Ended Week #2 and on to Week #3

There is reason for celebration in my blog. I have gotten regulated and am now losing again!!!
WOOHOOOO!!!! I ended Week #2 with a huge loss today, 1.4 pounds and a total of 2.4 pounds for the week. That is not too shabby for a week of staying the same, ups and downs and potty problems. LOL

I cannot believe I have gone 2 weeks without sugar!!! Not one piece of chocolate, only the allowed chocolate "milkshakes", which I have every single day!!! LOL But this is big for me. I am a chocoholic and I am not even thinking about chocolate. I do know that i will enjoy these low carb/sugar-free chocolate milkshakes forever!!!

I have had a different kind of cravings the past couple days. I really want a grilled hotdog! Weird huh? I have been thinking about it for a couple days!!! OMG, I just realized i have buns in the freezer...... naw... not worth messing up another week with another problem. I want week #3 to be void of all problems except losing weight:)

My total weight loss is at 13 pounds so far. 10.3 in the past 2 weeks. Not too shabby even with the probematic week #2.

I did decide to deviate tonight for dinner. I cooked my alloted amount of chicken in one of those dips I talked about before, just the spices.... it was the sundried tomato pesto spice mix. Yum Yum. But I did not want another bed of plain lettuce, B-O-R-I-N-G!!! So I am combining vegetables.... GASP ....Not just lettuce and tomato but lettuce, tomatoe, cucumber and videlia onion!!! All allowed veggies but we aren't supposed to eat them together!!! I sure hope I don't gain or stall from it. If I do, I may go eat that grilled hotdog. hahahhahaha

Yesterday I was worried that I wasn't getting enough water, you know the 2 liters? So I weighed the cup I drink out of and found it will hold 14.5 ounces of water. OMG, I probably drink close to 4 liters a daty. I knew I was a drinker but didn't realize I drink so much!!! No wonder I have to get up a couple times in the night!! So much fluids!!!! I was pleased:)

So--- that's my entry--- I will post again soon:)

Stuck but not Stumped

For the past few days, my weight has basically been stagnant. I have tried everything to get myself a bit more regular and finally broke down and got the recommended Magnesium Citrate. I have been taking about 625mg a day for the past couple days and have only become bloated. I did try fiber for a couple days, nothing.

I tried Colon Blow, which is really called Colon Clenz but it just reminds me so much of the skit on Saturday Night Live back in the 70's. Remember the cereal, Colon Blow? LOL Well, the Colon Clenz did not work either.

The next day the Magnesium came in the mail. I am waiting for it to start working now. Apparently if you are deficient in Magnesium, you will not get the natural laxative benefits from it and have to increase dosage slowly until you are a movin', then cut back until you are at a pace you are comfortable with. So.... I am going to take 1000 mg today and see what happens tomorrow. I am hoping that as soon as this is dealt with, I will drop 5 pounds immediately! That is my wish!!!!!

I am at 185.8 today which is disappointing to me. I mean, I am eating 500 calories a day! Today I am discouraged and wanting pizza... but I won't:) I will have shrimp and salad or steamed cabbage and stay on protocol. I am confident that this will soon pass and I will have a terrific end to my week #2 of VLCD.

Day 8 of VLCD

Hi!
I guess I have found my sweet spot for my dosage. I have played with it for a few days and the last couple days I have had no hunger at all.

Today I have eaten a 4" cucumber quartered and dipped in my home-made dressing, a small lettuce salad with my home-made dressing and just had 'chili' prepared P2 (Phase 2) friendly, over a bed of lettuce. I made enough to eat all of it with 6 ounces of lean ground beef and put half on my plate. I could not eat it all. Maybe 3/4 of what I put on my plate but not all:) That's a good thing for me mentally also because I was always taught to clean my plate. I need to learn that it is okay not to finish all the food on my plate.

I have lost 10.4 pounds as of today. I do believe I would have lost more if I hadn't deviated from protocol and taken fiber. I took it two days in a row but it hasn't really worked yet.

I have had some bathroom problems. I do hope that clears itself up and I get regular again soon. I only mention this because if someone is reading my blog and new to the hCG protocol, I want them to know that irregularity is normal. Magnesium citrate is recommended to get things moving again. I had to order mine on-line and hopefully it will arrive tomorrow.

Yesterday I took some quick measurements. I have lost 7" in my abdomen, almost 4" in my waist and over 4" in my hips. I am very surprised about the amount of inches lost. They say that first round, 1 pound will equal 1" of loss somewhere. It's definately true for me so far.

Day 5 of VLCD

Good Evening (in my most haunting voice)

I lost .6 of a pound today so my total loss is 9.7. For this week of VLCD (very low calorie diet), on day 5, I have lost 5 pounds!!! I am hoping that I will make it to the 10 pound mark for the week by Tuesday AM which will be the start of day 8, for a total of 12.7. That's my first goal.

