Days 4, 5 & 6 : Holy weight-loss, Batman!

Since I have been working really long days, it was just impossible for me to get my blog done until now. So, here's the background: Day 4: weight 225, Day 5: weight 223, and today's weigh in.....(drumroll, please)....219! That a total for 14lbs!

As I mentioned before, my concerned were having enough energy to get through my long days on Saturday and Sunday. I was so concerned even, that I told a co-worker/friend who is one of 2 people "in-the-know" what to do if I passed out or something! But I had no problems! And each day is getting easier. I have had less and less of the hunger attacks after eating, though I am still craving vinegar on everything - my chicken, my fish, cukes, asperagus! Everything! I have had normal energy. Even at the end of my 12 hr days, I still felt the way I usually do. This is all pretty crazy to me! And great! It's really exciting! I still can't find a tape measure, so I can't see what progress I've made in inches, but I must do that soon before much more weight loss occurs. I think I would be shocked. My jeans are really loose, and the trousers I wear to work are practiaclly hanging off me already!

Day 4: Woke up to a 5lb loss!

Weighed in at 228! Ok, I know it was all water, but it is encouraging! I was up all night long peeing - it's like I'm a garden hose, just as soon as the water goes it, it comes straight out - no joke. Like every 30 minutes I feel like my bladder is going to burst! In addition to the interrupted sleep, I felt very weak and a little like I was having hot-flashes all night.

So, last night for dinner I repeated what I had at lunch. The protocol recommends not having the same protein for both meals in the same day, but the fish I had set out to defrost was still frozen. I was off and on hungry all day yesterday, though it seemed the worst about 30 minutes after finishing a meal.

Today, after seeing that great loss on the scales, I definitely perked up. Had my shots (today was a B12 day, and I managed not to bruise myself this time!) water, and strawberries. I weighed out the portions of Dover sole and baked two of the three portions - lemon juice, salt and pepper. So, slated for the day today is Dover sole and cukes for lunch (decided I'm not a fan of Dover sole - it's a little fishy...I'll have to see if Mahi Mahi is allowed), chicken and broccoli for dinner, and more strawberries. Tomorrow I will have the other portion of sole and the last of the chicken breasts I grilled yesterday. Gonna go to the store tonight and get some more veggie selections and proteins... I think I like the chicken because it feels heavier and more filling. Same with something like the broccoli and cukes over spinach leaves or lettuce - it feels bulkier in the stomach.

Again, today I am having the hunger attacks a short time after eating. It's as though the longer I go without the meals, the more it eases and eating just reminds my body that it thinks it wants more? I am heading in to work shortly. This is my first day working while on the diet and we'll see how it goes. I have a very physical job and it's hard to keep the energy up sometimes when I can eat whenever/whatever. Tomorrow, though, will be my big hurdle. I am gone for about 12 hours from the time I leave the house until I get home.

Tune in tomorrow for the next weight loss announcement!

Day 3: On 500 Calories Now

Well, today it's officially "on"! I woke up and followed the instructions to immediately pee then weigh myself and unfortunately, I realized my old scales which you calibrate manually, were way off (I think I bumped the dial that had it calibrated before) and so I had to delay the official wegh-in and run out to get a new scale. So, when I did end up weighing myself several hours later it was after I had had water and some strawberries.... but the weight at that weigh-in and what I will use as my official starting weight was a whopping 233! Last week, during my visit to the doctor's office, I weighed 225. I guess scales are just different and I need to stick with the one at home and use that number so tracking will be consistent and accurate.

So, as I mentioned, I started my morning off with my shot (no bruising today!) then 2 large glasses of water and some strawberries. The serving size said a handful, but these were some enormous strawberries, so I only had 3. Then off to buy scales and do other errands...

I didn't get home to get started on lunch until 12:30 and at that time, I was not at all hungry. But I was very thristy and had been peeing like a maniac all morning! I got out my trusty food scales and sorted the package of chicken breasts into the protocol's 100-150g size servings (they each weighed in at about 130g). I grilled them all up and have them at hand and ready to go (that always helps keep me from eating something I shouldn't, though last night I gave my temptation/forbidden foods away to my friends). I ate one with a "handful" portion of cucumber (which was about 1/2 a medium one). The menu says I can have unlimited lemon, vinegar, garlic, sea salt and pepper and something else I can't remember offhand and I wasn't sure if red wine vinegar was ok but the bottle said 0 calories for a teaspoon, so I decided to go ahead and have that with some salt and pepper on the cukes. It was all very tasty and didn't seem like a small portion, but about an hour later I felt famished and had this intense urge to graze.... good thing I got rid of the grazing foods. So, I grabbed a bottle of sparkling water and tried to feel full with that, and diverted myself with a book.

