 18, which I wore last night, fit like 20's). And they aren't tight- my belly's not squeezed out like a muffin, well, no more than usual since I still have lots of belly fat to lose- they fit perfectly. The one size 20's are actually starting to get a little loose on me.

I'm looking forward to more bathroom mishaps, thanks to HCG!

So long, Hcgers, luck to all of you losing on p2, luck to all of you maintaining on p3, best wishes for those of you permanently in p4, and to all you loaders out there (especially my besties Ame and Courtney!) have fun loading and eat some yum yums for me!

Adieu to Fifty Pounds!

This morning was the morning. I woke up, stepped on the scale and there it was!

Or, rather, there it wasn't.

I'm am down officially 50 pounds from my very first vlcd on my very first round of hcg!!

I can't tell you how good this feels. And how good it'll feel 3 pounds from now when I'm down 50 pounds from my pre-hcg weight. Or in 4.1 pounds from now and I'm in my 230's with Onderland closer than it's been in years!

There have been tough times, tempting times, and frustrating times on this diet. But it's all worth it. To be able to face the scale each morning and watch it show my victories (and sometimes my defeats) and to own it is a powerful feeling. I no longer shy away from talking about my weight issues. I could never do that before. I felt extremely uncomfortable when the talk fell to diet and exercise, especially during those times I wasn't even making attempts to control the runaway train that was my weight gain.

I recently went to school to become a CNA and in one of the skills we had to learn how to properly use a scale. We went in groups of 4, because the practice room was small. I was the first on the scale. Although I was easily the biggest person in our group, I knew that number on the scale was smaller than it had been just a few months prior. And I knew that whatever weight I was that day was just a waiting point, until my next round. I didn't feel shame or anxiety or full on fear that I would have felt just 5 months ago. How's that for a changed attitude?

Don't get me wrong, I'm still not broadcasting my weight through a bull horn as I have the Hubs drive up and down the street, but I can be honest about it when asked. I can own it. That's the biggest secret to this diet, being able to confront my worst enemy- not the fat, but my own fears and insecurities. Not want to deal with the fat issue only made it worse. Now I'm on the right path to success and long term health.

It feels great!!

Chocolate Delight and Oopsie!

Okay, so TOM's still here, and he was making my hunger and cravings act up. So the day before yesterday I made up some tasty chocolate delight. I have never had chocolate delight on p2, only just recently tried it (with macadamia nuts!) this past p3. I normally stick to p2 restrictions with an almost religious fervor. However, I thought it better to "cheat" with something that was less likely to cause weight gain than, say, the white chocolate vanilla bean cheesecake dessert from TGIF's.

And it's been fine! Still losing, no gain, no stall. Which actually surprises me since I don't stop my injections on TOM (no point really, since his visits are crazy and irregular when I'm on hcg). And I also tried out a recipe that I saw on Mumzeeee's youtube vlog. It's a recipe for a p2 friendly chocolate souffle, although it's not for the hcg purists out there. I don't blame you, I think it's super important to stick to protocol, especially the very first round. However, if it keeps me from driving my car through the front of Dunkin' Donuts and shoveling Boston Cremes and glazed goodies into my mouth like some nutty version of Hungry, Hungry, Hippo, then bring on the hcg creativity!

I think the most important thing to do is to go with what works for you. If you're not losing like you should, than maybe experimenting with the diet isn't the right choice for you. Just because it works for one person does not mean it'll work for you, and keep in mind it may cause a set back. I've been fortunate this round, I've added oranges (which I adore!) and a bit of chocolate delight without any negative results. But I'm keeping an eye on things in case it causes a stall (or worse, a gain! The horrors!).

I'm already on day 8 of my short round, so I'm almost to the halfway point!! I'm happy to lose the weight, more than happy, but I'm also ready for Thanksgiving goodness. I'm not going to go crazy with the eating, for me Thanksgiving isn't about over-eating, I rarely eat much in front of family. I'm not going to be super strict with starches and sugars though, I'll just keep my portions small and if it leads to a steak day, than so be it! Mash potatoes and yummy pie will be worth it. I'm also planning on exercising that morning, and I'll skip the noshing of food and drink when we go to the movies later that day.

I do plan on making some yummy Oopsie bread for turkey and ham leftovers. Oopsie bread has been my p3 savior, as I really miss eating sandwiches and burgers during the no starch zone that is p3. And Oopsie bread tastes good! I actually really miss it right now. :( I'll see ya soon, Oospie bread!


Anyone have a favorite p3 trick?