R4VLCD6 - 163

Weight: 163

Down another pound, and reminding myself this isn’t new territory.  Why do we need to learn the hard (and expensive) way?

Also enjoying how I’m feeling.  My stomach isn’t sticking out so much and my pants, which are my new, smaller size, are beginning to fit comfortably again.

I’m also trying not to count how much I will weigh by such-and-such a date.  That’s a bit hard, being excited about the transformation, figuring out how much more of this sort of effort will be required for this duration, as well as trying to schedule events into one’s life.

I forgot my water bottle at home yesterday, so I didn’t get my full amount of water in, and I was hungrier than usual, too.  Not gonna make that mistake today!

R4VLCD5 - 164

Weight: 164

Good, I’m down .5 pounds today.  That makes a total of 6 pounds so far, including the load weight (which I hate including).

It’s hard to say if I would have lost more if I had eaten a different dinner last night.  While I wouldn’t recommend eating lamb on a regular basis on the diet, or even again, at least I didn’t gain!  And in the overall scheme of everything, no harm done!

R4VLCD4 – 164.5

Weight: 164.5
My hubby made me a surprise dinner….a lamb steak, with cabbage!
It smelled wonderful as I walked through the door tonight, and he was so proud to have gotten me a surprise….and I was hungry, too!  Today was the first day where I was a bit hungry during the day, but not even close to any of the other rounds.
In case you’re wondering…lamb is NOT on the list!  He got it mixed up with veal…
I counted up the calories, and I’m within my limits, so, I ate it, and we’ll see what the scale says tomorrow.  I don’t plan to make a habit of deviating from the approved food list, but sometimes you just gotta go with some love!

R4VLCD1 - 170

Weight: 170
I started my 4th round on Saturday, doing injections again.  Today is VLCD 1.
Why another round?  Well, I had 10-15 pounds to get rid of at the end of round 3 and I haven’t gotten rid of them.  I have been exercising, but not what I think of as a consistent routine like going to the gym 3 times a week.  I’ve been walking at lunch, but sometimes I can’t. 
I have eaten pretty normally in the meantime.  Actually, I pushed the limits, with the food sensitivities and allergies I have.  It’s been interesting on the one hand, but I haven’t felt as fabulous as I could.  I’m still getting used to the “new” me, at a size 12, too, although, I gained 5 pounds in the last 2 weeks.
That started with a weekend trip that included a ton of food; that should have been my load weekend, and, in fact, was going to be, but I decided to put it off since our anniversary was 2 weeks after that.  Then I hurt my back and couldn’t continue my walks.
Frankly, I’m tired of waiting, I’m tired of loading and can’t wait to get this weight off me!

Two months post 3rd Round

Weight: 165

I thought I’d post a response I sent to a first round hCG dieter, when she expressed concern about gaining the weight back and was only 5 days into the diet and looking forward to having cheese:

P3 has its own challenges, so stay focused on where you are now (a good life lesson anyway) and remind yourself that you can do anything for a short amount of time.

I've done 3 rounds.  I gained at least 5 back each time.  Disappointing in its own right, and frustrating to have to re-lose weight that was so hard won in this battle, but I decided not to worry about it because I knew that I would be doing another round, and overall, I was much lighter and healthier than when I started.

My last round ended on December 10th, 2010 and I had a total reduction of 51 pounds (yay me!)  I gained the 5 pounds, held fast for about a month, then gained another 2 or 3, then another 2 or 3.  I just got back from a weekend trip and gained 3 pounds, but I lost 2 of those right away when I got home.  Now my back is hurting, so didn't walk yesterday or today...but I will get rid of the trip gain in the next few days.  After my last round, I still had some fat I need to get rid of, so decided then that a 4th round might be an option.  I'm planning to start a 42 day round again on March 7th.

So, yes, it creeps up if you aren't watching what you eat.  I'm learning, and/or re-learning, my triggers and what doesn't work for my body.  These are not new triggers, either, I have several food allergies, but was hoping I could eat some things that I couldn't before.  And I have been able to, but I'm also trying to pay closer attention to the results.

This diet makes a person hyper-aware of the smallest change in your body.  Sometimes that's good, sometimes not so good, because it's hard to keep it in perspective.

I'm looking forward to doing another round because I know it works, plus, I'm taking charge of myself well before my weight gets really out of hand.  So, it's a win-win all the way around.

I hope that helps put some perspective on the process....

R3–Third week of P3–161.5

Weight: 161.5

I am up over my LIW by 4.5 pounds, in this last week of P3.  However, for the past 3 days I have been rock solid at this weight!  I've not been counting calories or adding my food to Spark, although I think that's a great idea and a habit I want to get back to.

I'm not entirely sure if being up by 5 pounds is my former bad eating habits and the "whew, I can finally eat" syndrome, or my body just naturally adjusting back to that weight.  Maybe...probably...a combination of both.

I've done the elliptical once this week and can feel I need to do it again, but my current excuse (yes, it's an excuse) is that I'm trying to maximize the rest of the next 5 days I have off and there is plenty to do; seems I get a pretty late start when I get up at 7am, then exercise, then get myself cleaned up and have breakfast...the day is half over!  Ha!  I crack myself up!

So, what am I doing?  Well, I've been planning to clear off my desk for the past 4 days, and doing a pretty good job of avoiding tackling it again today.

Procrastination is probably one of my biggest downfalls...so, addressing this bad habit is going to go hand in hand with my "de-cluttering" focus.  I started de-cluttering some of my small piles last year, and it felt great, then I stopped when I got busy with school, dieting, and working on other projects.

Now I am considering it as an extension of my "makeover"...I've gotten rid of almost 50 pounds, now I'm going to get rid of paper piles and the procrastination that seems to breed them.

Today I even came up with a way to mentally re-frame some of the weekly tasks I need to do which are part of this problem...I am going to "put my house in order" one day each week.  Sunday after brunch is my currently planned time, one that isn't likely to get rescheduled and has the most likelihood of success.

There's more on this to-do list, but I need to get back to "the abyss"....

R3P3D11–Size 12!

Weight: 162

Yesterday I put on my skinny jeans..you know, the size 14 stretch jeans that I bought in July that I kept making excuses for as to why I was able to wear such a small size (they've got lycra in them, after all!)  After I washed them, I was concerned that they were creating a bit of a muffin top around my mid-section that I hadn't noticed before washing, so I've only worn them with loose fitting shirts.   I detest muffin tops!

So, yesterday when I put them on, I thought they felt sort of loose.  Mind you, I'm not the same size all over, I still have extra fat around my middle where the rest of me is fairly lean, even if not toned.  My hubby used to call me his Reubenesque woman, and the description really fit.  So, I'm just a smaller version of that now.

Since I still need all sorts of new sized clothing, I stopped into the thrift store.  I'm still adjusting to going to the correct location on the rack, but since now I know I fit into a 14, it's easier to start there.  Well,  I tried on several pairs of size 12 jeans (I still can't get over having a selection!) and found one that fit me well...so I bought my first pair of size 12 jeans as an adult!!

Last time I remember wearing a size 12 was literally in 6th grade....and that was 34 years ago! 

I have to keep reminding myself that not all sizes are created equally, just as when I was trying on larger sizes.  After wearing a couple of the other sized 14 jeans that I recently got, they aren't especially comfortable, the cut is wrong, so I'll trade them in and get something different.  That doesn't mean that size is wrong, it's the cut that's wrong, and as a seamstress, I truly know this!

The weird part? I am up 5 pounds over LIW, but I'm wearing a smaller size...huh??