I am no longer feeling any of the anxious jittery feelings that I had the first day and a half on the hcg... by last night I felt my normal self and slept with no problem.

Day 2: The last day of food as I will remember it!

So, I have to back track for a minute before I start writing about today. I went out to eat last night with a friend and had a very rich fettuccine alfredo topped with butter-sauteed mushrooms and shrimp - just what the doctor ordered! Felt full, but fine. However, last night I had a dreadful night of sleep. All evening, in fact, I felt as though I had just drunk a pot of coffee and then I tossed and turned in bed until 3am. I was up at 8am and felt like I'd had a full night of sound sleep though. Not sure if this is typical, constant or just a one time/introducing the body to hcg kind of thing, but I wanted to share it with you.

I got distracted by a few things and didn't make it to starting breakfast or getting my shot until about 10. Today I had to take the 20 units of hcg and 50 units of B12. The hcg shot was a piece of cake, but the B12 is a FULL insulin needle of fluid and that hurt (nothing to whine about) a little and I think I hit a vein because I have a little bruise and some residual tenderness at the injection site.

I ate a huge lunch of spaghetti. Going out tonight with friends for a picnic/play so have lots of high calorie finger foods like cheese and crackers, chips and salsa, hummus and pita, etc, but for the sake of trying to carb load like I was told to, I will try to get another meal in between now and then. I am feeling pretty darned full, though. I am giving away all of my carb/forbidden foods to my friends tonight to get them out of the house. They know I am going to be dieting, but I haven't told them about the hcg, mostly because I think a lot of people are immediately critical of it without knowing much about it.

More later,
Thea

Day 1: Why hcg?

This is a journal of my journey starting the HCG-supported protocol of Dr. Simeons. There is so little experiential information that isn't a sales pitch, that I wanted to chronicle my personal experiences with this program. I promise to tell you the good, the bad and the ugly!

For those of you who are interested in more information on the HCG diet - this free, online book called Pounds and Inches, by Dr. Simeons is absolutely necessary to read in order to understand how the diet works. Here's the link: www.hcginfoonline.com/ORIGINAL_Dr_Simeons_Pounds_and_Inches.htm

I am female, 39, 5'10" and I weigh 225. I don't really have a set goal in mind for weight loss, but I can tell you that in the past, 170 has looked and felt good. I have tried many different programs and some have worked, but after a few years, the weight has crept back on. Lately, my problem has been motivation. For me, results motivate and the speed of the results of HCG is ultimately what swayed me. Also, that you don't get loose skin as a result of this is a bonus (we'll see if that's true!).

As I mentioned, I am not doing this as a sales pitch, so while I am using a fee-based program and will mention how it operates, the cost, etc., I am not going to disclose the name. I have read many peoples' descriptions of programs costing thousands of dollars, as well as do-it-yourself mail order kits which leave me questioning the quality of the products and the knowledge of the user. I opted to go with a clinical center that specializes in HCG weight loss. The charge for my program is $499 for the 40-day protocol. This includes all HCG product (pre-mixed for me), B-12 shots, the syringes, swabs and the biohazard disposal bucket for the syringes. After a consultation (I supplied my own bloodwork results since I had already had it done recently) I was given a briefing of what to do, how to administer injections, etc. I will be going once a week to check in, but am able to contact them 6 days a week or go in more frequently if I desire.

So, although I am feeling apprehensive - not really sure why - I guess just because you never know how your experience will go or what your body's reaction to the hcg will be- I started today. I had my first hcg shot this morning and for the first two days will be "binge" eating. My counselor stressed to eat lots of everything but avoid loading up on tons of sugar. Carbs and fats are ideal though. The more I eat the better the start to the program will be. He discouraged me from weighing myself until Thursday, day 3, when I begin the 500 cal. a day part of the program. So, in the spirit of that, I am holding off on an official starting weight since it will likely go up in the next 2 days. I plan to take measurements at that time. The shot itself was absolutely painless. Couldn't even tell I'd had one. The 20 units of hcg will be a daily shot and the 50 units of B-12 will be injected 3x a week.

So far, I don't really feel anything. I've been a little jittery, but I had a lot of coffee this morning so I don't really know that I can attribute that to anything other than the caffeine. Been eating lots of the typical no-nos... pizza, pasta, etc. If I notice anything more about day 1, I will come back and update.