Phase 4 – Second Week Summary

Weight: 176

Well, my weight has been up all week, since the big jump on Monday.  It’s been a really stressful week at work, what with the start of school, and I’m sure the stress hormones don’t help, either. 

I worked out on Wednesday; I was shocked by another pound gain up to 177.  My first reaction was “oh no, I'm not going to let THAT happen!”  It felt good to get on the elliptical and with the hot weather it's a perfect solution.  It’s easy to let that habit slip, especially now that there’s homework to do, football games are on, the garden is pushing out produce to can, and helmet liners and quilts need to be made.

I’ve really been looking forward to starting the new rounds, though; this diet brings a lot of structure to one’s life, having only certain things you are allowed to eat.  And, I can’t wait until I can drop this extra weight.

With so much going on, I won’t be keeping up with a daily progress posting until I start the shots in mid-September.  Hopefully by then I’ll have a routine down and everything under control….yeah, right!

Phase 4 – Start of Week 2

Weight: 176

I had a 3 pound weight increase in one day.  Yesterday I weighed 173, and I had been on the low end of the 170’s all week.

While that’s a bummer, yesterday was the first time I recall having blood sugar issues since starting the hCG diet, and it happened twice yesterday.  I try to eat high protein items, but when my blood sugar drops, all is fair game; I eat anything and everything in sight, and I eat often.  I’m certain that is the reason for the increase, along with not drinking enough water.

My husband bought a new breakfast sausage, Sweet Apple chicken sausage, which I suspect is the root of the problem.  Because he was trying to surprise me, I didn’t get to review the ingredients ahead of time.  While it was gluten free, it had 10 grams of carbs, mostly from the maple sugar and evaporated cane juice.  I thought it would be OK; after all, I have been eating more carbs.

I will not be eating that product again.

Phase 4 – Day 2

Weight: 175.5

Well, I went a little overboard with the carbs yesterday... honeydew melon, chocolate ice cream (dairy free), and cereal before bed!  So, I'm not really surprised that my weight is up, just 3 1/2 pounds is a little surprising!

I had really wanted some chocolate yesterday, so after dinner I had a wonderful coconut milk double-dark chocolate dairy free “ice cream” with fresh strawberries, and it was wonderful.  I ended up staying up too late, and I have a bad habit of eating instead of going to bed, hence my “cereal before bed” habit.

I drank two bottles of water yesterday, so I'll keep that up today and I think my weight will stabilize again…especially if I start using some common sense.

Phase 4 – Day 1

Weight: 172

I figure I’m down today because I didn’t eat very much yesterday, but it sure was nice to see the low number!

I’m going to have some honeydew melon with lunch today as an additional healthy carb, so we’ll see how it goes.  I haven’t had any of that all summer, although I did have a small sliver of cantaloupe the other day, and it was fabulous!

I’m getting ready to do some canning this week so I’ll be getting out the supplies and reading my recipes.  I’ve got sweet pickle relish and plum jam on the menu, I’ll post how it goes.  They will make great gifts.

Last Day of Phase 3 – Day 21

Weight: 175

I woke up pretty full this morning so I wasn't really surprised that I was up a pound over yesterday’s weight.

They say that strenuous exercise can cause a weight gain as well.  I did some in-depth housecleaning yesterday; I have the sore upper back and hip muscles this morning to prove it!  Some people might read that and think "what a wuss" but you have to understand…when I clean house it's aerobic housecleaning, and it goes on for hours!

My husband cooked a really great steak last night.  I had broccoli and some fried shrimp with it, too.  There were carbs in the coating for the fried shrimp; this is the same shrimp I had the other day when my weight went up then, too.  Later, I had a bowl of cereal before I went to bed.  So, you might say that I didn't exactly finish out “no carbs” and “no sugar” like I was supposed to, but today is my last official day of Phase 3.

I took my measurements today and they really haven't changed from a month ago, although my tummy is a tiny bit bigger.  I’ve felt a little bit more bloated in general so that doesn't surprise me.  I'm suspecting the additional sugars may be triggering some of the Candida so I need to really watch my sugar intake.  That works well in my plan to continue with a fairly low carb diet over the next 2 to 3 weeks.  I will consider myself successful if I can maintain the same measurements and weight until I start Round 2.

Phase 3 – Day 20

Weight: 174

Well, I'm not sure if I am unhappy about being up a pound from yesterday or if I'm happy about simply weighing the same as I did a week ago.  I think I'll choose happy!

I only have one more day left on Phase 3, so Monday is the beginning of Phase 4…eating well, to fuel the rest of my life.

This past week has been a more interesting one, weight-wise, for me than the past two weeks because I have fluctuated the most this past week.  I suspect this is true because of cheating with carbs and sugars, like having the chocolate zucchini bread, when I have cheated.  This is also a week earlier than I should have eaten any of that, no matter how small the amount.  Since I can't take that back, the only thing to do is to move forward.

I really do like following a low-carb diet and will probably continue this way.  I think that if I start eating more bread and other sugars, especially still needing to get rid of another 15 pounds, I'll set myself back and possibly bring back the Candida.  It will be nice though, not having to worry so much about it if I do decide to have some carbs.

Phase 3 – Day 19

Weight: 173

Well, this is crazy, but, as my husband says, “I'm not going to complain about it, I'll take it!”

The 2 pound loss in one day indicates that it really was water weight, and, as I wrote yesterday, I woke up full.  I also was able to drink three bottles of water and I think that also made a difference.

Sunday is technically my last day of Phase 3, but I have to say that I have not been as strict as I thought I would be when I first read about this part of the protocol.  I was just so tired of being restricted, and I like eating low-carb anyway.  Or, maybe that’s because I know I’m going to do another round, so even if I gain 5 pounds, I will lose it again, which is not the best approach to take.

Phase 3 is for forming habits, as well as resetting my metabolism.  As I continue to read online postings about this phase and other people's experience with it, I keep seeing that this is a time to figure things out and see what works to maintain your weight, but I think that is more for real life eating, which is Phase 4.

I've been thinking about my upcoming vacation which starts in a couple of weeks and how I'm going to make good food choices.  I am very excited and interested in seeing how my weight fluctuates, or not.  Even so, in about a month I will start Round 2 in order to get rid of the last 15 to 20 pounds.

In a strange way I'm looking forward to starting the diet again because of the structured menu.  In some ways it's very easy to be on a diet because you have rules laid out for you, but when you don't have a list to follow, it's easy to lose your way and make exceptions and allowances.  Pretty soon, weight comes back.  I think this is a big key to a lot of people’s yo-yo dieting.

I keep thinking of my friend who is in excellent condition and works out for her health, as well as her profession,  and has never had a weight problem.  She is also a foodie.  I used to work out as much as she did, but I didn't look like her.  Genetics and good metabolism were not her only allies, I'm pretty sure that we were not making the same food choices, and that makes all the difference in the world.  Her approach and attitude are a great example for me to follow.