I pigged out today.
I had one of my 48 calorie chocolate shakes, a cup of cabbage soup that is tweaked for P2 capatability, zucchini (not on Simeon's program but on ReLeana user's menu), some crispy dried onions, a stalk of celery, a nice piece of mahi mahi (I had enough protein left over to have a 5.5 ounce portion and could only eat 4oz), a large lettuce salad, a couple tiny slivers of tomato and a couple slivers of italian cucumber.

Almost forgot-- we went down to the lower field to check if blackberries are still there and they are!! So we picked about a gallon before it got dark. I probably ate a cup of them-- yes it is a deviation but it's not like I ate a Hershey bar!! I did count them as a fruit and I only had those today, no other fruits. I am not in bed yet, so if I get hungry I will have an apple with cinnamin sprinkled on it.

I make my own dressings using organic apple cider vinegar, water instead of oil, and add garlic, dried onions, and a good spicey sugar-free mustard.

I also use some dips made by "All of Us" for dressings and seasonings to cook food. The website is: http://www.allofussoupdip.com/ . Not all of their dips are sugar/carb free. All of their soups have starches in them so they are a 'no-no' on protocol. Most of the dips have dried onions in them so if you do not like onions, you may want to pass on these dips or contact them to see which ones don't have the onions included.

You really only need to use 1/2 package for the flavors when cooking 2 servings. I cook my husband the same food, just give him more:) That's how tasty they are. I plan to eat this way forever and now that I have found good spice mixtures, it will be easy. They are about $3.50 for each package but if you cut them in half, they are economical AND add flavor to your diet. Heck, with only 500 calories, it better be tasty, right? I cannot eat dry boring food. I love flavor, sauces and with these dips, you can have all of it!

The following of dips are sugar/carb-free:
Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
Ranch- mix with vinegar and water and a bit of milk for a creamy type dressing or liquify some 2% cottage cheese and mix for a real creamy dressing. Don't forget to add those calories in your daily log.
Chipolte Ranch
Dilly-ious- good on fish and to cook fish in
Ragin Cajun- awesome to cook your shrimp and other seafood in
Veggie, Veggie, Veggie-- awesome to season and cook to chicken, also good as a dressing with just vinegar and water added in a cruett.
Cucumber
Plantation Mex

There may be a couple more but I am not sure of any others.


I am addicted to lemonade and have always used Crystal Light. Well, we aren't supposed to have Aspertame. From what I am learning, it is a killer. So no more Crystal Light. What I am doing now is buying the unsweetened Lemonade like Kool-Aid or the store brand and mixing it with water and stevia or splenda. It is good, lemony and works for me on the protocol. I still get my lemonade even though I only use about half that mixture in a glass and fill the rest with plain water. I just need a slight taste other than plain water. For some reason plain water bothers my stomach sometimes.

Keep your fingers crossed that I at least lose .3 tomorrow so I will hit that first 10 down!!

Another one bites the dust!!!!

Another 1.2 pounds gone today. I can't complain about that! So that is a total of 9 pounds since before the fair and a total of 6.2 since I started my VLCD on Tuesday. (It's Friday) That is worthy of a happy dance, I believe.

It's all coming off my tummy. Last on, first off, they say.... and that's a good thing. My stomach started getting chubby after my hysterectomy and now it seems I gain easily there. I am excited that when I hug my hubby, my breasts touch him before my stupid gut!!! TMI? I think not!!!

I am adding some vegetables to protocol that was not on Dr. Simeon's original list. Some of the gals I know who are using Releana through clinics are allowed in addition to Dr. Simeon's veggie list: zucchini, cauliflower and broccoli. So I am adding those with seemingly no problems. If I stall I will cut those out first but it seems like they agree with me so far.

I am also deviating when it comes to cottage cheese. The manuscript does allow cottage cheese and eggs for those who 'show a diversion to meat' so even though I eat meat I use cottage cheese in my 'shakes' and eating a hard boiled egg sometimes in the morning for a bit of protein.

I really don't call these deviations. I call it making the protocol work for me. If I have to add these things to my diet to keep me on track, I will as long as I am losing.

I have my dehydrator out and am getting ready to put in a videlia onion and some zucchini slices. These will be used for snacks, calorie free practically and healthy. I may try to do some tomatoes and some other things just for fun and healthy eating.

I do know that this change is a change in my life, not just for now. It's a forever change of how I look at food and processing of our food. If I eat processed food, it will be food that I am processing myself:)

Today I have had a chocolate/strawberry shake, some celery, and couple ounces of tiny shrimp. I am getting a bit hungry but will fix dinner a little later. Hopefully some of the zucchini chips will be ready to eat for my late snack I need:)

So, that's my entry for the day.